My dreams

My name is Omran and I'm 29 years old. I come from Damascus in Syria, but I now live in Greenock, a town near Glasgow, with my wife and our children. We've lived in Scotland for almost four years.

At first, it was not easy because of the language barrier. People spoke to me but I didn't know how to reply. I felt embarrassed.

My English classes help me. Today, I understand people better and I feel less embarrassed when I speak.

I try to learn new words every day. I learn new words but I forget them the next day. I learn them again and I forget them less. Eventually the words stick. I like to read and listen to simple stories in English because I see and hear the same words so many times. This helps me to remember them.

I work part time in a pizza shop. I like my job because my workmates speak English and this means I can practise speaking English with them. I speak and understand people a lot better than when I first came to Scotland. I feel less embarrassed when I need to speak English.

I have two dreams. My first dream is to speak fluent English. My other dream is to have a restaurant which sells Syrian food. We're proud of our Syrian food because it's the best in the world!