In honor of summer break, it’s a good time for a little pleasure reading.  We’ve been collecting Quotables from our students for years now.  Some of them come to us in a first, second, or final draft.  Others show up in our students’ journals or on their writing finals.

These Quotables show that part of learning a language is playing with it, making it one’s own.   They are little gems – sentences which native speakers would not likely write, but.ones that non-native speakers make very eloquently.  We hope you enjoy them.

1. When I think of both kinds of houses, I become an imaginary architect, and both kinds of houses give me equilibrium.
2. Unlike my house in Houston, brick built my house in Vietnam.
3. I prefer the Venezuelan style house because I feel affection for the fresh breeze in the morning, and I adore beholding the dawn.
4. Actually, a good idea is like a mother idea. I will have a lot of children ideas then.
5. Karen and I are like a gum.  We look the same, but taste different, and still care for each other like if she was my other piece of gum.
6. Building it was also the problem. It took me some blood.
7. Also, there should be a punishment and fees for those who would drive their car without the inspection. This way, they would throw their money on their mistake, and they might realize that they could use that money to actually fix their car.
8. Money scarcity is my biggest problem. I never have enough of it.
9. Every student is a precious book in society.
10. Sometimes I see the world as if it were black and white again, but I update my mind, and I do remember that I am not in El Salvador; I’m in the United States of America.
11. The horn of vehicles thunders, and the city becomes an abundance of chaos when traffic happens.
12. At night, we were playing guitar and singing together.  We were singing a funny song while I played guitar.  When I was at the beach, I felt soft and it made my soul feel comfortable.

Quotes used with authors’ permission.