How I Started My English Learning Journey.

Dive: Linguist - English
Description: Can read, write, speak, and understand English
Level: Level 1
Level Requirements: Can read, write, speak, and understand English at a basic level
Certified On: Jul 13, 2024

Editor’s Note: On all dive certifications, we try to edit the writing as little as possible to preserve authenticity, personality, and writing style. We typically fix spelling errors, but minimally modify grammar and sentence structure (just enough to ensure readability).

Name: Russell Grant Break Diving Level: Recruit Number of Certified Dives: 3 From: New Zealand In: Australia

1. When and Why Did You Decide to Pursue This Dive At This Level? What was your inspiration and motivation?

I started this journey learning English when I was 2 years old and I needed to learn to start to learn English to communicate with my family, specifically my mother and father. I needed to be able to communicate my needs and wants about my surrounding New Zealand environment.

2. How Long Did It Take For You To Accomplish This Dive At This Level From The Day You Decided To Pursue It, And Why Did It Take That Long?

It took me 1 and a half to two years to become moderately proficient and to have a vocabulary of 500 to 1000 words and a beginner to intermediate understanding of grammar. I had to have a variety of experiences to gain a wide range of functional level of useful vocabulary to cope with the 1980 New Zealand environment and experiences.

3. What Was The Hardest Part About Achieving This Particular Dive Level?

The hardest part about achieving English proficiency at this level was not having the formal structure to adopt the knowledge. English was adopted through immersion, listening and repeating, reading children’s story books (or more specifically, having them read to me), and children’s TV. Cartoons were the best tools in the 1980’s child because they produced vocabulary with a visual context that a three-year-old could understand. This definitely helped a young child to understand a wider range of vocabulary .

4. What Was The Easiest Part About Achieving This Particular Dive Level?

The easiest part of this particular dive was growing up in an English-speaking environment with mostly English speakers. English Cartoons and children’s TV programs were also a great assistance. I also took an immediate interest in comic books, which helped me because I really identified with Batman and Spiderman, and that made me want to learn to speak a lot better and more colloquially at a higher developmental stage than my peers at that level.

5. What Is Your Advice For Someone Who Is Pursuing This Dive And Level?

When you are beginning to learn English, learn what you need to know, or what will be immediately useful. Do not know try to learn everything, like the English Language textbooks suggest or present you should. If you do need to learn travel English, focusing on that at first is fine.

Use a Picture / Visual Dictionary in English and your Language at a Beginner or Intermediate level. This will help you to remember vocabulary more easily than if you used a standard dictionary.

Try to avoid using Google Translate, but if you do, keep a pocket notebook. This will help you to remember the new vocabulary that you are learning.

Make friends, or some kind of reciprocal relationship with an experienced English teacher. They can help you to form a program for your learning and point you to resources that will specifically be useful to you.

6. What Are Some Of The Best Resources You Recommend to Those Pursuing This Dive At This Level, And Why Do You Recommend Them? Please Include Relevant Weblinks, If Applicable.

A Picture Dictionary from English to your first language. Download a PDF file to your phone so you have convenient access to a wide range of useful vocabulary. If you download the picture dictionaries of the languages your friends speak, this will make it easier to explain what you want to describe.

A pocket-sized notebook with a four-colour pen. It will help you to categorise what you’re learning better and faster.

Study /Index cards, sometimes you will need to draw a picture or diagram of what you want to describe to another person.

An English Thesaurus , in addition to a dictionary, as this will help you to increase your vocabulary up three or four times faster.

Resource 1: Macmillan free online Dictionary - This is an Australian English free online Dictionary.

Resource 2: Cambridge Dictionary Online Thesaurus. - This is an online thesaurus out out from Cambridge Thesaurus.

Resource 3: -

Resource 4: -

Resource 5: -

7. Tell Us A Story Of One Of Your Adventures While Pursuing This Dive (At This Level).

When I was three and a half years old in New Zealand kindergarten, there were some new students from Japan and mainland China that did not speak English as a first language. These 3 students were having a challenge acquiring English, so one of the educators set me up as a study buddy.

The two Chinese children and one Japanese child worked with me and my friends to slowly acquire more New Zealand English vocabulary. The more we interacted as a group, the more quickly the students were able to utilize relevant English vocabulary.

As the international students gained more vocabulary, the more confidence they gained. They increased in self confidence and rapidly improved their own English speaking ability.

As the children rapidly gained social confidence, the children's quality of life increased dramatically too. The children's parents also recognized the children's dramatically altered social confidence.

After 4 months of coming to our kindergarten, all three of the children were speaking as well as me and my friends. The parents of the children got together and put on a party to say "thank you" to the kindergarten, the educators, and also to me and my classmates.

8. What Evidence Did You Submit to Prove You Met the Requirements for This Dive and Level?

I will provide photographic evidence of me as a child in my young English speaking environment.

9. Will You Be Pursuing The Next Level For This Dive? If Yes, Why? If Not, Why Not?

Yes, I will be going onto the next level of this dive, to be able to give people guidance on their English Language Journey.

10. What is the Break Diver's Creed?

The initial creed was "No Rules, No excuses, No regrets", formerly. The most recent addition is the "Dream Big. Mentor Often. Achieve Together."

Certificate photo:

And having made this post, and provided adequate evidence to the dive committee, Russell Grant is now hereby certified by Break Diving, Inc. as: Linguist - English - Level 1. Congratulations ! Thank you for being an inspiration to others!

Certificate number: 246

The author above wrote this WYSEguidance post as one of the certification requirements to become certified by Break Diving, Inc. for a dive completed. Would you also like to find greater success, happiness, and friendship, and make genuine supportive connections with others around the world pursuing your same dreams? Come join us at Break Diving and soon your story will be the next one you read about on this site!

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