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Date Posted: 12:16:57 06/27/03 Fri
Author: Maria Lucia Gariano
Subject: Task 8

My first contact with the English language was at year seven here in Brazil. The classes were very much teacher centered and based on the PPP method. It was very boring and I didn't have any interest in learning the language. I didn't finish year seven because I moved to Australia with my family, so I HAD to learn English, it was a question of survival. But then I became very much interested in learning the language as soon as possible in order to be able to go to high school and not to miss the year.
The principal of the high school said that since I didn't have any previous knowledge I had to go to a 'special school' for at least one year. So I went to 'special school', it was a school for the children of immigrants, which prepared them to be able to adapt to high school. But I only stayed there for three months, and didn't learn much because the students were all Asian, and I was the only Brazilian in the school. At lunch time they talked in their native language and didn't seen very interested in learning English. Many of them were studying there for years but couldn't speak English because they didn't have much contact with Australians(apart from the teachers) and had many friends who were from the same country as them. I felt that being at that school didn't help me much.
After three months, I quit this school and wanted very much to go to high school. There I would be in direct with the Australian kids. The principal of the high school understood my dilema and let me start studying there. I started in year eight and fortunately didn't miss the year. I remember that someone gave my mother a box full of children's books and tapes. I really liked those books and read all of them and listened to the tapes over and over again. Apart from that I also wanted to learn quickly in order to fit in at school. Everyday I learned a lot of words and expressions of the language, every discovery was exciting. But the best thing is that it was in a real communicative situation, and due to this exposure I learned a lot more than I had learned at that 'special school'.
I adapted well to year eight and was able to speak to my new Australian friends. I year nine I improved my grades in all subjects and could speak fluently.
Apart from school, at home I started to speak in English with my two brothers, who were also learning. Watching TV also helped a lot. I had a great desire and purpose to learn more and more. As time went by(I lived in Australia for five years and finished year twelve there) the language learning "took care of itself". My language learning process was very much related to the communicative approach and is going on up to today. I think that no one knows everything there is to know about a language. The process never ends.

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