<doc.id=0205.a1>
Like most of the people in Sweden I made my first contact with the english language before I accually had "english" on the schedule in school. I can't say that I understood so much of the foreign language, even though I knew a few words which I had picked up from the telly. The words that I was familiar with was rather common and simple, like "yes", "please" and "hello". So when I was ten years old and had my first englishlesson in school, I didn't understood a single word. Even worse was that I didn't understood why I had to learn english, when I only spoke it in school. I thought it was boring and difficult.
Fortunately my attitude of learning english changed when I was twelve years old and I had a chance to use my english in "real" life. Suddenly I centainly didn't think it was boring, because I realized that it was both fun and useful to be able to speak a language people from all around the world spoke. 

At this time I also become more dedicated to music. I listened a lot to american groups and found it very interesting and important to translate and understand their lyrics. I could sit for hours after school with the lyrics written down on a paper, as I was listening to the record. I guess this lyric-analysing made me more observant of the english language, because of all the listening and reading. And I reckon that reading and listening also is that I am most accomplished of. 

The reson that I found myself most confident with reading and listening, I think, have a lot to do with my interest in music and lyrics, togehter with that I hear english on televison and in movies. This, as well as my years studying english in school, contributes to that I believe that I'm better in reading and listening, than in speaking and writing. 

Reading all sorts of texts is what I've done most of in school, together with listening to the teacher. I've also read english books more than I've got a chance to practice my speaking and writing skills. Of course I find it difficult even to read sometimes, but when you're reading you have time to look up a word in a dictionary. You don't have the pressure of reading fast and if you have difficulties with the text you can read twice. 

If I compare my knowledge in speaking and writing, with reading and listening, I most say that I feel much more insecure of speaking and writing. The speaking in school accually consisted of that the whole class were reading a text together loud. Sometimes we read a dialogue, but that's quite different from speaking without having the text in front of you. I can't remember that we had so much of spontaneous speaking in school.

The best practice in speaking english I have got during travelling and englishspeaking friends. Then you have to speak english if you want to be understood. You have to practice to sort of "speak around" the word if you don't know what it's called. You have to overcome the fear of saying something that might be and sound wrong. Otherwise you'll never improve your speaking skills. Because then you always will be nervous, talk to fast and stutter when you want to say something. 
This nervousness and insecurity when I'm about to say something in english, became much better when my best friend was an exchange-student. He was staying in Sweden for a year and we talked english every day. That was when I realized that I don't have to be afraid of speaking. It really didn't matter if I said something wrong, he would just correct me in a friendly way. I think you can say that I'm not afraid of speaking, but that I have to practice much more. 

More practice, is something I also have to do with my writing. The only recurrent writing I can remember from school, are dictations, translations and grammar exercises. And the only writing I've done on my own are letters and copying lyrics. I find it difficult to write, because I believe that I have a very "chatty" writing and not so huge vocabulary. It's hard to know what is formal or informal language. Which make writing the hardest part. It's much easier to read a book, beacuase then you just have to understand what's already written. Reading and listening almost become atomatic after a while. That is something that I find hard to believe that my speaking and writing skills will. I guess it'll take years of training.
</doc>