Final Version of Literacy Narrative

English Tongue

Life as an immigrant is many times hard, but life as an immigrant who does not speak the primary language spoken here in the U.S, is even more difficult. I remember my feet dangling off the airplane seat and looking out the small plane window, I only wondered how different my life would be like away from the motherland. My mind goes back to my family with tears running down their faces telling me to “Be great” and to “Study hard so you can become something”. I would nod my head profusely not knowing whether or not I would be able to keep the promise. Finally reaching the U.S, I was hit with huge culture shock. Nothing back home looked as fancy as it did here.  One thing I could not ignore was the weird gibberish the folks here were speaking. I furrowed my eyebrows at the weird sounds I was hearing not understanding it one bit. I can already see how communication would be difficult for me at this point and my mind wondered if I would live up to my word with what my relatives expected of me.

 These unusual street names I looked up at had me puzzled. Billboards had a weird combination of letters next to one another. I would try to pronounce them and would annoyingly give up. I once opened a Thomas and Friends book my cousins possessed and tried to read it. “Chan chin chin chan”. Now, the strange gibberish was coming out of MY mouth! I was making up sounds for the words I clearly could not read from the book. My cousins laughed and gave me strange looks as I was “reading”, almost resembling a babbling baby. To me, on the other hand, I was perfectly reading an English book and did not know of any hilarious mistakes I was making.

Starting school was difficult because the teachers would only speak to me in that weird language again. I raised my hand anytime they mentioned my name but was tight lipped for everything that wasn’t. I was not progressing in that class and the teachers quickly took notice. I confusingly looked at my other classmates as they engaged in full blown conversations that I was left out of. I tried reading books, but got the same reaction from my peers that I did from my cousins, laughter. It was then that the best decision for my education was taken; I was placed in a class with children who were just like me.

My teacher Ms. Izaguerre was a native Spanish speaker just like all of us. She would teach us our basic English lesson, but would scold us in Spanish. Her lessons and ways of teaching made me not only love her class, but learn new vocabulary words that quickly expanded my vocabulary. She had a certain care for her students because she knew she was once like us. If there was an area that I needed help in, Ms. Izaguerre did not hesitate to suggest a book that would help me. If there were nouns, adjectives, verbs that I could not quite understand, she would explain them thoroughly on the board. Ms. Izaguerre would quickly come to my side when she saw me struggling as we practiced for our New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT), she put her hand over my shoulder and said “Concentraté, sabes la respuesta”. She encouragingly told me that I knew the answer and, of course, I found in myself that I could do it. Ms. Izaguerre was the first teacher I ever had and she clearly made a vast impact on me because she made me something many people are not; a bilingual individual.

I can now look back to my time in Kindergarten and still stand amazed at how fast I learned English. My vocabulary has broadened over the span of my grade, middle, and high school years and it continues to do so. Any new word that I would learn, I would try to incorporate into my everyday vocabulary like the word “nuisance”, which I first learned in the second grade. Although I was privileged enough to start going to school at a young age and my mind was able to grasp a new language so quickly, many other children who are also immigrants do not come to the U.S at such a young age and struggle in the process to learn English. I did struggle just a bit, but because of these experiences, I teach some English to my own family members whose second language is English.

My family members were also others that were appreciative of Ms. Izaguerre because of the hard work that she put into not only her job, but to me. My mother was one to help me with my homework the best she could when I wasn’t at school. Even though she was a second me, she tried to understand the same words I was trying to comprehend on my paper. My mother was someone who encouraged me to learn because I was the future. If I learned English now, that would mean I would be able to help her with whatever English related situations she got caught up in. If she needed someone to speak on the phone for her, I was there. If she needed me to fill out any forms, that was my job. If she needed me to translate something, I was there, struggling a bit, but I was there. A prime reason why I gladly thank Ms. Izaguerre is because I was able to teach others just like she did me. When I was in the second grade, I won second place for my class in the grade spelling bee. I still remember that the word that disqualified me was “rhythm”. When I was in the fourth grade, I would volunteer to read to the kindergarteners whenever I could. In the fifth grade, I would help kids in grades under me to do their writing or reading homework at my after-school program because I knew I could. The special skills that were taught to me by Ms. Izaguerre, I used to better other people’s English.

I was glad I was able to learn the English language. It is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world and for some the most challenging. Being in school has made me perfect my still growing vocabulary and has made me feel as if I can read or write anything. When one is in their house or in the streets, one always reads whether it is a book of their own or signs on the wall. I can speak with many individuals who are from around the world because our common language is English. When I started learning English in that classroom, I started to feel a change in myself. When I would go home and watch the television, I was able to make up some of the words being said. I was able to laugh at jokes because I understood them and I was able to help others when they were in need. I have grown to love when individuals are especially articulate. When they emphasize imagery, and paint a picture in your head making you feel as if you are wherever they are describing. The English language is full of cacophony and euphony that can go over people’s heads. In kindergarten, I did not know how big of a favor this was and how my life changed forever. Whenever I go back to the Dominican Republic, my family stares at me in amazement when I do anything and speak a word of English. Being part of an AP English class validated to me that I was better than usual in English. Being in a college English class with others who speak other languages and being able to speak English with them is amazing. Each one of us who speaks English as a second language has a different story regarding how they learned English. I have dodged discrimination and bullying, unlike many others, who face these unnecessary consequences. People like my mother still go through things like this and push themselves to learn a new language they’re not quite used to. I am blessed to be bilingual and blessed to be able to help others because of this. Ms. Izaguerre is the reason why I am able to communicate with many others and the reason why I am fascinated with the English vocabulary.