This week, on Wednesday, for the first time ever, I will be working at a library: here is what comes to my mind when I think about this upcoming experience.
My goals
One of the goals I will accomplish during my internship is
learning more formal, rich and generally complicated words and being able to use
them effortlessly. I'm also looking forward to be able to freely think in
English like I do in French, Russian or Spanish. I believe being immersed in a
totally English-speaking environment will do wonders to enrich my vocabulary!
My strategies
I will use five strategies to achieve my goals.
The first
one is the use of mnemonic techniques: I'm very visual so mentally connecting
words with pictures would most likely work for me. Furthermore, using “whatever
I intuit to be correct” looks like an approach I have already used when I was
learning Spanish.
The second and third one, and it goes along with my
personality, would be the guessing and the low inhibition technique. I am not a
shy person so I do not mind making mistakes. If I'm conversing with someone and
I don't understand a word or a sentence, I will pay attention to his/her
gestures, tone of voice, etc. I will also use contextual or structural clues.
The fourth one is obviously the practicing technique. I will
be immersed in an English-speaking environment: therefore, I will only speak
English all day.
The last but not the least is the repeating technique. I
used it a lot when I was learning Spanish: my boyfriend taught me new words and
the next day, I was walking around the house, repeating those words aloud.
Meeting my host
This week, I met Aude for the first time: she works at the
Atwater Library and Computer Center, the place where my internship will take
place. We spoke for about 40 minutes: she mostly explained to me what will keep me
busy during my internship. We also examined the dress code and other
particularities that may occur.
Impressions, concerns and expectations...
I believe my involvement as an intern at the library will be
a valuable and constructive experience. My host seems like a cordial and
accessible person and I feel that it will be a pleasure working with her.
To conclude, I have to admit that I am a huge fan of books: so what better place for me to be at than a library?
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| A fun day at the library |
