How long did it take you to learn a second language and was it easy?

I know not everyone might have learned a second language, or some grew up learning two at the same time, but some can still answer this question. Those people are those who learned another language after already developing their first language(s). This could be learning a second language from outside classes or from school electives. Maybe some have self taught themselves a second language. It would be interesting to hear everyone's learning period with the different ways, being self taught or classes. Learning a new dialect can be hard as a dialect is not a change in language, but a change in how things are said. It is best that everyone share the same dialect so that everyone can communicate easier since everyone would know the same dialect. If you think about it, most people who speak a dialect of Chinese also know Chinese and will primarily communicate with others in Chinese. Schools in Chinese will teach children in Chinese, even if most of the community know a dialect.

Pretending students have "a right to [their] own language" is something that does not happen as much anymore. Even now, we are using our own English to annotate this writing. In an essay, we may all use formal writing to make our point, but when we are talking to each other, we do that differently. From texting friends to chatting with classmates, we all have a different way of speaking that no one is taking away from us. We have different languages that no one is stopping us from using. It is just easier for the people reading our essay to have it written all in the same or similar style.

What is your attituded toward someone who speaks differently? What you say now and your actions may not match up. You may instinctively do what you already thought to do and not think things through with what you wish to do. After getting your answer, make sure to always think about it the next time you encounter someone using their own language. The little things make the big changes.

In most cases, it would be easier to communicate others with a standard that they are more used to reading. I am not saying it is wrong they the writer is using their own English, but even I am having a more difficult time reading and comprehending it sometimes. Since the writer is trying to convey the importance of keeping ones own language, it makes sense that the writer also uses their own language to convey that thought. It leaves a stronger impact on the reader about who they are and that uniqueness is not wrong.

Language does not define everything about a person. Having a difficult time expressing their ideas with the language that people considered the status quo does not mean the person does not have a great idea. America was the one who brought people of different nationality to the country all the time because they have the smarts. As they always say, "actions speak louder than words." Prove your worth through the work you do. Do your best, even if it is not perfect. Hard work goes a long way.

The student has every right to their own language. They can use that language to express themselves if they want. Our standard language is used by many people, and many people judge others on their ability to use the standard language. Being "vulnerable to prejudice" is not the fault of the person speaking their own language, but the stupidity of others for judging. Being standard makes it easy for everyone to communicate their thoughts easier, but our uniqueness is also important to make changes to the standard. It can be thought of in the context of why we mainly use English to communicate. Many people know other languages, but not everyone knows the same different language. Everyone is more used to the standard language so people wish to use that. But that does not mean that people should lose their own language, but they should also learn to use the standard language.

She chooses to use the language that represented her the best. She wants to be represented the way she wants to be represented.

"If you're the first in your family to go to college, you're more at risk to drop our before the completion of your education" (30).

I can believe this as something that happens. I have mentioned in my Labor Journal before that one of my source of help are my sisters. I am the third child in my family to go to college so I have two older sisters that I can ask for help about college matters. Being the first to go to college and having no one close to ask for help for with how different high school to college can be can be hard. It is always nice for the schools to reach out to students to make them feel welcome and to let them know that they are there to help students our. Teachers and professors are always reaching out to their students, so there is no need to be afraid or ashamed to take their hand and ask for help.

"Some students feel pressured into picking a major when applying to college" (30).

Picking a major is not something to be rushed. Picking the right major is important, as that could be what someone can be living with for the rest of their life. They say if you enjoy your job, you never work a day in your life. I think it is best to choose a major that you like and will enjoy. For example, I have been inspired by hackers with modding devices to get more functionality. I have also enjoyed coding, so this is how I decided to go for Computer Science, to become a security researcher. Take your time choosing a major. Find what you like. See what inspires you to do something that you enjoy. After finding everything your need, make the final choice and do not get second thoughts on it once you think you found what have been looking for.

"Stanton recognized these shortcomings and sought help—a decision that, she says, 'saved my life...and grades'" (28)!

