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Tien Doan
Professor Adler
October 7, 2014
English 100 Stacc, # 3638
Learning another language
My education experience had more struggle than other people, I am bi-language, and I
started to study English when I was fifteen. My family moved to United States in the middle of
my freshman years in High School. New country, society, language, and education system,
everything was so different and strange. I was fear of school at that time because I do not speak
English and could not communicate with teachers or students. The hardest challenge I faced in
my education experience is learning English, I had to push myself hard because I want to adopt
and fix into the new society. Through our my education experience, I had changed a lot, I could
speak fluent English, changing my mind to growth mindset, and becoming better person to
achieve my goal.
The biggest struggle I faced through all of my education experience is learning English. I
did not know much English when I first came to United Stated, so it made everything become so
difficult to me. When I first went to Rosemead High School, everything is strange and I could
not fix into the new culture. I did not understand anything from the teacher, friend and
communicate with anyone in school. Because I want to fix into to situation, I tried to learn some
English at home, but it did not work out well. I fail most of my class because I did not know
what the teacher was lecture or explain on the board. Even though I want to asking the question,
I did not know how and where to start it. Everyday, I went to the class, sat there lonely and
waited for time to pass. A lonely girl always sat in the corner of the classroom, never talk to

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anyone; looking like she try to set herself apart and anti-society. It did not because she want to
set herself apart, she did not have the language of the majority so she could not get her voice to
be heard of.
When I tried to learn more English by myself, all the tragedy I used did not work. I
watched television, new, and movie in English; reading some books with dictionary, but it was
so hard and I do not understand ten percent of what it is about. I writed down new vocabulary
thirty times each word so I could remember it; but it also did not work out because I did not use
those work in daily life. English also have so much difficult grammar, and it does not have the
fixed rule. With different situation, I had to use different grammars, it was hard to me to
understand English grammars completely.
At that time, I thought I had tried all my best but it still did not work out, and my English
does not change much. I was so upset about myself, I thought I did not smart enough to learn a
new language fast, I gave up trying hard. Like Carol S. Dweck explain in her article The Perils
and Promises of Praise, the fixed mindset student think that their intelligence is fixed trait.
Drewck explain student with [fixed] mind-set reject opportunities to learn if they might make
mistakes. (Drewck, page 2) I would have the opportunities to learn English if I try harder, but
when I faced the mistakes, I gave up right away. In my mind, I thought that I did not smart
when it come to English, I stupid so I could not learn it. I traped in the box and did not try hard
to get out of it, because I always think I could not make it. I did not even try my best because in
my mind keep thinking that I stupid already so I could not do it. My mind is fixed that I could
not learn English better, I quite trying as hard as I would at the beginning. My freshman years is
my biggest downfall, I did not talk with anyone in school, except some Vietnamese friend. I
stayed in the shell and hoped some how it could protect me from the new society outside, the

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society that I could never be fix in. I felt trap in this country, and never be success for the rest of
my life. I passed my first year with having barely grades to pass all of my classes, Ds.
I struggled through the new language untill I meet my English Language Development
(ELD) teacher, Mrs. Kulacek. Mrs. Kulacek is my sophomore teacher, she teaches ELD class for
more than five years. She is a white teacher, and she teach perfect English; beside ELD class she
also teaching English two and three classes. Different from a lot of teacher, Mrs. Kulacek have
the experience of learning Spanish and lived in Mexico for several months , so she understand
the difficult that ELD student had face when they learn a new language and need it to fix in to
the new country. Mrs. Kulacek have a different view about English learner student, she always
tell us that [she] believe that you guys (ELD students) have the same knowledge as the kid
outside of this class, they are struggle with English because it is their second language. She is
the first person encouraged me to keep up to learning English.
At that time I felt like I save after drowning for long time. Before, every day I went to
school with hatred. I do not want to go to school because I have nobody to talk with. I reject
study and doing homework because I do not understand the lecture. I find all the excuse to make
me feel less guilty, that it does not because I was not trying hard, cause all the door is close. I
think the only path for my future after high school is getting a job and living a poor and boring
life. But now, Mrs, Kulacek come and tell me that the student like me are no different, as long as
we have the language we can be the same as those student. She save me out of the darkness
future and make me want to try to learn English again.
Like the girl in Freedom Writers, diary entry 23, I save by the teacher words and it
motivate me to keep up on study. The girl in this entry does not want to study, she alway feel
nobody care or believe in her so there is no need to try hard as school. Then one day, Mrs,

