Sociolinguistics Multilingualism at AU Poster by Clara Bauler

Miami

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

When I went to Miami last summer I heard people speaking multiple languages. I heard people speaking mostly in English and Spanish. In some areas of Miami I heard the Russian language being spoken. Depending where you are, you can identify different languages around you.

My Neighborhood

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

I live in an area that is surrounded by people of a similar background as me. When taking a walk around my block, I am able to have a multilingual conversation with others since they speak the same languages as me.

My Uncle's Restaurant

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My uncle's restaurant that serves Latin American food, has servers that speak both Spanish and English. This allows for them to communicate with lots of people when they're trying to take orders and make conversation with them.

BERLIN

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

when I went to Berlin to study abroad this January, everyone all over was speaking German. Although they all speak English, I attempted to speak German when ordering food, talking, greeting, and getting food at grocery stores. It was a bit difficult at first but fun at the end

My neighborhood

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My neighborhood is filled with many diverse people so I always hear several languages being spoken while walking around my neighborhood. One place I see this happening is at my job. My job has many customers coming in and out of the store and are either on the phone or talking face to face to people in their language.

My High School

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

I was fortunate enough to grow up in an area where there was a lot of diversity! I was able to learn about different cultures all throughout High School and even experience them during events that were held. I am fortunate for this experience and I believe it was a privilege to grow up around so many different cultures

Paris

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

When I visited Paris over the summer, I was able to experience all new culture and new language. Everyone spoke French so it was interesting to try and pick up on the language for the week I was there.

High School

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

I attended a very diverse high school. Most of the students in the school were bilingual and I thought it was very great to see other use the multiple languages that they know. I am also bilingual and was able to communicate with my friends in school using the multiple languages that I knew since they did as well.

cuba

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

when i went to visit cuba with my family about 5 years back i left for a month. i went with my base of spanish vocabulary that was pretty wide but once i left i realized how much better i had gotten and how many new words i had learned

Italy

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

When I had went to Italy back in 2019, there was a lot of tourist in each of the cities. I was hearing a lot of different languages around me. The most common language I heard was Italian, when hearing people speak it help me to understand the language better and learn new basic language from just hearing people talk on tours.

Adelphi

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

As being a student at Adelphi, I been learning on how diverse it is. There are students that come from all world. In the UC I hear all different languages being used. I learning the basics of a new language.

Jamaica

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

When I went to Jamaica, I was able to be exposed to new multicultural experiences. I saw the way the people live, and different the lifestyle is than the US. Jamaican people do speak mostly English, but they have their own dialect, and it was interesting to see how they have their own version of English.

High School

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

When in high school I spoke to a lot of people from different backgrounds and cultures. They spoke about cultures and often times spoke in their native languages which I thought was pretty cool to experience.

Disney World

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

I recently went to Disney World in January, and it was interesting hearing people from around the world speak all different languages right in front of me. I recall at a restaurant where you order at your own kiosk, there was a Brazilian family ordering in their native language to a Disney worker who also spoke Portuguese. I even gave directions to a nice Spanish family to the best of my ability in Hollywood Studios, and I felt very accomplished after doing so.

My Job

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

At the pizzeria I work at, I experience multilingualism in many ways. For one, many people of different ethnicities and backgrounds come in and out of the pizzeria so I always have to greet and talk to them when I am either on the phone or serving them. Also, most of the cooks there speak Spanish. At first it was difficult for me to understand them since I don't speak Spanish, but overtime, I have been able to understand them and even picked up some Spanish in the process!

Jackson Heights

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

Jackson Heights, my hometown, is one of the most diverse places on Earth. To get there from Adelphi, all you need to do is take the LIRR from Nassau Boulevard to Jamaica, change for the E train, and take that to Roosevelt Ave. I grew up attending both elementary school and middle school there, and these were spaces where the majority of people came from a cultural background that was different from mine. Walking a span of 10 blocks, you will see at least five different languages displayed on storefronts because our neighbourhood isn't too segregated. I commonly see people from two completely different parts of the world interacting in Jackson Heights because they're brought together by this magical place.

My old job

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

When I used to work at a bakery, many languages were used. My old boss is from Italy and came to America when he was a teenager. Italian is his first language and thats what he uses to talk to some of the other employees there and even some customers. There are also other bakers who speak Spanish that he also communicates with because Italian and Spanish are similar. English is also used between him and my coworkers and most of the customers.

My trip to Italy

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

I went to Italy in my junior year of high school with the foreign language department at my school. I took Italian in high school and I was able to use some of my language skills while I was there. Even though the Italian people knew I was a tourist they still had basic conversations with me. I found that my skills improved and I began to speak more fluently.

High School

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

Throughout most of high school, I took Spanish, which required me to engage in conversations as practice. The high school I attended is in Queens, so there was a broad diversity among the students and faculty/staff. This meant that while English was the primary language for communication, there were other languages taught and used by everyone. Also, we had multicultural food nights and a talent show where people had the opportunity to share pieces of their culture with the school as well as other families.

High School

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

When I was a high school student, I took Spanish classes for two years. Initially, I felt intimidated by the language because it was completely new to me. However, as I began to learn the language and understand its structure, I developed an appreciation for the beauty of Spanish and the cultural richness it represents.

During my classes, I was introduced to various aspects of Spanish-speaking cultures, including their history, traditions, and customs. I was able to see the connections between language and culture, and how they shape our understanding of the world. Through learning Spanish, I was also able to appreciate the value of multilingualism and the ability to communicate with people from different backgrounds and cultures.

At work

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

I work in a Greek restaurant in my town. I speak both English and Spanish. I am able to communicate with my Spanish-speaking coworker and customers when needed. I appreciate that I can switch back and forth between my native language (English) and Spanish when needed.

My Workplace

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

I work in an Italian restaurant but all of the kitchen employees are Spanish. They only really speak Spanish and some English. From working there over the years we have been able to help each other understand each other. I have learned a little bit of Spanish and they have improved with speaking English

In Colombia

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

When I went to Colombia I was able to communicate with my family members in spanish. I was also able to speak to store workers, neighbors and many other people which allowed me to not only practice spanish but to apply it

Puerto Rico

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

During our winter break, our team went down to Puerto Rico for our training trip. Some of the people over there were bilingual, speaking both Spanish and English. I knew how to speak the basics of Spanish so I understood some of them but not all. Since one of my teammates speaks Spanish, translated for me and I learned what they were saying.

When I visited Mexico this past summer, I had to communicate with our taxi driver by speaking the moderate amount of Spanish that I know. My younger brother and mother aren't as fluent in the language as I am, so just about all of the communication was left up to me.

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

Mexico

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

When I was in Mexico with my family we got lost in a local town on our way back to our resort. We tried asking for directions to the resort, but they didn't speak much English. My dad ended up talking to one of the locals in Spanish and was able to get the directions back to the resort.

My work environment

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

The idea of being multilingual has become evident at my job. I only speak English but I work at a gym in a diverse area. The maintenance staff speaks Spanish and other members speak Russian. I engage in a bilingual conversation with the maintenance staff as I am comfortable greeting them in Spanish and they have picked up on English as well. Since some members only speak Russian, I have been able to start having conversations with them and further understand their background.

Florida

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

When our team visited Florida for a golf trip my playing partner for the tournament didn't speak English. The idea of being multilingual for me sounds awesome as it would make you more valuable in the workforce as you would be able to talk to more variety of people.

On Vacation

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

Going on a vacation is a great way to experience new places and immerse yourself into a new culture. When I go to Greece each summer, I visit my family that lives there and re-immerse myself into the culture. I love to eat the Greek food, speak Greek with family and engage in the customs there.

I love going on vacation because I get to visit new places. Especially at the airport there are so many people speaking different languages around you all going to different places which is so amazing. Whenever I go to India with my family I love speaking the language, eating the food and meeting family.

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

France

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

I have cousins who live in France so my family went to visit them in 2019 and it was incredible to me to hear the majority of people around me speaking another language (French) because I have never really experienced everyone's native language not be English.

Other Countries: Traveling

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

when I go on vacation to countries where I speak their native language, I enjoy speaking with them in that language. For instance, in grade school I learned spanish so when I traveled to the Dominican Republic and Mexico I tried to speak in Spanish.

At Work

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

At my job, there are many people who speak Spanish and do not know English very well. I know Spanish so I sometimes speak to them in Spanish, ask about their day or communicate on what task we have to do.

My Neighborhood

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

Most people in my neighborhood speak Russian, so I hear Russian all the time whether it is outside on the streets or in stores

My Seville partner

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

She is definitely proud to be multilingual. She speaks Spanish, English, and French. She's so proud of it where she even wants to be a teacher to teach kids French so they can be more proud of knowing many languages

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

Many international students at Adelphi are proud to be multilingual.

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

I am proud to be multilingual! I was able to use my Multilingual traits to speak to so many more students and it has opened me up to a whole new world

Grandparents

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My grandparents are bilingual (they speak Russian and English). Their native language is Russian. They learned the basic English words and phrases before coming to America. When they settled in America they learned English from conversations and other people (from their surroundings). They are proud to be fluent in both English and Russian

My dad

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My dad is multilingual, he knows how to speak 4 languages and I think thats pretty cool. This skill that he has, he is able to communicate with other who don't speak English fluently.

I am proud to be multilingual, I love learning new languages.

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My Cousin

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My cousin is very proud to be multilingual. She can speak English, Spanish, and French. She uses her knowledge of the language to help tutor children who need help in these three languages for school, as well as for fun.

My Classmate/Friend

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My friend's family is from Guatemala. He always expresses the love he has for the country and always exclaims that he is bilingual and is proud of it. He also supports others with a similar heritage as his.

Students at Adelphi

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

I have been lucky to experience many conversations between Adelphi students from abroad and they speak their native language, which is great to see!

Me

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

I am proud to be bi-lingual especially because I did not know that I was bilingual until this class which is controversial. Reflecting on the idea of what bilingualism really is and I thought that meant I needed to be fluent because that is what I was taught in High School

classmates

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

A lot of the friends i met here at Adelphi are bilingual. It is cool seeing them converse in their native language and see how proud they are. In my high school mostly, everyone spoke only English. Coming into Adelphi it was very cool to see how diverse everyone is .

i am very proud i am multilingual

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

i know that this gives me a great advantage for future jobs so i am so excited to help everyone i can

I am Proud to be Bilingual

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

I am able to speak both English and mostly Spanish, along wit understanding others in Spanish, and I am very proud to be able to communicate in both languages. I know it can also help me with jobs in the future.

My Best Friend

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My best friend from high school Allison is a very proud multilingual girl. She speaks several languages including English, Spanish, French, and a little bit of Korean. However, she is most proud of her Spanish speaking since she is from Colombia and Chilé. I have spoken with her in Spanish to practice for my Spanish classes in high school and college, and I really value her help. Seeing her proud of speak her language and watching her interact with her mom in Spanish always makes me happy to see. They even try to include me in these conversations, and though I'm not sure how well I am speaking, they always help me and give me a pat on the back for trying.

Prof. Chande is a proud billinugal.

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

Prof. Chande often mixes Arabic words in his speech as he address students during Friday sermons. He teaches students the meanings of these words so that they too can benefit from them. He can also switch between English and Arabic effortlessly. It's such an inspiring sight

Tiktok

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

I saw a tiktok that showed a brother and sister speaking to one parent in English and the other in Italian. I think it is really great that the parents are challenging their children to translate and use their language skills. This will help them to become bilingual and preserve their culture.

My parents

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

Both of my parents are multilingual. They can speak Bisaya, Tagalog, and English. My mom can also converse in a bit of Spanish. They both learned Bisaya as their primary and then Tagalog as it is the main dialect of the Philippines. English was taught a bit in school and they learned more once they immigrated to the U.S. My mom was able to learn some Spanish from work. She is a nurse and a lot of her patients only spoke Spanish. The language itself is very similar to the Filipino she knew, so it was not that hard for her to pick up.

My friend

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

One of my friends speaks both Spanish and English. Her first language is English but she became fluent in Spanish in middle and high school. She has tutored ESL students in high school and now wants to become an ESL teacher in the future. She is very proud to be bilingual and is so excited about her future in teaching.

My friend

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My friend is fluent in hindi and english. She explains that hindi is a very expressive language with a lot of head or hand movements. Often she finds it difficult to tone down the expressions or gestures when she is speaking english among others.

my dad

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My dad is multilingual: his first language is Italian, then he learned English in school, and also speaks Spanish at work. My dad does not realize how brilliant it is that he speaks these languages.

Multilingualism

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

I have never fully considered myself multilingual because I am not fluent in all of the languages I know. However, I am actively learning more and consider this Multilingualism! I speak spanish, a good amount of korean and i have been teaching myself sign language so that I can teach my baby this so that she can communicate to me before she can use words. I think multilingualism is so beautiful and important because you never know when youll be able to befriend someone who speaks the same language as you.

Proud to be bilingual

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

I am proud to be bilingual. I can speak and understand both English and Chinese. This allows me to communicate with my grandparents and some other relatives who can only speak Chinese.

My Friend

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

I asked my friend if he is proud to be bilingual and he said yes. When I asked him why? he said that he felt smart. I also feel the same way, but I also like how I could talk to my grandma with the language she knows best.

My Mom

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

I asked my mom if she was proud to be bilingual and she said yes. She told me she's made many friends over the years because she was able to talk to them in their language.

Grandpa

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My Grandpa was a high school Spanish teach who speaks Spanish. He is very proud of this attribute and loved his job for a while. This is part of the reason I took Spanish in high school.

Grandfather

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My grandfather on my father's side of the family speaks fluently in Italian and is considered bilingual for knowing both English and Italian. He often mixes his sentences with English and Italian and is very proud to be a bilingual Italian living in an English-speaking country.

My Mom

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My mom can speak 3 languages fluently. She can speak English, Russian, and Bukharian. She can read and write the first two and understand and speak the last.

Dinner Parties at a Dominican Friend's House

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

When I was in middle school, I spent a lot of time at my Dominican friend's house where I would interact with her family and eat all different foods that I never had before. It was especially interesting to interact with her grandmother who would tell all different stories about her time in the Dominican Republic, and I remember her helping to teach us some Spanish to help us in school. Though I am not close with this friend anymore, I wouldn't trade this experience for the world since it taught me a lot about another culture and my friend.

Holidays with my old neighbors

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

Growing up, I had a Puerto Rican family that lived a few houses down. Over any holiday, we would exchange cultural food. For new year's or Christmas, they would walk down to our house or vice versa, and we would exchange a few plates of delicious food. It became my favorite part of the holidays, and I learned to love food from another culture.

My high school

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

I went to a very diverse high school that frequently recruited students from all over the world to play on the basketball team. I loved getting to know the multicultural students and learning about their backgrounds and different cultures. I am very thankful to have gone to such a diverse and accepting high school.

Learning Classical Indian Music

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

Throughout elementary, middle and high school I was in a classical Indian music class, all of the group members were fluent in Hindi except for me and even though I found it easier to sing in the language it was hard to really feel what I was singing, I learned throughout the class that the language is very expressive, and I began to express the music with my eyes, facial expression or body language and it helped me communicate better with the group members as well. It was a great experience because as I met other multilingual people I found it easier to communicate with them using facial expressions and gestures.

Family Holidays

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

Since I was a kid i have always spent the holidays with my dads family. I would be exposed to spanish language, music, food and much more. Growing up this is where i learned most to communicate with my family and embrace my culture. Growing up I went to a catholic school with mostly Italian children and never really had anyone of the same culture as me so it was difficult to embrace it. However, when I went to these family events I always had a great time and learned so much.

Church

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

At my church, we have meetings that allow us to take part in the culture by doing things like cooking Greek food, and Greek dancing. This teaches us about the Greek customs and helps us connect with other people our age that share our culture.

Shared Roots Class at Adelphi

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

In my first semester, I took a Shared Roots class at Adelphi and one day my professor wanted us to bring foods from our culture to class and share about it. We also had to create a video of our ancestors and share it with our class. This allowed us to hear and learn the different cultures of our classmates.

BSU Meeting on Racism and Gender

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

A majority of these people in this meeting speaks in AAVE so I count it for sure as multilingual. We talked about racism in America as well as black women and men problems in it too. It was a very healthy and well needed conversation.

Friends

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

Almost all of my friends speak in Russian so it's easy for me to have a conversation with them using more than one language.

AU Friends

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

When I'm having conversation in Russian, and another person understands is so cool. An example of this was when my friends and I were speaking in our native language before class. A girl came up to us asking "Ve znayiti Paruski?" (You guys understand Russian?) And I thought that was an amazing experience because we just made a new friend simply because we know the same language.

My Family

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My father's side of the family speaks both English and Spanish. They can communicate with one another in both languages and can switch between the two smoothly.

My grandparents

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My grandparents only speak Spanish so to the best of my abilities, I have small conversations with them in Spanish to connect with them.

My Parents

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

Both of my parents tend to go back and forth between English and Patois. They unknowingly blend them together. I also find myself doing the same thing when I speak with them

Friends

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

All of my friends speak english so personally I only really used that one language with them.

My Family

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

Certain members of my family speak Italian and English. The one thing I never realize is sometimes I will bounce back and fourth between English and Italian in one conversation.

My Family

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

All of my dad's side of the family is able to speak Spanish, thus sometimes I have to speak Spanish with them, since they don't know English well. I can also understand what they're saying and able to have conversations with them.

Friends

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

When I would walk with my friends around town, I would often hear them combine their native language with english. As we were both learning spanish at the time, he would start adding english words in class while trying to speak in spanish, which I felt I would start doing to.

