Fighting Frustration

Just a few years ago a Muslim girl of our acquaintance suffered the frustration of being denied a modern school education by an overly religious-minded father who refused to send her to a convent school. She was particularly keen on learning English, and rather than waste her time brooding over the fact that certain avenues were now closed to her, she began studying on her own. By dint of constant effort, she became proficient enough in the language to sit in the matriculation examination—of course, as a private candidate. Unfortunately she failed in one subject at her first attempt, but this did not make her lose heart. It had the effect rather of making her work even harder than before and, the following year, she passed the examination with flying colours. She continued her studies in this way with whatever little help she could get from people in her neighborhood, and after successfully passing the pre-university examination, she did her B.A. (Honours) in English and then went on to do her M.A. Still, she did not feel satisfied with her prowess, for even although she now had a university degree to her credit, she had somehow not really developed her skills in writing English to any high degree. It seemed impossible to do this without the help of an able teacher, but she remembered the saying: “Where there’s a will, there’s a way!” And she did not lose heart. The strong and unshaken belief that God helps those who help themselves did not fail her. In the course of her struggles, she chanced upon a book published in London, which seemed to solve the problem of not being able to have a teacher. The author, an Englishman, advised foreigners who were interested in learning English to practise writing with the help of a good book, where no teacher was available. They were first to translate selected passages from the book into their own mother tongue. This book was not to be referred to again until these passages had been translated back into English by the students. Then a comparison was to be made with the original. Corrections were to be made, and the corrections committed to memory. Recognizing the value of this technique, she put it into practice over a period of two years, selecting passages from books and magazines with a wide range of topics, vocabulary and styles. This approach proved so successful that she could not only handle all her correspondence independently, but could even write persuasively on topics of general interest in newspapers and magazines. Her skills also made her of great assistance to her brother in his export business.

The technique she employed is one that can be applied to the learning of any foreign language. So it is clear that there are many different avenues which can take us to the top—not just the known, the traditional and the easy-of-reach. We may find that some doors are locked along the way, but, there are always others that remain open and it is just a question of entering the right one to reach our destination. In the world of today, success lies within the grasp of those who are alert to the opportunities around them. Failure is the result not so much of a lack of opportunities but the lack of will to grasp such opportunities as exist, and to pursue one’s course with determination and energy.