How I Learned English in One Year

It is challenging when you are pulled away from everything you know to be thrown into something that’s completely different and new. I was 16 when I got on my first plane flight to go to Hawaii, and I was scared of the new life I was about to have. I already had missed my home country (Mongolia), my family, and my friends of years. As I got on the plane, I already wanted to jump out of it because I was afraid of not understanding anyone and anything. I thought to myself that

“This will bring me the best life I could have because America is a country full of opportunities.”

Adjusting to an another country can be straight up hard. It is emotionally and physically draining. Even though my mom would take me to beautiful places all over Hawaii, I couldn’t help but miss the dirty streets of Mongolia and a freezing cold winter where everything is covered with white snow. I fell into depression to the point I couln’t get out of my bed. I started overeating and gained weight, which made my mom upset and disappointed in me. I felt like there was nothing for me here, and I just wanted to go back home. But I kept forcing myself to learn a new word everyday with any method I could think of. Eventually it paid off, and I started making friends and going out with people to give myself a chance to express myself.

Here’s how I learned and improved in a language that is complicating and crazy:

Watching Children’s Show with its Subtitles

I watched many children’s show when I came here. My favorites were Spongebob and Fairy Odd Parents. They were silly shows, but they were simple enough for me to understand what was happenning. If I heard and saw a word I didn’t know, I would use google or dictionary application to explain it for me. Plus, cartoons are made for kids, so it was an introduction to an American culture for me, too. I learned things unintentionally. I noticed that smart people were always casted out and given the title nerd, and only the beautiful people can be popular. For me, it was a culture shock because it’s the opposite in Mongolia. The smart people are the popular ones, and the “dumb” people were casted out. They didn’t really care about how you looked or how you dressed (because we all wear the same uniform). It was about how you carried yourself and how dedicated you are for your education. I love math and I’ve competed in lot of math olympiad and was placed higher than average. However, learning about America only added to my anxiety of not showing what I really know. When teacher asked questions, I wouldn’t answer even if I knew the answer. I didn’t want to be casted out, so I just did my school work under my breath.

Reading Children’s Book

I always knew that reading a book is the best way to learn anything, and when I was learning English, reading children’s book was the best way to learn new words and phrases. They are easy to read, and they are not as complicated as young adult books. I read more complicated books now, thanks to all the children’s book I’ve read. One of my favorite was “Series of Unfortunate Events” by Lemony Snicket. The author would often explain the “hard” words in creative and fun ways. I learned lots of words reading that series.

Finding a Song I like and Translating It

When I was back in Mongolia, I would listen to Bruno Mars a lot, but I didn’t understand a single word in his songs. I just liked how it sounded and I loved his voice, but after coming here, I started looking up the lyrics and translated it to understand them. After translating, I liked the songs even more because I could sing along and actually understand what he is singing about. Singing along helped me with my accent, too. A lot. When I say I’m from a different country and that I learned English within a year, they don’t believe it. People often assume that I grew up here. It does make me proud of myself for seeming so natural at this language, but Mongolian, my mother tongue, always has a special place in my heart.

Making Friends with Friendly Locals

Making friends is often hard but not that hard in Hawaii. People here are so nice and kind, and they are used to explaining things on the simplest terms. I assumed it was because they always have lost tourists who could barely speak English. So, when my English was really bad, my new friends would walk me through everything together. They never made me feel like I was helpless. Just like watching kids show, I was learning about the American and island cultures as I made more friends. They would tell me about themselves and how their life was like as a kid. One sad thing I learned was that American bad is Mongolian luxury. People complained about sleeping on the couch while most Mongolians slept on the floor. People complained about their parents for not buying them things they wanted while most Mongolian parents were alcoholic and kids only ate one small meal a day. This was also a time I learned that I was really fortunate to be walking on the grounds of oppurtunities if I just work hard.

Working in Customer Service

As my English got better and better to the point I could have an actual conversation, I applied for a job. An entry level cashier for an ice cream shop. I learned so, so much by just working. I was forced to talk to people and to understand them. I had to talk to my boss about my schedules and how I am doing in general. I no longer had the time to pull out my dictionary to translate, and I just had to understand with clues and few words I know. I had extreme anxiety talking to people because I was so afraid of saying the wrong thing. And working in customer service really helped me get over the fear of starting a conversation. Working not only helped me learn English, but also taught me work ethic and what’s it like to interact with people as a company representative. I realized that, when you work at a certain place, you become a face of that company, no matter how small your task is, and I learned that how you carry yourself matters a lot if you want to be approachable and successful.

Always Leveling Up, and Never Staying In One Place

I started reading more complex books, stopped using dictionary and asked people instead, watching movies with and without subtitles, and changing jobs to change my environment. I learned that you have to experiment with lots of things to see what you like and what you don’t like. I changed my major multiple times, and I had changed my jobs more than ten times. Even though my mom complains that I wasted so many years chasing wrong things, she doesn’t understand how all of that helped me grow as an individual. Life is not boring if you just risk and be at a place that makes you uncomfortable (not unhappy).

As Dory says in Finding Nemo:

“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming.”