My Grandma's Friend Ann

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My grandma's friend Ann loves to speak Spanish, and she is fluent in the language after spending years mastering it on her own. Since I have been under the weather, she has been checking in and texting me in Spanish wondering how I am doing. She texts me in Spanish because she knows I need practice for my Spanish IV class, and I greatly appreciate her doing this. She always keeps it simple so I understand and I really appreciate it, and as a result, most of the time we end up speaking "Spanglish".

Family

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My family speaks Bisaya(Filipino dialect) and would communicate with me in Bisaya while I responded in English. I would find myself translanguaging with English, Bisaya, and Tagalog at home or with any family. I can comprehend the conversations in Filipino, but cannot speak as fluently as I wish. Luckily, my parents have never pushed me or made me feel ashamed for not being able to converse in Filipino.

My family

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My family speaks a variety of languages and whenever I would speak with my parents, we normally shift from the 3 different languages when we have a conversation. We never really stick to one singular language. For example, we would start speaking in English and then transition to Turkish mid-conversation.

My Coworker

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My coworker who is from El Salvador is mostly Spanish speaking, and I am able to communicate with him in Spanish. I am so glad that I was able to learn a second language, and one that I plan to continue to make useful when I become an ESL teacher.

My Friend

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My friend and I are from the same country and getting to know each other families we noticed that everything is very similar. Even though we only speak English, there are words or foods that are named differently and it is always so funny to hear her comment on something using the same words my family and I would use. It shows me how our family backgrounds can affect our language in such a similar way.

My Family

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My parents are from India, and I was born in America. Usually a typical day for me is talking to them but they would converse in Malayalam and I would talk back to them in English because my Malayalam isn't that good. We would have regular conversations talking about our day, and how school went.

Friend

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My friend and I have a made up language that we use to talk about boy whenever our parents are around. During our facetime calls, we use this language to prevent our parents from snooping around.

Patient Advocate

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

At my job, I was able to translate and advocate on a patient's behalf. The translator was not available at the time, so I stepped in and expressed the patient's concerns to the nurses and doctors.

My coworkers

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

Some of my coworkers speak Spanish and I enjoy learning about their background through their language. They teach me new forms of language that will allow me to grasp more knowledge as well. We have conversations even though they are not that familiar with English and I am not too familiar with Spanish. This proves that creating a safe and encouraging environment can still allow communication with various forms of language.

Friends and Languages

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

Many of my friends speak multiple languages. We all help each other to learn bits and pieces of the languages that we know. It's interesting to have a patchwork of language in your head!

My Family

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My family speaks Russian. I learned that language first, making English my second. Especially with my grandparents, who don't speak and understand english well, I speak Russian. So at home it's in Russian.

Multilingualism

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

I have a couple of friends whose native languages are not English. My friend Dennis’s first language is Spanish because he lives in Mexico, but he speaks English as a second language. We tend to have nights where we’ll do little trade-offs together: He teaches me more Spanish to go along with what I already know, and I teach him more English to go along with what he already knows. We can also text each other in a mix of Spanish and English, which we will do for fun sometimes.

club presidents and advisors

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

clubs likes the

African Student Association Caribbean Students Union

Chabad Jewish Student Group

and so many more

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

Adelphi Muslim Student Association President is a bilingual.

clubs at Adelphi

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

there have been may clubs at Adelphi that are multi lingual and open to multiple languages

clubs at adelphi

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

the great thing about adelphi is that there is a place for everyone, and everyone is accepted and can be understod you just have to find the right people

Diversity at Adelphi

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

Adelphi is very diverse with its numerous clubs and opportunities for us to interact with other cultures and be multilingual. The professors, especially in the linguistic and history departments from what I have seen, are all very dedicated to making their classroom a diverse place and they are also very proud of their individual cultures. I think interacting with the professors (leaders of the classroom) in different languages in classes like Spanish IV or even casually in conversation around campus is great and very beneficial to us as students.

Jack Layton was an iconic bilingual speaker of English and French

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

Jack Layton, who was the Leader of the Opposition in Canada before his death, is an inspiration for those who wish to become bilingual in English and French. During debates in Parliament, he'd effortlessly switch between French and English (as many leaders of federal parties in Canada do) and that's always been a charming sight. Because of their positions on critical issues and competence in the French language, he and his party were able to win over French-Canadian voters from Quebec in a landslide during the 2011 elections. As a result, his party went from being a third-party to a front runner in Canadian politics.

South Indian club at Adelphi

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

This club is a great platform for bilingual hindi speakers to engage in their culture and traditions, it also shares different facts and traditions with all students, the club welcomes all students to learn about the different tradition, language and music. It helps students feel more comfortable and valued on campus.

Mark Zuckerberg (CEO of Facebook)

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

He is a bilingual that speaks Mandarin as well as English.

My Rabbi (Jewish Teacher)

cbauler — 2024-08-11 16:05:55 UTC

My Rabbi at my local synagogue can speak and understand English, Hebrew, Bukharian, and a little bit of Russian. This allows him to easily speak and understand people of the community at the synagogue.

My father

2024-09-13 00:26:24 UTC

My father is bilingual and if he isn’t proud, then I’ll proudly say that I am. He came to this country 20 years ago, knowing nothing but Arabic. Yet he worked so hard and through his job alone he learned how to speak both English and Spanish just by speaking with his costumers. And that is so impressive.

My friend

2024-09-13 00:27:55 UTC

She speaks 4 languages and she is the same age as me, i think that is very impressive and I'm so proud of her for that!

Dubai

2024-09-13 00:29:16 UTC

When i went there over the summer i was amazed to hear so many different languages around me at the same time. There are people from around the world who gather to the same location and its beautiful to witness.

The bronx

2024-09-13 00:32:18 UTC

Growing up there i heard languages from all over the world. I mean my middle school was very diverse and my neighborhood was filled with people of color. I grew up hearing Spanish, Korean, and Egyptian music within the same street and i find that beautiful.

My High school

kaelynbernstein — 2024-09-23 22:35:09 UTC

In High School, I took American Sign Language, where we were able to meet with many different types of hard of hearing people. Some of them could read our lips, some of them could hear us using a hearing aid or cochlear implant, and others, we signed to. It was always very interesting to hear stories about how these people grew up and overcame their disability.

Migration Literature Class at Adelphi

kaelynbernstein — 2024-09-23 22:40:48 UTC

Last semester I was able to take a Migration Literature class where we learned about peoples cultures, their backgrounds, their migration stories and how they dealt with adjusting to American schooling systems, jobs, environments, etc.

My girlfriend

kaelynbernstein — 2024-09-23 22:42:51 UTC

My girlfriend, Kaitlyn, is puerto rican, so she comes from a family that speaks both Spanish and English. She is very proud of her culture and language and takes pride in it

+12

White

My friend

kaelynbernstein — 2024-09-23 22:44:06 UTC

My friend, Sophiya, is from Ukraine, both of her parents were born there and they moved here when they had her. She does Ukranian dance, she goes to a Ukranian Church, and she speak fluent Ukraine and English.

My Job

annabellaguarnera — 2024-09-24 19:47:19 UTC

I work at a bakery where many different customers come in who speak a different languages. The most common language our customers speak other then English is Spanish. Even with the language barrier, I still try to help these customers the best I can. There are also a lot of people who work at the bakery who only speak Spanish.

Birthdays at a Friends House

annabellaguarnera — 2024-09-24 19:51:09 UTC

One of my best friends comes from a Spanish speaking household. Whenever I would go over her house to celebrate a birthday I get to see how culture and languages play into their traditions. Every year they always sing the happy birthday song in English first and then in Spanish right after, before you can blow out your candles.

Friends parents

annabellaguarnera — 2024-09-24 19:53:13 UTC

One of my friends parents speaks Spanish. Although I don't know much, I can have little conversations with her. Being surrounded by the language for many years, I find myself understanding more and more,

Friend

annabellaguarnera — 2024-09-24 19:54:59 UTC

My friend is proud to be bilingual. She loves her culture and the language that comes with it. I admire her because it is a very impressive skill to have.

My manager

annabellaguarnera — 2024-09-24 19:56:55 UTC

My manager at my job is very proud to be bilingual. She speaks Polish and is always trying to teach me knew things as we work.

Olivia Burger Proud to be multilingual response

oliviaburger1 — 2024-09-26 00:43:11 UTC

At Adelphi, there are many students who are proud to identify as multilingual. One of my close friends on campus who is an international student speaks Bengali, English, and French. He is not afraid to speak up about this important aspect of his identity. Moreover, he demonstrates leadership in helping other students succeed in their academic studies at Adelphi through tutoring. Another individual I know on campus who is proud to be multilingual is the director of the STEP program, Dr. Kogan. When I went to the STEP information session at accepted students day as a senior in high school, I was very impressed and inspired when Dr. Kogan said that she was fluent in several languages. With that being said, my friend and Dr. Kogan are two of the many individuals on campus who are multilingual and proud. - Olivia Burger

Olivia Burger Answer Leaders

oliviaburger1 — 2024-09-26 00:50:47 UTC

I believe that the executive board members of cultural awareness clubs on campus such as the Latino student organization and Muslim student organization serve as models/leaders for Adelphi’s multilingual student population. While not everyone in these clubs identifies as multilingual, the club itself still fosters a strong sense of community and belonging that may give some students the extra push or inspiration to tap into their full linguistic potential. - Olivia Burger

Olivia Burger Conversations

oliviaburger1 — 2024-09-26 00:59:03 UTC

Last semester, an uber eats delivery driver stopped me outside of the UC. He was having a difficult time communicating on the phone with a worker in admissions in Nexus who had ordered food. He handed me his phone so that I could speak to the worker who had ordered food to find out where she was. I then gave him directions to the Nexus building via google translate. Additionally, I tapped into my multilingual abilities through the utilization of body language and pointing so that I could give him more concise directions. - Olivia Burger

Olivia Burger Experiences

oliviaburger1 — 2024-09-26 01:04:26 UTC

There are a multitude of ways for students at Adelphi to immerse themselves in multicultural experiences. Although I did not attend, the Latino student organization club on campus had an event near the baseball field with a variety of Hispanic dishes, music, etc. - Olivia Burger

Olivia Burger Places

oliviaburger1 — 2024-09-26 01:08:59 UTC

The UC’s multicultural and faith centers provide a great opportunity for students to have conversations in diverse languages. Furthermore, many students hang out in between classes at the Starbucks and surrounding lounges at the UC. There I have heard individuals speak a variety of languages with their friends. - Olivia Burger

Trip to Miami

2024-09-27 18:03:29 UTC

I recently had an extended stay in Miami Florida. While I was there I was exposed to a great deal of Spanish speakers. I felt so disconnected and unable to navigate since I am not fluent in Spanish. It made me feel impelled to learn basic words and learn basic questions just to get around Miami. I learned that exposure to another language for even a short amount of time enabled me to assimilate so many keywords and phrases into my own language usage.

Conversation

2024-09-27 18:10:58 UTC

One of my friends is Vietnamese. She often speaks in her native tongue to her mother on the phone. I listen and try to interpret what she is saying by her gestures and inflection. She has taught me some of the more common words in an effort to make me feel included in her culture and linguistic background. When I am with people who speak another language it always makes me think what it must be like for others when they are thrown into a situation where they have no knowledge or understanding of the language spoken. I know I feel awkward and isolated when others speak and I can not translate what they say.

My Grandfather

2024-09-27 18:17:31 UTC

My grandfather came to this country many years ago and is proud of the heritage of his birth. He is multilingual since he speaks three languages. He is proud of all three of them. He learned English once he came to this country and is actually pretty well-spoken. He does however still use his language of birth when he is with other family members who also speak it. He is proud of his cultural beginnings and enjoys how language keeps him connected to it.

My sister

2024-09-27 18:26:01 UTC

My sister is multilingual and is very proud of that. She was born in America and she speaks two languages fluently and understands another language. Since my parents are also bilingual she often converses with them in a language other than English when in the home. She is proud that she is connected to our parents' heritage and culture through her linguistic skills. When my grandfather comes to visit they all speak in another language other than English and the use of that language seems to connect all three generations in a very special and meaningful way.

Italy- Daniella Stavin

daniellastavin — 2024-09-27 22:59:11 UTC

I went to Italy over the summer and heard many different languages being spoken. Aside from Italian, of course, I heard languages like Russian, French, German, Spanish, and more, due to the large number of tourists. At first, I was surprised to hear so many languages around me, but it makes sense considering how many people from all over the world visit Italy each year. - Daniella Stavin

Easter at my best friend's house

daniellastavin — 2024-09-27 23:05:45 UTC

Even though I am Jewish, my best friend is Christian Orthodox and invites me to Easter dinner at her house every year. I always come to support and find it very interesting to learn about her culture. On this holiday, there are many traditions like an easter egg hunt, and different food delicacies like "Kulich." I enjoy learning about other's cultures and the meanings behind what they represent. -Daniella Stavin

Experience at the nail salon

daniellastavin — 2024-09-27 23:10:05 UTC

The lady who does my nails doesn’t speak English very well, so we mostly communicate in Russian. During one of my appointments, she asked if I could call a doctor’s office to schedule an appointment for her because she felt too nervous about her English and was scared to speak with them. I felt proud to be bilingual and help her schedule the appointment. I also encouraged her, saying that her English was improving and that she’d be able to communicate on her own next time. - Daniella Stavin

My cousin

daniellastavin — 2024-09-27 23:13:31 UTC

My cousin is fluent in English, Russian, and Spanish. She learned English and Russian growing up in America in a Russian household, and she became proficient in Spanish while in school. I think knowing multiple languages is extremely valuable. It not only helps her communicate with different people but also assists her in getting a job and feeling comfortable communicating in other countries. -Daniella Stavin

Clubs at Adelphi

daniellastavin — 2024-09-27 23:21:20 UTC

Adelphi offers a wide variety of diverse cultural clubs, such as the Adelphi Christian Fellowship, Chabad Jewish Student Group, Japanese Entertainment and Culture Club, Korean Student Association, Muslim Student Association, and more. These clubs act as leaders for their respective communities, providing important resources for those who identify with these cultures and religions, and allowing them to engage meaningfully with their peers. - Daniella Stavin

aruba

2024-09-30 12:51:25 UTC

when i went to Aruba, there were some people that spoke amazing English, but then they also had people who spoke their native language which was Dutch and Papiamento. i was told that Papiamento is a mix of a few languages combined into one and i found it fascinating how they basically dont only need to know one language but 4 just to make their own

family and friends

2024-09-30 12:53:29 UTC

growing up almost everypne in my family spoke Italian, it was always between Italian or English and it was easy to communicate.

with my friends its different some speak more Italian then others so when we would be with my friend who didnt know much we would only saw a few words in Italian and try to help her understand

clubs

2024-09-30 12:54:24 UTC

there are a lot of clubs ive seen that are all about Italy and its language. My high school had an italian club and classes. i even went to Italian school when younger

conversations

2024-09-30 12:55:14 UTC

some experince i had with my language would just be by speaking to family and friends. or going to places where italian is very dominantly spoken

myself

2024-09-30 12:56:20 UTC

i am proud to be multilingual, i feel a lot of people especially younger generations dont feel they need to learn other languages or be in touch with their native language, they feel as long as they have a phone they can communicate to anyone

Poland

2024-09-30 17:45:46 UTC

When I visited Poland I noticed how there were many tourists and many residents not only spoke polish but, english as well so tourists are extremely welcomed and respected. Students actually also learn English as their second language in schools so it's nice to see how multilingualism works all around the world.

Friend's birthday party

2024-09-30 17:48:07 UTC

A while ago when I went to my friends birthday party whose family speaks Spanish, I had a difficult time understanding them but, they translated for me and used hand gestures so that I was able to feel included in the conversation.

friends and family

2024-09-30 17:49:32 UTC

I have many polish speaking friends and theres times where we speak polish to each other and other times we speak english. I speak to my parents in Polish since its the language they understand the most and I mostly speak English with my sister since it's the language that we grew up learning in school.

Proud to be multilingual

2024-09-30 17:50:46 UTC

I am very proud to be multilingual as I speak English and Polish fluently and can understand some Spanish. This helps me communicate with my friends, family and others and it makes me feel more connected to the world.

clubs at adelphi

2024-09-30 17:52:05 UTC

There is a club for Polish individuals in which they celebrate the culture and even celebrate certain holidays that we have. It's nice to see how a little group of people could connect through language.

Work

2024-09-30 22:37:36 UTC

Since most of my coworkers and managers speak Spanish, even though I can't speak the language, I always try to pick up certain words from taking Spanish classes to at least understand the conversations being made.

My friends house

2024-09-30 22:40:23 UTC

When I had went over to her house, her family would always switch from English to Creole. I would always ask my friend what they are talking about due to not understanding a thing.

My best friend

2024-09-30 22:47:21 UTC

She is Haitian and she speaks creole. She is proud because it brings her closer to her family and others that speak her language. It also uplifts her confidence on how proud she is of her country.

My guyfriend

2024-09-30 22:51:42 UTC

He is Haitian and Afro-French. He can speak creole and French. He is proud because he can communicate with his family in Canada and France. He can speak to others who share the same language as him.

My Job

kaileighfitzsimmon — 2024-10-01 00:03:53 UTC

I work at a restaurant where I am surrounded by staff that speaks English, Spanish, or both. I speak English, however I took Spanish throughout middle and high school. I am able to understand and communicate the basics when talking to my coworkers and customers who speak Spanish.

Middle and High School

kaileighfitzsimmon — 2024-10-01 00:09:25 UTC

In my school district, throughout middle and high school we got to choose a foreign language to study. Each year we would have a World Language festival with all the language departments where we would decorate, create activities, and bring in foods related to our foreign language. This was a great way to learn about different cultures.

