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Pablo Carranza

English 133-02

Jason Peters

September 25th, 2017

Literacy Narrative Rough Draft

Throughout my life Ive learned English in many ways. Whether it be watching American

cartoons or reading a Dr. Seuss book, there are many factors that came in to play when it

comes to how I acquired my literacy in English. However, if I were to pick the most significant

Id pick my parents efforts to teach me as the single biggest contributor.

My parents both immigrated from Mexico in the early 90s both not knowing a single

word in English before they arrived in Los Angeles. They worked hard to make a living, but little

by little they began to learn English. When I was born in 1999 my parents had learned how to

read and write basic English. They only spoke Spanish in the house so Spanish is my first

language as well. My parents began to teach me English at the age of 4.

My parents taught me English by using the Spanish translation of an object and then

telling me what it was in English. For example, they would pick up a book and say libro and I

then say Se dice book en ingles. its pronounced book in English. Thats how I learned my

basic English vocabulary.

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When I began primary school I already knew much of the basic material thanks to my

parents. The main thing that I struggled with was creating complex sentences. I remember

working on my homework at home and having my parents work on it with me, it was a learning

experience for my parents and for me. My parents didnt know how to help me as they never

really had to write complex sentences I English before. To help my progress in the English

slanguage my mom signed up for free English classes at a local adult school and took me with

her to every class. There we both expanded our English vocabulary and my understanding of

the English language really took off from there.

Throughout grade school my parents helped me with what they could, if they couldnt

they provided me with the resources to better understand the curriculum and then excel in it.

When technology started playing a larger role in the education system my parents provided me

with a laptop and a reliable internet connection. The internet helped expand my vocabulary

more than anything Ive previously mentioned. I had access to any website, all of which were

written in English by people who had much higher levels of education than me. My parents

always hired private tutors for me. Although it was a bit expensive it payed off, at 10 years old

my writing was at the level of a 16-year-old. By the time I was in middle school I didnt need a

tutor anymore.

As I grew older the roles switched. I became the teacher and my parents learned more

advanced English from me. I realize now that this is a massive accomplishment and now I know

why my parents cried tears of joy when I graduated high school last summer. The English

language is beautiful. It is the most important tool a young man can have and I am grateful to

my parents for every effort they took for me to learn it like if it was my first language.
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