The Technological Literacy Critical Narrative

In this narrative essay, I will tell you about myself.

I was born in the United States of America. My first language was foreign since both of my parents speak Spanish as their native language and they originated from Mexico. The United States is comprised of English-speaking people because its national language is English and still it is the official language. It meant that in addition to my first language, I had to learn to speak and write in English to communicate in different contexts and situations effectively, since growing up would expose me to other people and not just members of my family, whom I was used to already.

Literacy Narrative Essay 

I am the last born in a family of four. My parents would communicate with me using both their native language and English when I was learning to speak. However, they would mostly use Spanish, since they desired that I identified with the Spanish culture, especially because it was the dominant culture in the neighborhood. My parents would speak to their friends and the neighbors in their native language, and they would communicate back using Spanish too. On the other hand, my parents would also communicate with my siblings using Spanish, but they would respond mostly in English, saying in Spanish only a few instances because of the change in times and background. Learning to use Spanish was not complex for me, since this was something that was used regularly. In addition to this exposure, my parents provided me with toys and other baubles that had Spanish names. The things included cups, plates, jugs, and door markings among other things. Besides, when playing with these toys, my parents and siblings used Spanish names to refer to them. However, my siblings contributed to my learning of English most of all, since their communication was based in English, as they had already started attending school and were used to the English language there.

I started schooling at the age of five with a strong background in the Spanish language. It would not help me in school because instruction, reading, and writing were done in English, meaning that I had to learn that language. The class had some children, whose backgrounds in language were similar to mine, while the others had an English background. For the children who had a strong background in the English language, they had an easier time, since they were only struggling to know how to write. However, those of us who had backgrounds in Spanish had to struggle to learn to pronounce words in English, knowing what those words meant, and writing them down. Therefore, it was three times as hard for us. When starting school I had already been exposed to television because my siblings liked watching it, and I would stay there and watch with them even when I did not understand what was going on or what was being talked about. The television helped me learn a few words because of watching; I could hear certain English words and would start pronouncing them. I got interested in watching television, especially cartoons because my immediate elder sister loved them and I would watch them with her. Before going to school, I never understood the significance, but continuing, I saw things that I had been taught in school and I was very happy to point them out, especially when my parents or siblings were around. I did not get the whole time I wanted to watch television because my parents were a little bit strict, and they used to say that television interferes with the speaking of the Spanish language, as the programs were brought in English. I did not understand whether they were serious or they were joking, but they limited television time because they wanted us to do some other things, such as going out to play with other children and doing our homework. In school, we used rulers that had letters from A-Z on them. We also used charts that had simple words and pictures of the things that described these words. Slowly we were exposed to more complex words as we mastered the simple ones.

Technological Devices

As a child, I never understood the real value of such technological devices as phones and laptops. I could see my parents and siblings hold the phone by their ear and say “hello” then went on to talk. I used to take the phone and say hello, even when nobody was on the other side because I saw my parents doing that. However, growing up, I understood that whenever my parents and siblings said hello on a phone, someone was on the other end. Therefore, when I saw them put the phone to their ear, I would try to get the phone off their hand, and even cried so that I could say “hello” and hear the person from the other side and mumble my own words. At about the age of seven, I had understood the importance of a phone and could even talk fluently with the person on the other side. Then the laptops appeared, which I could see my parents and my elder siblings pressing things on them. I cried for it and when I had a chance, I pressed those things not knowing they were keys and that they were supposed to write certain things. I did not even care to see or know what I wrote on the screen. However, slowly I started to realize that pressing those things wrote certain symbols on the screen. I then learned that the things that I pressed wrote meaningful words, such as my name and more. Hereupon, I already knew what keys to press to type certain things. I am sure this was a funny experience, though sometimes it irritated my parents and siblings. For them, it all seemed like watching me do some silly things and cry for that. Anyway, these things helped me know how to write, read and speak.

In school, I was exposed to several things that were there. For the first time, I saw a blackboard that made me surprised at what the teacher was doing on it, so that white marks remained on it when she stopped scribbling. It made me curious so that I could scribble things using the white thing that I later learned was called chalk when the teacher was not there. We did this together with my classmates, enjoying what we saw on the board, even though we did not understand anything. I then started writing letters such as A, B, C, and so on, and eventually, my teacher had introduced me to the rest of the letters. I would write the letters using something called a pencil that left grey marks on the paper. In the first days, I remember having problems holding it, even after the teacher instructed me how to hold it several times. I would use the rubber to enjoy the experience. Luckily, the days of punishment had gone, and the teacher was to be patient with pupils like me, who were stubborn and wanted to do their own things. The only thing she could do was to talk to me and make my parents talk to me. After the pencil, I was introduced to the pen that applied ink in my book and made it dirty. I stained my fingers and clothing with it as I learned how to use it. Books were also introduced for me to write on them.

Conclusion

By the time I learned to read and write, I had done things that impressed and irritated people, who were around me. The reason is that I was curious about certain things and did it to satisfy my curiosity. Now reading and writing in English is a normal thing to do.