Essay 1:

Games, cartoons and cat lovers

or how I learned English throughout my life
"Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle!"
This is the text the 5 year-old girl sees on the TV screen and her little hands squeeze the
controller. Her younger sister screas !ecause she "ants to play too. The second grade #te$ania
is glad the screen didn%t sho" her the "&ae o'er".
This is one o$ y $irst eories in'ol'ing the (nglish language and a 'ery treasured one. )
can also ree!er *exter "aking up "ith "+hat a $ine day $or science!", "+hat does this
!utton do-" and .ourage%s "The things ) do $or lo'e". ) used to tell e'eryone "My nae is
Moooo/o 0o/o" !e$ore ) e'en thought o$ introducing ysel$ in 1oanian "ith y o"n nae. )
"ould run to y o and ask her to explain "hat they "ere all saying, !ut a$ter a "hile )
learned it all.
)n $i$th grade, "hen ) started taking (nglish lessons at school, ) kne" a lot o$ things in this
language - none o$ "hich "ould ha'e helped e pass a test in class. 2$ter learning a!out
princesses and le'els "ith Mario, a!out aking the !est out o$ your childhood "ith the 3ids
4ext *oor and ho" to !uild houses and keep people ali'e in #is, ) cae to realise that ) didn%t
kno" ho" the clouds, sky and pipes "ere naed, nor could ) count to ore than $i'e 5"hich still
represented a !ad-ass girl6 or nae the $ridge y #i "as using.
But ) started learning all o$ these things and ore - "hich "as a relie$ seeing as .artoon
4et"ork started translating their cartoons into 1oanian. Ha'ing a teacher explain e'erything to
us "as indeed easier 5e'en though it "as the $irst tie ) realised ) "as learning the language6, !ut
not as entertaining and ) ust adit, ) ha'e alost no signi$icant eories a!out this process
through iddle and high-school.
+hat ) do ree!er on the other hand "ere the e'enings spent in $ront o$ the coputer
playing MM718&s 5Massi'ely Multiplayer 7nline 1ole-playing &aes6. ) "ould talk to y
online $riends a!out all sorts o$ things in (nglish. The $irst tie ) realised ) ha'e actually learned
the language "as a$ter ore than an hour spent chatting a!out the #econd +orld +ar "ith soe
guy in the 9nited #tates.
:or the past three or $our years )%'e !een playing a gae called 8er$ect +orld and ) ust say )
ha'e a lot o$ people to talk to. ) realise no" that it is a learning process and ) try to get the ost
o$ it. +hile ) a not yet a!le to use the, ) can no" recognise and understand a lot o$ 2erican
and British expressions, thanks to ha'ing nati'e speakers explain the to e. 7ne o$ the greatest
things e'er is ha'ing y other coplain a!out the "ay ) a "asting y tie online, listening
to her say this "ith a laptop in $ront o$ e, healing y squad%s tank and discussing the lack o$
$reedo 2erican children ha'e to put up "ith no"adays.
)n the iddle o$ all the discussion a!out coputer gaes haring children, aking the
ore aggressi'e, keeping the $ro learning, ) still play #uper Mario Bros., #kype "ith the
$riends ) got online. But at the end o$ the day, ) a still a college student reading a !ook !e$ore
$alling asleep, li'ing a noral li$e and learning ne" things e'ery day.
4ot the !est thing to "rite in an essay that y grade depends on, !ut ) a proud to say )
learned so any things a!out the (nglish language through the internet. Because the -;.5 points )
"ould get in a paper $or "riting "your stupid" does not e'en copare "ith the lynch o! that%s
onto you i$ you ake that kind o$ istake in the kingdo o$ cat lo'ers.
Essay 2:
On Learning Foreign Languages
('er since childhood, ) ha'e nurtured an interest !ordering on passion $or the understanding
and study o$ language. 2s counication is an essential part o$ huan li$e, the "ell-kno"ing o$
the code in "hich in$oration is transitted is o$ paraount iportance, !ecause it $acilitates
understanding and thus, the sharing o$ data, experience and $eelings !et"een the interlocutors.
Ho"e'er, in odern society, "hich is slo"ly undergoing the process o$ glo!alisation, only
kno"ing one<s other tongue ay pro'e a handicap, later in his or her li$e, $ro any points o$
'ie".
) did not !ecoe $ully a"are o$ this $act until ) "as in high school, !ut luckily, !y then ) had
studied !oth (nglish and &eran as $oreign languages in school. ) ha'e had y $irst contact "ith
a $oreign language e'en !e$ore ) "as in $irst grade, ainly due to the $act that y parents "ished
e to !ecoe coputer literate and started teaching e the !asics early on. 7$ course, e'ery text
that appeared onscreen "as in (nglish, so ) had to $igure out their eaning !e$ore ) could
actually interact "ith the coputer. 7ther than that, the cartoons ) used to "atch as a child had
not !een du!!ed yet and $ro the ) heard (nglish !eing spoken $or the $irst tie. :ro that
oent on, learning !y listening and reading has !ecoe and reained y pre$erred ethod o$
studying a $oreign language.
#peaking, on the other hand, has pro'en challenging, at $irst. My (nglish teacher $ro !oth
gynasiu and highschool helped greatly in soothing out the process o$ acquiring (nglish
speaking skills, !y putting an ephasis on expressing oursel'es orally, $ro the 'ery !eginning.
