2017 Essay Winners
Devanir Alves
My name is Devanir. I am from Brazil, I'm married and I have two children,they are twins. I have been in the USA for two years.
Leaving my family and friends behind,and moving to another country was very difficult,besides all that, I have the language barrier.
When my kids went to college I started thinking about finding a job or doing volunteer work,but first I need to improve my english.
That's when I decide to turn the tables and looked for an ESL course,and I found the Palm Harbor Library. My first conversation with my teacher Tom,he asked what my goal was, and what my weakness were. I told him I was very insecure about my english. He is helping me a lot ,with conversation and writing and push me to do my best, I'm very thankful for that.
I have improved my english enough to be more confident about my self ,and beginning to my journey to success.
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My Literacy Journey to Success
Sladjana Pavlovic
There are many paths of success which can be different. Everyone creates his own personal success .
I will describe my path of success, which I still have not crossed it.
My name is Sladjana Pavlovic. I moved to America with my family in 2014. We came from Belgrade, a city in Serbia , to Palm Harbor, Fl.
Discovering a the new continent, a the new state, a the new city and unknown people, would probably be less stressful if I knew the English language.
Unfortunately I did not!
I felt helpless, frightened, hopeless ... Everything for me it looked different, new and strange.
The everyday life and habits of Americans made me adjust since that’s the only way to survive in my new country.
Where to start, what to do, who to ask for help and advice?
When you don’t know the language, but you have to show (express) your thoughts, your feelings and your views you try to learn alternative techniques. When you are trying to understand something that you don’t understand, than you start to use body language, and a "miraclous" technique the cell phone with Google, Google Translate and You tube ... And It only works when your battery on your phone or WiFi network works. But what happens when you find yourself in a place where there is no WiFi connection , or if your battery dies? You are mute and helpless again.
The only way to help yourself is to start learning the language from the beginning.
The first step is to recognize your understanding of the language knowledge. My knowledge of the English language was like the level of the baby.
”Mouse-house , three-free red-sad...”
My profession is a kindergarten teacher with twelve years of experience working with children. I can talk speak and write in my native language at professional level. In Serbia, just four years ago, I was a kindergarten teacher . Isn’t that ironic?
Than I made a plan.
I needed a professional help. I’m sure that I can find help at the library.I went to the Palm Harbor Library and with the help and understanding of the wonderful people, who work there, I started to learn the English language. I’m using an online program which is called “Reading Horizon”. I am working hard.
I tried to understand phonetics, idioms, articles and irregular verbs… It is very difficult .
I had a big problem with comparing and searching for the logic between Serbian and English language. I realized this was not going to work. To be honest, this habit still follows me. I hope, it will disappear someday.
If we compare the Serbian and English letters you will find a difference in the way letters are pronounced. In the English alphabet the letters are pronounced differently than they are written. So, I hear alphabet voices different than Americans. For example: letter “B” I hear Be, “C” I hear Ce, “F” I hear Ef etc. These are just some of the problems which slow down my learning, but if you want to learn such things are quickly overcome.
One can get a help from the library or some other professional place,but I recommend you listen and read the language every day.You can do this by watching TV or watching You-tube channels for language learning, reading the newspaper or reading children's books.
One should talk without shame and do not be afraid of the mistakes you will make. Do not be shy of your accent. Be honest with the people you are talking to at the beginning of the conversation,and ask them to to correct your speech.
Make a plan for daily language learning.
Also, you can try talking in front of the mirror, watch the movements of your lips and facial muscles.
In the morning when you wake up, name everything you see around yourself and try to make a few sentences from those words. Learn a few words every day.
In this way you will enrich your vocabulary.
Learning the language in this way I am increasing my vocabulary. I became more confident, so I had my first job interview for the position of the assistant teacher in the school where my children are going.’’Lake St.George Elementary."
Now I have a chance to learn the language constantly every day.
I talk with the people at the school six hours per day.I am constantly interacting with the English language.
So, as I said at the beginning, there are different ways to be successful.One thing for sure, is for every success in life there many different ways to get there.
In my case, I’m still heading for my success. And my goal on this path will be when I start to work as a kindergarten teacher with the ability to teach children again in my new country.
I will not give up!
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“My Literacy Journey to Success"
By: Samah Makar
Everyone has a dream. My dream wasto one day go to America, start a new life for me, my husband and my daughter. That dream felt like it would never happen, impossible to become a reality. But one day, to my surprise, it did.
It wasn’t easy, my husband studied very hard. He had to leave me and my daughter back in Egypt. He went back and forth for 5 years taking tests in America and coming back to visit. After those 5 years, he had a chance to get a job in America. This allowed him to bring us along. America was amazing, better than I ever dreamed it would be. From the first breath, I felt freedom in the air! Everything was different. It was like me and my daughter, Alice, were being reborn. This would be a completely different life for us. I started to see a plan for our future.
It was very hard in the beginning. My husband was working all the time, so he could become a pharmacist, and provide for our family. I did not know anyone. I had no cell phone, no car, I didn’t speak English, I didn’t even understand it well. After a year, I started to meet new people, people who helped me and became like family. My daughter, Alice, went to a preschool in Florida. She was upset at first when she couldn’t communicate with her friends. Her teacher became my friend and could talk to Alice in her language. Alice learned and started to teach me. She did well in school and made lots of friends. She helped me to begin to communicate with people. My husband became a pharmacist, and we moved out of our apartment and got a better house. We settled down in Palm Harbor and when Alice was 7 years old, we decided to have another child. Sam our handsome, energetic son, was born in 2012.
I started thinking about going to school. I attended a program in Oldsmar for 3 weeks. However, in the end it didn’t work because my kids needed me at home. One of my friends told me about the community library programs in Palm Harbor. They offered a tutor for me to learn English much better than I could at home. It was time for me and my wonderful husband, Shady, and me to become citizens. He speaks English fluently. He offered to help me and called the Palm Harbor library. They answered me, and I filled out an application with Tanya. During the first meeting, I met Tanya, a beautiful lady. I was introduced to my amazing teacher, Ms. Lola. She was so helpful and tried her best to change her schedule to meet mine. She helped me to learn English. She worked hard to prepare me for the citizenship exam. She is lots of fun! I’m so excited to take the test and to be an American citizen.
I was so lucky to be able to come to this wonderful country. I want to thank everyone in the library programs that work hard and offer their time, books, and computers to me for free. I want to give thanks to Ms. Lola and everyone who has helped me through this journey to success.
I feel truly successful and will soon be totally free when I am an American citizen.