WRITING: My First Day in English Class

LEVEL: 240 - 270

My First Day in English Class

 I will never forget my first day in English class at a language institute. It was in the summer of 2001. I was nineteen years old and very shy. I did not speak English, so I had to take the Basic One course. To be honest, I had English classes when I was in highschool but they were not good, so I did not learn much. Fortunately, in my first "real" English class, I was able to overcome my shyness and use the little English I knew. When the class started, the teacher, who was from the U.S., made everyone introduce themselves. When it was my turn to participate, I introduced myself in English. I felt very happy when the teacher said, "Nice to meet you, Antonio." It was a good start. Then, the teacher asked us to work in pairs. I worked with a girl who knew more English than me, so she helped me learn the alphabet that day. I still remember the example she gave me to learn to pronounce letter "y". She asked me if I had listened to the song YMCA. I said I had. Her example opened my mind and eyes and gave me the confidence I needed to learn more. That class taught me that no matter how little you know or how shy you are, you can always learn something if you let others help you. Now, I am an English teacher; and I am still learning with the help of many friends, students and coworkers.

COMMENTS:

Este párrafo tiene ejemplos del pasado simple:

• It was in the summer of 2001.
• I was nineteen years old and very shy.
• I did not speak English, so I had to take the Basic One course.
• I had English classes when I was in highschool but they were not good, so I did not learn much.
• I was able to overcome my shyness and use the little English I knew.
• When the class started, the teacher, who was from the U.S., made everyone introduce themselves.
• When it was my turn to participate, I introduced myself in English.
• I felt very happy when the teacher said, "Nice to meet you, Antonio."
• It was a good start.
• Then, the teacher asked us to work in pairs.
• I worked with a girl who knew more English than me, so she helped me learn the alphabet that day.
• I still remember the example she gave me to learn to pronounce letter "y".
• She asked me if I had listened to the song YMCA.
• I said I had.
• Her example opened my mind and eyes and gave me the confidence I needed to learn more.
• That class taught me that no matter how little you know or how shy you are, you can always learn something if you let others help you.

TRANSLATIONS:

• I will never forget... / Nunca olvidaré...
• Fortunately... / Felizmente... , Afortunadamente...
• I was able to overcome my shyness. / Fui capaz de superar mi timidez; pude superar mi timidez.
• The teacher, who was from the US, made everyone introduce themselves. / El profesor, quien era de los Estados Unidos, hizo que todos se presentaran.
• She asked me if I had listened to the song YMCA. I said I had. / Ella me preguntó si yo había escuchado la canción YMCA. Yo dije que sí.

Puedes usar el siguiente cuadro para organizar tus ideas antes de escribir un párrafo como el anterior:

Practica más el pasado simple siguiendo estos enlaces:

• QUIZ: Simple Past - Review
• QUIZ: Verbs in Simple Past 1
• QUIZ: Verbs in Simple Past 2
• QUIZ: Verbs in Simple Past 3
• QUIZ: Verbs in Simple Past 4