My Job

kaileighfitzsimmon — 2024-10-01 00:21:43 UTC

Although I don't speak Spanish fluently, I am able to understand and speak the basics. One day at work, I overheard my coworker and a Doordasher talking. The Doordasher was in the wrong restaurant and needed directions but my coworker couldn't understand. I was able to use my basic Spanish knowledge and Google Translate to help him find where he had to go.

Friends and Coworkers

kaileighfitzsimmon — 2024-10-01 00:26:42 UTC

Although I am not bilingual/multilingual, I know many people that are proud to be. This includes some of my friends and coworkers. Not only do they speak their languages, but they try to teach me as well.

Clubs

kaileighfitzsimmon — 2024-10-01 00:29:01 UTC

There are lots of clubs I have seen both at my High School and Adelphi that bring together people from all different backgrounds. These clubs allow people to connect and learn with others from the same or different backgrounds.

College

2024-10-01 14:20:03 UTC

As a college student I have seen many kids at Adelphi who speak different languages and celebrate different cultures. From coming from a highschool that was not very diverse it was defiantly a culture shock coming here. But it was a good culture shock. I am able to learn about different languages and my friends cultures that I find so interesting. Even when I go visit my friends at there schools I see a wide variety of culture ad language. Sometimes I struggle to follow along but I really do enjoy learning about my friends and other peoples backgrounds while im at school

My friends greek easter party

2024-10-01 14:22:47 UTC

Every year my friend who is Greek has all of our friends over for her families Greek easter party and we all get to try the different food and talk to her greek family members that speak greek. I find it so much fun to be able. to celebrate with them and learn about their traditions while trying all the delicious food.

Coworker

2024-10-01 14:24:06 UTC

At work my coworker speaks greek and when I am speaking to him at work he will speak greek to my and tell me all about his culture. I try my best to follow along and learn his language but sometimes it is hard. But I really enjoy listening to the accent.

My friend

2024-10-01 14:25:43 UTC

My friend is bimultilingual and she always is speaking both langages. English and Spanish. she loves being able to speak both langugages and using it to her advantage. She celebrates her culture and is proud to be able to speak both.

Clubs

2024-10-01 14:27:10 UTC

I have seen multiple clubs at adelphi with leaders who were very proud and took so much pride in being bilingual and leading the club with their culture.

London

2024-10-01 19:27:50 UTC

When I was in London there were so many people talking from all sorts of different languages from Spanish to German to English it was a little bit confusing and a little bit frustrating but it was still a great time. Whatever language you speak, you should not be afraid to share your voice with the world.

My housekeeper

2024-10-01 19:30:40 UTC

When I was growing up my housekeeper Vita she spoke only Spanish and it was sometimes hard to understand her as the years went by. We kept having more Latina housekeepers and it's still hard to communicate sometimes but thankfully I've learned a couple of Spanish words and most of them now speak English.

Adelphi University

emilycappitelli — 2024-10-02 00:19:57 UTC

As someone who grew up in a town that mainly only speaks English, being able to go to Adelphi has really opened my eyes. there are so many people who from around the world, exchange students, it is really cool to see and hearing all the different languages as I wall through the buildings. I always hear people talk French or Italian to their friends even in the dining hall.

friends houses

emilycappitelli — 2024-10-02 00:23:17 UTC

As someone who is Italian but was never able to be involved that much with that culture, it is so cool that all of my friends and their families are so into the Italian background. one of my very close friends is Italian and her and her entire family is so fluent so every time she has a party or even when I go over there I hear so much Italian music, Italian food, more about the culture overall. it is so special to me and I wouldn't trade this experience for the world because I am able to learn about my background as well because of how much my friends family talks about it.

friend interactions

emilycappitelli — 2024-10-02 00:24:49 UTC

hearing my friends talk Italian to their parents is one of the coolest thing ever, I try to hard to understand but it is so difficult. when they are talking to me, we speak English, but hearing the Italian being spoken to with my friends family's, or my friends friends is so cool to hear and it try to pick up some Italian for myself.

my sisters boyfriends mom

emilycappitelli — 2024-10-02 00:33:36 UTC

my sisters boyfriend mom is bilingual and super proud of it. She speaks turkey to her family and she is so proud of it allows her to have conversations with her family but also allows her to be able to translate to her friends, and it allows her to speak to her family in a more effective way.

clubs at Adelphi

emilycappitelli — 2024-10-02 00:38:20 UTC

There are so many clubs and diversity at Adelphi. Even exchange students who come and are able to learn some new experiences. also, at Adelphi you are able to study abroad and learn more about the culture for yourself which is really cool. Also, the clubs at Adelphi help keep the diversity and allows people to have new experiences and able to be more involved.

In the USA education

2024-10-02 01:10:52 UTC

As a student from Bangladesh studying nursing (BSN) in the USA, I’ve had the chance to experience both virtual and face-to-face conversations in different languages. One place where I’ve been able to engage in conversations in another language is within the Bangladeshi Student Association at my university. We often speak in Bangla, which helps me stay connected to my culture while living in a different country. Another virtual space I’ve used is language exchange apps, where I practice English and occasionally help others with Bangla. These experiences have made me more comfortable switching between languages.

I’ve also met several people who are bilingual or multilingual. My professors and fellow students come from different backgrounds and often switch between languages, especially in the hospital setting where we interact with patients from different cultures. Seeing how multilingualism is an asset in healthcare has inspired me to continue improving my language skills and be proud of my bilingual identity.

These experiences show how being bilingual or multilingual can create bridges between cultures, and how it’s a valuable skill in both academic and professional settings.

My best friend

2024-10-03 13:27:26 UTC

I met my best friend back in 1st grade. She is Dominican and is very connected to her culture. I am always invited to all the family parties/ get togethers. At these parties I've learned different dances (bachata, merengue) and tried different dishes. Now having known her and her family for many years I have embraced and appreciate their culture so dearly.

Customer

2024-10-03 13:32:02 UTC

I work in retail and once when I was at the register, I had a customer who was deaf. My typically interaction with a customer quickly went out the window, because I wasn't sure how to ask things like "hi, how are you?" or "did you find everything okay today?". However, I took ASL 1 last year and do remember some things. I tried my best to sign and when I didn't know the sign I would say it but make sure to articulate my words so he could lip read.

My best friend

2024-10-03 13:35:07 UTC

My best friend speaks both English and Spanish. She doesn't remember exactly which was her first language because she grew up speaking both. She is extremely proud to be bilingual because she has two different communities and cultures because of her languages.

ASL club

2024-10-03 13:36:26 UTC

My friends made the new ASL club at Adelphi to encourage more people to get involved in sign language.

My Family and Friends

2024-10-03 13:53:55 UTC

My family is proud to be bilingual. They speak Spanish and English. My friends on the other hand, are also proud. Some not only speak Spanish and English but Mandarin and Korean. I think we all think it's very useful in life. We're able to communicate with many people and not just one certain group. We're able to express our emotions, thoughts, and feelings in other languages.

Parties with my family and boyfriend's family

2024-10-03 14:09:01 UTC

I always have experiences where I speak both English and Spanish. At parties, the older family members of mine and my boyfriend's tend to speak more Spanish than English. So, whenever I speak to them about my life updates or school, I speak Spanish. They more comfortable with it since we use slang terms when speaking in English and they never heard of it before. When it's someone younger, English is used more than Spanish. They understand but it's just more common around the younger kids.

My High School

2024-10-03 14:19:58 UTC

In my high school, I saw many classmates of mine have different multicultural experiences than mine. I was able to have more conversation and relate to my classmates/friends of mine that spoke Spanish. We would have cultures that were similar with each other. On the other hand, people that spoke Hebrew, Korean, and Mandarin also had the same experiences.

Turkey

2024-10-03 17:07:31 UTC

I went to Turkey during the summer and we weren't able to communicate because we didn 't speak the same language. it was really hard and we had to use google translate. however after a week there it became easier to understand what they were saying

school

2024-10-03 17:09:06 UTC

When I was in second grade I got called out of class to translate for a boy in pre K since we were the only Pashto speakers in the school. the teacher needed help communicating to him. I felt confident and really smart that I was needed to help

My Workplace

2024-10-03 18:51:06 UTC

I live in Freeport which is a very diverse town and my job is where people in my town go to shop very often. I work in Burlington and there are many customers that come in who speak Spanish and I'm always available to assist wherever my help is needed because I speak Spanish as well. As of right now since I am not taking any Spanish classes, work is the only pace where I can practice my bilingualism and have real conversations with customers in Spanish.

Trip to DR

2024-10-03 18:57:42 UTC

When I went to the Dominican Republic with my family I had to be the translator the whole trip because none of my family members speak Spanish besides me. This was one of my first real world experiences in practicing my bilingualism aside from learning in Spanish in school for 12 years.

Friends and Family

2024-10-03 18:59:48 UTC

My family is Haitian and I am not completely fluent in Haitian-Creole however, I do know and speak enough to engage in a coherent conversation. I enjoy speaking in creole with my cousins and will bounce back in forth with creole and English.

2024-10-03 19:01:02 UTC

I am very proud to be bilingual especially since it's a resource that I use in my everyday life. Also, being bilingual allows me to be more marketable to certain jobs and can open the door to many new opportunities. I've worked very hard and the hard work of my bilingualism is showing off.

2024-10-03 19:03:22 UTC

There are various clubs at Adelphi that cater to its diversity that often times is not always seen in the classrooms. These clubs not only allow for students who come from different cultures to come together but also to make a comfortable space for students that have many linguistic backgrounds.

At Adelphi

aleahtiwari — 2024-10-03 21:50:55 UTC

When talking to my classmates from my ASL class most of us feel free to use expression at Adelphi because there is always a place for us to interact without feeling judged. When we are at adelphi we constantly hear different types of interactions, different languages, and tones. This encourages me to interact in ways that make the people im talking to more comfortable as well as maintaining comfort for myself. I also feel like at adelphi I learn a lot about other people's languages and how they use them in their day to day life.

Spanish at work

2024-10-04 17:27:37 UTC

Most of the workers at my job are Spanish speakers so I have been able to expand my multiligualism to Spanish as well by hearing, speaking with , and understanding my coworkers.

romanian

2024-10-04 17:28:28 UTC

I speak Romanian at home to get along with my parents and grandparents. It's nice to be able to exercise my Romanian knowledge and keep myself fluent.

My favorite restaurant

2024-10-04 17:30:17 UTC

I love my local Mexican restaurant, their food and service is amazing. I love hearing them speak because of their dialect and hearing popular phrases they use.

High School

2024-10-04 17:31:22 UTC

I went to a diverse high school with many different types of backgrounds. It was nice to see everyone together and friend diverse groups of people.

Disneyland

jeannevelizmoran — 2024-10-05 00:16:20 UTC

During the summer of 2023, my family and I went to Disneyland in Anaheim, California. During our time there, I noticed all different types of people. Although I heard mostly English, I also heard spanish, french, korean, chinese, etc. I also saw a group of individuals who were deaf in one of the shows we watched and there was an ASL interpreter there for them so they can get the full experience and understand what's going on just like everyone else

Family christmas

jeannevelizmoran — 2024-10-05 00:19:05 UTC

My entire family doesn't ever have a chance to all come together due to us having conflicting schedules but during christmas time, my aunt hosts a christmas party at her house where we exchange gifts and have dinner. During those dinners, the language variety varies from english, to filipino, to spanish, and to chinese. Most of my family members are Filipino where they combine English with Filipino and have a thick filipino accent

My boyfriend's mom

jeannevelizmoran — 2024-10-05 00:24:00 UTC

I'm Filipino but, I grew up around my stepdad's side where they speak Spanish. But, I cannot speak it perfectly; I cannot roll my r's and struggle saying certain words since I mainly understand more Filipino. Whenever my boyfriend's mom talks to me, we tend to use our hands more and try to visualize what we're trying to say. And if we can't actually understand each other, we turn to my boyfriend to translate. But even though we don't speak the same language, we show love to each other which is a form of language by hugging and saying "i love you;" love is universal in every language.

My Job

meagandesimone — 2024-10-05 00:26:11 UTC

I work as a cashier at a grocery store, and some customers speak mainly Spanish and very little English. At first, it was hard to communicate with customers who spoke to me in Spanish. However, after taking time and studying some Spanish words and numbers, I was able to start greeting customers and tell them their total in Spanish. – Meagan DeSimone

My Co-workers

meagandesimone — 2024-10-05 00:27:48 UTC

Some of my co-workers speak mainly Spanish. Although I only know a few words in Spanish, I try my best to communicate with them. Speaking to my coworkers in Spanish creates a positive work environment because they all appreciate my effort, even though sometimes it can be hard for me to understand them. – Meagan DeSimone

My Nonna and My Manager

meagandesimone — 2024-10-05 00:42:17 UTC

My Nonna is proud to be bilingual. She can speak English and Italian. My Nonna learned English when she moved to the U.S. from Italy. She is proud to be able to talk to her grandkids in English and still be able to speak Italian to her neighbors and friends.

My Manager is also proud to be bilingual. He speaks fluently in Spanish and a little English. He is proud to speak both languages because he can speak to customers in Spanish and English. Some of my co-workers do not understand Spanish, so my manager proudly helps the cashiers when they have a customer who only speaks Spanish and does not understand English. - Meagan DeSimone

My Neighborhood

2024-10-05 00:42:21 UTC

When I walk around my neighborhood I hear people talking in many different languages. I understand some spanish so sometimes I can pick up on what people are saying but not always.

Family Parties

2024-10-05 00:44:34 UTC

My grandpa is from Germany and speaks German, so if his family was every visiting, they would sit around the table and speak German. I remember vividly those moments growing up, as it was interesting to listen to them all interact in a different language, and I didn't speak German so I was not sure what they were saying.

Friends/Work

2024-10-05 00:45:53 UTC

I speak English with all of my friends and family, however sometimes at work I hear conversations between coworkers and customers speaking in Spanish. I understand some of the words but not all of it.

Grandpa and Aunt

2024-10-05 00:46:52 UTC

My grandpa is very proud to be bilingual as he speaks German and English. My aunt is also very proud to be bilingual as she speaks Spanish and English. She speaks both English and Spanish on the daily so it is very helpful for her in her everyday life.

My Aunt

2024-10-05 00:47:57 UTC

I view my aunt as a leader in my community as she runs our local food pantry. She speaks both Spanish and English and uses this to her advantage at both work and in her daily life when she runs the food pantry.

My Family

2024-10-05 04:57:12 UTC

My dad’s side of the family speaks Portuguese, which is very similar to the Spanish language, which I grew up learning in school. I became very familiar with both the Portuguese and Spanish language, which makes it easy for me to understand and speak to my grandparents whenever I see them or speak to them on the phone.

In Mexico

2024-10-05 05:00:38 UTC

When I went on vacation to Mexico, the resort was filled with many Spanish speakers. Due to the fact that I grew up learning the language at School and somewhat at home, I was able to communicate with them when I was ordering or asking them a question on where to find a place. I was also able to make small talk with some of the workers that were very kind and spoke to me about where they were from and why they decided to work at the resort.

Family Culture

2024-10-05 05:04:37 UTC

My entire life I was surrounded by different cultures, those being Portuguese, Italian, and Argentinian. Because of this, I grew up learning about different ethnic foods, different ways of speaking, cultural traditions, and other things my family had to teach me. I became dry well rounded in these cultures and took the time to understand each nationality and I also was able to learn how to cook different foods from each culture. This experience growing up helped me to become connected to my roots and understand where I came from.

My Parents

2024-10-05 05:06:26 UTC

My parents are both so proud to be multilingual. They always taught me that learning different languages was so important and tried to help me and my brother to learn multiple while growing up. They always thought it was so important and now I will grow up thinking that too.

FDR

2024-10-05 05:11:01 UTC

One leader that was bilingual was Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was raised speaking both French and German and became fluent in both. He also had multiple governesses who taught him these languages, helping to prepare him for school. In being bilingual, he was able to communicate with multiple crowds and understand his people more.

Places

2024-10-06 01:03:35 UTC

Everywhere around the whole, we hear different languages. For example, on campus when I'm passing different students and they are talking on the phone in another language or at work when my boss talks to parents in Chinese to help them understand.

Experiences

2024-10-06 01:11:59 UTC

My friends are all different ethnicities so I get to hear the languages that they speak. I have been able to try their food like mangu, empanadas, and pasteles de hoja which all have a unique taste that I've never had before. While trying these different foods I get to learn about their culture.

Conversations

2024-10-06 01:20:06 UTC

I always hear my friends speaking to their family in their native language and I always try to understand the conversation since i've heard the language. Even if music they play, they translate the lyrics for me sometimes so I can understand it.

Proud to be bi-multilingual

2024-10-06 01:24:30 UTC

My parents are from China and although they've been here for decades, they haven't fully been able to understand or speak english properly they are not ashamed of it. They continue to speak their native language no matter the setting they are in.

Clubs

2024-10-06 01:31:51 UTC

In my highschool, it was very diverse community of students who had clubs for each ethnicity. For example, they would have Greek or Hispanic club that would meet weekly doing activities. They would also bring food that they made or brought that their culture would eat. It was also to bring more awareness about their culture with even dances that students would choreograph for the dance team.

At my Best friends house

aleahtiwari — 2024-10-06 05:38:07 UTC

My best friend is from Pakistan and her family usually speaks Urdu at home. It is amazing to see her interact with her family at home, it's interesting because her parents usually speak to her in Urdu only. What is cool about this is that my friend and her siblings usually answer only in English. They communicate with one another using two different languages which they both understand. I think that this is a beautiful representation of using language in a way that makes you most comfortable.

