Annual Review of English Learning

Today is New Year's Eve, and it's been almost a year since I started learning English. I can't wait until the Spring Festival to write this summary and want to share my experience with you.

My original intention for learning English is to teach my son, and this has not changed. In this year, I have almost taught my son English every night. Learning English has become a habit as he can watch Netflix's cartoons as a reward. Sometimes my son will actively tell me, "Dad, we have to learn English now.”

My son's English has improved significantly this year. At the beginning he couldn't recognize all the letters, but now he can recite a long English story. My wife sent me a short video before, in which a little girl recite an English story about dinosaurs. My wife hoped my son can do it, finally we made it. And my son became more confident about himself.

I have also made rapid progress in my English. I picked up English again at the age of 34 after losing it for so many years, which is incredible for me. I really have to thank my son. Without him, I couldn't make it. He is a gift from God to me.

Below, I will share my growth in learning English this year.

Listening

This year, my listening comprehension has greatly improved. I can now listen to CNN and FoxNews without too much difficulty. Almost every time I go for a run, I listen to English news. To be honest, it's tiring to listen to English while running. I can run one more kilometers if I listen to music. My listening skills have gradually improved through running. In addition, I no longer need Chinese subtitles when watching Netflix series, and I have watched quite a few series this year, including "Better Call Saul”,"The Lincoln Lawyer”,"Anatomy of A Scandal”,"The Stranger”,"BIG TIMBER”,"SANDMAN”,”1899”and “Wednesday", I haven't been able to watch more because I don't have much time. Watching Netflix TV series can be time-consuming. I usually watch them after my children fall asleep, but it makes me feel bad the next day. I like listening to podcasts as the sound quality is better.

Speaking

Through a friend's introduction, I found a Filipino teacher in Q3, and we chat with each other every week. The main purpose is to find an output environment to improve my ability to speak English to foreigners. During this process, I could find many problems with my English and continued to improve. Output helped me establish an effective feedback mechanism and continually improve my output ability. To be honest, I am always excited after talking to my teacher because I see my own progress in oral English and become more confident.

Reading

Finally, on November 18, I finished reading all the chapters of CSAPP, completing my annual goal. It was really difficult to read over 1000 pages of computer low-level technical content in English. To achieve this goal, I thought of various ways to make it easier for myself to understand the content of each chapter. For example, I summarized the core structure and context of the book. I read the content that interested me first and read with questions in mind to stimulate my desire to read. I specifically bought a bookshelf because the book was too heavy to hold while reading and it was tiring on my neck. I also found a PDF version of the book online so that I could read it on my computer. I used all the methods I could think of, but there were still many difficulties. At one point, I wanted to give up this goal because the technical content was too dry. However, in the end, I persisted and finished reading it. I also read several English books on Kindle, including "One Billion Customers”,"The Last Thing He Told Me”,"The MEASURE” and “1984". Not only did they broaden my horizons, but they also exercised my English reading ability. I can't believe I can read English novels now, which I never thought was possible before.

Writing

Previously, I really enjoyed the content on Quora, which is similar to China's Zhihu. I wrote some English content there, but later I couldn't persist. I mainly translated some English articles, such as a deep analysis of the UST explosion in the cryptocurrency industry, a letter from Musk to advertisers after acquiring Twitter, and a letter from Twitter to its employees. I think these contents are very valuable, and I translated them quickly. After publishing them, they had good readership on various platforms. I also wrote many articles about learning English, and the feedback on these articles gave me a lot of encouragement. With the help of ChatGPT, I translated some of my articles into English in December.

Although I have talked about so many good things, I also need to pour some cold water and admit that there are still many shortcomings.

1. My son's spoken English pronunciation is not very good, possibly because my son has a bit of a lisp and the English pronunciation is not full, always passing by, or because I don't pay much attention to it. I need to pay more attention in the future.

2. The English atmosphere for my son is still not enough. My son doesn't have many opportunities to use English in his daily life. Essentially, to learn English well, it's necessary to use it more. Practice makes perfect. I need to think of more ways to do this.

3. Although I finished reading CSAPP, I didn't read it in depth. I just passed through it briefly. My understanding of some low-level technologies is not deep enough. I need to read it more carefully in a targeted way in the future.

4. I didn't seriously finish the two technical courses I bought on Udemy. I need to catch up on these in the future and write more code when I have time.

5. It's been almost a year since I started learning English, and I have made great progress, but there is still a big gap between my level and that of a native speaker. I still don't know many words, and I still can't completely understand some of the content in news or American TV shows. I need to increase my vocabulary in English.

6. I haven't spent much time practicing English writing because it's hard. I will try to writing more articles in English to improve my writing skills as I find a way to do it.

2022 has been an extraordinary year for me. It's not easy for someone in their midlife to break through themselves, but I seem to have found some ways. I learn something every day, and I feel my own progress every day. This feeling is really good. I see a bigger world, a more real world, and I begin to re-understand this world.

I will continue to persevere in 2023. Happy New Year.