Last year my English class was difficult. First of all, it wasn't easy for me to understand the teacher when she (talk). She spoke so (quick) that I couldn't understand every word. I was afraid to speak in class I thought my classmates might laugh at (I).

    Then one day I watched English movie called The Sound of Music. I fell in love with it. So I decided (watch) other English movies. I realized I could get the meaning listening to the key words. My pronunciation improved as well. I think that doing lots of listening practice (be) the secret of becoming a good language learner.

    Another thing that I found very difficult was English grammar. So I started to take lots of grammar (note) in every class. I wrote my own original sentences using the grammar I was (learn). It's amazing how much this helped.

    Now I am really enjoying my English class.

    I often hear some students say English is difficult, and it gives them a headache. So they can't learn it well. But English is very easy for me. I'm good at it. I'm very glad to tell you something about how I study English.

First, I think an interest in English is very important. When I was in Grade One, we had a new subject-English. It was fresh to me. I became interested in it, so I worked hard at it. Soon we had an English exam and I got a very good mark. How happy I was! Since then, I have been learning English harder and harder. Our English teacher often taught us English songs, and the songs sounded nice. I often think how interesting English is!

    Second, English is another language different from our Chinese. We should learn it in the following ways: Listen to the teacher carefully in class, speak bravely, read aloud and have a larger and larger vocabulary, and then practice again and again. And I have a good habit: whenever I have a question, I must make it clear by asking our English teacher. How happy I am when I understand it!

    Besides, I often read English stories, jokes and easy novels. From these I know English is not only interesting, but also useful. They help me understand a lot of things. So, to do more reading is an important way to learn English well.

    And I also do some exercises in our workbooks, and I keep English diaries. English has become a close friend of mine.

    Now I have learned English for more than two years. I am always in the first place in our class. Of course, I hope every classmate of mine can learn English well, too.

    Swimming and English Learning Can you swim? Do you like swimming? Yes? Well, how can you learn to swim? I think the best way is to go into the water and learn. I'm afraid you'll never learn to swim just by reading books about swimming or looking at others swimming. It's the same with the English study. We must practice, practice and practice.

    Listening and speaking are very important for beginners. The children in English-speaking countries first listen to others. Then they try to imitate and speak. We can listen to English programs on radio. You may just understand a few words. It doesn't matter. Just be relaxed, try to catch every word.

    Somebody may be a good listener. But he dare not speak. He's afraid of making mistakes. You know we sometimes make mistakes when we speak Chinese. Don't be afraid. We must be brave. If you really want to learn English well, you must try to speak with everyone so long as he knows English. Whether you know him or not is not important. When there's nobody to talk with, you can talk to yourself in English. It's interesting and also a good way to practice your spoken English. Remember, the more you speak, the fewer mistakes you'll make.

    Reading and writing are more important for senior school students. First we must choose the books we're interested in. A lot of reading will improve your language sense. This is the most important.

    Keep writing English diaries. We can also write English articles. You may even post them to English magazines. Don't be afraid of failure. Failure is the mother of success.

    Easier said than done. Well, let's do more practice from now on. I'm sure you'll learn English well in this way.

When a teacher assigns a lot of homework, Domenica Roman draws up a timetable, dividing the assignment into small parts." It's like eating a steak(牛排)," she says. "You chew it one bite at a time."

One student put a vocabulary list in the bathroom. He learned a new word every day while brushing his teeth. Another student used the time to remember biology terms while practicing running.

In high school, McCray ran track, played football and was in the band and orchestra. "I was so busy that I couldn't waste time looking for a pencil or missing paper. I kept everything right where I could put my hands on it," he says.

In an international class, Asian-Americans, on average, scored higher than other students. The teacher found that the Asian-Americans discussed homework problems together, tried different ways to work out the problems and explained their solutions to one another.

Christi is an excellent student at the University of California. If her math teacher assigns five problems, she does ten. If the history teacher assigns eight pages of reading, she reads twelve. "Part of learning is practicing," she says. "And the more you practice, the more you learn."

    More and more people believe that technologies are great for learning. Today, such teaching tools as iPads are used in a lot of courses, including language, history and science.

    Many teachers agree on using iPads in language learning. They say that students now have much more time for discussion in the classroom. Instead of spending class time listening to texts or watching teaching videos, students can do this on their own and come to class preparing for discussion.

    The teachers also say that iPads allow students to learn at their own pace. Some students might listen to a dialogue only once and understand it, so they can save time for doing other things. Other students, however, might need to listen to the same dialogue again and again to understand it. Using iPads is especially helpful to students who are learning a language at different paces.

    The students who are using the new tool in some courses are also happy. They believe that using iPads is a more enjoyable way to learn and the class becomes much more interesting and helpful. Some think using iPads are good for students. By using iPads, they can pay more attention to the material and learn more. Teaching notes are stored in their iPads and are easy to find. Some students spend more time studying now. " I can listen to my language material or watch teaching videos on the bus, instead of having to wait until I get home,"  a student explained.

    Many teachers are worried about that technologies such as iPads are doing badly to students. They worry that students might store teaching notes and use them to cheat during exams. Some believe that if a student spends more time watching videos on an iPad, he will have fewer chances to have face-to-face communication with others.

    However, technologies are already a part of most students' day-to-day lives. As for cheating, teachers can ask students to hand in their iPads when taking exams. Technology is playing an important part. We should look forward to a wonderful future when iPads and other technologies can add a lot to the classroom.