Many students do not seek help when they are struggling. Teachers and professors are always saying how they are there to help with any problem students may be having. It is easier to ask for help from people who are closer to them, like family and friends, but the professors are the best people to ask for help, especially with things related to their subject. Even if the professors cannot help, they can at least get them to the right person or place to get the help they might need.

"They may even daydream about going home where a familiar routine and, perhaps more important, good friends are waiting for them" (28).

It can be hard to accept change. Especially since we are doing online classes right now, it is even harder to get to know someone and get a chance to have a good socialization with them. Even through events, everyone has a good time, but at the end of the day, many people forget about the people they met. Even now, I have only being contacting my old high school buddies. I have met some nice people in college, but I have not gotten to the point of friending them to the point where we would private message or follow each other on social media. I have started recognizing the people in my classes, but getting even closer is a bit hard. It would have been easier if we were meeting face to face in person.

"Stanton spent several all-nighters frantically trying to catch up on the schoolwork that she'd neglected so many weeks" (28).

I can relate to this. If something is not due right away, I would like to do it later if possible. I tend to do my work a day or two before the actual due date. Otherwise, I almost forget about it. If I am not careful, it could come back to bite me. I do try my best to keep my work spread out, even if it is spread days before the due date.

"Dubbed by many colleges as 'freshman survival courses,' these programs train newcomers in time management, study techniques, and even how to meet and make new friends" (27).

I can see this happening within SFSU. There are many programs dedicated to helping freshmen out. Even Professor Dan is helping us out with our first year. He encourages us to engage with campus, which is where we would meet new people. He asked us about how studying techniques, so others can see how other people do things and learn. He, along with many other of the SFSU staff offer us great resources to help us with our first year. We even have a counselor dedicated to helping out first years.

I never use paraphrasing. I always use direct quotes, so it is a good idea for me to keep in mind that paraphrasing is an option. I do not always have to use quotes every time I want to bring up something someone else has said.

I tend to actually rush my analysis. This is a good point for me that I should take my time to collect my thoughts to write down my thoughts in the best way possible. I should think more about my analysis instead of writing down what is on the top of my head. If I were to improve any part of the essays, it would be the analysis part.

Whenever I write down evidence and the analysis of that evidence, I tend to write a sentence of two of analysis. This give me a better idea of how much evidence to how much analysis I should have.

pg. 265 "How is the black man going to get "civil rights" before first he wins his human rights?" This is very true. The slaves were not treated as humans. They first had to get their rights as humans, to be seen as humans. After that, they had to fight for the same rights as other humans.

pg. 265 "The American black man is the world's most shameful case of minority oppression." Not sure about the world's most shameful case, but for America, it really is. Where did people get the idea that different means it is okay to treat others below them? It really is an embarrassment to mankind.

pg. 264 "The Treaty of Nanking made China" basically follow every one of the British commands, no matter how unfair it may seem. The suppression of China is like suppressing a group, to better benefit themselves. In the case of the Opium War, Britain benefited well from what China had to do for Britain.

pg. 260 "when white men had written history books, the black man simply had been left out." This reminds of how wars are usually written from the eyes of the winner. Our history is written from out perspective, of the winning side. There are things that we do not get from reading our story. The other side of the story could be very different for all we know.

pg. 258 "immensely proud to realize that not only had I written so much at one time, but I'd written words that I never knew were in the world." The feeling of being proud and accomplished with what one has done. I can relate to this, as recently, I did a personal coding project and was really proud that everything worked and how long I took to make it. I was proud to have figured out how to code a feature, just like how he was proud to have learned so many words he never knew.

pg. 258 "In my slow, painstaking, ragged handwriting, I copied into my tablet everything printed on that first page, down to the punctuation marks." I really admire the hard work he put in to learn. So much work put into this to get so good. I would never be able to work as hard has he did. This is not back I do not believe in myself, but I am someone who does not want to work hard if he does not have to.

I would not like to yell at people when I am being fed information to be able to yell at people in the first place. It just is not my place to yell at people who did nothing wrong to me. Sure they may have been rude to someone they know, but they did not know until it was forced on them.

