Abstract

My Language and Literacy Narrative was one that I truly enjoyed writing because I focused on an experience that changed the way I viewed language. That experience was taking an Italian class in high school and more specifically a presentation I had to do. The audience for this essay is the general public because I want to reach out to everyone. My purpose is to inform people that no one should be afraid of being judged by the way they speak. Also, taking risks to learn a new language should be done if you are given the opportunity.

Ciao, Cordiali Saluti!

I never imagined myself becoming trilingual. I already knew English and Spanish when I decided to learn the beautiful language of Italian in high school. This was one of the best decisions I ever made, and it affected my literacy development. In Freshman year, I had the option of choosing to learn Spanish or Italian. This was a difficult decision for me to make due to the fact that I would have to learn this new language throughout my four years of high school. Therefore, I had to be careful with what I selected. Taking the Spanish class would have given me an easy A because I already knew that language perfectly. Part of me wanted to take the class for that reason, but I knew I had to challenge myself in order to become a better student. I recall looking around the auditorium and feeling pressured because I had to decide that same day. However, I decided to go with my heart and chose to learn Italian. I believe that this was a wise decision and I have never regretted it.

Throughout those four years, I gathered great knowledge of the language. This new language enlightened me about numerous things. The first thing I learned was not to be fearful of learning a new dialect. I learned how to speak and write it over time and of course, I was clueless in the beginning and thought it would be hard to master. However, I didn’t want to give up without trying and putting in hard work. I practiced writing and speaking it every day in order to improve. Additionally, I got involved in clubs having to do with Italian. Those clubs gave me a sense of the Italian culture. For instance, I learned more about the food and how school is for students in Italy. After class, I would stay for extra help because I truly wanted to better my fluency. My teachers always helped me when they saw me struggling to fix my mistakes. They noticed my desire to improve. The next thing I knew, I was getting one hundreds on my tests and having articles published in the school newspaper. In addition, I was chosen to read at school masses. All these things pushed me to continue bettering my ability to speak and write Italian fluently.

A turning point in my learning experience was when in my Freshman year I had to present a PowerPoint in my Italian class. It consisted of creating and presenting a PowerPoint in Italian about myself and my family. This project was assigned in October and due in November. I recall the anxiety and stress that I felt when I was informed that I would have to speak in front of the class. Sweat surrounded the palms of my hands and slowly dripped down my back as spine-chilling thoughts ran through my mind. It was difficult for me to present this project because I was doing something out of my comfort zone. I was going to have to speak in a completely new language that I was just familiarizing myself with. I was fearful of making a mistake and being ridiculed by classmates who already knew the language. On top of that, I am a person who stresses about grades and doing well. Therefore, this project put a lot of pressure on me.

I prepared myself in numerous ways to present this project. I didn’t have an issue with completing it. I used my textbook to find vocabulary words I was unsure of and I used online resources to correct my grammar. For example, I would search up words such as “sorelle, insegnare, carriera, and genitori.” Preparing for presenting my project to the class was more challenging. I would practice at least four times a week, sometimes alone and sometimes in front of my family. It was tough practicing in front of my family because they don’t know the language themselves. They would give me blank stares, but also give me helpful feedback on my tone and overall presentation.

The day of the presentation arrived. As the teacher looked down at the list lying on the desk in front of her, my heart raced with nervousness. Every time someone else’s name was called instead of mine, I would relax for a moment. This feeling of relief wouldn’t last long since I knew I would be standing in front of thirty people presenting a project in a foreign language. Suddenly I heard the teacher announce, “Kelsey è il tuo turno di andare.” My heart sank, and I felt my face becoming as red as a tomato. There was nothing I could do at this point and I had to face my fears. I was most afraid of being made fun of by others because of poor pronunciation or stuttering with certain words. I was confident of all the material I had, but the need to be perfect or sound a certain way played with my mind. I felt like I had to do things a certain way to get a good grade and messing up was not an option. Despite all my fears and doubts about my speaking, I presented my project to the best of my ability. Afterward, everyone applauded. My teacher declared, “Kelsey hai fatto un lavoro fantastico!” I was astonished by her reaction and compliment. This boosted my confidence and I was very proud of myself for doing what I had been afraid to do for so long.

