El Hadji Lam   

Freshmen composition  ENGL.110                                                

Professor Alcala                                                           

 02/28/24                   

               Cover Letter

To be honest I hate to read. Maybe I am too lazy to just read or just reading makes me bored. But realizing that if you want to be good with literature I have to do the most thing I hate in this world to succeed. I would rather make a sound and listen to it than read but you need money to work for it. If i want to be good with literature I’ll do more than just writing i’ll have to read even if i have to force myself i’ll do. All I mean is you can’t be really good with literature unless you prioritize both reading and writing. There is more to language than reading, but that’s the foundation. Because if you can’t read or write what’s the point of seeking knowledge. Trust me in this world we leave you wanting to be able to read, write and speak so no one can outsmart you. I said that we usd the course to learn about how we survived in this world through language. 

The theoretical strategies make me realize more the importance of reading. I am not going to lie but it was very hard just to read once and get it. It has become a challenge to me that I have to read more than five times the first paragraph just to have an understanding about the topic. But I think I like the challenge  because it does help me to improve my knowledge of language. I used the knowledge I learned from high school about the literacy of devices such as simile, metaphor, personification, Euphemism etc… I utilize the literacy of those devices  to help write about my literacy narrative essay. Connecting some dots in a graph seems more easier than just connecting other dots like using the literary devices in an essay. Using these tools were pretty easy to help me with my essay in the mood to help readers  to understand my topic too. Additionally , sharing my work with my peers helps me to improve two minds better than one. Having Mohammed as a partner was a huge help because our topics were similar and when I read his all I can think about is mind so we talk about our essays and we can improve. Lastly,  our final draft was a success. And what helps us get there is helping each other and sharing knowledge which I like too much. 

To conclude, I feel like that if it wasn’t language I wouldn’t make a bond with Mohammad or anyone I meet just to help seek knowledge. Language is a great tool for us to come out and express our feelings either by writing down or talking it out loud. So I don’t care about how challenging it is. Whatever it takes for me to improve my language skills , I will do it to overcome the challenge.                     

The Influence Of Language In the Environment

      Speaking English was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my life besides taking art class. I am a U.S. citizen who happened to be born outside of the US. Why couldn’t I just be born here and not struggle with the language? Why am I struggling since all of this is my fault? Is it really my fault? I don’t know, I was so lost and confused.  These were the questions I was asking myself. 

              20 years ago, I was born in West Africa, Senegal where French and Wolof are the most spoken languages. I spent most of my life there, even though I knew that one day would come and I’ll go back to the U.S. but it’s just a thought that I never pay attention to. My mother who raised me taught me and my siblings how to speak Wolof and my friends who I played with spoke the same language. On the other hand, school taught me French. There was no other way for me to think about the English language at that time. Beside all of this, I registered for an English class during my time there but I chose to ignore that class. I skipped the class and whenever I attended the class I was sleeping. Even though I usually pass any quizzes or any tests I knew there was a day I’ll pay the price for it. 

5 years ago, I returned to the U.S. to finish my education. After settling in I started high school but it was during covid and all the classes were online. My struggle started there with a virus that limited my ressource of learning and seeking knowledge of the English language. It was extremely hard for me to learn proper English and speak it as well. Even though I tried to search on google and look for some fancy vocabulary words and try to memorize the meaning of those words, I struggle with the pronunciation. I felt like it became harder and harder day by day. I just want to speak proper English. I ask myself a lot of questions like what it is good for if you only know the word and can’t pronounce it. However, it has never been an obstacle for me to give up until online classes ended and people started going back in person. In general, I was doing really great in High school. During online classes, I was helping my classmates with their homework by explaining the assignment to them. Sometimes I even helped the people that speak the same language as me. Going in person made me realize how bad my English was. It started when I talked to others and I felt very embarrassed about my accent when I spoke to them. It was hard and confusing and even sometimes very hurtful. It was hard because I couldn’t speak like them. I was confused,when others say my accent is just fine and I don’t have any idea what they mean by that? Were they trying to make fun of me or did they mean what they said?.  

One day one of my classmates was about to say that in front of the whole class that I needed to improve my accent because no one could understand me. But he didn’t do it because it was already the end of the class. He still told me after class. It was very damaging. I felt like I carried the universe with all the planets and galaxies with me. I actually accepted the fact that he is right that I need to improve. But does he know I’m trying? I don’t think so. All I was thinking was he was trying to humiliate me. But I never think about the fact that I always get a higher grade than him in both of our classes. There was never a time he had a higher grade than me. So I took his feedback in a positive way and tried to improve my accent, so at least people will understand me. I start getting rid of my shyness and start talking to people. Sharing ideas , even asking my guidance counselor ways to improve my accent. The reason for my shyness was that whenever I talk to certain people they make fun of me because of my accent. However,  a friend told me that you should not care about it. Let them make fun of you. It doesn’t matter as long as you try to improve your accent and let them laugh. You’ll be the one laughing at them and  focus on your goals.

 It felt good to hear that and come from someone that  I can rely on. I stop paying attention to those baloney words and focus on myself and studies. In my senior year, I remember some of those people who were laughing at my accent seeking my help. I helped them and asked them if they understood it. They said yes and thank you but my answers to them were good and I said it out loud too. I kind of enjoyed it and it felt good too. But still, I appreciate the fact that they pointed out to me how bad my accent was and maybe still is. However, that’s not an excuse for saying  I would never speak good English. Even if it will stay broken, I’ll always keep digging to improve my accent. I’ll pass through all the obstacles in the way even if I have to empty the ocean–I will. I kind of learned about this situation that the only weakness of a person is himself/herself. No matter what they say, keep shining and don’t let their negative words affect you because once you do you just lose control of your life. 

Again, I am in control of my life like it or not I don’t care. It’s true I don’t speak English perfectly but I can’t blame  anybody. It wasn’t the language my mother, friends, and school in Senegal taught me. So I’ll make my peace with that and keep trying to improve. Moreover, I’m not ashamed to speak my native language. I’m so proud of it. I thank my mother who raised me and taught me how to speak Wolof. wherever I go they don’t have a problem of finding out where I am from based on how I speak. So I’m grateful.