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English, the first language i knew how to speak perfectly. People always askes where i was from and if i actually lived in my country. Its always been effortless and its a n language that somehow i expect everyone to know for some reason.
But then again, spoken english is very different from written english. Thats like stepping into another world where its concerned. In school i had to make extra effort to prove i was not just good at speaking but good at writing too.
From essays to tests to examinations to little class activities, writing english was not so easy. I can remember when i first learnt about subjects, verb, object and predicate (S. V. O. P), it was one of the hardest topics in english i had ever encountered and because i could speak fluently, everyone in class looked to me to know and understand the topic.
I had people who stirred at me like, "yeah, after class you're gonna teach me right"..... I can say i was scared half to death but then came phonetics, well it was not as hard but it was also a challenge. In every exam or class or test that had a question from phonetics, i would spend a good amount of time pronouncing words in my head and ended up being one of the last people to finish.
Up until i was in college, it even got easier as i read alot of books, but then came the english exam in university, i was gobsmacked at the first few questions and at the end of the day, i did not pass like i thought i would.
But finally all in all, best graduating student in english still passed me by. Lol. But i did learn a lot. And one thing is for sure, spoken english is definitely way easier than written english.