Essays for The Study China Programme
by The four Essays that were asked for the 2011 “Study China Programme” application.
My experience both in employment, at home and in education has always taught me to be hard-working; the skills that I have learnt in these spheres of my life are invaluable. I believe that I can transfer the skills that I have learnt and bring it all into the Study China Programme.
Tell us about your experience of studying foreign languages.
My experience of studying foreign languages has been the highlight of my childhood. As an individual whose native language is not English (it is Bengali) I came to the UK at the age of seven and began to study and learn the English language. I remember vividly how excited and enthusiastic I was to learn about the English language and British culture. I was motivated by everything around me to learn more about the English language. After one year of living in the UK, during my parent’s evening session at school I remember my primary school teacher explaining to my guardian how quickly I had grasped the English language.
My childhood was a lot about learning how to speak, read and write English language and at the end of key stage two (aged 11), I took the standard attainment tests (SAT) and I scored a level four in English language, which was the national average, while I scored the highest levels for Maths and Science – both at level five. As I progressed into secondary school education my focus was now on how to excel beyond my peers, I used my spare time to make sure that I rigorously understood key concepts in each of my subjects, as a result in my key stage three SAT’s results I obtained a level seven in English language, the highest possible, and later at GCSE I scored an A* grade at English Language.
My additional experience of learning a language was the mandatory take up of French language between year seven to nine during secondary school education. After I completed my three years of beginner’s study of French I was again at the top of my class. Also, for religious reasons I spent my childhood learning how to read Arabic but I have not as of yet been able to understand the Arabic language.
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