I want to tell you about my experience in learning English since my babyhood. Maybe it will be helpful to English learners.

With the name HELEN, you might guess that English was the first language I learned. Since I was born in 1985,1 have been speaking exclusively in English with my Dad. Before I entered kindergarten at the age of five, I was unable to speak any Chi-nese, because I lived only with my Dad at that time. My mother came to work and live with us only after I entered the kinder-garten and began to learn Chinese. Some time later,! could under-stand and even talk with my classmates and other people in Chi-nese. I started writing a diary in English at the age of seven, and still continue to write in it daily.

I have met and made foreign friends from different coun-tries , such as America, Britain, Canada, Australia, France, Ger-many, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Syria, Venezuela and Holland, and still keep in touch with them.

I'm a second grader in a middle school now, and I have many interests, such as reading English novels and listening to B. B. C. or V. 0. A.. Collecting stamps from all over the world is my spe-cial hobby, and of course,! love to make friends.

In 1992, when I was seven, the National Association for English Teaching and Learning of Britain invited my Dad and me to attend the Birmingham Conference, but we didn't get the approval from the authorities. Then in 1994, an American teacher and his elementary school invited us to visit New York city. We got the Affidavit¹ of Support and passports for visiting America, but unfortunately, our applications for visas were refused by the American Consulate² in Shanghai.

In recent years, some American teachers have come to my Dad's college to train English teachers of middle schools. I also at-tended the classes and served as the American teachers' youngest assistant. Since 1995, teachers from my middle school have been involved in a cultural exchange with teachers from Red Wing, MN,U. S. A. ,our sister city. The current American teacher, Ms Macoulay and my class English teacher, Ms He, show great con-cern for improving my English, and both of them do their best to help me. All my teachers and friends encourage me to take advan-tage of every opportunity for English exposure, and I certainly will!

指导教师：何文书