광진ECC

 

Dear ECC Fellows,

 

I spent many years of learning English at ECC school. I started learning English here when I was seven years old and now I am a college student.

Hello, dear ECC students, I'm writing you this letter to encourage you keep thriving in learning English.

ECC has a variety of very good English teachers. In addition to, ECC uses various devices to train you to think in English. For example, you are constantly required to listen to new language without any prior preparation and to try to understand from context any words and phrases which are outside your range. In the conversation exercises, you are asked to role-play the parts of various characters, or to tell us about yourself and your experiences. Now ECC takes educational technology and you are frequently invited to express your own opinions about various topics. You are invited to search information and make pdf file in English and present in front of the students to express your own views.

As I briefly mentioned above, my focus is on how to get the best out of the best education offered at ECC. Here is the advice as numbered.

1. Reading is the key.

It is never enough to emphasize the importance of reading. My love for English readinig in fact started at an early age when I was in one of my favorite classes. The class provided me with a lot of opportunities to read a various genre of books. From Discovery Books to CNN, I sincerely fullfilled the required reading and did some extra as a pleasure reading. Bob teacher, a current foreign instructor at ECC was my teacher back then. He would always encourage students to read a lot. Yes! He was right. I always bring any reading materials with me whereever I go. It doesn't have to be big difficult books, it could always be a fun little fiction, a book turned into a major motion picture, a fashion megazine or all time classics. I read them on the way to school on a subway, before I go to bed, or alone in the cafe where it is all to myself. Every book you read, there will certainly be a great leap in your English skills and academics in general. Just read, read and read!

 

2. Write about your days and the world around you.

Next step is writing. What do you write about? From what I learned at ECC, writing is a simple reflection of your ordinary life. It all started out by writing diaries at home and get them corrected by ECC teachers. A funny story here is that I actually kept two diaries, one for correction and the other one for my personal archieve. Anyways, I enjoyed writing from then on. I was also given a lot of writing assignments like book reports, ediotorials, autobiography, or essay regarding social issues. Those writings had to include my thoughts while reading or any ideas from all the news I heard. Thus, it is a great way to lay out my thoughts in a cerain logic and analyze them critically. Start writing your own diary and scrabble any ideas stuck in your brain!

 

3. Be Aggressive.

The real fun of language learning is being able to communicate with a person of a different language background. At ECC, I was exposed to English speaking environment at all times. We actively participate in class discussion and simple Q&A times. 

The most interesting part for me was to share stories that we wrote and talk about them, introduce my story. Such learning environment helped me gain more confidence speaking English in front of others and eventually let me communicate as naturally as foreign speakers. With the strength I gained, I was able to join a debate club at school and be successful with my communication skills. I try extra hard to these days not to forget the natural flow of speaking English. I often hang out with exchanged students I can find at school and use that time to communicate in English. Sharing different cultures is another exciting thing for me. This is little embarrassing but sometimes, I talk to myself in English as well. I even record what I say and listen to it afterwards to check if there is any awkwardness. Use your English teachers at ECC as a great tool to practice speaking English today!

Thank you for reading the letter I wrote. I hope it gives you a brief summary as a survival kit to English learning.

I wish you all the best.

 

Sincerely,

 

Lee, H.W.Jenny

EWHA University,  Major - International Studies/ English