Ji Soo’s first day at work
Short Story for English Learners
Ji Soo is twenty-one years old. Tomorrow will be her first day at Jan Inc., a software company in Miami, Florida. She will be interning at Jan Inc. until she graduates in May. Even though she’s lived in America for the past three years as an international student, this is her first time working. Before getting this internship, Ji Soo was focused on her studies and learning English.
Ji Soo was born and raised in Busan, South Korea. She studied English in school, but she never practiced. When she came to America for the first time, she realized her English was not very good. She needed more practice with speaking and listening. She made friends with other international students from Korea; however, their English was also not very good. Ji Soo knew she needed to make friends with American students and other students who could speak English fluently. To help her make friends, she joined the drama club at school. During her time in the drama club, she met some really fun students who later became her friends. They did not correct her English when she made a mistake, but Ji Soo was able to listen to them speak naturally, and she improved her speech by actively listening.
One of her drama club friends was also part of a pickleball league in town. He invited Ji Soo to play pickleball one day, and she was able to meet locals who did not go to her school. It was a great opportunity for her to talk to people of all different ages and backgrounds. Between class, drama club, and pickleball, Ji Soo was getting much more speaking and listening practice than what she had in Korea. This gave her the confidence to apply for internships during her last year in college. To prepare for her interview with Jan Inc., she asked her friends to help her practice answering common interview questions. She also practiced on her own until she felt comfortable and confident answering in English.
On the day of her interview, Ji Soo was nervous but, at the same time, excited. She felt unsure about how it would go but also confident because she had practiced so much. Two weeks later, the recruiter at Jan Inc. called her to offer her the position. Ji Soo was over the moon with excitement. She couldn’t believe that just three years ago her English had been so bad, and now she would be starting her new job completely in English. It was a dream come true.
