Freshman College Application Essay

I would like to relate my experience as a second language learner . Being an Asian American , I was the first in my family to attend a university in the United States . To be successful academically , I had to hurdle my difficulty with the English language . It was not easy but I had a very supportive English mentor who has taught me that learning anything - and being successful at anything - begins with a positive state of mind

At first , I was very hesitant to join the English language class because I felt that they

were better English speakers and because they were more superior , they might discriminate me . Despite the dire lack of facility in the English language , my class teacher has been instrumental in opening up a whole new world for me . Though gradually , I have tried to learn all the concepts taught in class and spent time consulting my mentor if there were s that were not clear to me . I persevered even if it was very tough for me during the first two months . While teaching me about English concepts , my mentor also went out of his way to express to me that he can empathize with a second language learner like myself He also shared that at one point , he has also tried to learn another language and have experienced the same hardships . But in the end , he said he was able to succeed because he did not quit . I admitted to him that there were many times when I just felt like quitting and going back to my home country . However , I have profound respect for my parents and cannot let them down by saying that I cannot go on with life in the United States

And so with a lot of encouragement from my teacher , I strived to study each and every page of my class notes . I also sought opportunities to hone my skills . For example , I watched movies with my teacher and with native speakers to help me be more exposed to the language . I also tried my best to converse with them whenever I can , and express myself as clearly as I could . When I am not understood , I paraphrase what I have just said until I am comprehended

Apart from sharpening my English speaking and writing skills , my teacher also advised that I should start changing my paradigm about myself and those like me who are second language learners . He said that I should convince myself that I am not inferior to them just because they are well-versed in the English language . He explained that it just so happened that I was the second language learner and they were native speakers . But they would experience the same thing in wanting to learn a language that was not their native tongue . So much was the encouragement of my mentor that I felt I learned more than the English language itself . I learned about life . I also learned about how one 's paradigms...