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English 101
Linda Wilson-Hill
Literacy Narrative
August 12th 2016
Chu Xu
I am a boy, but I love to play the piano. Is it weird? I have learnt the music since
I was 5 years old. My mother was a piano teacher and my sister was also learning the
piano, so it was natural to learn piano for me. At that time, I didnt think the piano is
cool because I thought the piano is for girls, not for boys. I had been ashamed of
learning the piano until I realized that playing the piano is so cool regardless the gender.
Music has a lot of power and everyone lives with music even without realizing it.
Music has made me strong and confident for a long time and I believe that I can
motivate other people and tell them the greatness of music.
One day my mother gave us the tickets and I went to a piano concert with my
sister. The concert changed my music life. There were a lot of male pianists who dressed
in cool tuxedos. They played the piano with confidence in their selves. It made me feel
adoration. One song I cannot forget is Grande Sonate pathtique by Beethoven which
was played by a male pianist Zhang Haochen. I remember the situation clearly. He
looked like crying in some parts and singing and disturbing in other parts. It made my
heart beat fast. After his performance, a cheer went up from the audience and I felt
myself get goose bumps. I enjoyed his song so much that I decided to play that song
someday. I went to his backstage room to say my feeling and talk about music. He told
me his story and I realized that it was similar to my story. Zhang was from a musical
family like me. And, like me, he didn't like to play the piano when he was young

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because he thought it was for girls. However, he also got a chance to start enjoying it.
He played the piano in a class, and his classmates applauded his performance so much.
He got confidence in himself and started to play the piano more often. Although our
stories were different, we both got our motivation from other people through music.
Because of that I want to be a person who can motivate other people.
One day, I watched a TV show, in which Beethoven was the main topic. At that
time, I didnt know that the song which was played by Zhang in the concert is his song.
From the show, I learned that he was a great composer even though he lost his hearing,
which is important for composers because music is all about sound. He said "Music is
the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life. Although the spirit be not master
of that which it creates through music, yet it is blessed in this creation, which, like every
creation of art, is mightier than the artist." His words made me get interested in
composition because I realized that music has the capacity to enlighten our minds and
inspires us to dive deep within, and I wanted to prove it by myself. This is the time I
started to learn about composition.
Every time I listen or play the songs made by Beethoven, it reminds me of his
words. Writing a new song is fun and makes me feel free. I always just sit down in front
of the piano or the guitar and play them on instinct. In my opinion, writing a song is a
way to translate feelings and desires that are sometimes difficult to express using
language, so for me there is no better way to express myself than through songs. Every
time I can make a good song, I like to play the song in front of my family or friends
because I like to share my music with people whom I love.
Since I enjoyed sharing my music so much, I joined a charity concert, in which I
played that song, Grande Sonate pathtique. I had practiced the song for almost one

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year. On the concert day, I wore the tuxedo for my first time. My mother gave me a new
tuxed. It was navy blue and almost same as the one Zhang was wearing in his concert. I
appreciated my mother giving me it and also the chance to play the piano. I felt so proud
of myself. While playing the song, a lot of scene came into my mind: The days I
couldnt enjoy playing the piano, the concert I got impressed by one pianist, the TV
show I learned about one great composer, and the moment I got the navy tuxedo. Then
many tears fall down from my eyes without realizing it. After my performance, I heard
big handclaps and cheers. I looked around the hall and I found Zhang, in the audience. I
could not believe that it was real, but he came to me with a big flower bouquet. I could
not stop crying. He told me that he got motivation from my performance. I was glad that
I could motivate someone by my performance.
I believe that music also has the capacity to bring people together. I am belonging
to a band with my friends now and I am in charge of keyboard. Although our band is not
big, we often hold concerts. Some advantages of being a performer would be going out
to various places and performing in front of different people. This allows me to learn
from all different kinds of amazing musicians who each have their own style and
technique. Also, listening to other musical artists gives me inspiration. We can exchange
some ideas or opinions which we cannot find by ourselves. Sometimes audiences tell us
that they get power from us and these words make us very happy and keep going
forward.
Moreover, I believe music has the ability to convey all sorts of emotion. Even if I
listen to or play the same song; it differs from time to time. Sometimes a song sounds
happy but at the other time, the song sounds sad. In addition, music has the ability to
transport me back in time just like a time machine. I have some specific memory in