)n &eran, ho"e'er, ) did not recei'e the sae kind o$ education and had to "ork ore on y
o"n, ostly !y participating in copetitions 5school olypiads6 and signing up $or a language
certi$ication test. 4e'ertheless, all language teachers in y school !elie'ed that o!taining
internationally-recognised certi$icates is iportant, $or our personal experience i$ not $or our
$uture careers = there$ore, !y the end o$ highschool, the 'ast a/ority o$ pupils in y generation
had recei'ed good arks in .a!ridge and ost in a secondary language test, including ysel$.
:or e, &eran and (nglish are an excellent language co!ination to learn. The $irst is a
'ery logical and "ell-structured language, "ith strict rules o$ pronunciation and graar that, i$
constantly rehearsed, ake counicating e$$iciently uch easier. Voca!ulary can !e ore
di$$icult to assiilate, at ties, !ut any "ords are siilar to (nglish ones "hich ) already kno"
and there$ore learning the hand-in-hand rather than separately is uch ore ad'antageous.
Moreo'er, "hilst (nglish is the ne" lingua franca and !asically, the language o$ the )nternet and
)T doain as "ell, &eran is one o$ the $oreign languages ost sought-$or !y eployers,
!ecause it is spoken in se'eral countries "hich ha'e strong econoies and political positions, not
only in the (uropean 9nion, !ut also in a glo!al context. Because o$ these aspects, the decision
to study the in uni'ersity as "ell "as easy to ake and ) hope it "ill pro'e as re"arding and
satis$ying as it has !een until no".
Essay 3:
he necessity of learning foreign languages
The ai o$ this essay is to sho" ho" iportant it is to learn $oreign languages.
>anguage is the ain eans o$ counication !et"een the e!ers o$ a society, a "ay to
express your thoughts, $eelings and eotions to other people. >earning a $oreign language is
necessary in order to enrich ones kno"ledge, to de'elop the counication skills o$ the person
learning it. Moreo'er, learning $oreign languages can !e 'ery help$ul in ones carrier. 2s Henry
+ald said, ? To learn a $oreign language eans to adopt another attitude to"ards the "orld,
eans to think di$$erently@.
:irstly, e'erything you kno" you learn it "ith the help o$ language. >anguage is the !ase o$
all daily acti'ities, "e could say o$ li$e itsel$A ?+hat is !etter and ore !eauti$ul in li$e- )sn<t it
language, !ecause all the learning and the philosophy are re'ealed and learnt through it- &i'ing
and taking, the trade, the prayers and the praises and e'en usic are ade through it- Through it
"eddings are per$ored, $ortresses are !uilt, the people are sa'ed and !rie$ly, the "hole li$e lies
in it@- Mihail #ado'eanu.
#econdly, "hen you learn a $oreign language you do not assiilate only its graatical and
phonetic $eatures, or its 'oca!ulary, !ut also the culture and the custos o$ the nati'e speakers o$
that language. Bou anage to understand their "ay o$ !eing, the "ay they think, you esta!lish
soe sort o$ connection "ith that people.
There are any ore reasons "hy one should learn a $oreign language.
7ne o$ the "ould !e that in this ulti linguistic "orld, learning $oreign languages,
especially (nglish, is 'ery iportant, !ecause it opens your "ay to nuerous opportunities. 2s
$ar as (nglish is concerned, it is one o$ the ost iportant languages, !eing spoken !y a third o$
the "orld population. )t<s the !ase language used in 'arious $ields, such as coerce, !usiness,
counication, entertainent, diploacy and internet. Moreo'er, !y kno"ing a $oreign
language you ha'e ore carrier opportunities, you can $ind $aster a good /o!. The ore $oreign
languages you kno", the !etter you "ill !e seen !y eployers.
)t<s also use$ul to kno" a $oreign language in order to counicate "ith people $ro other
countries, $or exaple, i$ you go on 'acation a!road, o$ i$ a $oreigner stops you on the street to
ask you in$oration a!out soething.
2 $oreign language o$$ers you the possi!ility to read di$$erent !ooks or articles that ha'e not
!een translated in your nati'e language, and !y this, to $ind out ore in$oration a!out the
people o$ a certain country.
>earning a $oreign language except $ro (nglish, is also 'ery iportant, not only $or one<s
career, !ut also $or disco'ering and understanding other cultures and "ays o$ li$e !etter. :or
exaple, ) chose to study at the 9ni'ersity, except $ro (nglish, 1ussian language. ) ust adit
that at $irst ) didn<t kno" too uch a!out 1ussia and a$ter the $irst classes ) thought it "ill !e
'ery di$$icult to learn such a language, 'ery di$$erent $ro 1oanian, !ut as the tie passed, )
got to like it 'ery uch and, especially, ) "as a!le to understand and assiilate soe o$ their
$ascinating culture, history and their "ay o$ thinking. )t ade e "ish to 'isit 1ussia soe day
and eet 1ussian people.
>earning a $oreign language as a child is 'ery iportant !ecause at a young age children
assiilate !etter the in$oration they recei'e and start aking coparisons !et"een di$$erent
cultures, !et"een the custos o$ their nati'e culture and the ne"ly learnt one. ) started learning
$oreign languages $ro the C
th
grade. The $irst $oreign language ) studied "as :rench, then
(nglish, #panish and no" 1ussian. )n the D
th
, E
th
and F
th
grade ) participated in 'arious school
olypiads and ) had 'ery good results. >earning $oreign languages helped e ipro'e y
kno"ledge o$ the history and culture o$ other countries, de'eloped y a!ilities to "atch o'ies
"ithout su!titling and to read !ooks, especially in (nglish
)n conclusion, learning a $oreign language eans creating a connection !et"een people and
cultures, understanding other people and their "ay o$ thinking. )t is a ethod o$ sel$
de'elopent and ipro'eent o$ our kno"ledge o$ the "orld "e li'e in.