Many students are confronted with the idea that the language lessons taken years ago define them today. However, the Centro para el Desarrollo de Lenguas Extranjeras (CDLE) believes otherwise.
English might have been around your life since kindergarten. Perhaps your experience during high school may have not been the best one. Yet, that should not stop you from being open to learn a language as an adult. It is quite normal for people to be afraid, but it’s critical for your future to step up and face that fear.
English is on the top places of the most spoken languages of the world. Leading companies around the globe require you to both write and speak it fluently. This might be enough motivation for people to join the learning process (even after finishing high school and putting an end to the English drama). But for others, it might not be enough. If that’s your case, the CDLE talks directly to you: it’s time to learn English.
Learning a new language does not depend exclusively on attending classes. These are necessary, don’t get us wrong, but it’s what you do during your time after lessons what matters. For instance: As a high school student you could have thought that your lessons were “enough” and you didn’t feel the need to practice afterwards. But that was a mistake. If you feel that you didn’t do well on tests or speeches, it could be due to lack of practice, actually true and honest practice.
Another issue that most students say bothers them it’s how the teacher interacted with the whole class. Maybe they were too hard on you; maybe they mistreated you or made you feel embarrassed about your pronunciation. But the thing is, as Albert Einstein once said: “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” For the CDLE team that could be translated to: take your experience from the past, but don’t let it define you; live in the present and focus on this day only, and be sure that the effort you’re making today will pay off in the near future.
The CDLE is aware of those “traumas” and has recommendations to get through them with ease: first of all acknowledge that you want to learn English and commit to it. Then, pay us a visit and get to know all the opportunities you have both inside the university as well as outside campus. For example, the CVA, British Council, Fyr Lois and Coast2Coast offer their services for learning English here in Venezuela. Also, CAEP and EF have interesting proposals for traveling abroad as an exchange student and immerse in the linguistic experience.
Also, as part of the center’s own activities, they offer workshops on various subjects through the semester; have conversational clubs in English and French, carry out the Limitless event every year; prepare cultural activities with institutes like the Goethe and are open to give advice to both students and teachers on how to practice and learn other languages.
To learn more about our offer, pay us a visit in Vox Lounge (E-C 18), or contact us @cdle_ucab (Twitter and Instagram) or send us an e-mail [email protected]
By Grace Lafontant, CDLE intern/Image: https://freepik.es
