Literacy Moments in My Life

By Haeun Baek

  • First Day of School in America

    When I came to the United States I started school as a seventh grader. I believe my literacy level was approximately on second or third grade level

  • ESOL Teacher

    English as Second Other Language (or ESOL) was my favorite class out of all. I loved my ESOL teachers who taught me with patience and care. My ESOL teachers were the influence on the development of my writing skills.

  • My First English Words

    The first written English words were the colors: red, blue, white, purple, black, brown, and etc.

  • Bilingual

    I speak English and Korean. As I grow older I comprehend the importance of literacy in Korean as well as English. I believe one of the best reason to be educated is that one will be literate.

  • TV

    I often watched a lot T.V. shows. Believe it or not those Disney and Nickelodeon T.V. shows have played an influence on the development of my writing and speaking skills.

  • Summer School

    I attended summer school. In addition the classes were for ESOL student who needed extra help in various subjects such as science, social studies, math, and more. I took English and Biology classes where I met new people from many different countries.

  • Embarrasing Moment

    Often times I come across a word that is not familiar. I was in church with the rest of the confirmation candidates and we were taking turns in reading the booklet. It was my turn and I was reading okay until I saw a word that did not look familiar. I was stumbling for a moment then a girl who was much younger than me pronounced that word for me.

  • Junior in Sophomore's English Class

    In the State of Maryland, English 10 is a mandatory class for all high school students. Since I took ESOL instead of Eng. 10 on my sophomore year I had to take English 10 as a junior. I remember reading interesting short stories and more : "The Witness," Night, and Antigone.

  • Great Novels

    My senior year in high school is unforgettable because of the English class. I took Advanced Placement or AP Literature course and from that class I had numerous chances of reading great works of literature. Although the class was challenging and time-consuming I enjoyed reading The Great Gatsby, The Kite Runner, The Road, The Cellist of Sarajevo, and more.

  • Sonnet

    One of the many assignments from AP Lit. was a Sonnet Slam. Reading those sonnets by Shakespeare and Sherman Alexie was difficult however, after decoding and understanding each words and lines I was able to complete the assignment. I clearly remember reading those sonnets throughout my school career.