When I mention that I am an International Student or the fact that I’m not from Canada to my peers, colleagues and my superiors at work, I always get asked; “How is your English so good?!”. Over my few years at Ryerson, this has developed into a micro trigger of sorts, but I’ve managed to stand up to it. I mention that I have studied English throughout my school years and have taken English tests to prove that I am capable enough to grasp the level that is taught at University. I have been called out for using a lot of British jargon, and I take that with pride. Somehow I still felt a little less worthy of my skill and of my grasp on the language because of the very comment that still follows me to date – until very recently. The REDI Blog module offered me a platform to express my creativity and flair in English and non-hesitantly bring out my inner “Grammatical Grandma” on various blogs that I will be reviewing for the near future.
An interesting fact about this blog is that it’s my first one! The closest I’ve been to blogs is whilst editing them. Through REDI, I still get the opportunity to do so, but I get to write as well. Speaking of editing, I got into this because of writing; and by writing I mean calligraphy! I’ve always been, and still am an artistic kid; in both the visual and performing aspects. It was the lingual beauty, of not only English but also Hindi and Bengali that shifted my paradigm when it came to the artistic nature of words. As the years (not many, just 7) went by, I started reading Wren and Martin; a book on English Grammar over novels because my version of the book had pictures!
As I conclude, I’d just like to say that speaking a language fluently has little to do with the place someone is from, at least in this day and age. Next time you see someone who has a skill that you don’t associate with their place of origin, don’t bring it up. Instead, laud them for it, for all you may know, you might need help from them regarding just that!
I’m going to plug Wren and Martin again. It will really help you.
