## Poem (1)

In this section you are going to read a poem about learning a language.
Discuss with a classmate:
Do you think learning a language is easy or difficult?
Now read the poem.
Does the writer think learning a language is easy or difficult?

Learning a language

Learning a language
is like doing a jigsaw puzzle
of a million pieces
with a picture that keeps changing.
It's like getting lost in a foreign city
without a map.
It's like playing tennis without a ball,
like being an ant in a field of grasshoppers.
It's being an acrobat with a broken leg,
an actor without a script,
a carpenter without a saw,
a storyteller without a middle or an end.
But then gradually
it's like being out in the early morning
with the mists lifting.
It's like a chink of light under a door,
like finding the glove you were looking for,
catching the train you thought you were going to miss,
getting an unlooked-for present,
exchanging a smile.
And then one day it's like riding a bicycle
very fast downhill.
Olivia McMahon
(Britisch Council Webpage)

The poem is divided into three parts. Each part consists of (=bestaat uit) comparisons (=vergelijkingen). Work together with a classmate.

Each of you chooses one comparison from each part (so you must have six in total). Look up difficult words in a dictionary as for example www.macmillandictionary.com .
Then explain your comparisons to each other.
The three parts in the poem are different.
What is the difference (in meaning) between the three parts?
Work together with a partner.
Can you think of an extra comparison for each of the three parts with a similar meaning?