Yousfi Yassir is pursuing a Master’s in ‘’ Culture and Linguistics “ at the University of Ibn Tofail. He holds a Bachelor degree in Linguistics from the University of Moulay Ismail in Meknes (2012) and a second one in Applied Linguistics & TEFL from the Faculty of Educational Sciences in Rabat (2014). Yassir has conducted a research on “The impact of On-Line Social Networking Sites on University Students’ Achievements.”
Agourai, Morocco,
How Reading changed my Life by Anna Quindlen is a book I read last year that pushed me to write this article. Quidlen tells her life story through the books she read. For Quidlen, it is reading that changed her life. However, great inventors, intellectuals, and scientists like Stephen R Covey, Ernest Hemiway, and others became great because of their self-determination, tenacity, and diligence.
As far as I am concerned, at the university, I have come across some professors who have inspired me and changed my way of thinking to be more optimistic. To put it differently, they have completely changed my negative paradigm into a positive one. I experienced that transformation with different professors in different institutions.
To start from the university where I started, Moulay-Ismail University, I was taught by some qualified professors how to achieve my goals and objectives. In a word, they were motivators in my life. They inspired not only me, but also my fellow classmates thanks to their amazing methods of teaching, personal experiences, and goal-oriented pieces of advice. In another institution, the American Language Center of Meknes, where I was also studying, I came across some teachers who are also outstanding. Namely, at some clubs, like writing club, song club, grammar club and public speaking club. All these teachers did their uttermost to make every student an autonomous and able learner.
Last year, at the Faculty of Education of Sciences in Rabat, I experienced the same thing with some inspiring professors. They encouraged us to trust our abilities, to be self-confident since we are the future teachers. They pushed us to read many works and be critical thinkers. Without any shadow of a doubt, this is the year that changed my life in all aspects.
All the above-mentioned professors of different institutions have strongly insisted on reading voraciously as university students. Reading everyday is one of the ways in which I found myself improving both academically, communicatively, and critically. Reading every day might be a challenge, but it is the best decision I have made in my life, especially in the past few years. If a student, for instance, asks his professors how he can improve his level in a particular language, I am sure the professor would suggest reading. Even eminent scholars, if asked, would certainly suggest the same thing.
Even though Stephen Krashen, the famous author and applied linguist, has insisted on his Five Hypotheses of Second Language Acquisition, particularly on ‘the comprehensible input hypothesis’ that listening is the most important skill one can do while learning a language, he did not neglect reading. Even more, he produced a book called “The Power of Reading” in which he pointed out to his proofs based on a myriad of studies and research that have been conducted concerning the many positive impacts of reading. It is true that reading helps in reading and listening in speaking just as Krashen claims, but reading can be seen as the most powerful tool that enriches the mind. The lecturer, for example, lectures thanks to his knowledge that has been read mostly in books.
I am very indebted to my professors who led me to this path, the art of reading. Therefore, as reading has changed my life, it can also change the life of anyone else. I am certain that without reading, I would not have been able to write this article.