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some songs. Every time I listen to or play the song, I can remember lost and forgotten
moments in life. I love the phrase We can't touch music, but music touches us. My
mother told me this phrase, and I have it written in my scorebook. Even if we cannot
touch music, we can feel. I am an English learner and often listen to songs in English. I
cannot understand every word nevertheless I can feel what is conveyed. Music is used
in many ways to improve and enhance the lives of people. It can be used to keep you
focused, or as a tool to help dealing with problems. I really believe that music can
influence and change a person's mind or mood. Music is a universal language and it
brings people together. I wake up with alarm sound, go to school with music through
earphone, play the keyboard in my band, take shower singing song, and sleep with
classic songs. There are a lot of different kinds of music I listen to and my choice of
music depends on what mood I am in. Music surrounds us in our everyday lives. It is
meant to be consumed, whether it is by the listener, performer, or composer.
Music is important in my life. I can say literally no music no life. I believe
music effects people in many different ways. I did not expect to be like this when I was
young. I started the piano just because my family was musical family. I could not be
crazy about the music. However, the concert changed my perspective dramatically.
Every time I accomplish a music score, I feel so proud of myself. It makes me feel
strong. It helps me to communicate with a lot of people, who have different ideas from
mine. I made many friends through music. As the effect that music has is amazing, I
cannot stop listening, playing to and writing music. In addition to that, I want to keep
playing and making songs which motivate people.

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Chu Xu
Linda Wilson-Hill
English 101
August 12th 2016
Elementary students should be required to learn a foreign language
I have been learning English as my second language since I entered into a junior
high school. After almost 10 years have passed, I still have a lot of problems in my
English. At the same time, I have experienced a lot of good things through learning
English. One of the reasons why I started learning English is that it allows me to
communicate with a diverse range of people and also to understand their cultures.
Furthermore, I expect that being a multilingual will help me get a good career in my
future. I love learning English, but I wish I could have started learning English at

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younger age. Therefore, I think that elementary school should require students to learn a
foreign language.
One of the reasons elementary school should require students to learn a foreign
language is that it allows them to communicate with a diverse range of people and also
understand their cultures. Students are able to get an insight of the culture along with
the second language. I think that I can be the good example. After I started learning
English, I started to learn about the American history, read books written in English,
watch films spoken in English, and listen to music sung in English. The most important
thing is that I was able to come here in America because of my English education. I can
share my own culture with others in English. I can learn a lot of things through an
English language. Learning a new language can literally change the way you see the
world. Learning a second language allows cross-cultural communication, and opens the
door to an entire network of people who might not have interacted with before. When
you learn a language, you also learn the culture indirectly, and hence widen your
knowledge in other cultures.
Another reason of learning a foreign language at the earlier stage of life is that it
is easier for elementary students to learn a new language than it is for older students.
They can have more time to learn and absorb English with a more natural way than we
as adults or even older teens can. For me, I started to study English when I entered
Junior high school. At that time, I was already used to speaking Chinese. I have tried to
fix my pronunciation, but it has been so hard. Every time I say coffee, people ask me
copy? I practiced a lot, but the system of my mouth is already equipped and I am too
old to change it. Stephan Krashens linguistic study shows that children who begin
learning a foreign language before adolescence exhibit more fluently pronunciation and

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speaking levels (6). If they get older, they are already used to using their own language
and so, it is hard to learn new structures and pronunciation of the language. Krashen
also says, In terms of the Monitor performance model, interference is the result of the
use of the first language as an utterance initiator: first language competence may replace
acquired second language competence in the performance model (7). Since each
language has different rules, we have to be flexible to learn new rules. Elementary
students are still new to their mother tongue, so they are much flexible than the older
learners. The younger the students are, more opportunities they can get by learning a
second language.
One of the advantages of having a second language is that people tend to earn
more money and have more access to better jobs. In today's global society, a lot of
companies are planning to expand into markets overseas. Therefore, it has become even
more essential in the job market to know another language. According to Ryan
McMunn, who was a language expert and CEO of BRIC Language Systems, people
who started their job in 2014 with second language fluency can expect an additional 10
to 15 percent pay increase (2). Many college students or university students are trying to
get the ability of speaking a second language to get the advantage of getting a good
career. My dream is to have my own company. To have my own business, I need to get
experience in big company so that I can prove my ability. After building a company, I
would have to communicate with people who have their business from all over the
world. Through learning my second language, I am preparing for my dream. If
elementary students could learn the second language, they could start to invest their
wealthy future.

