Multiculturalism

        I grew up only speaking one language, Spanish.  It was the only language I was taught at a young age.  The only English that I was exposed to at the point in my life before public education was my two older cousins that had already begun school.  This is where I learned some basic words like water, run, play, food, candy, and soda.  When I was three I attended a head start program where I formally began to learn English.  This is where I had teachers to help me extend my English vocabulary.  It was very hard at first, but as little kids seem to do I picked it up very fast.  I would come home and show my parents what I had learned, and they would help me by speaking English as well.  This benefited me greatly and I soon became bilingual.  

        At the end of Head Start, before I could go to kindergarten, I had to take this test that would show that I was indeed bilingual and could understand and speak English.  I aced the test and moved on to kindergarten, but it was not the same thing that I was used to.  I had a hard time adjusting to the class because when I did not understand something the teacher could not just repeat it in Spanish for me.  It was also difficult to make new friends and to do well in class because it seemed like everyone knew more English than I did.  This, though it was hard, threw me into the pit and made me learn more English through experience.  I feel that learned stuff here faster because that’s all anyone ever spoke.  None of the teachers spoke Spanish to me and I was forced to listen and learn.  

        I ended kindergarten having had lots of fun and making many more friends than I ever thought I would have.  As I moved on to first grade, my parents and I had a decision to make.  Keep me in all English classes or to put me in a class where I would learn how to read and write in English and Spanish.  We ultimately decided that in order to stay up with all the other kids, I should just be in an all English class.  When we did this, I did keep up with all the other kids by learning to read and write English, but I didn’t move forward in my Spanish speaking skills as much.  I still spoke and understood Spanish, but I would always just speak English to practice.  So, when my family spoke to me in Spanish I would reply in English.  Then for a while, I felt as if I could not speak Spanish anymore and that all I could do was understand it.  I quickly regained the ability, but I still sometimes mispronounce words that I would not if I had taken the Spanish class in first grade. 

            

#PsychStory

One of the main reasons why I have been very motivated to still learn Spanish is because
my family and I visit relatives in Mexico twice a year.