<doc.id=2027.a1>
<title> Evaluation - My English </title>
I think that my biggest asset concerning the Englishlanguage is my interest in it. It is that that hashelped me, not only throughout my time in school, but also when having met people from, and people living in English speaking countries. I have always learned English out of pure interest. But since I am not interested in everything regarding English, I have the weakness of totally ignoring the, often important, parts I am not equally interested in - such as grammar, for instance.

LISTENING 
I do not think I have ever experienced any major problems in listening to English. While watching English speaking movies (without text, of course) I always understand everything. There can of course be exceptions (like, for example, when the actors speak fast, quiet, with a (for me) strange dialect or if slang is used), but on the whole I, as I said, understand everything - with ease. Things are about the same when it comes to listening to people in real life too.	I think I get quite a big inactive vocabulary by listening to people, meaning that I get a feeling how the words are used. I often think a lot while listening to native speakers, trying to understand and classify every word I hear.

READING 
Reading is something I am fond of, also in English. In fact, I do not find it much more difficult to read an English book than a Swedish one. Of course, there are many words I do not understand, but since I always (or almost always) get the main picture I can manage anyway. Mostly I even kind of understand the word, or at least get a feeling of the word's meaning. This sometimes makes me chose English books rather than Swedish ones - out of "pure interest"
	An exception was reading the novel Robinson Crouse by Daniel Defoe without having access to a dictionary. The use of many difficult words and the structure of the sentences (often very long sentences - sometimes stretching up to half pages) made it a very difficult book for me to read. I managed, though, something I am somewhat proud of, through hard work and with the assistance of my already mentioned interest. But as I pointed out, this book was an exception. An exception that unfortunately reduced the usual reading joy.
	Another difficulty can be technical language. Almost all the technical language words are hard for me to understand, and when the frequency of them is too high the whole can sometimes get lost in the vast forest of technical terms and expressions.

SPEAKING 
I am divided concerning speaking. On one hand I havet he opinion that I am quite good at speaking English. I speak fluently and can vary my language a bit when it comes to unofficial meetings, such as brief conversations with travelling people in Youth Hostels. Since I then can make use of the slang expressions and phrases I have learned while listening to others, people (in this case from English speaking countries)sometimes have got the impression that I am an native English speaker - thought with a peculiar dialect they could not trace.
	On the other hand I have never had the opportunity to use English officially, I therefore suspect that I am rather worthless in those occasions. A strange thing about my speech is that my accent changes depending on to whom I speak. When spending time in England or with Englishmen I automatically get an English (or something in that direction anyway)accent. Conversations with Americans tend to make me speak in a more relaxed and American way.
	Not only my accent varies depending on to whom I am talking, but also my choice of words and structure of clauses. When talking to people I know are not as good as me in English, I - unconsciously - make the sentences easier by picking not so difficult words. I am somewhat afraid that these adjustments (if theyhappen too often) will affect my language.QQWRITING Since I am rather inexperienced in writing, I do not know much about my strengths and flaws. The only English texts I have produced, except the few ones written in school, are letters to foreign friends. This means that I have the same problem as with speaking - the lack of official experience.
	While writing texts I have often (if not always) been simplifying the language, using slang, and choosing the easiest words. I hope it has not made profound impressions...
</doc>