[A collaboration post – all thoughts are my own.]

Celebrate English Language Day!

To celebrate the day on April 23, here is my story of how I first got in contact with the English language.

As someone who is not a native English speaker, anything I write or say is in English and when it is understood by a native English speaker I feel very happy and proud of myself!

Since my first contact with the language, I liked it. Actually, I was 14 years old when I started studying English in a course. Before this, I only learned a few words in elementary school. I remember I used to listen to Celine Dion’s songs almost every day when I was about 10 years old – I still listen to her songs a lot to this day.

The internet wasn’t very popular when I started and I didn’t have a phone either. So, my parents enrolled me in an English course. I am very happy that my parents support me and encourage me to study English. I have very good grades in English compared to my native language, math or physics.

However, I never had the opportunity to study in an English school. At that time, I use English mainly to understand movies and songs. I have always tried to watch movies without subtitles and I have listened to a lot of foreign songs. I try to translate the songs and understand their meaning.

After some time and studying, I’ve perceived that I could use it in my future. And here I am writing in English as a blogger. A lot to study yet, but it’s a pleasure to learn it.

“English Language Day at the UN is celebrated on 23 April, the date traditionally observed as both the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare. The purpose of the UN’s language days is to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six official languages throughout the Organization.” – UN.

Besides that, at the university I always have to deal with English when I am studying or researching, so, in some way, I got used to it. I also started my career as a freelance translator in 2014; starting from translating abstracts, medical journals, mathematical reports, and other short documents.

I built my career from there: joining translation service search platforms, translation groups on Facebook, and looking for clients who needed an English-Indonesian translator. After that, there were still amazing experiences that I got after getting serious about learning English. I offered to translate books in the field of sports, became a staff for the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union event in Bali, became a translator for a Webnovel, and worked for a foreign company in Bali.

I still looking to improve myself in language, especially in conversation, because I don’t have too many friends who speak English fluently. My English is not bad, I can understand things and talk with foreigners, but actually, my English is away from being fluent and my knowledge is not enough.

I think there isn’t a better way to study any language, because each person has their own way. For example, I’m addicted to movies and series, but I’m not good with songs. I learned a lot, though my pronunciation is still pretty awkward. It’s extremely important to know a foreign language because every country is linked to each other.

To end this story, learning English was one of the best decisions I’ve made and the best thing I’ve done until now. Now, I’m currently pursuing to learn another language!

Are you currently learning English or other second languages? Let me know your story below about how you got in contact with your second language.

Happy English Language Day!