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1a:LearningaforeignlanguageLearningaforeignlanguagewasoneofthemostdifficultyetmostrewardingexperiencesofmylife.Althoughattimeslearningalanguagewasrustrating,itwaswellworththeeffort.Myexperiencewithlearningaforeignlanguagebeganinjuniormiddleschool,whenItookmyfirstEnglishclass.Ihadakindandpatientteacherwhooftenpraisedallofthestudents.Becauseofthispositivemethod,IeagerlyansweredallthequestionsIcould,neverworryingmuchaboutmakingmistakes.Iwasatthetopofmyclassfortwoyears.WhenIwenttoseniormiddleschool,IwaseagertocontinuestudyingEnglish;however,myexperienceinseniormiddleschoolwasverydifferentfrombefore.Whilemyormerteacherhadbeenpatientwithallofthestudents,mynewteacherquicklypunishedthosewhogaveincorrectanswers.Wheneverweansweredincorrectly,shepointedalongstickatusand,shakingitupanddown,shouted,No!No!No!Itdidn'ttakemelongtolosemyeagernesstoanswerquestions.NotonlydidIlosemyjoyinansweringquestions,butIalsolostmydesiretosayanythingatallinEnglish.However,thatstatedidn'tlastlong.WhenIwenttocollege,IlearnedthatallstudentswererequiredtotakeanEnglishcourse.Unlikemyseniormiddleschoolteacher,mycollegeEnglishteacherswerepatientandkind,andnoneofthemcarriedlong,pointedsticks!Thesituationwasfarfromperfect,though.Asourclasseswereverylarge,Iwasonlyabletoansweracoupleofquestionsineachclassperiod.Also,afterafewweeksofclasses,InoticedthereweremanystudentswhospokemuchbetterthanIdid.Ibegantofeelintimidated.So,onceagain,althoughfordifferentreasons,Iwasafraidtospeak.ItseemedmyEnglishwasgoingtostayatthesamelevelforever.ThatwasthesituationuntilacoupleofyearslaterwhenIwasofferedanopportunitytostudyEnglishthroughanonlinecourse.Thecommunicationmediumwasacomputer,aphoneline,andamodem.Isoongotaccesstothenecessaryequipment,learnedhowtousethetechnologyfromafriendandparticipatedinthevirtualclassroomtodaysaweek.Onlinelearningisnoteasierthanregularclassroomstudy;itrequiresalotoftime,commitmentanddisciplinetokeepupwiththeflowofthecourse.Iworkedhardtomeettheminimumstandardssetbythecourseandtocompleteassignmentsontime.Ipracticedallthetime.IcarriedalittledictionarywithmeeverywhereIwent,aswellasanotebookinwhichIlistedanynewwordsIheard.Imademany,sometimesembarrassing,mistakes.OnceinawhileIcriedoutoffrustration,andsometimesIfeltlikegivingup.ButIdidn'tfeelintimidatedbystudentswhospokefasterthanIdidbecauseItookallthetimeIneededtothinkoutmyideasandwroteareplybeforepostingitonthescreen.Then,onedayIrealizedIcouldunderstandjustabouteverythingIcameacross,andmostimportantly,IcouldsayanythingIwantedtoinEnglish.AlthoughIwasstillmakingmanymistakesandwascontinuallylearningnewwaystosaythings,Ihadfinallyreapedthebenefitsofallofmyhardwork.Learningaforeignlanguagehasbeenamosttryingexperienceforme,butonethatIwouldn'ttradeforanything.Notonlydidlearninganotherlanguageteachmethevalueofhardwork,butitalsogavemeinsightsintoanotherculture,andmymindwasopenedtonewwaysofseeingthings.ThemostwonderfulresultofhavinglearnedaforeignlanguagewasthatIcouldcommunicatewithmanymorepeoplethanbefore.Talkingwithpeopleisoneofmyfavoriteactivities,sobeingabletospeakanewlanguageletsmemeetnewpeople,participateinconversations,andformnew,unforgettablefriendships.NowthatIspeakaforeignlanguage,insteadofstaringintospacewhenEnglishisbeingspoken,Icanparticipateandmakefriends.Iamabletoreachouttoothersandbridgethegapbetweenmylanguageandcultureandtheirs.1b:KeystosuccessfulonlineleaeningWhileregularschoolsstillexist,thevirtualclassroomplaysanimportantroleintoday'slearningcommunity.Jobopportunitiesforstudentsareexpandingrapidlyandmorepeopleofallagesarebecomingawareofonlinelearningthatallowsthemtostudyathome.Onlinestudents,however,requireuniquequalitiestobesuccessful.Thefollowinglistdiscussessomeidealqualitiesofsuccessfulonlinestudents..Beopen-mindedaboutsharinglife,work,andlearningexperiencesaspartofonlinelearning.Manypeoplefindthattheonlinemethodrequiresthemtousetheirexperiencesandthatonlinelearningoffersthemaplacetocommunicatewitheachother.Thisforumforcommunicationremovesthevisualbarriersthathindersomestudentsfromexpressingthemselves.Inaddition,studentsaregiventimetoreflectontheinformationbeforereplying.Inthisway,studentscanhelptokeeptheonlineenvironmentopenandfriendly..Beabletocommunicatethroughwriting.Inthevirtualclassroomnearlyallcommunicationiswritten,soitiscriticalthatstudentsfeelcomfortableexpressingthemselvesinwriting.Somestudentshavelimitedwritingabilities,whichneedtobeimprovedbeforeoraspartoftheonlineexperience.Thisusuallyrequiresextracommitmentbythesestudents.Whetherworkingaloneorinagroup,studentsshareideas,perspectivesanddiscussionsonthesubjectbeingstudied,andreadaboutthoseoftheirclassmates.Inthisway,studentsgaingreatinsightsfromtheirpeers,learningfromeachotheraswellastheinstructor..Bewillingtospeakupifproblemsarise.Rememberthatinstructorscannotseetheirstudentsinanonlinecourse.Thismeansstudentsmustbeabsolutelyexplicitwiththeircommentsandrequests.Iftheyexperiencetechnicaldifficulties,orproblemsinunderstandingsomethingaboutthecourse,theyMUSTspeakup;otherwisethereisnowayanyonecanknowsomethingiswrong.Ifon