Conversation with my Parents

aleahtiwari — 2024-10-06 05:41:16 UTC

My parents immigrated to the US from Guyana and there they speak an English based creole. My mom always tells me the ways in which her language changed when she started working in America. To her she feels like American English is much more relaxed and less formal than the English used in cooperate places in Guyana. Although the day to day speech among villagers is completely different from the language used in America, the cooperate English used in Guyana is much more formal than that used in America. It's cool to hear this from her because I have never been exposed to cooperate speech in Guyana and have no experience of it.

Cousins

aleahtiwari — 2024-10-06 05:44:36 UTC

My cousins are proud to use Guyanese creole interchangeably with their English. It is empowering the ways in which we can incorporate the dialect into our day to day speech as first generation Americans. All of us want in some way to hold onto our culture and dialect but we really only speak it with each other in a way that fits us comfortably. With our parents our language is far from our fay Tod ay language but with one another we can use the dialect in a way that fits more accurately with our language knowledge as Guyanese-Americans.

ASL club

aleahtiwari — 2024-10-06 05:46:54 UTC

ASL club is a great way to interact and learn about Deaf culture. The ways in which the language works has a deep rooted history that was not taken very seriously in the past. So learning to respect and learn ASL from leaders of this club has been inspiring. They show the various ways in which Deaf people may interact, including American Sign Language, lip reading, notes, etc. The ways to interact/communicate are limitless and this club truly reminds me of that.

High school friendships

2024-10-06 17:22:34 UTC

I have a Jewish friend , I met in high school. It was very interesting to learn about her culture and listen to what is expected of her. I have learned that the Jewish community is very connected and have a lot more rules than me as a Catholic has. I wouldn't trade these experiences since it did knowledge me about the Jewish culture and since I do live in a community where a lot of Jewish people live, it's easier to know when holidays are and when the stores near me aren't going to be opened.

college friend

2024-10-06 17:25:27 UTC

I met a friend with the same culture as me. It is a bit reliving to know someone in the same major as you have the same culture . It can be nice to be able to relate to someone and build a friendship with them

Place- Italy: Valentina Genovese

valentinagenovese1 — 2024-10-06 19:06:16 UTC

When I went to Italy to visit my fathers family this year, everyone spoke Italian. My entire family, as I only knew so little Italian, it was hard for me to communicate. However, my family had helped me bit by bit and spoke both languages to me at once. They would use words in Italian in sentences and clash it together with easy words that they knew in English. It's so nice to see them practicing their English as well as I learn Italian.

Experiences- Valentina Genovese

valentinagenovese1 — 2024-10-06 19:10:09 UTC

When I had went to visit my moms family for the first time, they had all spoken Spanish. I have grown up in a Spanish household my entire life so I know majority of Spanish. As they knew I also spoke English they would try speaking English to me; yet, I would always reply back in Spanish so that they would easily reply back instead of having to translate my words back to Spanish. It's nice to see how people can have conversations questioning and replying back in two different languages.

Conversations: Valentina Genovese

valentinagenovese1 — 2024-10-06 19:12:58 UTC

As I have someone very close to me speak in ASL, I try my best to communicate with her while not knowing that much about ASL. However, through my knowledge of the alphabet, most of the times I would express how I am communicating one full word and spell that word out. Then she would instantly help me out and try to understand what I talk about. From there, she teaches me more words as we see each other often.

Proud- Valentina Genovese

valentinagenovese1 — 2024-10-06 19:16:18 UTC

I am very proud to be bilingual. I speak English and Spanish fluently. Growing up, it was hard being in a household learning Spanish while going to an mainly English taught school system. It shocks me how I got to where I am today. It is all thanks to my teachers and my parents for sticking by my side and to also never let go of my linguistic abilities instead of being taught English and forgetting Spanish. I'm very thankful I didn't.

Leaders- Valentina Genovese

valentinagenovese1 — 2024-10-06 19:18:12 UTC

Back in my high school, I was a part of the bilingual organization and held great responsibility for expressing how much different cultures are significant and encouraging people to know how important linguistic differences are.

In High School- Katie LaBarbera

kathrynlabarbera — 2024-10-06 20:29:02 UTC

In high school, there were a lot of Spanish-speaking students who were learning English and doing their best to still participate and be involved regardless of not always understanding the language. I found it very interesting to always hear a language that I am not entirely familiar with.

My friend's family - Katie LaBarbera

kathrynlabarbera — 2024-10-06 20:31:29 UTC

My best friend's family speaks mostly Spanish and a little English. So when I'm around her relatives, our conversations are very different than the usual ones I have with my friend or her parents.

Italy

2024-10-06 22:56:39 UTC

Over this summer, i visited my moms family in Sicily, and my dads family in Italy. I grew up learning more Sicilian opposed to more proper Italian so when i was in Sicily, it was pretty simple for me to communicate. When we left to go to my dads family’s town in Bari, Italy , their dialect was very different, which made it hard for me to communicate because of how different the dialect was.

Experiences

2024-10-06 22:59:55 UTC

back in elementary/ middle school, i was very close with one of my friends who was Puerto Rican. We always would go over each others houses, and were around each others families a lot. I loved always branching out and trying their cultural foods, music, and i even went to some of their family’s parties, which was very different from what im used to at my families parties. We both loved getting to experience and learn each others different cultures, and really have grown to learn a lot since we have been friends for so long

Conversations

2024-10-06 23:03:23 UTC

At my job, one of the workers who does cleaning around the office is deaf, but understands ASL and can read your lips if you speak in Spanish. Since i know very little Spanish, it is hard to communicate with him because of the circumstances, however, if i need something from him, we work around it using hand gestures and things along those lines. I dont really know sign language either, but for his birthday, me and some of my co workers learned to sign the Happy Birthday song so that we could sing to him which was super cool.

Proud to be bilingual

2024-10-06 23:06:22 UTC

Other than English, i am proud to say i am fluent in Sicilian. I am thankful that at a young age, my nonna would speak to me in Sicilian so that i would understand it eventually, and she still speaks it to me to this day. She did this with me and my 4 other cousins, because her and my grandfather came from Sicily and were very proud of their culture. I also am greatful to have learned the dialect because when i went there over the summer, a lot of the younger generation just speaks proper Italian, because the Sicilian dialect is dying out.

Leaders

2024-10-06 23:08:13 UTC

in my high school, me and my friends were part of the multi cultural club. In this club we were able to share information about our culture to others, as well as learn about everyone else’s. One of my favorite memories was when everyone brought a dish from their culture, and we all got to try it and see how diverse all the meals were

At Work

2024-10-07 00:37:09 UTC

I work at an outpatient physical therapy clinic, and yesterday, I communicated with a patient who understood very little English. I found it easier to communicate with her by speaking slowly and breaking down sentences for her. Even though it was not easy for us to understand each other, we still managed to communicate our thoughts for the most part.

At Work

2024-10-07 00:49:43 UTC

I work with colleagues who practice different cultures. One of the physical therapists is from the Philippines, and sometimes, he introduces me to Filipino songs. Two of my other colleagues are Hindu from India, and last week they were telling me about Navratri.

Friends/Colleagues

2024-10-07 00:51:38 UTC

Most of my friends/colleagues speak Urdu/Hindi, so a lot of times, I switch from English to Urdu while speaking to them.

Proud to be bilingual

2024-10-07 01:08:15 UTC

I am very proud to be bilingual. I speak Urdu and English, and I am also able to understand Punjabi. Being bilingual helps me communicate with patients better.

Manhattan

lioraharyeh — 2024-10-07 02:01:53 UTC

I worked for someone in Manhattan for Jewlery and it was primarily a Persian-speaking office. It brought me comfort that when a customer walked in not knowing English as well I could help them and speak the way they understand.

Family and Friends

lioraharyeh — 2024-10-07 02:04:08 UTC

Some of my family members don't know English so I speak to them in Farsi all the time. After becoming closer to the Persians in my community I can speak it better now. It used to be not as common for me to speak it and when I did it was hard. It's definitely a work in progress but I can speak better now.

Brooklyn

2024-10-07 02:05:18 UTC

When I lived in Brooklyn there was a lot of turkish people where I lived. So while learning urdu at home since it was my native language. I also learned turkish because of the people that lived there.

First Generation

lioraharyeh — 2024-10-07 02:06:27 UTC

I'm a first generation in my family. I used to be darker than many kids in my class so therefor I felt ashamed, I didn't really speak my language or I was embarrassed to. Now I am so proud of who I am and where I come from. I still speak both languages but Im proud to have come from such whole hearted parents that have taught me so much as well as the culture and community that I have grown up in.

spanish class

2024-10-07 02:07:13 UTC

When I took spanish for 4 years i high school, i felt a connection with the culture. since many of my firends were from there so I started to learn their culture and could speak it fluently now !

Rabbi

lioraharyeh — 2024-10-07 02:10:05 UTC

I think of my community Rabbi as a leader because he speaks farsi he relates to us. He relates to the older generation as well as the younger generation and promotes us to keep peace. He is someone that if we ar having difficulty in any aspect as well as linguistically he will help us.

Conversations

2024-10-07 02:11:33 UTC

I remember a time when I found myself in a café, where I noticed a person sitting alone at a table, communicating with a friend using American Sign Language (ASL). I was curious but didn’t know any sign language myself. I hesitated for a moment, but then decided to introduce myself.

I approached their table and smiled. The person looked up and smiled back, clearly open to conversation. I gestured a bit awkwardly, pointing to myself and then to them, trying to communicate that I wanted to talk.

To my surprise, they quickly picked up on my intent. They signed “hello” and then gestured for me to sit down. I was a bit nervous, but I took a seat. They were patient and began to teach me some basic signs—“hello,” “thank you,” and “how are you?” I clumsily repeated the signs, and they laughed, encouraging me.

Proud

2024-10-07 02:12:36 UTC

Being multilingual in Urdu, Spanish, Turkish, and English fills me with a sense of pride and connection to diverse cultures. Each language opens a door to unique perspectives, stories, and experiences.

Switzerland

2024-10-07 04:14:09 UTC

When I went to Switzerland, surprisingly, it was way more diverse than I ever imagined. I met so many people from my culture and there were a few places that significant to my culture there aswell which I didn’t know about or never heard them before.

Friends

2024-10-07 04:15:52 UTC

Almost all my friends either speak Punjabi or Urdu so it’s very easy for me to have a conversation with them

Philippines: Cassandra Shaye Gonzales

2024-10-07 04:25:21 UTC

When I traveled to the Philippines for the first time, I was able to be surrounded by Tagalog, the language that is primarily spoken there. Although my parents didn’t teach me Tagalog growing up, I was able to pick up a few words and catchphrases because my parents spoke it at home. Hearing it being spoken in the Philippines didn’t sound different to me at all because I am so used to hearing the same thing at home.

I have seen two people communicating in sign language walking in the streets at my job. They were communicating very fast but swiftly. They went slow at times to their other friends which made it seem like their other friends did not know it as well but they adjusted and ended up communicating

2024-10-07 18:14:12 UTC

place- Florida

2024-10-07 18:36:07 UTC

When traveling to Florida, there was this constant use of English which was easy for me to comprehend considering the fact that English is my first language. However, there were various places in which the Russian language was prominent and I am not as fluent in Russian as I am with English. Therefore, there is this form of multilingual language being surrounded.

Experiences within family events

2024-10-07 18:38:05 UTC

Throughout my child hood, I always spent various family events such as birthdays or various holidays with the exposure of Russian music and communication. As I started to grow, this helped embrace my communication and further develop my Russian speaking.

Conversations

2024-10-07 18:41:11 UTC

Throuhgout school, English was a prominent language that everyone spoke. However, there was this interference with English and Russian throughout because there was a significant amount of people who spoke the Russian language. This helped better my conversation skills in more than one language.

Proud

2024-10-07 18:42:19 UTC

My father is multilingual and speaks various languages due to growing up in more than one neighborhood. He picked up on various languages as well because of his surroundings.

2024-10-07 19:17:36 UTC

My co-worker Anna is bilingual and she is a leader for her siblings, her older sister who just recently came to America does not speak any English, so Anna teacher her many things. Anna helps her sister to feel more comfortable here in America and helps her to learn more English everyday, she also is always there for her sister when they are out because Anna is able to translate for her sister so she is able to partake in any activities that an American would also enjoy.

2024-10-07 19:26:46 UTC

The cooks in the kitchen where I work speak Spanish and English, just recently we received a drink delivery where the delivery men only spoke Spanish, however my boss speaks only English so they cooks where able to be there to act as translators. They were able to tell the men where to put the delivery and tell my boss how much the delivery cost. Afterwords my boss was very thankful towards the cooks for there help, I could tell the cooks felt very proud and helpful there bilingualism helped multiple people that day, and I am sure there are many other instances where this occurs.

2024-10-07 19:29:30 UTC

When I am at work there are two dishwashers who only speak Spanish, and often times I have to ask them where things are or where to put dirty dishes. With the use of Spanish I have learned from school I am able to communicate with them, although not a lot I can have a few conversations with them and we both seem to learn more about each others languages through these conversations.

2024-10-07 19:31:25 UTC

I went to a private Catholic High School however there was a muslim girl at my school, she was in my homeroom and through this short period in the morning I was able to learn a lot about her and her culture, it was very refreshing to see that she wanted to share her culture with us and wanted to learn more about our culture.

2024-10-07 19:34:09 UTC

In high school one class I was required to take was Latin, although at first I was not interested I soon got to understand the beauty of Latin. In this class I was able to gain understanding of how a lot of words in all different languages stem form Latin. Italian, English, and Spanish are just a few examples of languages that have many words that stem from Latin, this was very nice to see as it showed me that although we may all have different backgrounds and expiernce in life we all sort of come form the same place. Although we may be very different we are all also very similar in many ways.

allenkhaimov — 2024-10-07 20:32:48 UTC

when i went to florida last year i was in the sunny isles area. while i was there i noticed that there were so many different lnagauges being sued. primarily it was english, spanish, and russian. it was interesting to hear that there was so much lingual diversity there.

My Highschool

allenkhaimov — 2024-10-07 20:46:12 UTC

I went to my local High-school. during my years there, i discovered that there was a lot of cultural diversity, we even had foreign exchange students. I was able to get to know more about different cultures and their customs.

Place- Italy

2024-10-07 20:46:27 UTC

When I went to Italy for the first time this summer my family and I did not know how to speak Italian so it was very difficult to keep up with the locals. I had tour guides help us understand some of the Italian language such as directions to explore the country. It was very fascinating to watch these people speak and I did learn some of their language by the time I came back.

Going to my Italian friends dinner party

2024-10-07 20:51:39 UTC

My best friend is very Italian. She invited me to a dinner party with all her relatives. When I got there, everyone was speaking Italian, and I felt very excluded from the group. My friend tried to teach me some of the basic words to help keep a conversation, but their language was so advanced. This experience taught me that everyone comes from different backgrounds and speaks very differently from others. I am glad I got to experience this moment, as it was very eye-opening.

Friends

2024-10-07 20:56:35 UTC

Many of the people I have met in college speak other languages. I have made many good friendships with people who speak Spanish. In also taking Spanish as one of my classes, I was able to understand a lot of their conversations and replies. It was very interesting to speak a different language and switch between using Spanish and English with them.

I am proud to be multilingual

2024-10-07 21:00:28 UTC

I am proud to speak both English and Spanish and feel that learning these two languages will benefit my future career a lot.

International Club

2024-10-07 21:03:20 UTC

In high school, I was president of the international club and felt this embraced different cultures. I love to be president and make projects and host parties of different cultures to spread awareness about them. The best was to see other students enjoy learning about them, too.

family/friends

allenkhaimov — 2024-10-07 21:07:19 UTC

All of my family speaks Russian, so most of the time that is the language spoken at home. Along with this, ive made many Russian speaking friends that i am very close with, which makes it much easier to communicate because I can switch back and forth and not have to worry about not being understood.

allenkhaimov — 2024-10-07 21:10:16 UTC

I am very prod to be multilingual. speaking more than one language is the way I grew up and has shaped the person that I am. speaking more than one language allows me to communicate with a lot more people and with some that dont just speak English.

Places: Mexico -Emily Flores

2024-10-07 21:13:24 UTC

I usually go to Mexico every year since I've been 5. S when i was younger I was always surrounded by Spanish speakers. when I first started going it was very hard to communicate especially at a young age. Slowly when I grew up Spanish just came easier to me and was more fluent.

Church- Emily Flores

2024-10-07 21:15:34 UTC

Growing up I always went to church on Sundays. Doing my sacraments it was always in English but when it came to holidays or special events I would go to the Spanish masses. Which was always a very different experience compared to the english mass.

COnversations

2024-10-07 22:20:54 UTC

Whenever I talk to my friends I switch from English to Spanish. I have a group of friends who speak Spanish as well and sometimes in regular conversation we switch languages.

Emily Flores

2024-10-07 22:22:17 UTC

I am very proud to be bilingual. I love my culture and I love being able to speak more than one language. This is something that is supper important to my everyday life. Its essential at home and with family. It also helps me communicate with others who don't speak English.

Leaders- Emily Flores

2024-10-07 22:23:27 UTC

In highschool I was a part of the hispanic heritage club. Which is something that I also looked for in adelphi and I'm a part of lsa.

Experience:

anniengai — 2024-10-08 03:19:18 UTC

Throughout my school years, I've always been surrounded by diverse people. We should have events at my school for multilingual and multi cultural students. It made it that we got to know a lot more about everyones culture. I thought that this environment made it comfortable for people who came from all over the country to come to this school. They wouldn't feel out of place or anything because it was a very diverse school and everyone accepted each other.

Proud to be bi-multilingual

anniengai — 2024-10-08 03:21:31 UTC

I talk to my cousin in law a lot and I always hear her talking to her family in her language and mixing it with english. She has always expressed that she loved her culture and she would never switch it. She is Hmong and not many people might know about Hmong culture because it isn't talked about as much as other languages, but she has always embraced it and expressed that she is proud and not ashamed.

