The Struggles of Speaking Two Languages Did you know struggles are something we need in our life? Growing up there are many things that you will learn. For example, I had to learn a new language beside the one I already spoke. Since I was born the language spoken in my home was Spanish. I had to learn English as I started school when I was only five years old. I had difficulties with English, becuase Spanish is my first language. Growing up I struggled in learning English, how to read, and write. Learning English as a new langauge for me was difficult as I began school. I was raised in a family where Spanish was the only language spoken. My first language I learned to speak is Spanish. At the age of five I began school, and there is …show more content…
In elementry school I still had a rough time trying to comprehend both languages English and Spanish. I struggled in writing more than I did in reading, but both are still a struggle for me. In fifth grade I was placed in an ESL class where there were many students in there like me trying to comprehend a new langauge. In that class they would teach us English and how to read and write it. I learned a lot in my ESL class because I felt like everyone was at the same pace. I did not feel left behind. In my other classes I felt really behind, because I could not comprehend as fast as the other students. As I grew older I started middle school and I was place in the regular classes. I did not have to take ESL clssess throughout my middle school days. I still had a tough time reading and writing in English I was not as great as other students. My problem was that at home I had to speak Spanish in order to communicate with my parents. While at school I had to speak English to be able to conversate with my peers and teachers. Although writing and reading are tough I still wanted to learn and continue with my education and not give …show more content…
I graduated from middle school and now is time to attend high school. My first day in high school I was extremely nervous. I had six different classes English and writing were a part of my six classes I had in high school. Writing is a subject I have struggled since I can remember. One of my biggest problems in High school was trying to write an essay I really struggled in that. I was not as great as other in essays, because I had a tough time learning English growing up. Since I was a little girl, I have always spoken Spanish more than English. Now that I am older I feel that I speak more English than Spanish. When it comes to essay I just really cannot stay organzied when I start to write. I have to make an outline and figure out what I will be writing about. Although essays are difficult for me staying organzied has helped me work through them in high school and now in college as well. I graduated high school in the year of 2014. I waited a year to attend college and I wish I would have gone right after high school. Now that I am in college I had to take reading and writing again to undertsand it better. In college we write numerous essays and I struggle writing them, but not as bad as I did in high school. I have learned that staying organized can help me with my essay. When I had to write an essay, I have a problem staying on topic. I get distracted easily and lose track of what I am
I came from Mexico when I was 4 years, and like many of us I did not know English. Little by little I became fluent until I now can dominate English. Many people come to this country for a better life, but once in this country, we notice how essential English is for our everyday life. Being bilingual can be very beneficial for anyone in this country. I may be fluent in English, but I still prefer speaking in the Spanish language. This may be because at home that is all we speak. Both my parents do not really know English much. It’s better for me to talk to them in Spanish. I can try to talk to them in English but there may be a few words they won’t
It was difficult for me because I didn’t always understand certain words or phrases in English that I knew in Spanish, and sometimes I felt left out. In the middle of the year, my family moved me to a school with a Bilingual Program. Again, I had a hard time because now I had to learn all of the letter names and sounds in Spanish that I had been learning in English.
My parents did everything they knew to help my sister and I learn and respect our Mexican culture. Born into American culture but raised by Hispanic parents, often was difficult for me. Since I was little I had to manage and balance two very different cultures at the same time. There were many times while growing up that I encountered complex situations in regards to language, whether to speak Spanish or English and when it was appropriate. I felt a lot of pressure having to act as an interpreter for my parents when we were out in public. At home I was told to speak Spanish so I would not forget, but at school I was taught to only speak English with my teachers and friends. However, when we would go visit family in Mexico, I was expected to only speak in Spanish, since speaking in English in front of family members who only spoke Spanish was seen as disrespectful. So learning two languages has been very beneficial to my life and for my family. By
Throughout this semester we have had to write many types of essays. Although this is a college English class there is still room for improvement. I made much improvement during the semester of the class. I was able to identify my weaknesses. I learned how to make improvements to the areas I was having problems in. Although each essay we did was different I was able to begin with one essay and throughout the semester turn it into two other essays. I was able to change my style of writing to fit the type of audience I was working with. I will continue to work on my writing and keep improving it.
In conclusion, learning English was a challenge when it was first introduced to me, but now I have overcome that challenge. I am able to defend myself in the outside public world of English with no shame at all. I now understand how fortunate I am to know another language different from my own. For me, it is important to still have my first language because it is a way to retain the Mexican culture. It is just the way I was raised to believe.
Transitioning from Spanish to English was the most difficult thing ever. At age six I didn't know much. I thought Spanish was the only language since that's all I learned and heard. Being told by your parents you have to learn English before school was confusing. I didn't know why I had to learn a new language.
As a child, I had to navigate from an English-speaking classroom to a Spanish-speaking home. At eight in the morning I was given instruction in English by my professors at school. After three in the afternoon at home, I engaged in Spanish conversation with my mother, father, and siblings. When the summer vacation came around, it was back to speaking Spanish only, and then I regained the Mexican accent that had faded away during the school year. My experience learning English was different from what earlier Spanish-speaking generations in the United States dealt with.
