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I'm learning English

"We all meandered through our schooling
haphazard; so, to God be thanks,
it's easy, without too much fooling,
to pass for cultured in our ranks."

A.S.Pushkin. Eugene Onegin (tr.Ch.Johnston)



  I'm not going to share with you my positive experience in learning English, because I have nothing to boast, my English is still bad. But I have a lots of pretty memories and a pile of books.



I

"Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little."

Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer



  First time I started to learn English when I was 9 years old. My parents worked in GDR and I lived with my grandparents. My grandfather actively engaged in my education and led me to English lessons with my first language teacher – Olga Sergeevna.

  It was very easy and interesting for me. I had a good memory and I quickly studied alphabet and a new words. In a year we started to learn English at school. But by this time I already knew all the necessary program.

  The apogee of the first and most successful period of my language learning became involving in the school play. I was involved in 2 performances: “Tom Sawyer” and “Cinderella”. In the first of them I played the main role.


II

"London is the capital of Great Britain..."

English textbook



  Soon my parents led me to a more serious language courses. First time I got into the complex group level for me and did not understand anything. Then I moved to another group, then to another courses and finish the last one in a 2 years. On these courses I was learning without interest, through a force.

  I could read not bad and retell the text, but didn't taught grammar and vocabulary. That was enough to successfully pass English in school and satisfactorily in the University.


III

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  For a few years I didn't use English at all, not in my education, not in my work. But that all changed when I went to work in the U.S. company as a developer in 2005. All internal documentation was in English. My responsibilities also included technical support of the end-users.

Positive Software, 2005

  I started learn English again on the special courses organised by our company directly at the workplace with a teacher from University – Marina Nikolayevna. It was very effective, I made a sharp jump to the new knowledge. It was a first time when I started to understand grammatical constructions.

  Very helpful for me was a direct experience with our customers and, of course, a lot of advises from our teach writer Ksenia. But in a year I again gave up English lessons, because my level was enough for the current work.

Ksenia, teach writer, Positive Software, 2005

  In 2008 I returned to the English lessons with a native teacher from Canada – Guy. It gave me some experience in spoken English. But in my regularly work I had only written communication: emails and text chats.

IV

"And I will say the only words I know that you'll understand my Michelle"

J. Lennon, P. McCartney



  The next round of my interest in English was associated with my passion to the British and American music and my business trips to U.S. in 2011 and 2012.

  I was proud when I helped one Russian women to pass an interview at the border control In Newark airport, but at the same time, Americans on NY streets and in the subway hardly understood my simple questions. I felt a problem with the perception of English speech at the hearing and the ability to talk on general topics, not about technical questions only. But the birth of my daughter, employment and laziness prevented me from improvements of my language.

New York, 2011

  And now I am doing a new attempt with a charming and demanding Anna. I hope she will smile after reading this essay and appreciate my efforts.

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