Adam
Alex
Benjamin
Emma
Gill
Jade
James
Rebecca
Ronnie
My experience learning English as an immigrant child
Moving to a new country and learning English is not easy, especially if you’re a parent with young children. I want to share my immigration story with you and talk about the challenges and difficulties I had as a seven-year-old kid who couldn’t speak English. Which English sounds gave me problems? How was my social life? How long did it take me to learn the language? Watch to find out. This video will be useful for parents who are thinking about immigrating to an English-speaking country, and who might be worried about how their children will adapt. In the end, I want to reassure you that despite the challenges and struggles, children are resilient and will find a way to succeed.Levels
Lesson Topics
48 COMMENTS
Thank you, Alex. It’s an interesting and useful story. D’you still have relatives or friends in Poland? Seeing new places is refreshing our mind. Travel more!
Hi Valery, yes! I have many cousins, aunts, and uncles in Poland, and my one surviving grandmother is there too. We plan to visit again in 2023. I’m looking forward to it!
Hello Alex! Thanks for your inspiring story. I think lots of people find your video helpful. Thanks for your lessons!
It is a very motivating video. I think that nothing is impossible. The human body is so strong and interesting that it can be adopt to every situation which seems difficult on the outside. Only thing we need to take patience and to be on the road because learning a new language is not to reach the final destination, in fact to live with its culture and enjoy the ride.
Thanks Alex!
That’s a good attitude to have. Kids in particular are resilient, and it’s kind of amazing what they can survive. The same goes for adults as well, of course.
thank you
i understood alot of your story
Hello Alex! It is so interesting to listen your rare experience of studying English! It is cool! :) I read about Mila Kunis (she is an American actress) and her experience. She also immigrated at the age of 7. I quote her: “I blocked out second grade completely. I have no recollection of it. I always talk to my mom and my grandma about it. It was because I CRIED every day. I didn’t understand the culture. I didn’t understand the people. I didn’t understand the language. My first sentence of my essay to get into college was like, ‘Imagine being blind and deaf at age seven.’ And that’s kind of what it felt like moving to the States.” Alex, please, tell us about your experience of studying English more :) These ten minutes are not enough :)
Honestly, I don’t have a very strong recollection beyond what I said in the video. I remember reading a little series of books and learning to connect words to pictures. Apple, airplane, balloon, etc. Otherwise, my teacher taught me the basics of “How are you?” “What is she doing?” etc. and I think I mostly picked up the language from hearing it every day from my teachers and my classmates. I also loved a few television shows: Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow, and The Polkadot Door. These kids shows helped me with my listening and learning the alphabet too.
Alex, bravo! I routinely use your excellent videos for my adult ESL grammar and writing students here in Florida. This one is especially valuable and special, and I’ll be showing it ASAP. Thanks!
Hello Alex! I live in Poland and I try learn English :)
Greetings from Poland!
Hello, my name is Amália Iam from Brazil, I liked your experience about learning English in a native country, this is excellent. I learned English in Brazil in excellent schools and I became English teacher here. I study English everyday because I’ve loved it since I was child and I want to improve my classes and help my students to learn the most important Language in the world. Thanks for your help. God bless you.
So Inspiring Alex, I just moved to Canada from Venezuela. I have learnt a lot of English through your videos. Thanks
That’s fantastic! I used to have a lot of Venezuelan students at my old school before traveling became more difficult between the two countries. I hope you’re doing well and that you’re enjoying Canada!
Thank you Alex, you inspire me.. I struggles in my English journey. It is not difficult but when I am in any sudden situations I can’t speak even if I know because of crowded words and thoughts in my mind. Thank you again for sharing your story.
Hi Eva, I get it. What you’re describing is a very common experience for someone who is learning a second language. Just keep going, keep focusing, and keep learning. Best of luck with everything, and thank you for sharing YOUR experience too.
Hi Alex,
My name is Tiny Vissers and i am from Holland, i have been living there now for 75 years.
First of all i like your lessons, that is for sure. However, the reason for writing you is the lesson about your immigration to Canada. I had an uncle who immigrated to Canada with his 10 children when he was already 52 years old. I always asked myself how he managed to learn English. He was a farmer in Holland and he would be a farmer in Canada also. The true reason of his moving was that he would have been a farmer and that all his children would be farmer by the time they had grown up. In the end, one of his sons succeeded in being a farmer. It is a pity i never visited him, he was a very enjoyable and hardworking man.I thinkhe lived in Brtisch Columbia.
In the 60th of the last century 2 nephews of me immigrated to Canada. One was in the end very succesful with a company laying grass, in between his sons are managing the company which is in the nabourghood od Toronto. Last year he visited me when he was in Holland for holidays.
This, in short, something about immigration from Holland to Canada. I know more stories from people from my surroundings.
Greetings Tiny
Thank you Alex for your story, it was very helpful?
Thanks Alex, your story it was very interesting and motivating too.
Thanks for your great lesson. We Japanese don’t have “th”sound either. So it’s also very difficult for most of Japanese to distinguish three and tree.
I appreciate your lessons. I became fluent in the Polish language before English. I also had a “fun” time when I started work in English speaking environment (I thought my English is good because I understand Engvid teachers but I realized there is still a long journey in front of me).
Alex, thank a bunch for your gripping, moving and engaging story! I think this life experience helped you a lot to become a good English teacher because you know all student’s difficulties and fears. And I like the new format of you lessons from the park. I really enjoy watching your lessons and I’m looking forward for a new one. Take care and good luck!
Thank you for your lesson. I very appreciate, what you do for free. It is very useful, because your words are sincere. I learn english myself at home. I make a lot of mistakes.
