Jennifer Guallpa
Professor Ewan
FIQWS
6 March 2019

A Bilingual Student’s Experience
Being bilingual comes with many advantages that I am very grateful for and it has truly impacted my life. Growing up in a Latin household, speaking Spanish has had such a big impact on my life. Since I was born Spanish was the only language spoken within the household. My two older sisters where in middle school and high school when I was born and they were only allowed to speak Spanish in the household as well. In order for everyone to communicate and understand each other being able to speak the same language was important.

When I entered kindergarten at the age of five I was only able to speak and read a small amount in Spanish. Since I was only able to talk in Spanish I was put into a Spanish speaking classroom where we were taught lessons in English and Spanish. In kindergarten I was taught the Spanish alphabet and English alphabet and how to read and write in both languages. During my first three years of elementary my English has progressed and I was able to form sentences and communicate with others. When I entered the third grade I was put in an ESL program which means English as a Second Language were I was just taught more about reading and writing in English.
At this point in my household English was slowly becoming another form of communication because they were the ones to help me with homework and help me review things for upcoming tests. When my younger siblings were born speaking Spanish was becoming less of a priority and just having a way to communicate was more important now. Since they both attend preschool and early reading programs they were more exposed to speaking English compared to me. They were able to comprehend English faster compared to me.

In my current household a mixture of English and Spanish is spoken. Meaning that me and my family can communicate in English or Spanish and still understand each other. I still communicate with with parents in Spanish because it helps me not forget about the language. Speaking two languages come with advantages that I am very grateful for. Being able to talk and understand in Spanish and English gives me more of a variety either if it is for my personal entertainment such as entertainment or in my career in the future. It also gives me the opportunity to help others such as my parents and grandparents. For my parents, I helped translate during parent teacher conference when the teacher wasn’t able to communicate with them. I also help translate any letters that they need clarification for or need a better understanding of I helped them understand it to the best of my ability.

My mother was able to speak some English already but preferred to speak Spanish to her family. As time went on my mother started helping my younger siblings with their homework and started talking more in English to us. Every time she need clarification for a questions she did not know I helped her and if she didn’t know a word I helped her figure out what it was. Whenever I am around the grandparents we communicate in Spanish and I help them with translate anything that is in English to Spanish. Speaking Spanish helps me communicate with them but also being able to speak in English helps me communicate with other people around me.

Being able to speak Spanish and English helps me experience an abundance, such as entertainment purposes and personal purposes because I am able to understand Spanish speaking entertainment as well as English speaking entertainment. Speaking both these languages helps gives more opportunities for my career. Since I want to work in the medical field or in international businesses being able to speak Spanish gives me that advantage of being able to talk to more people and be able to work with other people. It helps me talk to more people such as patients to tell them any information that they need to know about their health. Being bilingual helps me be open to new opportunities and new experiences that I am grateful for.

My mother and sisters have helped me through the process of learning a new language by always supporting and helping me with any misunderstandings that I have. My mother has always supported me by telling me even if it is hard at first it will be worth it at the end because of the opportunities that you will get at the end. My sisters have also helped me in learning a new language by always helping me with homework and helping me study and review for upcoming reading and writing tests. It has impacted my relationships with my friends because I was able to become friends with people that have gone through the same experiences as me and make friends while either talking in English or Spanish. With my family we can depend on each other and learn from each other because if their are any misunderstandings we can work together and clarify them.

Being bilingual has impacted my life by giving me more opportunities and being able to communicate with my family and friends as well. It has also impacted my education because it lead me to learn more things and it also lead me to figure out what things interest me and how I can improve in order to actually do them. Speaking English and Spanish gives me the advantage to help my family members with their misunderstandings. I am open to new opportunities and new experiences that express how grateful I am to be bilingual.