Personal Narrative: Being Part Of The Dual Language Program

Maya Angelou once said “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” With that being said, is it important to take in all the thing people say about you? Personally I don’t think so. We cannot control what happen around us and what people says about us, but we do have the power to avoid getting control by people’s saying. My English learning journey began when I was around 4 years old. For me English is like a second nature; I use it so often that I feel like I’m more connect to it than Chinese. By the time I finish kindergarten my parent wants me to continue my education under a system that involve English. So they decided to send me to an international school. At the start I was thrill by the opportunity, but the best part of all is that I get to study at the same school as my sister.

I was born in Mexico where I lived for 10 years and at that age I moved to the US. I didn’t speak English at all and also, didn’t know anyone in this foreign country. I was constantly bullied at middle school because I didn’t know the language very well and had an accent when I spoke. At that moment I vowed to myself to work hard everyday and never let anyone bring me down. I started reading out loud in my room, learning how to pronounce words and finding the definitions to everything I was reading. I was also, placed in a class for English as a Second Language and was enrolled in this course for my first two years during middle school. In 8th grade I was able to transfer out of this class into a regular English class. I got an award for English

challenge and hurdle of my life. Growing up in a family with parents that only

Before I turned four years old, my mother and I moved to join my father in Berwyn, Illinois. My sister ended having to stay back a couple of months so that she could finish her school year. We arrived to a nice apartment in the suburbs, it was a complete scenery change than what I was use to. Everyone seemed to have giant yards, bright green grass, large fences, and freshly painted houses. Back in Fresnillo, we had our large home, but it was rare for houses to have such large yards, so close to the heart of the town. From the time of the move until my first year in kindergarten, I had a bit of time to adjust, watching cartoons in English, I am not quite sure how I picked it up but I did. At that time my mother only spoke Spanish, my father is bilingual, but he would speak to us in Spanish.

Since the beginning of colonization, individuals have immigrated for a better future allowing their offsprings an experience of a new culture. Bilingual programs have offered students the knowledge of another culture and allowing students and individuals to come as a whole and becoming a family. This programs have allowed students to not forget their cultures but instead it has helped students get rich in knowledge of their own culture, and the new and unknown one too. Making this society diverse.

Every year, a few days before Christmas break, my Spanish teacher hosts a Christmas party for all of the faculty. The students in his Spanish four class are responsible for preparing Hispanic influenced cuisine. However, the whole fiesta is coordinated by those brave enough to venture into AP Spanish. Although I’m in the level four course, my teacher assigned me as the chief organizer and décor extraordinaire. We only had four weeks to pull everything together so time was of the essence. By infusing a lot of positive energy and publicity about the occasion, we managed to spread the news and excitement among the faculty. Despite a few challenges with communication and organization, we managed to pull it off with great success. The teachers

“Tienes tijeras?” asked a young girl. Not understanding what she had said, I asked her what she needed in English, but she looked back at me with eyes full of confusion. A simple question from one young girl asking for scissors had made me nervous and completely freeze in the moment. Through this, interacting with the children worried me because of the language barrier which would make it twice as hard as interacting with the children at home.

My growth in English 101 was a long and difficult journey for me this would be my second time around taking this class. The thing that was difficult for me in class was the fact my medication made me drowsy so it made it difficult for me to stay awake in class some days. I was lucky this time around I had a teacher that was energetic and kept me awake enough to understand what we are supposed to do in the next paper. When we did a new paper we learned a new style of writing and strategies on how to write it more effectively. I would say the most difficult paper that I had to write was the innovation research paper but I learned how to find credible resources faster. I learned a lot in this class and grew a lot as a writer. So the five WPA topics

Therefore, the voices of these women still resonate in my life to this day. My upbringing in Mexico and my college years in Texas, brought in me a deeper understanding of the real purpose of my language. Ever since, being bilingual has shaped the way I interact with the world and has aided me throughout my career’s day-to-day

I’m not really the loud type. I love to ponder questions but it’s just to myself. Sure, I love a good competition and sometimes I enjoy battling with talents. A struggle between the smoothest folds of origami paper versus the flyability of a paper airplane. But I don’t like to be the center of attention. I’m not the one to speak up a new idea. I’m not out-going by nature; I rarely challenge others openly and I abhor presentations. This is me. “Who wants to present their project first?” My middle school language arts teacher’s voice rang out like a harsh, shrill whistle. We’ve just finished a unit on Egyptian mythology and many projects were dying to be presented. I had worked hard and I could feel my project squealing to be revealed; like a rodent trapped under a trashcan lid. My teacher uses popsicle sticks. However, this time she asked “who would like to present first?” The hands of my rambunctious classmates shot up: Nick, John, Cece. Anyone else? My stomach sunk as I felt myself raising my hand. Like a bright searchlight on a runaway prisoner, my

The depth of my cultural understanding is accumulated with the diverse norms and beliefs surrounding my country. I was born in Merced, California, a city full of culturally mixed ethnicities and traditions. My family taught me to embrace my cultural background as early as the years of my infancy. My parents believed that the sole route to input my nation’s traditions into my soon diverse mind was to teach me my nation’s primary language. Punjabi became my first and only language during the years of my early childhood. The challenges that exceeded after it became an important aspect that endorsed motivation and determination in my life. My first step in Kindergarten showed my parents that enrooting only one culture would not suffice in any nation. The language barrier between me and the other students enriched characteristics of timidness and shyness. The other students feared my cultural distinction and left me to play alone. Though this experience was difficult, it taught my parents and I to extend our culturally nativities and accept the divergent societies in America. Eventually, English became my primary language as the years of middle school taught me to adapt to the language. An accent had left my English language but impacted my Punjabi language as

Imagine being five years old and learning a new language. Having to learn how to properly speak and write in that language by six years old. Imagine going home and not being able to get any help from anyone because they don't know the language you're learning. Going home day after day staring at a page with letters and words you don't know how to make sense of. Then imagine slowly you're starting to understand that language and you can finally communicate with humans who speak that language. Soon you conquer their language and their writing. After that you feel that you can conquer any obstacle that is thrown your way. But can you?

Do you find any benefits for having a Dual Language program? If so, what are they?

It was like stepping into a whole new world, a whole new life. Moving to a different country changes everything from the food, the clothes, the culture, and even the air. One area of the move that impacted my sister and I the most was a new school. Not knowing one of the most popular languages in the world made things very difficult, however, both my sister and I quickly adapted to the new language, and soon enough our parents would advise us not to forget our native tongue. At a young age I believed that I could never speak another language, but as the years passed, I became more comfortable in speaking English. I was proud of myself that I accomplished something that I doubted I could do. Throughout my journey of learning English my parents

We live in a world surrounded by people of various cultures, countries, and ethnicities, who all speak different languages. As a young child, I attended a Spanish immersion program through my pre-school and elementary school. I was absorbed into a new culture much different from my own. I grew up learning words in Spanish before I knew them in English. I also developed unexpected friendships, spending much of my childhood in Spanish speaking households. As a college student, I look back on this time and greatly appreciate the skills and lessons I cultivated from learning a second language. Second language education should be required in elementary schools. Learning a second language leads children to become successful students with prosperous futures and connects people of different cultures.