Alex all the best from Poland.
Great story Alex!!Fortunately, you were young enough to learn English properly and to adapt to a new life. It wouldn´t have been be the same if you had been 15 or 16. It would have been tougher, as you leave many friends behind.
Do you regularly go to Poland now?
Thanks for the video!!!
Hi Alex,greeting from Poland.It is very interesting story and of course will be motivated by all students
Nice story about a kid and his family moving out.There are so many stories like that in the world, especially refugees. I think that you had difficulties in learning a new language and to adapt to a new culture and people. But I ask you, and your parents? Did they have the same problems?Did they already know how to speak English?
Hi good morning sir, This is Bryan from Philippines, I wanted to go in Canada and work there. How to apply any job there? I am only a college level/under graduate. I wanted to work there to raise my family in poverty. Hope you can answer my question sir. Thank you so much.
Alex, I really enjoyed your story. You must be proud of yourself and the Canadian state as well. I would be happy if most of the immigrants from the Maghreb had had the same will as you to integrate a new country and adopt part of their customs. Unfortunately, we still have big problems in France and I would like to believe that the future will be different.
Thanks Alex.
Hello, Mr. Alex this Aya from Syria acutely I’m studying English language. Thank you very much for you learn us how we need to improving our English i really enjoyed and i learn something is different
DEAR ALEX, I BEGAN TO WATCH YOUR VIDEOS SOME TIME AGO, SPECIALLY BECAUSE I LIKED YOUR DIDACTIC AND YOUR FUNNY WAY TO BE. I WAS SURPRISED ABOUT YOUR VIDEO TELLING YOUR HISTORY. VERY GOOD! AMAZING! NICE TO KNOW THAT YOU CAME FROM POLAND. WHERE ARE YOU FROM? WARSAW, GDANSK, GDYNIA? WHEN I LISTEN THE NAME POLAND AUTOMATICALLY IT REMINDS ME THE WORLD FOOTBALL CUP AND POLISH TEAM FROM 1974, SPECIALLY THE POLISH PLAYER LATO. IT WAS A VERY GOOD SELECTION. I’M FROM SÃO PAULO-SP BRAZIL. BEHIND YOU THERE WAS A FOOTBALL FIELD, VERY GOOD! YOU KNOW THAT MOST OF BRAZILIANS LOVE FOOTBALL. BY THE WAY, IN CANADA DO YOU SPEAK FOOTBALL OR SOCCER? I WAS BORN IN SÃO PAULO. IT WOULD BE VERY APPRECIATED TO HAVE AN ANSWER FROM YOU. SO I CAN PRACTICE MY ENGLISH. THANK YOU VERY MUCH IN ADVANCE!
Hi Alex, I watched your life story video reminding of my email pal from Germany, who also is originally from Poland. She used to struggle with German just as you did with English as well. She has almost forgotten Polish now as it was some decades ago when she came to Germany, and so I heard, I wish you keep the Polish language in mind as long as you can.
Thanks a lot for telling us your story! i like the way you told it sincerely and outside. Having listened to your story i took a decision to teach my little daughter English to avoid such a stressful situation in her future life!
Thank you Alex..
My kids took two weeks to adapt to the English language and the USA culture
Unlike me who still struggling to catch up on the language and the local accent.
Good Experiences that you have taught us Mr. alex.
A very interesting history!
Thanks Alex, for sharing your experience as immigrant kid.
Thank you for sharing with us your experiences. I have a curiosity, do you still have any kind of particular accent or pronunciation derived from your mother language?
Great video! Thank you for share your experience in a new country for you. It was hard, I can imagine, but at the end everything was gone be all right, and now you are a brillant english teacher. Congratulations!
Thnx to sharing your story sir. I’m Mbali from KZN. I have a story similar with yours. I found the internship last year September from sacgra and got the host employer at richtech campus then they transfered me to Mandeni training centre to do my internship because they were fully. OK was going there. Tjo the supervisor is Indian men, he welcomed and gave me all the rules and regulations. Wiiybo I’m struggling in English and I know my self, how to work with him? Then he told me that we were going to attend meeting everyday from 7:15 on the same office I was there. Ohk on the next day coming on that time he raised to me, haaa there are more than three Indian here and only 3 black one. I was frustrated from there. Supervisor reading email and they discussed with it and need the point of views Jesus and he liked to commit me need to know my side, do jokes because he didn’t know about my English problem sometime understood him and struggling to respond or else didn’t hear him at all others help me to make understand.Each and every time when I’m thinking about waking up to work was worried because I dont know the English and they communicate with it, till today im not feeling wel. im trying all the best to know it but I failed please help me Alex to know English and able to speak even my colleagues now understanding my problem and I’m worrying about that I like to communicate with it.
Thank you very much Mr. ALEX. I’m Rareem. I’m from Syria. I really appreciate your efforts. I’d like to express my interest in learning English Language, especially learning how to make conversations with native English speakers. Speaking English fluently is my goal.
Thank you Alex for this cool lesson
Thanks a lot Mr. Alex.
Good luck Alex and your family.
Thank you Alex
I am from Cyprus here is very important to know English if you want to find a good job because I have poor hearing so it was more difficult to learn English as a child
when I graduated Mechanical Enginer in 2004 I could not find a good job because my English were elementary so I started a strungle to learn English and I still study or listen English from you tube every day
Thanku sir for motivating us??
Alex, thanks a lot for your advice!
My friend, who fought in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and then he had to refugee to Canada, told me that in this time Hungarian boys dated with English girls and learned English quickly from them. But unfortunatelly as a result, my Hungarian friend and his English wife’s sons don’t speak a word of Hungarian.