Places

anniengai — 2024-10-08 03:23:48 UTC

I like to take walks around my neighborhood a lot and I realized that we are also very diverse. Everytime I go to the park, I see many different people interacting with each other and just playing together. They have lots of fun even if its their first time meeting each other. I also find it interesting because when I talk to my neighbors, they tell me about all the experiences they've had after moving here.

Conversations

anniengai — 2024-10-08 03:25:28 UTC

I have friends who speak mandarin and sometimes I would hear them talking to each other in mandarin and I think it's nice when they are able to use their native language with friends and family. This makes it that they can talk in both languages and also expand on their own language. As they talk in their native tongue more, they learn more about from others. They also won't forget the language because they use it daily with friends and family.

Leaders

anniengai — 2024-10-08 03:26:22 UTC

I like that adelphi has a variety of clubs for everyone. It makes everyone feel accepted and belonging because there is something for anyone to join and meet new people.

Vacation - China

2024-10-08 06:43:50 UTC

During the summer I visited my relatives in China with my cousins. My relatives spoke in Mandarin and so I communicated in Mandarin. Instead of using English most of the time, I spoke both but mostly Mandarin. However, I noticed the biggest problem in the conversation was trying to translate the English words into Mandarin but couldn't think of the correct words. I only used some English to communicate with my cousins.

Experiences - Family relatives

2024-10-08 06:50:55 UTC

Typically when me and my family visit other family relatives and participate in events. They communicate in Mandarin or often use a different dialect. My parents often use many different dialects and I often get confused about the different dialects even though there are similarities it is completely different. Often I am unable to understand the dialects.

NYC

2024-10-08 15:57:38 UTC

Over the summer my friends and I went on a day trip to New York City. I was able to see the diversity in the city and noticed many different cultures. While walking around in the city, I heard people speaking Spanish, French, and Italian. I find it very interesting to see other cultures language practices and watch different cultures communicate with one another.

Conversations

2024-10-08 16:00:58 UTC

My family and I went to the city for a concert and I was able to hear tourists speaking different languages. A tourist from Spain came up to my family and I and asked for directions, but didn't speak much English. My family and I did our best to communicate with the little Spanish we know. It was a difficult conversation, but we did our best to communicate effectively.

Clubs

2024-10-08 16:04:09 UTC

I love that Adelphi has a variety of clubs to offer that encourage people to celebrate their culture and learn about all kinds of cultures and language practices. In high school, I attended the Italian and Spanish club and I really enjoyed learning about their cultures and different language practices.

Multilingualism

2024-10-08 16:07:33 UTC

I have a friend whose native language is not English. When I am at her house I find it fascinating to listen to her and her family switch from English to their native language when speaking with one another. They make it sound so easy, but I know it must be confusing sometimes and the more i am around them, the more familiar I am becoming with their language practices.

My Grandmother

2024-10-08 16:22:19 UTC

My Grandmother who has passed away was fluent in Italian and english. She had been so proud of herself and all of her children/ grandchildren for trying to do the same as well. She would have us over to cook and would sometimes teach us in Italian to help us get a feel for the language. She was very fluent but she almost suppressed speaking in Italian, which isn't okay. She and everyone else should feel comfortable in their languages.

My brother

2024-10-08 16:23:36 UTC

My brother in high school became a very well spanish speaker. He can have full conversations with a person in spanish and is very proud of himself, as am I. He was apart of the spanish honor society and club that has been a great background for him.

Place - Haiti : Arianna Cayo

ariannacayo1 — 2024-10-08 17:45:39 UTC

When I went to Haiti to visit family and friends everyone spoke very fluent creole and French . My entire family spoke creole , and french is what is taught and spoken at schools in Haiti .I spoke very broken creole because I translanguage between english and creole so it wasn't as proper as theirs . Although I understood what was said I coudn't respond as fluently as i wanted to . - By : Arianna Cayo

Experiences -Arianna Cayo

ariannacayo1 — 2024-10-08 17:49:37 UTC

When I had visit my Family for a family event my cousins Baptism . It was a big party in celebraion of her . Her and I are 2 or 3 years apart . All her friends were there and they all spoke french because thats what they spoke in school . I do not know or understand french so i felt very isolated and out of place in the conversation - By : Arianna Cayo

Conversations - Arianna Cayo

ariannacayo1 — 2024-10-08 17:56:33 UTC

Switching languages in conversations is very translanguaging of me . I tent to speak english creole to my grandmother who understands both and then just creole to my grandfather although he understands english he only speaks creole . Even out in public spaces when conversing with others i will find people who speak creole so i can switch into speaking creole to them . In places like work and school .- By : Arianna Cayo

Multilingual - Arianna Cayo

ariannacayo1 — 2024-10-08 17:59:11 UTC

I am very proud speaking all 3 languages i know . I speak fluent english , i speak some creole and some spanish. I am not shy of speaking these languages and educating people on these languages . I also find it very unique and cool to be able to understand more than one language.- By : Arianna Cayo

Leaders - Arianna Cayo

ariannacayo1 — 2024-10-08 18:04:04 UTC

A leader / Influencer who i love is Cardi B . She is actually Multilingual herself and even incoporates multi language practices in some of her music . She speaks english , spanish and even some french . I find that she shows off that she speaks these languages very often and is very proud of it . She has colobrated with many spanish artist making music in both spanish and english and has also done many interviews discussing how speaking spanish and french influences her and even discuss teaching her children to be multilingual . - By : Arianna Cayo

St Barths

2024-10-08 18:58:35 UTC

I went to St Barths over Christmas break in December, and it is owned by France. Many people/workers there speak only French and it was very interesting to see and hear. Ive never been to Europe so I haven't heard many people talk French/or Italian, it wasn't impossible to communicate because many people just had an accent but spoke english as well.

At Work: Mikayla Badnow

mikaylabadnow — 2024-10-08 18:58:37 UTC

I work at Target right by campus and at work I have to assist many different people who use language differently such as people using different languages and those who have disabilities. For example, some people I have helped in the past at work people who spoke Spanish, Russian, and used ASL. I also had to assist and guide a blind customer throughout our store. It is very interesting to communicate and operate around so many different cultures/types of people.

Experiences: Mikayla Badnow

mikaylabadnow — 2024-10-08 19:01:31 UTC

An experience I had where I spoke another language was in high school when learning Spanish as a second language. I did it from 7th grade to 11th grade and picked up on so many different terms and talked to so many native Spanish-speaking students who helped me pick up on the language and its slang.

Adelphi Friendships

2024-10-08 19:05:41 UTC

At Adelphi I've met many people from all over. Last year I took a first year health class, and we did a class in the UC and got to talk to many international students. It is so interesting to hear about their backgrounds and why they chose to come to adelphi. Many of them love hat it was close to the city because of how much it offers to people of different backgrounds.

Conversations: Mikayla Badnow

mikaylabadnow — 2024-10-08 19:07:57 UTC

My neighbors are Dominican and I became very close with their daughter, and over the years she has become one of my closest friends. I go over to her house often and have picked up on greetings/expressions from her family, I even know what they mean and when it is appropriate to use them. My favorite thing they taught me so far has been "¿Qué lo qué?" which means "What's up?".

Proud to be Bilingual: Mikayla Badnow

mikaylabadnow — 2024-10-08 19:10:38 UTC

I have great-grandparents who speak Italian as well as English. Their native language is Italian because they grew up in Italy but when they immigrated to America they slowly learned English through their surroundings and help from other relatives here. I know my great-grandparents are proud to be bilingual because of all the hard work and effort they put into moving to America and picking up the language.

Leaders: Mikayla Badnow

mikaylabadnow — 2024-10-08 19:15:29 UTC

Multilingual clubs on campus and their presidents are leaders, Shakira the singer who is able to confidently communicate/sing in both English and Spanish, and Natalie Portman who is able to speak both Hebrew and English.

Places

2024-10-08 21:08:42 UTC

I was fortunate to grow up in a school district that was very diverse. Most of my classmates in High School were bilingual and would speak different languages, I was able to learn about different languages through my classmates. My school also required learning a language and we had many options, we could choose from Spanish, Italian, French, or mandarin. I took Spanish and was able to learn the language and more about the culture.

Experiences -Kayley Wilcha

2024-10-08 21:09:31 UTC

I work at the ELC which is a daycare on Adelphi’s campus. The ELC is a very diverse place and many languages are spoken there. I work as a toddler and even though the children I take care of are very young most of them are already bilingual. Most of the children in the classroom are in the process of learning English, Spanish, or mandarin. The only language I speak is English and this has been a very interesting experience for me because I have been able to learn different languages and about different cultures at the ELC. In the toddler room we are always encouraging children to code-switch and around the classroom most books and materials are in English, Spanish, or mandarin.

Conversations - Kayley Wilcha

2024-10-08 21:09:54 UTC

My great-grandmother was from Czechoslovakia and we celebrated Easter with her every year. Before my great-grandmother passed she would make sure we knew our Czechoslvakin culture well. My great grandma would make us perogies and we had this tradition every Easter where we would hand paint eggs which was also a Czechokian tradition. My great-grandmother also would speak to us in Czech and I am able to recall a few words now.

Proud to be Bi-multilingual- Kayley Wilcha

2024-10-08 21:10:29 UTC

I believe I have felt surrounded most by people who were proud to be multilingual when I was in High School. Many of my classmates were able to speak different languages and they were very proud of it. My classmates would even help me and other classmates to learn more about their language.

Leaders-Kayley Wilcha

2024-10-08 21:10:47 UTC

In High School I was in a club called World of Difference. This was a club that helped children with disabilities. I was in this club all four years of high school. We would celebrate different cultures and teach the kids about different cultures. We once had a club meeting where each member brought in food about their culture and taught the classroom more about their culture.

Italy

madeleinedougherty — 2024-10-08 22:39:55 UTC

When I went to Italy last winter my family and I had to attempt to speak to the locals in Italian to order food, ask for directions, and at times trying to exchange words on the subway if something funny happened to see if we could blend in as local.

2024-10-09 04:24:24 UTC

As a Russian, I often engage in deep conversations at local Russian-speaking gatherings in parks where we share personal experiences and maintain our cultural ties.

2024-10-09 04:25:18 UTC

Participating in a multinational workshop, I use my Russian background to contribute unique perspectives, learn from others, and broaden my worldview.

2024-10-09 04:25:43 UTC

At local Russian community meetings, I feel comfortable discussing sensitive topics like immigration policies, as my language and cultural background help facilitate understanding among participants.

2024-10-09 04:26:10 UTC

I take pride in my ability to switch from Russian to English seamlessly, which enhances my communication skills and deepens my appreciation for both cultures.

2024-10-09 04:26:42 UTC

I admire local Russian school teachers who encourage young Russians abroad to maintain their language, ensuring that our culture is preserved across generations.

2024-10-09 04:28:19 UTC

I often visit a Russian bookstore to talk about books and news in my language, which keeps me connected to my culture.

2024-10-09 04:28:39 UTC

I love going to international food fairs to share Russian food and explain its history simply to people who are curious.

2024-10-09 04:29:07 UTC

I like using online forums popular with Russians to talk openly about politics, where language doesn’t stop us from sharing our views.

2024-10-09 04:29:35 UTC

Being able to speak both Russian and English well helps me keep my culture and learn from others, making me value my skills.

2024-10-09 04:29:56 UTC

As someone who organizes community events, I focus on teaching about languages and cultures to help different people understand and respect each other better.

my neighborhood

2024-10-09 12:57:52 UTC

My neighborhood is extremely diverse. When I walk around, I can hear multiple different languages being spoken. Some can be Italian, Indian, Chinese, etc. I find this fascinating because it is amazing that so many people around me are bilingual.

experiences

2024-10-09 13:03:01 UTC

I experienced family holidays at my dad's side of the family growing up. That side of my family is very into our culture, which is Italian but, more specifically, Sicilian. During these holidays, I was introduced to Italian music, food, and traditions from ancestors I never got to meet. Which I found fascinating and as I have gotten older it is something I look forward too.

conversations

2024-10-09 13:04:51 UTC

my grandpa on my dad's side only speaks Sicilian so when I am over there the conversation is short but I try my absolute best to make a connection with him.

proud to be bi-multilingual

2024-10-09 13:06:09 UTC

My dad is absolutely proud to be bilingual and uses that in his everyday life. I wish I was able to speak two languages fluently but I love that my dad has something to be proud of.

Ireland

roryduggan — 2024-10-09 16:52:29 UTC

When I went to Ireland to visit all of my family it was very hard to understand them at first because of the strong accent. All my cousins have different slang words that they used and ways of writing/speaking. For example when you say something is very funny or someone is funny, they would say thats good "banter" or he has good "banter" which was very interesting

Dinner with Spanish friends

roryduggan — 2024-10-09 16:57:10 UTC

During High School to this day I would spend a lot of time at my Spanish friend house during weekends and sometimes during the week. It was very interesting of how different their house was to mine with the furniture and how clean they kept the house with so many kids. Every child was polite and so welcoming the parents were and their wasn't every not enough food but maybe to much. I remember the sayings they would say to me and made me feel like I was one of their own and always had a smile when I showed up at the house. They would pray before dinner and also share the food in the middle to pass around and no cell phones at dinner table. very cool and welcoming experience

Friends

roryduggan — 2024-10-09 16:58:12 UTC

We all have the same type of slang words from being from queens. So when speaking and someone said its brick outside it meant it was cold outside.

My Best Friend

roryduggan — 2024-10-09 16:59:58 UTC

He is very proud to be bilingual because he can speak both english and spanish. When we went to punta cana he was very helpful speaking to people at the airport and hotel to make sure everything was good/okay.

Adelphi Mens Soccer

roryduggan — 2024-10-09 17:03:03 UTC

Their are many kids on the team from all over the world escpecially europe. All really cool that they can speak several languages and still be able to speak to one another

Central park- Rachel Fazylov

2024-10-09 19:54:19 UTC

While in a crowded park, I overheard a family trying to ask for directions in Russian. They were confused and unsure of how to go to a popular tourist destination. I approached and offered assistance in Russian, describing how to get to their location because I understood them. They were really appreciative, and it felt nice to know that my knowledge of Russian had somewhat brightened their day.

Experience- Rachel Fazylov

2024-10-09 19:58:19 UTC

I remember in elementary school there was a new kid who didn't know any English at all and only spoke Russian. She had recently moved. She was sitting by herself at recess, seemed confused about how to get involved. I approached her, introduced myself, and asked if she would want to play in Russian. Her expression rose, and we continued to play together for the remainder of break. She started to feel more at ease after that, and we grew close.

Rachel Fazylov- conversation

2024-10-09 20:01:27 UTC

I once overheard a group of Russian-speaking kids in high school talking about an upcoming science project. They didn't know where to begin and were having trouble understanding some of the instructions. I entered the conversation and helped them with the assignment in Russian, clarifying what the teacher was asking for. They thanked me for making it easy to grasp after we had a long talk about several project ideas.

Aruba vacation

2024-10-09 20:03:14 UTC

When i was in Aruba i saw many languages being spoken and even when i went with my friends to rent a jetski we had to try to speak spanish to the guy renting them.

My Parents

2024-10-09 20:04:20 UTC

They were both immigrants who came from russia and speaking russian helps in so many ways they say which shows they love to speak multiple languages.

Conversing with Uncle

2024-10-09 20:05:20 UTC

My uncle mainly speaks hebrew so when i have trouble convering with him he helps me learn hebrew and i help him learn english as well so we both benefit!

Proud to be bilingual- Rachel Fazylov

2024-10-09 20:05:50 UTC

I felt very proud to be bilingual during a parent-teacher conference in middle school. The father of one of my classmates who only spoke Russian was struggling to follow what my teacher was telling them . My dad and I intervened to translate the teacher's words since he was having trouble speaking. I was glad to be born into a bilingual home and realized the value of bilingualism after witnessing the relief on the parents' faces when they saw how well their child was doing in school.

Rachel Fazylov- leaders

2024-10-09 20:08:11 UTC

My mother is a leader I greatly respect. She constantly emphasized the value of learning many languages and how it ties us to our ancestry and others, having grown up speaking Russian at home. She set a fine example by speaking many languages effectively and assisting those in our community who lacked English language skills. I became aware of the power of language in connecting people as I observed her using it to create understanding and connections.

Israel

2024-10-10 16:41:51 UTC

When I went to Israel this past year, I thought that I would be solely speaking Hebrew, which I am fluent in, But after spending a few months there I also picked up a lot of Arabic.

Dinner with family

2024-10-10 16:48:01 UTC

When I have dinner parties with family, I typically switch between English and Hebrew. This is because my cousins and I grew up in the U.S. and English is our first language, although our grandparents, aunts, and uncles all speak Hebrew more prominently so to communicate with them I find it to be easier and more comfortable to speak Hebrew.

My Grandparents

2024-10-10 16:51:35 UTC

When speaking with my grandparents who immigrated from Israel, I find myself only speaking Hebrew; whereas if I am speaking to an aunt or uncle, Ill find myself switching between English and Hebrew. This is because my grandparent's English is not very advanced and it is hard for them to follow what I'm saying when I switch between languages.

2024-10-10 16:56:52 UTC

I am very proud to be bi-lingual! I get a sense of community when I find others who speak the same language as me. When I visited Israel I could get around very well and I didn't have issues with simple tasks there, which was a struggle for many of my friends who didn't speak the language.

Places: Madison Tharp

2024-10-11 11:10:28 UTC

This past summer, my entire family went on a trip to Punta Cana, which is in Dominican Republic. Most people who worked at the resort we stayed at spoke perfect English (with an accent which is to be expected) but my uncle's friend came and he is from Puerto Rico, so he spoke to us in English and the Staff of the resort in Spanish.