I feel bad for them. I would not have liked to be forced to talk to people I do not know, especially pretending to be someone else. I helped my mother talk to people in English, but never in her place.

I totally disagree with this. How well a person can communicate their idea does not reflect the quality. It does not matter how well someone can speak a language. They are trying their best, so just let it be. Most people will understand if people cannot speak perfect English, so there is nothing to be ashamed of. Besides, it is not their place to be concern with it.

I can relate to this. Normally I do not speak English with my parents. I speak another language, but I do not know all the words so I will fill in anything I do not know how to say with English. I can relate with switching from between one language and English in the same sentence or repeating a word in a different language.

It is sad to think that someone cannot talk freely, unless it is someone that is the same as them. Given how many different people they talk to, how often they get to talk freely must not be often.

I can relate with this. The way I speak with my siblings is different from my parents, which is different from my friends. They way I take does not change, but the words I use does. With my parents, I use simple terms and words. With my sister, I let loose with anything goes. With my friends, it is how I normally talk. I walk my mouth, but I use all the complex words and terms I want.

Reading this line made me a bit mad. It hurts to hear someone say someone else does not belong. It just feels wrong to tell someone to "go back to where you belong."

I think this is lovely. It is nice to be able to come up with something so they one can find their own identity. Nothing is more important than to be able to find their own identity.

I agree that not being able to speak their native language and speaking the language others want them to speak is just turning their back on who they are. Something they know and they are not allowed to express that. Accepting to throw away what makes them special.

"But to me, my mother's English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural." I can relate to this to some extent. My mother does not have perfect English, but she knows enough to have a basic conversation with people. It is a bit hard on her, but she can manage. When my mother texts my siblings and me, it usually would be in English, but many times, there will be some big error that makes the meaning not what she intended, but we are still able to get what she wants to say easily.

"I again found myself conscious of the English I was using, the English I do use with her." There is the language we usually use and then there are the special language we use with certain people. We talk differently to different people. Talking to someone young, people would probably try to not use any complex words and say things in a easy to understand way. Speaking a different English is like a different language. In this case, it is the language she uses to best communicate with her mother.

"Language is the tool of my trade." Language really is just a tool for us. It is a specialized tool to help us communicate complex ideas to each other and also to let others know how we feel. Language is such a powerful tool that we can share almost anything with it.

Of course the students must be involved if they want to learn. Sure we can most of the answers and information we want from modern technology, like the internet., but it does not help us learn. We can just brute force remember everything you read, but that makes it easier to forget down the line. Learning is when you achieve knowledge that you will not forget. They best way to do that is the be involved, and to remember that experience.

I have had some great teachers over my years. From elementary to high school, all of my teachers have made it interesting and easier to pay attention to class. For science, it was easy as it is cool to see cool demos. The strict teachers have their own way of making the class interesting. All the strict teachers I knew from my high school, all the students that had them loved their class. There are also those teachers that really trusted the kids and would let them use their phones if they wanted. Just like the strict teachers, the laid back teachers also make class fun with their personality. I have been lucky to have had great teachers that made it easier to learn.

I think of this as how learning is only as fun as the educators make it. For example, in science, the educator can make things more interesting by doing a cool science trick. We see these educators do cool science tricks all the time around the internet.

I really like how they want to try and connect to the reader. They want to make learning easier for the readers by trying to incorporate insights and stories that will be memorable to us, so we would remember them.

I like how it is telling us what to expect. This can also help make people feel better about going through this. It is always better to learn when doing something that is engaging, like having interactive experiences.

The point is that even if they are the only colored student int he class, they still like to do everything that everyone else does.

It doesn't matter if one person is different from everyone else. In the end, we are all the same. Don't let differences separate us.

You want us to do our best and keep improving and growing as a person. Get in a good habit and don't fall learn what we can now.

You want us to ask questions if we don't know something. If we don't understand something, we shouldn't be afraid to ask for help. This is something all teachers want their students to do.

This lets us know that you understand not everyone can learn under the same terms. This gives us a chance to prove ourselves to you under an agreement from both parties.