For as long as I can remember learning how to read and write was a real challenge for me. When I first arrived in the United States I was enrolled at the nearby elementary school. Being from another country I was scared and embarrassed because I was different then the other children in my class. Talking and communicating with others was something that wasn't in the interest of what I wanted to do. I sat far away from others depriving myself of what they were doing or learning. Coming from Mexico and going to a school where no other children would speak the same language that I would or even play the way I did made me believe that I was some sort of thing that didn't belong. All these contributed to a low esteemed child that was unable to communicate. The world I was in suddenly became a place that I didn't know. To the kids and others in my class I was an illiterate person.
Writing has never been my strong suit. I’ve always been more of a math girl. I just feel math comes easier to me, because in math there is one solution to a problem. It would be less frustrating for me if there was a clear formula in writing a perfect essay. I feel when assigned an essay I freak out on how to make it seem smart enough and clean it up enough to at least a “B” essay because I know getting that “A” is a stretch. The most frustrating aspects of writing for me are writing the hook, the thesis statement, and being my own worst critic.
Each class I would go to I would have to switch the accent in which I spoke. It was difficult because Spanish and French were similar in spelling but one was spoken with smoother edges and room for error while the other was rigid and precise. For each class we had an exit ticket that consisted of us speaking a sentence in that language. When it came to my turn and I had to read a sentence to go over what we learned that day in French and that day i decided to discard my usual routine of speaking slowly in order to maintain a clear enunciation. I spoke quickly not paying attention to the pronunciation and assumed I did fine because I was so used to it. Turns out several of the words I spoke were pushed out with a spanish accent. For example the French and Spanish word for garden are both ‘jardin’ but pronounced completely different and I chose the smooth spanish pronunciation. As a result I was given an extra page of homework and not given points for my exit ticket which at that moment felt like the worst thing. It also gave me a push to improve my pronunciation with different languages not only did I not want to be in a position like that again I also liked being able to sound like a different person with each language I spoke. The more languages you speak the easier it gets to pronounce others but the consequence is mixing pronunciation up and potentially saying something you do not
From my experience, bilingual education was a disadvantage during my childhood. At the age of twelve, I was introduced into a bilingual classroom for the first time. The crowded classroom was a combination of seventh and eighth grade Spanish-speaking students, who ranged from the ages of twelve to fifteen. The idea of bilingual education was to help students who weren’t fluent in the English language. The main focus of bilingual education was to teach English and, at the same time, teach a very basic knowledge of the core curriculum subjects: Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences. Unfortunately, bilingual education had academic, psychological, and social disadvantages for me.
I was never a person that liked to write essays. This semester I really enjoyed writing those essays and specially because I was learning new things while writing them. Some things I could do to improve my essay writing are not to wait till the last three or four days before I turn my essay in to start doing it. Another thing I will do is if I forget how to do something or about some rule in the common errors I made I will just go back to all the lessons I printed out to have as reference. I think those will help me allot. And one last thing I will do to improve my writing is to try my best not to confuse all those words I got confused. I will do my best to learn each word and its rule of where it goes so I won’t have the same mistakes I had this semester.
When I was a child my dad, and my grandparents taught me how to speak Spanish before I could learn how to speak English. As I continued to learn more and more words, Spanish became my first language, I spoke it fluently, and English came second. When I was ready to start Pre-K, my dad taught me to write in English other than in Spanish. It was hard to learn how to write my letters without knowing them in English and only in Spanish. I would confuse my E’s
I never had any interest in writing before entering high school, I never enjoyed writing essays. I believe the reason was I did not find it necessary to write a 5-page essay on 'To Kill a Mockingbird '. In the real world we will write a page or two for job opportunities and some for the job itself, but hardly ever will you need to write an essay on some book or event in time;
Language has pioneered many interracial relationships and historical milestones. Language is a necessity for basic communication and cultural diversity. Being multilingual is a skill proven influential to a successful future. Due to rapid globalization, countries all over the world are stressing the importance of learning a second, or even third, language. With the exception of time and lack of resources, adults have very few widely applicable disadvantages to learning multiple languages. However, language learning as a child presents more complications. Some of those include not having enough funding at the elementary school level to introduce a program for secondary language, academic overload for the youth, stress for both the parent and student parties, and the mixing of languages. Not all of these complications are true in any or all situations, however, and the absence of them provides multitudes of opportunity for future career and academic success. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the parents or the education legislation to decide whether they encourage the learning of a secondary language at the young age necessary for retention. “The general consensus is that it takes between five to seven years for an individual to achieve advanced fluency,” therefore the younger a child begins to learn, the more likely they are to benefit to the maximum potential (Robertson). Keeping the language learning in high school or beginning the process earlier is a greatly controversial discussion that is important to address because of the topic’s already lengthy suspension.