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On the other hand, some people would say that learning a foreign language is
waste of time. They think that students who do not have an interest in the foreign
language, but study for the grade will never use the language again in their entire life.
According to Bryan Caplan, an economist at George Mason University, only less than 1
percent of people learned to speak a foreign language very well in school (6). It is true
that studying a language in school takes time that could be spent to learn something
else. However, we can give these children opportunities to widen their eyes into the
world. According to Second Language Standards from Oregon Department of
Education, those who learn a foreign language exhibit attitudes, values, and skills that
demonstrate an understanding of cultural differences and that enhance cross-cultural
communication (8). Learning second language could be time consuming, but by starting
earlier ages, they can learn it more efficiently in the long run.
In conclusion, elementary students should be required to learn a foreign language.
They can learn the language efficiently, have wider world, and invest for their better
future. Whether or not they would like to learn a second language, we should give them
a chance do that we can make this world connected.

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Works Cited
Bryan Caplan. "Is Learning a Foreign Language Worth It? - Language Mastery."
Language Mastery. N.p., 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 04 Aug. 2016.
Oregon Department of Education. Second Language Standards.
December 2010. Web. July 27th 2016
Ryan McMunn. The Evolution From Ignorant American to American Polyglot. BRIC
Language Systems, LLC (United States), October 14, 2014, Web, July 27th
2016
Stephen Krashen. Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning.
University of Southern California, December 2002, Web, July 27th 2016

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English 101
Linda Wilson-Hill
The Final Portfolio
August 12th 2016
Chu Xu
Through making this portfolio, I feel confident about my writing. When I decided
to take this English 101 by online, I was so nervous because I didnt have any
confidence in my writing skill. At the same time, taking online class was new for me.
From these reasons, I didnt expect that I could get so much writing skills and
confidence.
I can see my improvement by reading my first version of Literacy Narrative
Paper. At that time, I didnt use writing center, and didnt ask any advice or question to
professor. What a waste. I cannot improve my skill just by myself. Of course reading
books and searching online are good ways to get some knowledge, but writing center
and professor are there to help me.
What I changed in my Literacy Narrative Paper is that I correct a lot of error in
grammar and vocabulary. At first, I had thought these are just small points and I dont
need to care. It is really bad way of thinking. After changed some words and
construction, my essay became much professional. It was a big difference. Also, I added
some words which describe my feeling or my sensation. It would make the reader
imagine the situation easily.

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What I changed in my argument essay is that I added my own stories. I had

thought that this essay should be professional so I should not write my personal stories
so much. After I got the comment from professor, I added some of my stories and I
realized that my essay became better. It is because I can give a little more detail as to
why I think they're important. From this point, I learned that using my stories is really
effective.
Throughout the argument essay, I have learnt how to write an essay in MLA
format. At first, I searched a lot of webpages to find the best ones for my essay. It was a
little bit hard to find the sources. I need to find ones which are professional, reliable, not
too old, not personal, and suiting to my topic. Secondly, I tried hard to make my entire
paper be based upon my thesis. I used some evidences like my experiences and
academic studies to support my thesis. Keeping my thesis is essential because it makes
my essay strong.
What I have learnt throughout English 101 is the importance of the thesis. It is the
controlling idea of the essay, and cannot be too general or too specific. Before taking
this class, I didnt think much about the thesis. Without thesis, my essay would be vague
and the readers wouldnt enjoy reading my essay. Also, my professor often told me to
write specifically in my essay. I realized how specific descriptions help the readers
understand what I want to tell, and imagine the situation. I will keep these things in
mind for my writing. Thank you for this wonderful class.

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