Experiences: Madison Tharp

2024-10-11 11:12:44 UTC

My niece is from Peru, so when I visit her (her and her mom speak perfect English) she teaches me new Spanish words as she is learning Spanish too, since she moved here at age 2.

Proud to be bilingual: Madison Tharp

2024-10-11 11:14:08 UTC

I am not bilingual but I would love to be. I am learning both Spanish and ASL (and I can hold a conversation pretty well in Spanish, but not ASL yet). I would love to be fully bilingual within a few years.

Conversations: Madison Tharp

2024-10-11 11:15:22 UTC

I can converse with my niece in Spanish, but it is basic conversation. We are both learning simultaneously and she teaches me new things about her beautiful native language everyday.

leaders: Madison Tharp

2024-10-11 11:16:09 UTC

In my high school there was a Spanish club run by our Spanish teacher, as well as an ASL and Italian club run by their respective teachers as well.

New York City

hadassaambroise — 2024-10-16 04:22:16 UTC

I remember visiting the city for the first time and being amazed at how diverse it was. I got excited hearing a mixture of languages that I would only hear on television in person. I think having experiences like I had in the city encouraged me in a way to expand my linguistic repertoire.

-Hadassa Ambroise

Experiences- Dylan Richards

2024-10-21 18:17:14 UTC

Last semester, I took your class in Community, Schools, and Society and was paired with an elementary student named Luis. He spoke mostly spanish, but understood some English. It was interesting to listen to him speak and hear his mannerisms.

Dylan Richards

2024-10-21 18:23:27 UTC

I've been on vacation to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. On these vacations, I heard people speaking multiple languages to one another. They spoke to vendors selling things in other languages as well as to their other family members. It was strange seeing multiple languages being spoken in the same place. I have seen people speaking Spanish or people speaking English but never multiple languages.

Dylan Richards

2024-10-21 18:25:35 UTC

My manager at my job is proud to be bilingual. She learned English as her second language because Hebrew was her first. She loves communicating in both languages and primarily speaking Hebrew in front of her family.

Dylan Richards

2024-10-21 18:27:25 UTC

Fortunately at Adelphi there are clubs that involve different cultures and languages. This promotes a diverse community where people can share their experiences and knowledge

Turkey

2024-10-23 20:25:31 UTC

When I went to Turkey there were people who spoke the same language as me but majority spoke Turkish. It was really hard communicating with them but eventually by the sixth day we got the hang of it and knew some words to communicate. We got our point across for the little time we were there. But I would’ve loved to learn it and be immersed in it all the time

Little italy

2024-10-23 20:28:37 UTC

I went to little Italy for the first time two weeks ago and it felt like I was in Italy. Although I have never been, my sister has and she said it looked the exact same. It felt nice to be in an environment different than what I was used to. And it was great that I didn’t have to leave the state to feel it. People made a community from what they were given

Bilingual

2024-10-23 20:29:54 UTC

I’m lucky to be bilingual and immersed in a language that connects me to my family. Some of my family don’t speak any English and I’m able to communicate with them in Pashto.

My mom

2024-10-23 20:30:56 UTC

My mom speaks four languages and she learned most of them on her own through tv shows. I can’t imagine doing that for myself. It’s really hard but that’s all she watched which helped her and now she is able to talk to so many people and make connections

Cafe

2024-11-09 23:28:46 UTC

In the cafe with my friend who speaks Russian, the controversial topic of freedom of speech versus censorship sparked a thoughtful exchange of views, with both of us sharing our perspectives while working through a sensitive issue. This shows how our language can have an impact on our values and thoughts.

Place- Sicily

2024-11-12 21:01:06 UTC

During the summer I went to Sicily to visit my mother's side of the family. My mom speaks fluent Sicilian but me and my father don't. But since I grew up in an Italian household my whole life hearing my mom speak Italian I can sort of understand Italian but can't speak it.

Sicilian family

2024-11-12 21:05:03 UTC

While I was in Italy communicating was quite hard but since I grew up hearing a lot of Sicilian I can understand Italian and kind of respond back but enough I can get by.

Taylor T-

yw69yvdbrb — 2025-02-11 17:24:47 UTC

Place- Greece, I go to Greece to visit my family almost every summer. I try to pick up some Greek but its so hard for me to remember. It’s sometimes hard for me to communicate with my family and cousins but we clash Greek and English words together to understand and make sentences.

Experiences- I love that I get to experience life in another country, everything is so different. The people are different, the food is different, the scenery is different. Especially when you are at the homeland not where the tourist go, you see many different aspects of life.

Conversations- I’ve had many different types of conversations with different types of people. For example, in Greece I speak to many people and get a lot of different feels of people. Peoples mindsets are different in other countries.

Proud to be bilingual- I wish I was bilingual and could speak Greek, I would love to be able to and I am planning on taking it next semester in school.

jacquelinestaller — 2025-02-12 18:53:29 UTC

I went to Trinidad three times. Trinidad is where my mom grew up and lived for 27 years. I enjoyed meeting my extended family (I have a lot of family in Trinidad; my mom has 8 siblings who all have children and grandchildren). They speak English in Trinidad, however, they have heavy accents and different dialect. Here in America, it may be considered "broken English".

Jacqueline Staller

jacquelinestaller — 2025-02-12 18:56:30 UTC

I had many experiences while I was visiting Trinidad. I met my family who spoke in heavy accents and we did traditional things. We went to Hindu parties where the women dressed in an Indian style. They wore beautifully colored saris and there was a lot of traditional food such as roti and pumpkin which is my favorite.

Jacqueline Staller

jacquelinestaller — 2025-02-12 18:58:20 UTC

When I went to Trinidad, I spoke with a lot of family members. Although they had heavy accents, I was still able to understand them. some words were confusing to comprehend though. I remember speaking to my cousins who assumed I met a lot of celebrities just because I lived in New York.

Jacqueline Staller

jacquelinestaller — 2025-02-12 18:59:20 UTC

I am so proud of my culture and that I have experience being exposed to different ways of living. Diversity is so beautiful. I believe my experiences shaped me into who I am today.

Jacqueline Staller

jacquelinestaller — 2025-02-12 19:00:49 UTC

Back in high school, I was apart of the cultural club. We held events and fundraisers to support different cultures. Our club had an assembly at our school to show off diversity through dances and songs.

Place- Mexico: Sara Marini

saramarini5 — 2025-02-18 17:16:04 UTC

When I went to Mexico a few months back, I did not know much Spanish other than what I had learned from my Spanish classes throughout middle and high school. While it was difficult to speak to some people at restaurants, I was able to communicate with the waiters, although it was not fluent, I was able to converse, and I even made one of them laugh because of my accent!

Experience: My boyfriend's house

saramarini5 — 2025-02-18 17:17:49 UTC

At my boyfriend's house, they primarily speak Spanish, and since I did not grow up speaking Spanish, it made it a bit difficult to communicate, and I was/ still am embarrassed not to know their language, although I am trying. My boyfriend translates some of the language for me so I can talk to his mom, but I can have a 2-minute conversation with his mom on my own.

Lisseth- Sara Marini

saramarini5 — 2025-02-18 17:20:13 UTC

The conversations I do try to have in Spanish are very broken and limited, but I can communicate basic needs and conversations. It is not ideal, and it is a bit nerve-racking because I do not want to mess up or say the wrong word, but it is nice learning new languages and hearing different words. When I speak to her, I can see her kindness even though I do not understand the words she is saying.

My Boyfriend- Sara Marini

saramarini5 — 2025-02-18 17:21:40 UTC

My boyfriend and I discuss this a lot, being bilingual has made him more marketable, not just professionally but it makes him more personable and approachable, every time we are out, he helps people who may not know English, and he bonds with people over food from his culture, he makes relationships with people because they grew up the same place, and he is proud that he was able to learn a whole new language by himself.

Spanish Honor Society- Sara Marini

saramarini5 — 2025-02-18 17:23:53 UTC

In high school, I was part of the Spanish honor society, which included being able to have a 5-minute conversation about a certain topic with a teacher, taking an exam, and writing an essay in Spanish to convey why it is important to learn a new language. This shows that all languages are accepted at my high school and how important it is to recognize diverse cultures.

Place- Honduras

2025-02-19 19:31:12 UTC

I've been to Tegucigalpa Honduras a few times throughout the years, once to Roatan Island. My dad is from there and I have some family there too. It is really hard to understand Spanish, as they talk really fast. In Roatan, there were more tourists and workers who spoke English.

Experience in Honduras

2025-02-19 19:34:38 UTC

There were many cool experiences when I went to Honduras. In Tegucigalpa, my dad was teaching me how to drive and I was stopped by a woman who was selling fresh mango right in the middle of the street. It was very cheap, probably about $3 in USD, and it was delicious!

Conversations- Honduras

2025-02-19 19:37:37 UTC

My aunt that lives there speaks very good English as well as Spanish. So, it was very easy for me to communicate with her. She also teaches me Spanish so I can communicate with my grandmother. When we went to Roatan, I had a lot of conversations with another tourist girl who was also from New York.

Multilingual- Honduras

2025-02-19 19:39:12 UTC

While I am not multilingual, I think it is very very cool to be multilingual. I wish I was able to speak Spanish and French. My aunt is bilingual, can speak English and Spanish, and so is my dad. They are proud that they are able to speak English.

Leader- Honduras

2025-02-19 19:41:38 UTC

I really admire my dad and see him as a leader for multilingual/bilingual people. As he speaks English and Spanish, he still aspires to learn more English and the correct grammar/pronunciation. He teaches me the culture he was taught growing up and continues to carry out those traditions.

Bangladesh

shaziashejuti — 2025-02-23 02:52:39 UTC

When I was in Bangladesh this summer, I had the chance to practice my Bengali while also learning more about the diverse cultural experiences in my home country. There’s a café near the university in Dhaka where people gather to speak in multiple languages. It was a great place to strike up conversations in both Bengali and English, depending on who I was talking to. People there weren’t shy about switching languages to discuss anything from everyday life to more controversial topics, like politics and religion. This allowed me to better appreciate how language connects people from various backgrounds, making for dynamic discussions.

Community Center

shaziashejuti — 2025-02-23 02:55:52 UTC

In the U.S., I found a similar multicultural space at a community center where immigrants often meet. Here, I spoke with people from different parts of the world, and language was a big part of the conversations. The community center hosted events where we could practice our native languages, learn about different cultures, and share experiences. It’s a place where people can freely discuss everything from family traditions to societal issues, creating an environment where bilingualism and multiculturalism are celebrated.

Bengali Teacher

shaziashejuti — 2025-02-23 02:56:18 UTC

During my time in Bangladesh, I also met a teacher who was bilingual in Bengali and English. She shared how proud she was to be able to teach in both languages and how important it was for her students to appreciate their bilingualism. She spoke about how being able to communicate in two languages gave her the flexibility to connect with a wider range of people and learn from different perspectives. This made me realize how bilingualism can be a powerful tool for bridging gaps between cultures and communities.

My Friend-Jay

shaziashejuti — 2025-02-23 02:57:08 UTC

Another individual I met in America was my friend Jay, who speaks both Spanish and English fluently. He is proud of his bilingualism, especially because it helps him connect with both his family and his college peers. Jay sees being bilingual as an advantage, especially when he’s navigating through diverse environments and facing controversial discussions. He also shared how being fluent in two languages allowed him to take on leadership roles in group projects, guiding others through cross-cultural communication challenges. These experiences showed me how bilingualism not only enriches personal identity but also fosters leadership in multicultural settings

Place: El Salvador

diannadiazportillo — 2025-03-01 01:12:32 UTC

When I went to El Salvador, the area I went to, Morazan, most of the people there spoke Spanish. Since I grew up in a Spanish-speaking household, it wasn't difficult to communicate, but the Spanish they spoke there was almost like the Spanish I spoke in my household. In some certain words, I would get mixed up with or sometimes I would catch myself speaking Spanglish.

Experience: El Salvador

diannadiazportillo — 2025-03-01 01:16:04 UTC

One experience I had was when I went for my tia's quincenera at the time. It was a very big party, where they had a tent above, with banners hanging from it. Looking back I can see how different quincereas are compared to the ones in the States, but overall it was quite a fun experience I had when I went.

Conversations: El Salvador

diannadiazportillo — 2025-03-01 01:23:50 UTC

Most of the conversations I had when I went were in Spanish because that was what everyone spoke over there. It helps my Spanish get better as well and helps me have a better understanding of what people would say to me as well.

Proud to be Salvadorian

diannadiazportillo — 2025-03-01 01:30:21 UTC

I am proud to be bilingual because it brings me more opportunities in a way just because I can communicate in English and Spanish. My mother came to the States for my siblings and me to get an education and get our degrees to be successful in life, so being able to say I am Salvadorian and bilingual is not only cool but also useful as well.

Leaders: El Salvador

diannadiazportillo — 2025-03-01 01:43:26 UTC

At my high school, we had lots of clubs that were for bilingual students. There was this one club called New World where the students who spoke English and spanish would mentor the new incoming students who only spoke Spanish, and we would guide them and help them out getting used to the new environment and helping them learn English.

Places - Spain: Grace Brunswick

2025-03-03 16:59:33 UTC

This past summer I went to Spain with my best friend. During this trip I was immersed into the culture of Europe and Spain. To my surprise, so many people there spoke fluent English. Every place I shopped in, the workers spoke to me in English. Since they made an effort to speak to me in my language, I also did the best I could to communicate using their words and phrases when I was able to. I tried to learn as much as I could and I could see how my level of effort and respect for their language was welcomed and appreciated.

Conversations - Co-Workers: Grace Brunswick

2025-03-03 17:04:34 UTC

I am a manager at a restaurant in my hometown. Since I've worked here since high school, mostly with the same people, I have grown extremely close with so many people. All of the workers in the kitchen speak Spanish. As I have grown to become great friends with them, as well as being their boss, I have learned so much Spanish to be able to communicate with them inside and outside of work. Many of the workers have learned English over time however, being able to ask them about their day, say hello, goodnight, etc... as well as asking them to do something at work all in their own language is something I really prioritize. I know my Spanish is limited and far from perfect but I think accepting a language I have never been exposed to growing up and trying to understand some of it is something that is really beneficial, especially in the workplace.

Proud - Bilingual Speaker: Grace Brunswick

2025-03-03 17:09:27 UTC

My boyfriend is a bilingual speaker. His parents both moved to the US at age 25 from Colombia. Growing up, he only spoke Spanish until around 3rd grade. He would have to go to another school to take ESL classes for half of the day. Now that he speaks fluent English he has developed so many different relationships because of his ability to communicate with so many people. At work he has such a great relationship with so many workers because of speaking Spanish. He is able to help so many of our customers and he is someone everyone can go to for translating and help communicating. I can see how proud it makes him that he is able to speak perfect English but also use his first language in so many scenarios which helps with his language maintenance.

Place - Italy: Luisa Tola

luisatola — 2025-03-03 20:02:02 UTC

I have been to Italy, and every time I visit, I feel a deep connection to my roots. Walking through the streets, hearing the language, and embracing the culture reminds me of my Italian heritage. Though I may not be fully fluent, I enjoy learning and immersing myself in the language with my family.

Experiences: Luisa Tola

luisatola — 2025-03-03 20:02:34 UTC

Being bilingual has always been a part of my life and my family’s. We naturally switch between languages when we speak, sometimes blending words without realizing it. It’s amazing how we can communicate in different ways, adapting to whoever we’re speaking with.

Proud: Luisa Tola

luisatola — 2025-03-03 20:03:22 UTC

I take great pride in being bilingual. It allows me to connect with more people, understand different perspectives, and embrace multiple cultures. Speaking more than one language has given me opportunities to learn, grow, and appreciate diversity in a unique way.

Convo: Luisa Tola

luisatola — 2025-03-03 20:06:13 UTC

Growing up in a bilingual household, I always spoke Italian with my family and English at school. Recently, I had a conversation with a coworker who primarily speaks Spanish. We made an effort to communicate by mixing English, Spanish, and Italian. It was interesting to see how we could still understand each other, filling in gaps with gestures and context. This experience reminded me how language is more than just words—it’s about connection, patience, and learning from one another.

Leaders: Luisa Tola

luisatola — 2025-03-03 20:09:04 UTC

My grandma and grandpa are bilingual and great role models for bilingualism. Their communication skills are truly impressive. When they first came to America, they only spoke English, but now they are fluent in both languages. They inspire me every day.

Place: Spain - Joseph Lopez

josephlopez23 — 2025-03-03 22:22:32 UTC

A couple of years ago when I went to Spain to visit my family, everyone spoke Spanish. Though I can understand most of what they were saying, I do struggle a bit communicating back. My dad, however, speaks fluent Spanish and assisted me with speaking to everyone. We would both work in the middle to help each other. I would try to use Spanish words in my sentences, and they would try to use english words.

Experiences: My Nonna's house - Joseph Lopez

josephlopez23 — 2025-03-03 22:28:26 UTC

At my Nonna's house the language that is primarily spoken is Italian. I did not grow up learning Italian, so I do struggle sometimes to communicate with my grandparents. However, overtime I have gotten used to them saying certain phrases and they try their best to also speak in English so I can understand them better. My mom also helps to translate if I am stuck.

Conversations - Joseph Lopez

josephlopez23 — 2025-03-03 22:41:59 UTC

My mom's side of the family is Italian and we celebrate everything together. At any holiday dinner conversations are bound to come up in both Italian and english. My family does their best to balance for the younger kids who only speak English and for my grandparents who only speak Italian so everyone feels included.

