ESL Blogs

This month we are going to write about September 11th.  As you know, the tenth anniversary is coming up on Sunday.

MyEC is a great place to share our feelings about September 11th because our members are from all over the world. A member from India will have a different memory than a member from North America. We all bring a different perspective to this historic event. Some of you may have been too young to remember the event, and will have different views about it than those who watched it on the news. 

Your Task

1) Create a new blog post. Use the title "Writing Challenge #35: My September 11th Memory"

2) Write a paragraph (or more) about your memory of September 11th by answering the following questions:

a) Who were you with on September 11?

b) What were you doing when you heard the news?

c) Where were you when you heard the news? (please include the country as well)

d) How did you feel that day?

e) What is one of your most memorable moments from that day? (If you were too young, ask your parent or sibling and share their memories.)

3) Proofread your paragraph(s) for spelling and usage errors. Use bold to highlight vocabulary or expressions that may help other learners.

4) Publish your post. Share a link to your post in the comments below. Visit other #35 posts and ask your friends questions about that day.  

*BONUS challenge (optional): Record your memory using a tool such as Vocaroo or Audioboo. 

My Example: 

On September 11th, 2001, I was living in Vancouver, Canada. I had taken the bus to the English language school where I taught English conversation and writing to teens and adults. My students were mainly from Japan and Korea, but there were also a few international students from other countries such as Mexico and France.

I had forgotten to bring my coffee with me that morning, so I was downstairs in the lobby of our building having a coffee in the café. There was a very small TV in the coffee shop, and the news was showing something disturbing. I remember thinking there had been a subway accident. Before long, I realized that there was something more serious, but I still couldn't figure out what it was. When I looked at my watch I realized I was going to be late for class. I hurried into the elevator and went up to the school. The students had started to arrive, and many were confused and worried. They knew something major had happened in the US, but they didn't understand what it was. They wanted the managers and teachers to explain the news.

We didn't have a TV set up at the school, so we relied on the managers to find out information for us. The teachers tried to teach as usual, but it was hard to concentrate. Eventually, we had a meeting about it. The events coordinator explained what he knew in simple English. Students were sad and shocked as were teachers. Many students went back to their homestay houses to watch the news. 

I spent most of the day worrying about my stepson. He had just moved to the US with his mom and he was starting at a new school that week. It felt like he was so far away. My husband and I made a meeting plan in case anything happened in Canada. We wondered if the world was about to go to war. This is what the journalists were suggesting. We planned to meet at a bookstore nearby if anything happened to prevent us from going home in the days ahead.

One of my most memorable moments of the day was talking to my mother on the phone in Toronto. She was dying of cancer at the time, but was at home that week instead of in the hospital. While everyone else was glued to the TV, my mom seemed uninterested in the news. She was fighting for her own life, and didn't have the energy or spirit to reflect on things like terror or hatred. I think she knew she only had a few more months to live. To her, that was all that mattered.