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<title> Assignment one, Evaluation </title>
Introduction
I have studied English for nine years previous to the course that I am taking now. I try to read English literature and magazines in my spare time to improve my language understanding skills and spelling and have done so for the last two years. So what is my relationship to the English language today? How good am I at read-, speak-, and write in English or listen to this wonderful and nuanced language for that matter? I am going to describe my skills and deficiencies in each of the areas mentioned above. That should illustrate how I and the English language get along.

Listening to English
Since I have a hearing impairment one can say that I am a bad listener technically, but listening to someone that is trying to communicate with you is so much more than just hearing what they are saying. For instance, you must show that you understand what is being said to you. I think that I am quite good at this (when Swedish is being talked) since I try to concentrate when I am talking to someone. But then, showing that you understand is done differently in different cultures. I can not say how good I am at not making a fool of myself when I am talking to, say, a person from the USA. I am totally unfamiliar with the constant nodding and polite noises (aha or uhum for instance) that an American expects. Another aspect of being a god listener is having a vivid fantasy. Now how is that? Suppose that a persons pronunciation is terrible, then you can get the big picture anyway with a little help from your fantasy. People often find me sociable which I think have to do with my listening skills. 

Reading English
I read a lot of books in periods, they usually last for about two months and comes approximately with a six week interval. I am more consequent in my reading of magazines, about two hours a week. Say that about 50 percent of what I read is in English, and you have got the whole story. I am very concentrated when I read the articles that I am interested in, in magazines and papers. When I read books I tend to go on for half a page without realising that I don't understand the text every now and then. I find this very annoying and it is definitely something that needs to be straightened out. When I have finished, for instance, a book I often comes to conclusions that seem fairly reasonable to me. I think that I recognise quite a lot of English words, this of course thanks to my reading. But in the end I think that the only way one has to improve ones reading, is to read more, so I think that is what I will do. 

 Speaking English
When I speak English I speak to slow this needs to be worked on. My guess is that it comes down to lack of self confidence. Quite natural though, since I have not spoken to much English in the last three years. I hope that speed and authority will be back with a little training, therefore I look forward to participating in the oral proffiancy course. I think that my pronunciation is acceptable for a person with my background, but of course it needs to be worked on. For instance, I don't know when to use the buzz-sound when pronouncing words that end with "s". Another aspect of speaking a foreign language that floated into my mind is how very difficult it is to express oneself powerful and say exactly what one had in mind.
Writing English

Today, unfortunately, it becomes more and more unnecessary to be able to spell correctly, this naturally because of the wordprocessors. How is my spelling then? Well actually quite good I think. Am I grammatically correct when I write? Hardly all the time, but I don't think that I am entirely worthless either. I know that I am fluent when I write something in Swedish, but I feel, as I am writing now, that this is not perfect. I usually manages to produce essays with tolerably interesting contents.

Conclusion
My relationship, as most relationships are, to the English language is full of such things as love, hate and great experiences. Since I know about at least some of my weaknesses I think I have won an important victory in my struggle for the most perfect relationship a human being can have to a language.
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