The most important lesson I derived from taking Italian and presenting the project was to be myself and not be afraid of other people’s opinions of me due to the way I speak. This experience inspired me to try new things and made me realize that nothing is impossible if you work hard enough. I am pleased to have learned this language because I feel like it is going to benefit me in various ways. For example, I am able to communicate with more people and can translate for others when needed. I recall that one day as I was working at Chipotle, an Italian couple came in the store looking very confused. With the knowledge I have on Italian, I was able to assist them and they were very thankful for my help. I was confident when speaking to them as I was explaining prices and choices of food. Another example of a social experience I’ve had is when I interacted and spoke with foreign students from Italy that came to my high school. I was able to comprehend what they were saying and I responded the best I could. We conversed about many topics such as school, transportation, culture, and family. They were very friendly and respectful towards the way I spoke. Social interaction is important, and I have learned to be assertive when speaking the languages I know. There are many people that are afraid to learn new languages because there are judgmental people in the world that criticize you for not speaking it perfectly. However, this shouldn’t be a reason to not have a voice or stop your learning process. If you fear what others may think of you, you may never be able to accomplish all the things you are capable of doing. Learning Italian has been a major advantage for me and I am looking forward to the day I can visit Italy and use my knowledge further. In addition, I can serve as a help for my friends and family if they would like to learn the language themselves. I can also read articles or understand TV shows in Italian. Presenting my PowerPoint in Italian class was the first step in becoming confident when speaking a new language. It took away my fears of speaking a foreign language and made me realize that even though it isn’t perfect, I continue improving.

Cover Letter

Phase 1 has taught me many valuable lessons that has transformed me into a better reader and writer. I will transfer all the knowledge I have gained throughout the next phases. The essays we have read in class by the authors Amy Tan, Geneva Smitherman, and Rosina Lippi-Green have significantly affected me. Before reading these essays, I would mostly read basic stories that had meaning but didn’t relate to an individual’s language and literacy. I truly enjoyed reading these author’s works because I got to see a different side of the issues some people have to go through. I didn’t realize the immense affect that a person’s language and literacy can have on their life and their success. In addition to learning about certain people’s life experiences, I have learned to locate pathos, logos, and ethos in their writing. These rhetorical strategies have helped me be able to include it in my own language and literacy narrative. Including emotion, logic, and ethics is a form of providing connection to the audience. This is an important skill that I didn’t have prior to taking this course. My learning and writing practices have been impacted by purpose, audience, and text. An author’s writing piece always has a purpose and I’ve learned more about that throughout Phase 1. In my writings, I strive to have a point or purpose being made so that the readers can learn or be informed about it. If you are writing with no motive, the reader will become uninterested and eventually stop reading. As we carefully read various essays in class and at home, I have improved in determining the intended audience. It is crucial to aim towards a particular group of people when writing because it keeps you focused and helps that audience capture your purpose. Additionally, I have advanced my skills with descriptive details to make the text better. Painting a picture in the reader’s mind helps them be interested in your work and it will improve your writing. Using my five senses helped me come up with vivid details about my situation. This phase’s assignment helped me achieve some of the Course Learning Goals. I believe I achieved to “identify and apply the fundamental concepts of the field of language and literacy studies.” For example, in the class readings I was able to figure out the issues about language and literacy without the author actually stating it. A method that would help when doing this was annotating the readings, which we were taught to do in class. I was able to apply the concept of language and literary studies in my own narrative by learning about other people’s troubles and relating that to my own experiences. I never imagined I would write a story in which I explain how a particular language affected me and what I got out of that situation. I learned numerous things from reading those essays in class and that helped me come up with my topic for my narrative. Also, I felt comfort in declaring my fears and struggles because now I know other authors have done it as well. Overall, I have learned that language is part of your identity and it is heartbreaking that there are people that judge or criticize others for not speaking properly. I think that we need to be accepting and respectful of the way other people speak.