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Gruwell come and tell her that she believed in [her]. That three words change her life, it make
she feel there is someone who care for her, Mrs. Gruwell want the girl to keep up and believe in
herself that she can do better. Mrs, Kulacek did it to us to. She told us that we, the English
learner, is no different. As school we seem to left out of the majority because we different
from regular student, we do not understand much. But she tell us, when we have the language,
we could be judge the same. She inspired us to keep studing.
Mrs. Kulacek make me moved .I know that there was someone always believes that I was
as good as the regular students. She made me understand that if I try my best to learn and adapt
the new language, someday I will be as good at them. I could graduate from high school, create
the different path to achieve my goal in future. Mrs. Kulacek helped us to learn English a lot,
she assigned the book to read, journal (free writing) everyday. To encourage student to speak
English, she assign that working group with student different from your own language. At the
beginning, everyone is so shy and did not talk to each other, but throughout all the games and
group activity, we feel more comfortable to communicate. The class start to closer together, and
I have more friend rather than my own race. I felt more comfortable to speak english and
communicate with people out side my ELD class. I make friend different from my own race and
like to go to school. I enjoyed read book and watch news, movie and television in English. I
start trying hard to learn English again.
When I started to learn English again, I still have to face the challenge of vocabulary and
grammar, but I did not giving up, I try to find the role model to encourage myself to keep
learning. One thing that encourage me to study was the book I had read in my ELD class, The
Outsiders, by S,E Hilton. In this book, the town was divide by East which the gang and poor kid
lived; and the West which the rich kid lived. These two groups have so much hatred and always

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try to jump up to each other when they could. Ponyboy is a kid growth up East Side, which is all
gang, but he keep study hard and get good grade in school. One night, Ponyboy and Johnny, his
friend, got jump up by a group of the kid from the West, which rich kids. The guy name Bob try
to drown Ponyboy to death in the water fountain. Johnny want to save Ponyboy, so he
accidently kill Bob with a switchblade, then all the trouble beginning. Johnny and Ponyboy are
so scared, they does not think that people will believe that is an accident because they are gang,
then they run away.They are gangster, the people in the town alway look at them like
troublemaker, that they do not have the future and all they doing is wrong. So when the accident
happen, they think the people in the town will not believe their voice.
This part connects my situation at that time. In this school, or even this country, when I
do not speak English, I will not have my own voice, nobody could communicate or believe in me
if I did not have my own voice. I will get left side because I different from hen so I need to have
my own voice to be head; and to make it happen, I need to speak fluent English.
When I see the connection between my life and this book, I found the scene of this book
gave me confident to learn English is the part when Johnny dies. The story end with tragic when
Johnny dies after he try to save the kid. Johnnys last words hit me hard, he tell Ponyboy to
Stay Gold. Ponyboy growth up in gang family, but he keep study hard does not matter how
people look at him. Johnny want him to keeping his dream and accomplish more goal, and want
Ponyboy to understand that there is people alway in his side and suppose him. Ponyboy become
my role model in study, he is gangster but he keep trying to study and looking for better future
does not matter how other people look at him. I understand that I need to keep trying hard, got
over the challenge and make myself better. Does not matter that my background is English
learner, if I try hard I will get what I want. This book encouraged me to learn English. It made

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me see the reality that if I need the new language, so that I can have my voice heard and got what
I want. After reading this book in my ELD class, I realized I need to try harder, put all of my
effort in study the language.
After built more confident to learn English, my path of study English seem easier because
I knew I could make it. After reading The Outsiders I like to read more book, I read the book
with dictionary. I learn new vocabulary every time I read something new. I copy that word from
twenty to thirty time each, then I try to using those words in daily time so I could remember it. It
becomes little bit weird, but later I got use to that method and learn a lot more word. I watch the
new and movie in English. At the beginning, they speak so fast so I have to read the subtitle, the
later I got use to it and could understand eighty percent when I listen. I was so impress about
how I change after two month using this method. I learn a ton of more word, the time when I
have to use dictionary decrease. I could understand almost fully when people speaking to me.
All of these achievement make me feel so happy because the effort I put out for it is working.
Like Malcolm X, one of the most famous militant black nationalist leader, started to
relearn how to read and write as an adult. At the time Malcolm X was in the prison. He want to
have more knowledge to understand what he had read, Malcolm X researches through the
dictionary to find the word he did not understand and rewrite that word in the note. He tried his
best to read because at that time the ability to read awoke inside [him] so long dormant craving
to be mentally alive (Malcolm X, paragraph 15). Like him at the age of fifteen, passing the best
time to learn a language, everything became harder to me to learn English. I put all of the effort
because I want to learn, and understand what I had read. I want to have the ability to read, so
does not matter how hard it it, I will come over it. I understand as long as I have the literacy
in English, I mentally alive in this country. I need to have the voice so that I can express my

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self to the people around me. Like Malcolm X, the craving feeling of literacy awoke in me
make me to learn more English. I need the language, literacy to study, go to college, and success
in life.
Carol S. Dweck explain in his article The Perils and Promises of Praise, fixed mindset
students often stop themselves when they facing the challenge while growth mindset students try
to find the way to overcome and solve it. My journey of learning English is the example for this
idea. From the girl who alway trap herself in the box, and set apart from the society. She does
not fixed because she does not trying hard and scare of making mistakes. Then she meet the
person that believe in her and giving her confident, she change her mind. Now she always trying
her best when she facing challenge, because she knew when she put out effort, she will achieve
it. Now I speak fluent English like other kid in the school, one of my big goal came true. I
found my dream and try to accomplish that. I am going to college and planning to transfer to
university. I create my own path for the future, I have the believe that I can make it if I put effort
for it.