Instead of lazing at home, I decided to take up some programs offered free by the local public library. When we first arrived here in Seattle, we had a hard time understanding the local folks speaking, and vice versa. Its tough cos the locals doesn't talk the way it is written. Not sure if you understand, I think it could be caused by different cultures, different English systems learnt, and of course, American English spoken by different people has different slangs. Anyway, I thought it would be good to get myself enrolled in ESL class otherwise known as English as a Second Language.
There are 2 branches offering this class, the one near my place - University library branch offers low intermediate level English, Central Library offers intermediate Pronunciation. Not sure which level fits me, so I went for the University branch which starts class earlier.
Prior to the class, we need to fill up a small test sheet for the teacher to assess our levels. A library assistant will go around asking each of us to say the sound of some consonants like "g", "ch", "z", etc. Other sections include a simple comprehension and answering some multiple choice questions. And that's it ! During this registration session, I got to know 3 of my classmates - 2 Thais and a Japanese. One of the Thai ladies said she envied me cos SG teaches English. They don't understand why I need to attend this lesson given I already can speak English well (they think). I gave a couple of excuses, but really, if my English is good, why is it I still need to strain my ears to listen to the locals, and project my voice out to let them hear me ? Something must be wrong somewhere hur ?
The Thais are also interested in the class offered by the Central Library, so we agreed to meet again for the registration class. I left the class feeling excited. Wow, its been so long since I talked to new friends, other than CH's colleagues. It feels real good.
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