Sample Essay On Learning English

As a native speaker of Arabic, learning to speak and write in English as my second language has been a very difficult task. While I love English, I think that its rules of grammar and pronunciation are very difficult for most newcomers. The main challenges I have faced in mastering the English language have been learning a new alphabet, and a new way to read and write.
Whereas Arabic speakers write from right to left, English speakers write from left to right. In addition, there is a completely different alphabet, of 26 letters. Many times, when a person takes up a second language, they do not have to learn a new alphabet, or learn to read and write in the opposite direction. However, English is an exception. After learning the alphabet, I have discovered that the rules of grammar in English are extremely difficult to learn and master. For example, it poses a lot of difficulty making verbs agree with the subject in English, whereas Arabic is much simpler. While there are some similarities in the pronunciation of the Arabic letters, there are less to learn than in English, and the script is much easier to write for an experienced Arabic speaker, such as myself. Overall, English is a much more formal language than Arabic -- with many more stricter rules of writing.
However, conversational English has been much easier to pick up, as I was already familiar with many English phrases, and I have many American, English-speaking friends. Thus, although some of my English may sound strange, I am much more confident in speaking English than in writing English. Many words and phrases of English are popular all over the world. However, many English speakers talk so fast that it is difficult to comprehend them.
Overall, I view English as a very tough language to master. Its grammatical rules are very different, but it is easier to speak, in some instances, than my native language, Arabic. With more practice, I am certain that I can become a better writer and speaker of my second language, English.