After this my parents couldn't get me to respond in Hebrew to them.

I only re-learned Hebrew as a college freshman when I moved to Israel. I was thrilled to be immersed and had to learn the language to communicate in school and with my Kibbutz Family.

Second language development was in Spanish and it started EARLY, like 4 years old/Kindergarten. I got instruction at my school and at home (my dad knew a little for work). It came very easily to me and I practiced whenever I could. My instruction continued through first year of college. Since then I've not had consistent practice with speaking Spanish. My strength is with understanding reading and listening in Spanish. If I'm forced to use it, it does click and come back to me though.

I have not acquired a second language. Although I took 3 years of Spanish in high school, I do not have many memories of learning the language.

My initial recollections of language acquisition are somewhat hazy, but one distinct milestone stands out — my involvement in spelling bees during the latter years of my elementary school journey. While the details of my early language exploration remain elusive, the vibrant experiences of participating in these spelling competitions are quite clear.

I did not have a second language so to speak, but I did have a dialect from my country and because of it, I did not like to speak. I have vivid memories of my mother having me practice every evening at the kitchen table how to say things the "American" way.

I do not have a second language. I took Spanish 1-3 in high school and was fluent. (I could hold a conversation) I didn’t use it in college and my first years teaching so I sadly lost everything that I had learned about the language. “If you don’t use it, you will lose it” Maybe one day, I’ll have the time and energy to learn it again.

I grew up in Jamaica; our official language is English; however, we use our dialect – patois to communicate in informal settings. Learning our dialect was enjoyable, but when it was time to use English, I struggled with words that started with ‘h’ and ‘th' because we do not pronounce them in patois. To date, I still struggle with this and thus have to consciously pronounce them.

My first memories of language was of household members talking.

The spoken or unspoken communication method used in different cultures. Language can evolve in a country among the different cultures, and are derived from older languages (etymology).

Languages can be written or unwritten, with symbols/characters to represent the language.

What memories do you have from learning a second language?

I began learning Spanish in High School and continued into college, earning a minor degree in the language and studying in Spain for 5 weeks. I loved learning the language in an immersive setting, but felt frustrated in learning the grammar and conventions of the language, as they were challenging to decipher and apply.

I took 2 years of Spanish in high school and still cannot speak or write it well. I can read it and understand a bit of what I read but struggle when hearing it spoken and trying to comprehend. I was also inspired last year to learn Portuguese at the behest of one of my students. I have been working on it for a year and am still in the basic stages of learning to read and write it. I am still not good at speaking it but am better at reading and speaking than I am understanding when it is spoken to me in a natural conversation.

My memories of learning language are pretty vague. My parents were very involved in our learning, and I honestly don't remember a time when I didn't know how to read. I currently do not speak more than one language, but I have tried teaching myself Spanish. It has been a struggle!

My second language acquisition was with my mother. She was really big on speaking grammatically correct and communicating for clear understanding. I work really hard to encourage my daughter and students to speak grammatically correct.

My second language acquisition at the beginning was a challenge. I started a job with English language speakers and just one employee speak Spanish, but our supervisor doesn't allow her to speak Spanish to me because then I will not be learning English. But thanks, him, I can say that I tried my best to learn and communicate with them at work.

A way of communicating be it through speech, gestures, and writing. This year learning spanish with my students has been interesting because many of the words we us in English are very similar to the terms in Spanish.

I do not remember speaking my first language. Although I do not speak a second language fluently, I took several Spanish classes. I remember learning the sounds of the alphabet first, then basic vocabulary words for objects, and lastly, sentence structure with verb agreements.

My first memories of learning was in kindergarten. I knew how to speak English but we spoke gullah and I had to understand that I could not cut my words and slow down talking for others to understand me.

I think of language as a system of communication made up of symbols that allow people to share meaning. It’s how we connect, express emotions, and share our stories.

I do not speak another language. From an early age, I learned that there are different ways to speak depending on the audience and situation. At home and in the community, African American Vernacular English was a natural and comfortable way of communicating. It wasn’t something explicitly taught, but rather something you absorbed from listening to family, neighbors, and peers. It wasn’t just about words or grammar, it carried humor, emotion, and shared experiences that connected us as a community.

At the same time, I learned that there was a "proper" way to speak, especially in school or in formal settings.

I first remember learning my none native language, Spanish, when I was in 7th grade. It was not particularly difficult to memorize but I did not retain most of it because I did not use it beyond school. As an adult, it proved to be more challenging to remember the phrases or new words of the Spanish language.

I am only fluent in one language, however, I can be conversational in ASL and am refreshing my memory and language skills in Spanish. Regarding my memories of learning English, they are vague. However, I have always loved reading which I believe helped me learn English as a child. My family always read to me each night which cultivated a love for reading. I do remember having difficulty with auditory comprehension of language when someone was speaking to me. I always benefited from having visuals.

My memory of learning language is in Kindergarten. I often tried to make learning a game and tried to see how fast I could pick up the letters. I struggled with writing english. I realized the struggle with taking all of the English sounds and creating appropriate sentences.

I remember taking Spanish for 3 years in high school and found it fairly easy. Remembering the language became difficult over the years because I was only speaking what I had learned in class. When I complete lessons on Duolingo, it all comes back to me in bits and pieces.

Reflecting on my own experience, I don’t remember exactly how I learned to speak. However, watching my kids, I noticed they picked up language by repeating what they heard. I assume that’s how I learned too.

My idea of language is the sounds, syllables and words that help us describe things to one another or give directions to one another along with the body language that helps to express what we want when we don't use words. My earliest memory about learning a language was when I was in pre-k. I had a southern dialect from my grandmother that raised me although I was being raised in New Jersey I was not around a lot of other people so the only voices I heard were those of my grandparents so my words sounded like theirs and I know a lot of children made fun of me so I made it a point not to sound like my grandparents into sound more like in northerner but I could speak it I remember speaking but I remember feeling picked at because of the way my sounds and words came out and that made me self-conscious about speaking for a while.  I also remember being told not to use certain phrases that we used because they were not appropriate for school even though they were not bad.

My first memory of language acquisition is vague but I do remember as a child having a speech impediment. I never received speech, my parents just worked with me

Language is a way of communication. It can be written, spoken and gestures. Language can be cultural as well.

I do not have any true memories of learning the English language. However, I recall in fourth grade learning Spanish. I took Spanish from fourth to seventh grade. Now that I have Hispanic in-laws I can understand phrases, unfortunately, I do not sound as well as I did when I was younger.