1

Running Head: Accomplishing to read and write in English

Accomplishing to read and write English

Roberto Rivas
University of Texas at El Paso

Accomplishing to read and write in English

2

When I was a young boy, even until this day I have always been around
the Spanish language. My parents and extended family all speak Spanish, so
learning to read and write English was hard for me. Once I turned four, it was
time for me to attend elementary school; I became excited because I was
going to learn a new language. The only English I could remember was from
English cartoons on the educational program, PBS Kids. Watching PBS kids
helped me learn my ABCs, colors, nursery rhymes, and numbers but I still
struggled to write simple sentences or putting words together. I was always
forgetting my verbs, confusing my tenses, or forgetting the punctuation.
Reading books was also a big struggle for me especially because I could not
read in English. Even though writing and reading always made me frustrated,
I soon began to find satisfaction in books and writing to encourage
expanding my literacy.
The first book I can remember reading all by myself in English was,
The monster at the end of this book by Jon Stone. I practiced every day
word by word; it was hard to practice on my own because I could not find
resort from my family. My mom would try and help me but I still could not
pronounce the words, and it was frustrating for me not being able to read a
simple sentence. Even though the book did not have so many words and only
big pictures, I was proud of myself because I accomplished to read the book
with a lot of practice. The other students in my class spoke English, and it
was easy for them to read in English but I wanted to fit in, I wanted to read
as many books as they could. Every day after school I would go to the

Accomplishing to read and write in English

3

Coldwell Elementary library to hunt for interesting books that caught my eye.
Each day I would take about five books home and read when I was eating
dinner, playing with my action figures, or I would sit outside my porch to
read. Rainbow fish, Peters chair, The very hunger caterpillar, and the
Berernstain bears were my all-time favorite books that motivated me to keep
reading and checking out books from the library.
However, I knew as I progressed in school levels the literacy
comprehension was going to increase its intensity. I was put into bilingual
classes which I did not mind much because I was getting the help I need to
become more literate. Mrs. Rodriquez, my third grade teacher is a very
important person; she helped me progress in my literacy skills. She gave me
helpful tips like, after I read a paragraph from the chapter book Bridge to
Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, I would tell myself what I just read, or glide
my finger across the book as I read out loud. Until this day I still read out
loud because it has helped my pronounce my words, and remember what I
read. Mrs. Rodriquez also gave me helpful writing skills like, brainstorm
before writing, open up my ideas before narrowing down to the main point,
revise, revise, and revise. The only struggle I had in her class was to read out
loud in front of the class or write sentences on the chalkboard. I still had no
confidence in my literacy skills at that time, so I felt embarrassed that the
kids were going to laugh at me. I soon gained confidence when Mrs.
Rodriguez told me that all the students in her class had the same problem as
me. All of her students had struggled with their literacy skills. As I moved up

Accomplishing to read and write in English

4

grades I kept Mrs. Rodriguez tips in mind, I applied them to my writing and
reading. I struggled sometimes to put an essay together, but I always asked
my teachers for help, and they were glad to help me. My vocabulary started
to grow because for every word I did not understand I would use the
dictionary to understand the word, and then I would Google the word to see
how it was put into a sentence.
Transforming from a high school senior into college student has
changed my prospective on reading and writing because in high school it felt
like practice. Now that I am in college it is a whole new world of literacy. All
the classes I have taken like History, English, and Rhetoric and Composition
consist of me to be more literate. I am always writing essay or reading books,
it frustrates me but I have grown to appreciate reading and writing more
because it is those skills that will get me far in life. I am very happy how far I
have gotten with my English and sharpening my literate skills. I have
become more interested in reading books, I tended to read a book or two
when I have free time, or Im reading a few ads, magazines, or random
billboards down the highway. I relate myself mostly to The Joy of Reading
and Writing: Superman and me, Sherman Alexie (1997), because he read
every word he put his eyes upon just like me, and he never based his race on
his literacy skills.
Therefore I can apply what I have learned about literacy to my future. I
am not that young boy struggling to read and write anymore, I am a literate
person all because of the struggle that I overcame while learning to read and

Accomplishing to read and write in English

5

write without knowing English. It has shaped me into a more intensive

reader, willing to read mostly every kind of book that is put in my eye sight. I
am thankful for those teachers that motivated me throughout school, and for
not giving up on me. Im up for any kind of writing prompt or book thrown my
way because I want to continue to grow and learn.

References
Alexie, S. (1997). They Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me. In E. Wardle &
D. Downs (Eds.), Writing about Writing (2nd Ed.) (129-132). Boston: Bedford/St.
Martin's