__(37)__. As predicted by the doctor, I experienced exasperating language delays and problems in decoding speech sounds during the first year of my life. Unlike other babies, language did not come naturally to me; my language learning experience involved serious effort. I nonetheless attained native-like proficiency in my first language, Mandarin, became a highly proficient speaker of my second language, English, and am currently a speech pathologist. __(38).__ Some might say that this incredible feat was made possible thanks to the brain’s ability to reorganize and restructure itself. The fortune of encountering several inspiring mentors, however, is the main reason in how I overcame the biological and mental barriers in my own personal growth over the years. These inspiring mentors have taught me a number of teaching philosophies, which are quite instrumental in shaping my own teaching. Among these important philosophies, I have come to realize that instruction needs to be continuously developed, nurtured and evaluated by teachers and students, experts and novices, and by peers. __(39).__ In spite of this comprehension issue, I was fortunate enough to come across several teachers whose patience, creativity, and, most importantly, adaptation of their teaching structures allowed me to access each concept in a supporting environment. __(40).__ Instead, I saw alternatives that enabled me to accomplish the particular goal of learning. Thus, in my own personal growth as a teacher over the years, I have worked very hard to understand my students’ individual learning styles, accommodate their instructional/learning needs, deliver my courses at their levels, and teach by illustration and analogy.
【題組】37.
(A) Being a linguistically deficient learner, I often needed more time and help than my peers in comprehending the concepts presented by my teachers.
(B) Born two months premature, I weighed only 35 ounces — a little more than a venti-size Starbucks coffee — and was diagnosed by the doctor as having suffered slight brain damage that might debilitate my future language development.
(C) Because of these amazing instructors, I did not view my limitations as an end to my learning.
(D) What helped me overcome my language barriers and become a successful language learner in spite of this physiological deficit carried from birth?