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Abdisalan Sarhaye
Professor Ruth Fairchild
English 0121, Section 04
8 February 2012
The final Personal Essay
The Way and My Goal
Schools around the world have English as a subject, and some high schools require
students to pass a graduation English test to receive their diploma. My school was one of the
high schools that required a student to pass the reading and writing test in order to receive a
diploma. Fortunately, I did pass the required reading and writing tests. There were three ways
which helped me to learn English and graduate from high school, and they were taking English
as a Second Language classes, joining homework club, and having a friend who knows English
very well.
First, my school was one of the high schools that added to the curriculum a subject called
English as a Second Language (ESL) which is designed for immigrant students who have just
moved to the United States and have no English knowledge in their background. The first day I
started high school I was scheduled to take the ESL classes, so I could build my English writing
and reading skills while I was in high school. After I began my ESL classes, I realized that these
classes are helpful for students who want to improve their English skills. The ESL classes have
different levels, so a student could move from one to another to learn more. That means there
were some low level ESL classes for students who had no knowledge of English writing and
reading. Although I had some English background, I still needed more help with writing and
reading. Later, I started to develop my English reading and writing. During the class, we read
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about half the period, and the other half we wrote little paragraphs and we discussed our writing
before the class session ended. One day, our teacher announced there is a test coming next year
which is a required writing test. Usually, this test is scheduled every year at the end of the school
year. After I got that information about the required writing test, I prepared myself and worked
hard to pass the test. My English teacher pushed us to do well on the upcoming test, and she gave
to us a lot of paragraphs and essays to practice with before the test. Some of the practice tests
that we took before the required test were the Minnesota SOLOM and TEAE test which were
designed for ESL students. During the last term, I wrote about fifteen paragraphs and essays.
Second, my school provided help was a homework club which was also designed for
students to get assistance with their homework. During my school year, I had been taking
different classes, but the only classes that I was trying to improve on were the English classes
which I knew I needed in order to pass the required state tests of reading and writing. One day
while I was walking down the hallway, I saw a sign saying there is homework club after school,
and it is free to join. After finding out there was a homework club, I decided to go after school
and keep working hard. I remember an essay that our teacher assigned to us, and it was about the
African culture. On that day when school was over, I went to the homework club, and I wrote my
essay in there with the help of the peer tutors. Most of the peer tutors were students who excelled
in their classes. Usually, the tutors came to the homework club before the students arrived.
Sometimes when the student arrived in the homework club with his or her homework, the peer
tutors asked what subject the student needed help with, what teacher they have in the subject, and
also when it’s due. One of the subjects that I worked hard in while I was attending high school
was communications which had a lot of writing and reading. I remember one day, I came to the
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homework club, and I had a test coming up for my communication’s class, and I asked one of the
peer tutors if she could help me to study for this test, and she said “sure.”
I said “I have a communication test that is coming next week, I said, that is what I need help
with.” After that, I sat in one of the chairs, and I told her to ask me some vocabulary words that
would be on the test.
Additionally, the homework club had a variety of English as a Second Language books for
students who were improving on and learning the English language. Even though the homework
club had small selection of books, I found some helpful books, and I still remember the way they
helped me to learn English. One of the staff who worked at the homework club after school was
a man I knew very well, and he also spoke Somali, so sometimes when I came to the homework
club I asked him to give me a good ESL book, which I could read over the weekend. Most of the
books that I read while I was attending the homework club were grammar books. On the other
hand, I was interested in reading history books which I enjoyed. I remember one of the history
books that I read, and it was about the ancient world of Asia. Usually these books were written in
a way that English beginners could understand while they are building their English skills. The
company who made the ESL books wrote these books using short without a large vocabulary.
Also they included some pictures that had captions underneath so student could understand what
the picture was .Sometimes when I remember those books the way they helped me, I appreciate
the people who came this idea to make ESL books for students who have no knowledge in
English. While I was attending the homework club I also learned a lot of writing skills, for
example, how to edit and revise essays.
The third way that I consider really helped me was having a friend who understood English
writing and reading well. The day I started high school was a very hard day for me because I did
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not know anybody in high school because I was new to United States. After a few months, I
decided to find a good friend who could help me learn English fast. Fortunately, I found
Abdicable who came to United States when he was a little boy. During the weekends, I would go
over to his house, and I asked him to help me with one of the books that I had from homework
club which was a grammar book. Sometimes we set up a dialog which helped me to correct my
pronunciation. Often when I had a comprehensive test, I would go over to his house and ask him
to listen to what I was reading, so he could help me to correct some of the words that I was
pronouncing. My friend always encouraged me to talk to the people who know English very well
and never feel embarrassed to speak. Even though I was trying to do what my friend encouraged
me to do, sometimes I felt afraid to speak. One day, my friend and I were walking near the
central mall in our city, and suddenly two guys showed up and my friend quickly asked me to
talk to them and ask them where the shoe store was located. The reason my friend was doing that
was to encourage me to speak English with others, so I can build my English skills. Starting that
day, I never felt embarrassed to speak other people in English. Also I started to translate for other
families and friends who just came to the United States and know nothing about the English
language. I consider all of that help from my friend valuable even in college which I am
attending today
As all students know, school assignments are not easy and enjoyable, but it can be easy when
someone find the ways to get help. Working hard and learning to write and read in English
helped me to achieve my goal. Although I had to face a lot of hard times, it did pay off because I
achieved what I was trying to do which was completing my high school courses and getting my
diploma. Taking ESL classes, joining homework club, and making a friend with English
knowledge helped me to attain what I was looking for.
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