My name is Carl Kennedy and I’m an English teacher. I really like my job. I feel very glad when my students feel comfortable speaking English. But I have to admit that sometimes I feel a little envious, too. I would be so happy if I could speak a foreign language! But it’s always been hard for me to learn one. When I was a university student, I studied Chinese for a few months. After the university, I made a trip to China. I thought that if the Chinese language surrounded me, I would be able to learn it quickly. As soon as I arrived in Beijing, I registered for a Chinese class which I attended every morning. Outside of the class I tried to strike up conversations in Chinese. I never really understood the answers I received. The Chinese were always kind and helpful, but then I felt like a deaf person when spoken to. Sometimes I tried to translate from one language to the other, but then I got even more confused. When I spoke Chinese, I always felt nervous because I was afraid I might make mistakes. Also, my poor pronunciation embarrassed me. I was sure my American accent sounded terrible. There was another problem, too. Words in Chinese never sounded “real” to me. English words feel real to me because it is my native language, but Chinese words are just strange sounds. Finally, I gave up trying to learn the language. Of course, the day I returned to the United States, I didn’t know much more Chinese than I had known the day I arrived in Beijing. I felt very disappointed in myself.