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<title> When Words Are Not Enough </title>
I'd like to welcome you into my tiny little world of the English language. I feel as if I am fully aware of many of my weaknesses when it comes to English but I will try to pinpoint the main problem that I feel restrains me from fluency and variety. I guess that I am one of those people that never get satisfied with their knowledge in a foreign language. I really hate being not strong in what ever I'm doing. Yes, I know that these demands of mine are raising problems. Now, enough of modesty and lackage of selfconfidence. I know that I am good at a few things as well and I will try to stress that too by printing it down toyou.

Devotion to linguistic structure. 

My strength when learning Spanish, French, Swahili, English or any other language is that I really am interested in linguistics. As a matter of fact I like the challenge of cutting a clause into pieces and trying to figure out relationships between words in a phrase. Getting all kinds of aha-reactions about grammar, word formation or anything that gives a new perspectives is always inspiring. I am not the most successful student that is walking down the corridor at the English Department at Uppsala University but I know that I can refer to myself as hard working and willing to learn. That is my advantage.

What can I say?

Well, what about my weaknesses in the language itself? Neglecting my own psychological barriers I am able to find one main obstacle on my way to acceptable English. Words. I am suffering from a severe shortage of words. I honestly feel embarrassed because of my scanty vocabulary which I find dull and so very boring. I am still using the same words I have been using since highschool but I am grown up now and I would like to have a vocabulary that can make me look more like a lady than a schoolgirl. 
When writing I can always look for suitable words in a dictionary and get it more or less right but when speaking I need to be quick and sharp and there is no time to check whether the word fits or not. If I happen to be in the middle of a conversation in English I often take that long time to search for words that I often believe that the person I'm talking to gets a not very accurate impression of me. In my desperate hunt for words I'm waving my arms like crazy, shaking my head up and down and eventually trying to get people to understand me by using all facial expressions you can ever imagine or think of. Yes, sometimes I really manage to make a fine spectacle of myself.
I'm in a great need of words and expressions that can make my language more interesting, flourishing and colourful.
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