The main thought, I think, I have already conveyed to the reading public. Listening must be put in first, honourable place in the study of a foreign language. Precisely now this is available to everyone: films, cartoons, songs and the words to songs can be found on the computer. By the way, about songs. Now it has somehow become unpopular to sing songs, or, if they do sing, one sometimes wants to cry. I mean learning songs in a foreign language for oneself. Well, all right! I will not give advice.
I remembered another very funny incident from my life. It so happened that after school I dropped English. Two years of work after school gave me advantages in entering a humanities institute, namely the Institute of Culture, where we studied at the same time as the future famous “singing rector,” who at that time did not sing, but showed himself in public activity. And I showed myself only in private life, having entered into marriage with my first husband in secret from my parents. Oh, I got distracted!
I resumed the study of English when I was already over 40. I entered the second year of the First State English Language Courses. By then there were more textbooks. I got cassettes with recordings, which I listened to every day, mainly in the kitchen. I listened and quietly wept. I could remember nothing! “My name is Natasha Petrova” — came from the cassette. “My name is Natasha Petrova” — my elder son would repeat, joking, not understanding why I was so tense, at the same time trying still to do something in the kitchen. At that time I no longer had a personal life, but I had a life of survival….