Language Learning History

Like I mentioned in the 'About me' column, I'm studying International Business and Management at the University of Groningen. This is an international study, which is taught in academic English. In order to be able to do this study properly, your English needs to be of a proper level. Of course, this is not the first year of my English education. In the Netherlands, learning foreign languages is very important. The reason for this might be the fact that it is a small country, or the fact that exporting in the Netherlands is very important, wherefore proper English is very useful. Anyway, I would like to tell something about my experiences with the English language from the past.

It started in the seventh grade of the primary school. In that year, I was nine years of age. That was the first educational experience I have ever had with English. There it started with learning vocabulary and a couple of simple grammar rules. However, my learning process did not only take place in classes. All the movies and series, which are on television, are broadcasted in English with Dutch subtitles. For this reason, the pronunciation is much easier to learn for Dutch people. Because of the fact that I have been watching TV a lot, this contributed to my learning progress.

The development continued when I went to the secondary school. There, English became even more important. I had to study a lot more vocabulary and I had to read a lot of texts. Reading texts was something totally different then just learning random words. By reading English texts and books, I had a better understanding of English and it even enlarged my vocabulary. After six years, I finished my secondary school and now I have arrived at the University, where the level of English is even higher and people expect even more from you.

Like I already mentioned, the study I’m doing at the moment is completely taught in English. There are also a lot of international students. Therefore, you have to speak English all day long. Furthermore, the books are in English as well. For this reason, you get used to the English reading as well as the talking of the English language.

I expect my skills in the English language to improve during the next years of studying. Everything I’m doing in English, will contribute to the process of my language learning future. Therefore, I would like to keep you posted of my English development during this time. I'm really looking forward to all the new experiences which are still to come!