My Advice for a New Student

My advice for a new student in IIEP is to take every opportunity to use English. Although it is difficult, the student should not communicate in his or her native language. Learning a language includes understanding and producing. Understanding English—either spoken or written—is much easier than producing language—either spoken or written. Therefore, practicing speaking and writing as much as possible is the only way to get better at producing English. I had a Korean student once who resolved not to use Korean while she studied English. When a Korean friend would speak to her in Korean, she would respond in English. When she met a Korean, she started her conversation in English. Her commitment paid off—she was one of the best language learners I have ever had. She once told me that at the end of the semester some of her Korean friends were surprised to find that she spoke Korean! This example illustrates how my advice can benefit any new student. Therefore, I recommend that the new student use every chance to speak or write in English.