Proud - Joseph Lopez

josephlopez23 — 2025-03-03 22:56:33 UTC

My parents take a lot of pride in being bilingual. They are both immigrants and worked hard to be where they are today. Their English is extremely good and you wouldn't even know that it wasn't their first language. I am proud for them too.

Leaders - Joseph Lopez

josephlopez23 — 2025-03-03 23:02:42 UTC

I see my parents as my bilingual role models. Their communication skills are really good and they are able to juggle languages with ease. They never forgot where they came from and are proud of their culture and language.

Miami, Florida

2025-03-04 13:38:46 UTC

In the summer when I visited Miami, Florida I noticed that there is a lot of different languages being spoken around me. The most common language other than English that I heard was Spanish. There was also a lot of people who spoke French, which actually kinda surprised me and I thought it was really interesting because it was mt first time hearing people speak French in person.

Friends House

2025-03-04 13:46:27 UTC

In my friend's house their main language is Greek and all grew up in Greece. They would communicate in Greek and I would have no idea what they were saying. I also celebrated a lot of the Greek holidays with them like Greek Easter. It was actually really interesting to see the different traditions they had for the holidays. They would also try to teach me words in Greek so I could learn common words. I started to understand certain words and phrases when they were talking and got an idea what they were talking about.

Conversation

2025-03-04 13:56:34 UTC

Having a conversation with my friends mom is sometimes very difficult. Her first language is Greek so she has a very strong accent when she speaks English. Also when she talks she throws some Greek into the conversation that I know now what she means, but back then I had no idea. She did her best trying to speak English and I have taught her a lot of new words and phrases.

Proud

2025-03-04 14:03:10 UTC

My co-worker is a proud bilingual. Her first language is Spanish and is very grateful for that. She was born in Venezuela and had to adapt to everything here, which was a big journey for her. She appreciates her language and culture and is very grateful for it. Her family speaks Spanish to communicate with each other. She always teaches me phrases and words in Spanish and gets excited when I learn and use them.

Leader

2025-03-04 16:06:18 UTC

I see my friends mom as my bilingual role model. She is still learning so much everyday here and adapting to the American lifestyle was and is still is sometimes difficult for her. She left everything behind in Greece; from her culture to her family and her language. She is a very inspiring person and always sees the good in situations and people.

Alexandra Lavieri

2025-03-05 06:55:54 UTC

My Aunt Jessica! She now identifies as multilingual because she taught herself how to speak fluent in Spanish. This was a dream of hers because she knew she was going to be a teacher, and she thought that this would help her assess different, cultural diversities in her students. she is proud of her accomplishments, not only for herself, but for her current and future students. She has told me that the skill has helped her so many times in the classroom because there are many students of many different cultural backgrounds.

My work experience with multilingualism

2025-03-05 07:00:24 UTC

I am a cashier at a restaurant. I am an English speaker and I work with all Spanish-speaking cooks. Therefore, there could be a lot of miscommunication sometimes. This sometimes leads to mess ups with orders if we do not understand each other correctly. However, we make this language barrier work as we go along. For example, Some cooks understand my English, and some of the cooks have no idea what I’m talking about. Therefore, the cook that understands me will act as a translator to the other cooks that don’t understand me. They also try to teach me some of their language and tell me about where they came from which helps me understand how they are as a person understands me will helps us work as a group together well to keep the customers happy. Another tool I like to use is Google translate because I feel like teaching each other our languages creates a supportive work environment. The cooks will also help me in the front when I am taking an order of people that speak primarily Spanish.

My best friend.

2025-03-05 07:04:25 UTC

My best friend Yvette is bilingual and speaks fluent English and Spanish. Aside from that, she knows a bit of Turkish and a bit of Italian. She is very proud and loves to talk about it and even teach me some phrases. She showed me one of her favorite songs, which is in Spanish. It ended up becoming one of my favorite songs and brought us closer together because I was understanding some of her language. She explained to me with some of the words meant, and now I feel like I grew knowledge. There’s also times where we are in situations like in an Uber car when the driver cannot understand what we are saying, but she can communicate using her Spanish knowledge with these drivers to get us to our destination safely. She loves how helpful her languages are And she loves to use her at home language outside of home when I ask her about it because this is part of who she is even if she is around primarily English speaking people.

My old town

2025-03-05 07:09:07 UTC

Throughout Elementary school I lived in a town where there was much more cultural diversity than the town that I moved to. Therefore, my school required us elementary students to take a language class. I think that this affirms cultural diversity. Although I don’t have 100% recollection of the events that occurred in my school, I do know that I was around many people of different cultures and I remember getting to know a lot about where each of these people came from. For example, my school hosted an immigration day where I got to know the countries that my students families were from and their traditions. during this day, I experienced hearing my student speak there at home Language with me and I was taught some phrases.

Conversations - Gianna

giannalubrano — 2025-03-05 20:42:04 UTC

My fathers side of the family is directly from italy. So when speaking with his side of the family and especially with my grandmother, I speak in smaller conversations with them to still communicate in Italian, but also be able to understand what is being talked about

Experiences- Gianna

giannalubrano — 2025-03-05 20:44:57 UTC

Over the summer I work at a summer camp who primarily has american employees. but three years ago they started allowing internationals to come and work for the summer. and all of the internationals came from different places, and that includes speaking different languages.

Places- Gianna

giannalubrano — 2025-03-05 20:47:27 UTC

In my community and my high school, it was a very diverse population. And by going to my high school, I was able to learn about different cultures through the people that attended my school. During my time of high school i was also able to see events that were being held for different culture. I would be able to hear music, see dances, and even taste foods that were created by those cultures.

My coworkers

ariannajohnson14 — 2025-03-05 22:03:20 UTC

My coworkers are bilingual! They speak both English and Spanish fluently. Most of the people I work with all have Spanish as their first languages.

Clubs at Adelphi

ariannajohnson14 — 2025-03-05 22:04:45 UTC

Most clubs at Adelphi are bi/multilingual. One in specific I know of is ASL Club. People who attend that club know both ASL and English.

My Job

ariannajohnson14 — 2025-03-05 22:07:44 UTC

At my job my coworkers like to speak to me in Spanish so I learn some basic words to communicate with them better. My coworkers are fluent in both English and Spanish, but they choose to speak to me only in Spanish so I can learn their language.

ASL

ariannajohnson14 — 2025-03-05 22:11:21 UTC

When I decided to pick up a Deaf Studies minor, I had to take 4 levels of sign language. The first level was an easy learning experience because my professor spoke English and talked most of the class. Once I got to level 2, it was a culture shock. My professor, Professor Kearney (one of the best professors I have ever had) was late deafened. She only signed to us which really taught me a lot. By the end of the semester I could communicate with her so well.

Adelphi

ariannajohnson14 — 2025-03-05 22:13:18 UTC

When I walk around campus I hear a lot of different languages being spoken. I hear some Spanish, English, Russian, German, Italian and I even see some signing going on. There is a worker who is Deaf in the UC and I notice a lot of students signing to him sometimes.

Farrah Cadet - experience

2025-03-06 02:18:07 UTC

Around last December, I went to the Dominican Republic for my brother's birthday. We stayed at an amazing resort where all of the staff had great service. During my time there, I faced a little bit of a language barrier when talking to the staff and visitors there. I found myself speaking a lot of spanish; and though it wasn't the best, I was able to get my point across and carry a bilingual conversation with people. In that experience, I realized how grateful I am to know even a portion of the language and speak it. When I would take spanish classes back in High School, I wouldn't think much of it. However, applying it in real life situations made me realize how important it is to immerse myself in varying cultures

farrah cadet - tagalog

2025-03-06 02:25:31 UTC

I am part Filipino and part Haitian. I go to the Philippines often, so I grew up surrounded by Filipino culture. However, for many years, I went around not knowing how to say more than numbers 1-10 in Tagalog, one of the Filipino dialects. During Covid, I decided to take it upon myself to try and learn how speak Tagalog. I quickly found myself conversing with my mom when we would go shopping or when we ate. Although I am still learning new phrases everyday, I have grown so much in my ability to speak the language. I can now have back and forth conversations with my friends and family in the Philippines and I believe that it’s really grew my bond with my family so much stronger. Teaching myself how to speak Tagalog is one of my biggest prides because of how much it’s changed the dynamic relationships with my family

farrah cadet - davao

2025-03-06 02:35:12 UTC

A few years ago, I went to Davao, Philippines. This is becoming a popular tourist spot and I realized this when I saw people with so many different ethnicities on the island. I walked passed many australians and Europeans. It was kind of a shock for me considering how the province, where my family lives, hardly has any tourists. It was amazing to see the recognition this island was getting. One thing about visiting is that the Filipino natives here all spoke english. I’d say this is a good and bad thing. It’s good that Filipinos are able to communicate easily with the tourists and it’s good for them to know a language. However, there are many standards in the Philippines specifically regarding language, with one being that if you don’t speak English you’re not educated. I believe that working in these tourist spots only further pushes that ideology.

Place: SJ Tapogna

sjtapogna — 2025-03-07 21:42:30 UTC

Last summer I was able to go Ireland and I learned a lot about the culture surrounding the language Irish. I did not know that it is still spoken, let alone taught in schools along with English. The people there are very proud of their language, and even though the primary language is English due to colonization, they still find a lot of pride in their language almost in retaliation to the dominance of English. I was on a tour of Trinity College, and the tour guide took his final exams for theoretical physics all in Irish, which really surprised me and was really interesting to learn about the country.

Conversations: SJ Tapogna

sjtapogna — 2025-03-07 21:44:48 UTC

I worked at the Bronx Zoo for many years and interacted with visitors that spoke many different languages. Many times a visitor would ask me something in Spanish, and since I know Italian I understand most of what the visitor is saying, but not well enough to respond. I would try and use visual cues and maps/signs to help visitors even with the language barrier.

Experiences: SJ Tapogna

sjtapogna — 2025-03-07 21:47:06 UTC

My friends have been introducing me to different types of cuisine that I've never had before just because of where I grew up, and I've been able to learn more about their cultures through the different food that is important to them (I had Japanese curry for the first time recently with a friend who is a regular at a place in the city.)

Proud: SJ Tapogna

sjtapogna — 2025-03-07 21:49:16 UTC

One of my close friends who is also an education major wants to teach elementary school students in the future, and she is bilingual and speaks both English and Spanish. This is an aspect of her identity that i know she is very proud of because it connects her to both sides of her family, and I know that students that are also multilingual that she teaches in the future will appreciate and connect to her as a result of this commonality.

Leaders: SJ Tapogna

sjtapogna — 2025-03-07 21:53:04 UTC

There are so many people I have met at Adelphi who speak multiple languages, and i really respect and impressed by the ability to communicate in multiple languages in intelligent, funny, and informed ways in all of their different languages. From an outside perspective as mainly a monolingual person I think that this is such an impressive, cool, and amazing skill to have, and I hope people that speak multiple languages realize how cool it is.

Place: Opa Grille

2025-03-08 21:39:05 UTC

My friends from high school used to (and some still do!) work at a little Greek restaurant in my town, called Opa Grille. In this restaurant, there are a lot of different cultures to experience aside from Greek. My friend and his family (who also work there) are from Mexico, and I always find it hard to communicate with the staff, because they all spoke different languages. However, as me and my friends spent more time at the restaurant, we learned how to hold effective conversations, and we made so many memories there throughout the years. It was always really nice to see them, and as time went in, it was really nice and not stressful at all to communicate with them.

Experiences: different family traditions

2025-03-08 21:47:52 UTC

On both sides of my family, I am Italian, so the traditions have always been the same. Me and my cousins all get together to make sauce, and celebrate time together, whether that be watching a sports game or eating Sunday dinner. As long as we are together, it is always a good time. My friend has family from Peru, and he has told me a lot about the things that him and his family do, especially during Christmas Eve. They open presents at night on Christmas Eve with their family as oppose to Christmas morning, and their cuisine is different than what I am used to having. They make Spanish rice, steamed vegetables, and Peruvian chicken, as well as other stuff. I do not know exactly what is in it, but he brought leftovers to work for me to try, and they were delicious! Even though I have never spent a holiday with his family, eating the food that they prepared was a nice way to experience Peruvian culture, which is so different than my own.

Conversations: Holidays

2025-03-08 21:51:27 UTC

One of my favorite things about holidays is that yes, there are a lot of things that families can celebrate, but I love getting to talk with my friends about their specific traditions. Hearing about different cultures and traditions during conversations about the holidays has always been super interesting to me, and I feel like I always get to learn something new about my friends!

Proud: my Grandma

2025-03-08 21:53:41 UTC

My Grandma is filled with pride to be bilingual, and she speaks both Italian and English. She has always said how important it is to learn other languages, and how she uses both languages in her everyday life. She is able to keep in contact with her family and friends back in Italy, but was also able to explore different cultures here in the United States when speaking English.

Leaders: Pascal

2025-03-08 21:56:17 UTC

My Mom's boyfriend, Pascal, is another person who knows multiple languages. He is a very smart man who comes from Belguim, where his first language is French. He now speaks English as well, and is learning how to speak Italian for my Mom. He also knows how to say a lot of things in certain languages, such as Japanese. I think that he can be a great leader and/ or model for people who want to acquire more than one language, because he is able to showcase his abilities and take pride in all of the different cultures he has experiences over the years.

Places - Emily Haimov

2025-03-09 03:04:57 UTC

When I was in middle school, I was taught to read, write, and speak in Hebrew. To perfect my skills, I would speak with my dad in Hebrew at home, since he was fluent in the language. In social settings, such as restaurants, parties, etc., I would speak to my family and friends in Russian. I also wanted to improve my Russian and I find that speaking in the language helps me become more confident in my skills.

2025-03-09 03:13:43 UTC

Since I’m from Queens, we all use the same slang, like saying “mad” to mean “very,” like “it’s mad cold outside.” It’s a way of speaking that connects us to our community and background.

2025-03-09 03:18:26 UTC

As a Russian, I enjoy having deep conversations at local Russian-speaking gatherings in parks, where we share stories and keep our culture alive. These meetups help us stay connected and strengthen our ties to our heritage.

2025-03-09 03:18:46 UTC

I love attending international food fairs to share Russian dishes and talk about their history. It’s always fun to introduce people to our food and see their curiosity about our culture.

2025-03-09 03:18:59 UTC

I appreciate Russian school teachers who encourage kids to keep speaking Russian while living abroad. They help preserve our language and culture for future generations.

2025-03-09 03:19:11 UTC

My parents immigrated from Russia, and they say speaking Russian has been helpful in so many ways. They love using multiple languages and keeping that part of their identity alive.

Experiences - Emily Haimov

2025-03-09 03:24:10 UTC

In Judaism, there are two different sects: Ashkenazi and Sephardi. Both practice different customs and traditions. I grew up in a Sephardi household and I didn’t really know how Ashkenazi Jews practice their traditions (my elementary/middle school mainly had Sephardi Jews). When I was in high school, I was surrounded by Jews who were Ashkenazi and was able to learn about the different traditions they held. Spending the Sabbath with them helped me get a better understanding of their culture.

Conversations - Emily Haimov

2025-03-09 03:36:37 UTC

With my family and friends, I mainly speak in English, but I use translanguaging with Russian and Hebrew while we converse. I also tend to teach my boyfriend to speak in Russian because majority of my family speaks in Russian, and sometimes we’ll speak to each other in Russian.

Place- Guyana, Savanna Singh

savannasingh — 2025-03-09 03:38:50 UTC

Growing up in a Guyanese household, I was surrounded by different languages and dialects. English is the official language, but I often heard Guyanese Creole spoken by family and friends. When I visited Guyana, I noticed how people effortlessly switched between Creole and English depending on the situation. It was fascinating to see how language shaped our identity and culture.

Experiences- Savanna Singh

savannasingh — 2025-03-09 03:39:45 UTC

In my family, conversations often mix English and Guyanese Creole. My relatives speak Creole naturally, and I’ve learned to understand it even if I respond in English. Sometimes, I try to speak Creole, and my family encourages me, correcting my pronunciation and helping me improve. It’s amazing how language brings us closer together and keeps our cultural roots strong.

Conversations- Savanna Singh

savannasingh — 2025-03-09 03:40:17 UTC

One of my most memorable conversations was with my grandmother, who primarily speaks Creole. At first, I struggled to keep up, but I slowly started picking up more words and phrases. She laughed and appreciated my efforts, teaching me new expressions. Now, I make an effort to use Creole when talking to her, even if it’s just a few words here and there.

Proud- Savanna Singh

savannasingh — 2025-03-09 03:40:43 UTC

I’m proud to be part of a multilingual and multicultural background. Even though I primarily speak English, I appreciate how Creole is a part of my identity. It connects me to my heritage, and I love how language can express emotions and culture in ways that English alone sometimes can’t. I want to continue learning and using Creole more often to keep this part of my culture alive.

Leaders- Savanna Singh

savannasingh — 2025-03-09 03:41:15 UTC

Whenever I meet people from similar backgrounds, I encourage them to embrace their native languages or dialects. Many of us grow up speaking English more often, but I believe it’s important to keep our cultural languages alive. Even small efforts, like speaking a few words or learning new phrases, help preserve our heritage.

Proud Bilinguals and Multilinguals - Emily Haimov

2025-03-09 03:43:40 UTC

I have a good friend who is Israeli and proud to speak Hebrew. She uses the language a lot when speaking to me. My dad is a proud multilingual, speaking Russian, Hebrew, English, and more. When speaking to another person, he is always happy to speak the language they are most comfortable with.

My Neighborhood

2025-03-09 17:59:11 UTC

My neighborhood is filled with many different cultures and I have been surrounded by them since I was little. When I go out it is very common for me to hear people speaking different languages. In addition, a place I see this a lot is at work. Some of the people I work speak different languages to the patients and the patients I see daily are very diverse from one another.

