HOW
I LEARNED TO READ
Grand Prize Winner
Mei Shu Cui
I learned to read English when I was 9 because I came from China.
When I started learning English, I didn’t even know the alphabet, so
English was very hard for me at that time.
I
go to Plattekill Elementary School. In
my school, we have a special class called E.S.L.
This class is for helping people to learn English.
I remember once that since I didn’t know how to spell my name, I had to
go back and forth to my desk to get my name in the computer because there was a
sticker on my desk that spelled my name. Once,
in second grade (when I just came to America), I needed to go to the bathroom.
We have a sign that says “boys” and another sign that says
“girls”, but I couldn’t read so I took the boy’s sign and went to the
boy’s bathroom. When I came back,
the teacher showed me that I was supposed to take the girl’s one.
I was so embarrassed. In
E.S.L. they show me a picture and say a word, and that’s how I learned to
read. They have after school
programs, too.
Reading means a lot to me. I
love reading. It is really fun. It
could be scary, happy, romantic and other things. Also, you can learn a lot from reading a book.
Sometimes when a book is really interesting, I don’t even want to put
the book down, I just want to finish it.
If you can read, at least you will not get mixed up with the girl’s and
boy’s signs.