Work

2025-03-09 18:02:38 UTC

Where I work I see people from all different cultures and backgrounds. The most common being Spanish and Indian. Although I don't speak either of these languages I have taken Spanish classes before and know the basic words that can maybe help me communicate with the patients. In addition, with the Indian patients some of the physical therapists speak it with their patients so have have picked up the very few of the basic words.

Friends and Family/Work

2025-03-09 18:06:06 UTC

I speak mainly English with all of my friends and family however and work when some people are seeking Spanish or Italian I am able to understand some of the words but not all. Being that I am not fluent in these languages and have only taken the basic classes to learn them.

Classmates

2025-03-09 18:09:12 UTC

Although I am not bilingual and no one close to me is either it is very cool to see people at Adelphi speaking different languages. Adelphi is very diverse and when walking around campus I feel like it is very common to hear people speaking different languages weather they are on the phone or walking around with their friend who may speak the same languages.

Clubs

2025-03-09 18:11:34 UTC

There are a lot of clubs at Adelphi that are inclusive to all languages. Although I am not in one at Adelphi when I was in high school I was apart of the Italian club and I was able to take Italian classes. This allowed me to be more involved in my culture and learn more about it.

Leaders- Rebekah Singh

2025-03-09 21:38:14 UTC

There are clubs at Adelphi that celebrate being bilingual, multilingual and different cultures. Like the Muslim Student Association, Carribean Student Association, Pakistani Student Association and more. In high school, we had lots of clubs that were dedicated to different cultures and languages like Greek club, Polish club, West Indian club and so on.

My friends- Rebekah Singh

2025-03-09 21:43:28 UTC

I have two friends who are from Bangladesh and Pakistan, so they speak Urdu and Bangla. They are very proud to be bilingual since they can communicate with their family and closest friends who speak the same language. They use their knowledge to help others who do not speak English and to communicate with their family and help them in certain situations. It shows that they are tightly connected to their family, but also to their culture.

Conversations- Rebekah Singh

2025-03-09 21:48:17 UTC

Most of my friends are Muslim and some of them speak Arabic and some speak a language that similar to it. I usually try my best to speak it though it's a little hard to since I don't know that much Arabic. However, as they would help me learn some things, it helped me understand hoe expressive we can both be more in Arabic compared to English. I felt like it was a really engaging but also more personal interaction in comparison to English. They still help me out from time to time, and i even learn some Urdu as well from time to time since it's kind of similar to Arabic.

jacky ramos

jackelineramos2 — 2025-03-09 23:58:16 UTC

I am very proud to be bilingual and is something I use very often. Growing up learning two languages was difficult but as I got older it helped me so much with jobs and communicating with other people. I am fluent in both Spanish and English and it's so important to me to be able to communicate in the two so I can talk to my family and be appreciative of my roots.

grandpa

jackelineramos2 — 2025-03-10 00:02:16 UTC

My grandpa lives in Honduras so when we communicate it's a little more difficult because he is disabled. he tries his best to communicate and form sentences and i try my best to understand him and make him feel comfortable and reassuring him that he is doing just fine.

The Dominican Republic

2025-03-10 00:47:22 UTC

When I visited DR a few years back, I didn’t know much Spanish but after spending a week there annd talking to the locals and experiencing the culture in Santo Domingo, I was able to learn a bit and started to understand some basics.

-Diana Singh

High school

2025-03-10 00:50:13 UTC

My high school experience was very immersive. My high school was really diverse and had a lot of clubs and multicultural days. I got to meet different people of all backgrounds and learned about their culture. One of my closest friends I met in high school was Jamaican and we bonded over our cultures.

-Diana Singh

Conversations

2025-03-10 00:52:39 UTC

Both of my parents speak English but they’re Guyanese so they speak a different dialect. With them I speak the way I normally do but with my grandparents and family back home I tend to switch and speak some creole.

-Diana Singh

Place: Disney World

2025-03-10 00:54:44 UTC

I used to work at disney world and it was so intresting to serve people with all different cultures and languages I noticed many people trying to speak spanish to me and although I do not speak it I was able to understand some of the language and still make them there coffee and I learned some new words in spanish. I felt so happy that I was able to get there coffee successfully.

My bestfriend

2025-03-10 00:56:15 UTC

My beestfriend speaks English, Spanish, and can understand Arabic. She enjoys being able to understand different things as well as how this plays into customs and cultures. She has been in situwtions where knowing more than one language has came in handy.

Diana Singh

Leaders

2025-03-10 00:58:34 UTC

My high school chemistry teacher was the leader for out chemistry team and various science clubs in school. She knew English, urdu, Arabic, and French. She was able to communicate with many students and parents. She took pride in knowing all these languages and often took classes to touch up on the things she didn’t know that well.

-Diana Singh

Dinner at my Italian BF's House

2025-03-10 01:01:09 UTC

At my boyfriends dad's house they speak English and Italian so when I go to dinner there we have conversations in both languages and the meals last a really long time because we have like 4 different courses because they have so much food and this was very weird for me in the beginning at my house we just have one course and I had to get used to having so much yummy food at once while keeping up with the itlaian and english languges across the table.

At work

2025-03-10 01:03:07 UTC

At work some of the babies are multilingual so they sometimes switch between langauges and its so intresting to figure out what they are saying. Its so cool that they are just two years old and know multiple langauges.

Experiences- Rebekah Singh

2025-03-10 07:10:16 UTC

During Christmas time, I remember my uncle's family coming over for the first time from Florida. They were Puerto Rican and mostly spoke in Spanish. I remember leading up to that meeting, I had been trying to learn enough Spanish to be able to speak with them. I struggled a little at first but they helped me out and we were able to really bond together. I really liked that I was able to make them comfortable by speaking Spanish with them.

My Neighborhood-Rebekah Singh

2025-03-10 07:14:54 UTC

I live in a very diverse neighborhood and even though I moved around quite a bit, I've been around diverse cultures and languages. My next-door neighbors that I grew up with speak Spanish. Although when I was younger, I didn't really realize that they were speaking a different language. They communicate with their family as well as with my dad in Spanish sometimes as well.

Place - Greece - Vorillas

elenivorillas2 — 2025-03-10 13:26:07 UTC

I speak Greek in my home and to my grandparents but we participate in a lot of translanguaging because some words I do not know how to say in Greek, I say in English. My family in Greece when I visited them, only spoke Greek and I found it pretty easy to participate in conversations with them being I have practice at home. My brother on the other hand had a very hard time because he does not speak Greek too much but with the help of my mom, dad and me, he was able to follow or we would translate for him.

Experiences - Grandmas House - Vorillas

elenivorillas2 — 2025-03-10 13:28:48 UTC

When visiting my grandma at her house, I enjoy my experiences of being able to switch between English and Greek. This allows me to not only practice my Greek and further expand my vocabulary but I am also helping my grandmother with her English and teaching her more words and what things mean. I think that this is beneficial for both myself and my grandmother because ti teaches us more and makes us more aware of the Greek and American culture.

Conversations - Coffee shop in Greece - Vorillas

elenivorillas2 — 2025-03-10 13:32:12 UTC

A conversation I had in another language was in Greece when I was ordering coffee the "American style." I tried ordering an iced latte and the workers thought I was funny for wanting my coffee cold. It is tradition to drink coffee hot un Greece even if it is 105 degrees outside. This shows how cultures are different everywhere even when it comes to coffee. Having this conversation showed me how different cultures are and had a eye-opening impact on myself.

Proud to be bilingual - Vorillas

elenivorillas2 — 2025-03-10 13:33:55 UTC

I am very proud to be billingual. I am able to communicate with my relatives in Greece and keep up with conversations with them as well as speak English with my friends and other people in America. I am so happy that my parents taught me Greek at such a young age because that is when language sticks most. I also love learning about how different Greek and American culture is and comparing and implementing both into my life.

Leaders - Vorillas

elenivorillas2 — 2025-03-10 13:35:16 UTC

I was secretary of my Greek club back in high school. I loved being apart of this club because it is where students who have a similar culture besides American than me were able to come together and appreciate the Greek culture. I also got some of my non-Greek friends to be apart of it and having. them learn more about my culture and myself was very fun and impacted me in a great way.

Loved Ones - Joao Delgado

2025-03-10 14:16:23 UTC

Whether it be my family, friends, or my girlfriend: Language is so different to us all in these environments. I come to my grandparent's house and thank my grandmother in Spanish as I improve in my classes (Spanish III). It helps a lot that I actually lived in Bolivia for well over 2 years as a kid, and even attended school for a year there since I stayed so long. I am a practicing revert, and my girlfriend is always excited to teach me a phrase and further understand its meaning.

My Brother - Joao D.

2025-03-10 14:21:57 UTC

I am part Bolivian and Argentinian. When I was around 12, I visited the capital of Bolivia: La Paz and then lived in Tarija for 2 years, not so far off from where we first were. Along with the language and culture, the country and its vast range of forests, mountains, and multicolored buildings gave me such a shock as to how different upbringings can be from parts of the world. Given my country Bolivia, it is the poorest in South America as of today. Given my pride and love for it, it's hard to not face the rampant poverty and crime that is very prevalent in the area.

My Co-Worker - Joao D.

2025-03-10 14:44:26 UTC

I worked at Whole Foods as a seasonal stocker up until recently. The hours were really flexible, and you got to work with your coworkers. This woman who worked in the frozen food section was Pakistani, and every day without failure she would go to her prayer mat when it was time for a break. I was always really puzzled when it came to beliefs in religion, but her determination and being so adamant for something like praying made me ask questions and wanted to get to understand the language and culture more as a whole, which really surprised me that I’d be so inclined to do that.

Place - My home

petergentilini2 — 2025-03-10 14:59:08 UTC

In my family, we often have a lot of different get togethers for random reasons. When we are all together, there is a wide array of languages. I only speak a little Italian and French, but it is very useful to talk to my relatives. My great aunt and Uncle prefer French to speak, so I try to practice with them when I can. My Uncle is from Italy, and now that I have started learning Italian, I try to speak to him in it. Its interesting to try and speak a language I'm not the best at, but its a lot of fun making my family laugh with my interesting dialogues.

Friends at Adelphi

petergentilini2 — 2025-03-10 15:02:52 UTC

Here at Adelphi, I have met many different students. I am part of the athletics program here, and there is a lot of foreign students. It is really interesting hearing them interact with students who also speak that language, and its great to learn some words from their language!

Experiences - Andrew Karduna

2025-03-10 15:23:05 UTC

Two of my best friends I have met at Adelphi are both from Asia. They often tell me stories about what life is back where they are from and how sometimes they have to adjust to living in the United States. Especially when it comes to driving.

Conversations Andrew Karduna

2025-03-10 15:25:57 UTC

On most nights I work at a restaurant where most of the staff speaks Spanish. Sometimes I try to understand what my coworkers are saying and I think I am learning quite a little bit of Spanish from them. They always love to teach me as I am always asking them questions.

anjalimacwan — 2025-03-10 15:26:00 UTC

1) My dad’s first language is Gujarati. He was born in India but came to America when he was young, so he didn’t really have a reason to learn Gujarati other than to communicate with his parents (who learned English when they came to America as well). However, his parents felt it was their responsibility to have my dad learn Gujarati even though he didn’t “need to”. My dad is very happy that they did this because he strongly feels that it contributes to his identity and enables him to represent himself as an Indian. He is also extremely proud of being able to speak Gujarati and he wants to be a model for my brother and I since we are unable to speak it.

2) My best friend's first language is English, but she is also fluent in Malayalam. As she has gotten older, she has become more proud to be able to carry over her heritage. When she was younger, she admits that she sometimes tried to fit into a standard here in America and not speak it as much. Luckily, due to the environment she grew up in, with her parents mainly talking in Malayalam at home, she was able to keep it with her and realize that she shouldn't block out her culture to fit in.

-Anjali Macwan

Leaders - Andrew Karduna

2025-03-10 15:27:11 UTC

The president of my fraternity is an international student from Myanmar. Ever since joining the organization he has had high importance E board positions as long as having multiple jobs and internships all at one time.

anjalimacwan — 2025-03-10 15:37:40 UTC

I am most exposed to Gujarati when I go to church or any family events. Although I am unable to speak it and don’t understand a lot of it, some of my family will say some things to me in Gujarati. I respond in English obviously, but that’s besides the point :)

-Anjali Macwan

anjalimacwan — 2025-03-10 15:56:46 UTC

When I visited London 2 years ago, I realized how multicultural it really is. We had so many multicultural experiences such as visiting Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace where we witnessed the changing of the guards, Westminster Abbey and Big Ben, Kensington Palace, Shakespeare’s globe theatre, and of course, having high tea and trying fish and chips. There were also people speaking all kinds of European languages which was an experience in and of itself.

-Anjali Macwan

The City - Moreille Litimco

2025-03-10 17:24:37 UTC

I usually visit the city quite often with my friends and everytime we are walking around, we would always hear a different language being spoken by different people. Since the city is a tourist spot to visit, many people from all over the world come to visit. Sometimes I would be approached by these tourist because they need help finding an certain area and it would lead to a conversation.

Experience- Moreille Litimco

2025-03-10 17:29:28 UTC

When I was little I was back and forth from the Philippines and New York, but there was a point where a stayed there fro my pre-k. While I was there I got to listen and learn about the Filipino language, Tagalog. All my relatives and friends would speak Tagalog to me and eventually I would get the hang of it.

My Family

2025-03-10 17:33:13 UTC

Most of my family members speak Tagalog to me and also English. Since in the Philippines the people can speak in a blend of English and Tagalog. When they do talk to me I understand them and reply back in English, because talking in English is easier for me, yet they will still understand what I am saying.

Clubs

2025-03-10 17:37:42 UTC

Both my high school and Adelphi have a variety of clubs you can join. School clubs are great for multilinguals because they provide a supportive space. Also, especially in Adelphi if you don’t see the club you want to join, you are free to make your own club.

My mom

2025-03-10 17:40:16 UTC

My mom is multilingual, she knows how to speak fluent Tagalog and English and can understand both languages well. Everytime my grandma speaks to me but I can’t really understand it because her English is not well, my mom translates for me.

Andrew norway

yokotomyo752 — 2025-03-10 19:50:35 UTC

In around 5 days I will be going to Norway to study abroad for a week during spring break! However I do not know any Norwegian! But hopefully when I got there I will learn more from what I already know. Also since I plan to go walk around the city and explore hopefully I can be able to talk to locals and understand some things what they are saying.

Grandpas family

yokotomyo752 — 2025-03-10 19:53:06 UTC

Since I’m mixed with many nationalities many of my family members speak different languages. However the ones I speak to the most are my grandpas siblings and cousins or other family and friends. Since they mostly all live in Costa Rica and Guatemala They mostly all speak Spanish. This is a problem for me since I speak no Spanish at all. The only words I know are very basic and it’s very difficult. However I stay positive and talk and be honest wall my grandpa translates for me.

Not knowing another language.

yokotomyo752 — 2025-03-10 19:55:04 UTC

Not knowing another language makes it very difficult for me to have conversations with other people that don’t speak English. But however I still try my best to have direct one on one conversations excluding the language barrier. I usually try to talk using some words I know from that language and use my hands to communicate.

Not being bi lingual

yokotomyo752 — 2025-03-10 19:58:08 UTC

unfortunately im not bilingual but however if i was I’d be very happy and feel great about myself likely since id be able to talk to more other people all around the world

Leaders

yokotomyo752 — 2025-03-10 19:59:46 UTC

Even though I do not know any other language besides English I still try my best to be a leader to everyone in a good way since finding friends shouldn’t be hard for some people if they need help. If someone has trouble making friends it’s good to be a leader and help them out

My Family

2025-03-10 21:02:33 UTC

Most of my family speaks English, but my grandparents speak Italian and they will switch back and forth between Italian and English when they are talking to me so I have begun to catch on to certain words in Italian.

2025-03-10 21:05:29 UTC

Adelphi is an extremely diverse campus and is made up of students of all different cultures, backgrounds and languages. There are many clubs on campus that support different groups of people from all backgrounds and even within my classes I have seen these students be supported and encouraged to share their culture and background.

Vietnam

2025-03-10 22:24:58 UTC

When I went to Vietnam, I was able to speak in Vietnamese somewhat, but it was also a mix between Vietnamese and English. This was a great experience, because I got to experience a different multicultural experience.

Peru Alex Nguyen

2025-03-10 22:26:10 UTC

When I went to Peru, I was able to put my Spanish classes to practice, and I spoke to many people in a new language. This was a great opportunity, and everyone was so supportive of me trying even though I could not speak very well.

My Classmate

2025-03-10 22:27:31 UTC

I recently met someone who speaks Croatian, and she was proud of that. She talks about how she speaks to relatives in that language. Further, she visits family in Croatia occasionally, and spoke very highly of it.

Place: Croatia

2025-03-10 22:36:47 UTC

When I visited Croatia I was worried about not knowing Croatian to communicate with the people there. I had my grandfather with me so he was able to speak to the people and family members there. Other than that many of the people who live there knew English so I was able to speak to a few people. It was nice that I able able to communicate with the people there but I wish I knew more Croatian

Experiences

2025-03-10 22:39:15 UTC

When I go to visit my grandparents my dad would always speak to them in Croatian, I picked up a few words but not enough to have a full conversation. They would also speak to each other in English, it was nice seeing how people in my family can connect to each other regardless of the language chosen.

Conversations

2025-03-10 22:41:06 UTC

When I'm with my friends we only communicate in English, the same for my close family members, along with my co workers

Proud

2025-03-10 22:44:05 UTC

My grandfather is incredibly proud to speak more than one language. He is proud of where he came from and that is closely tied to the languages he speaks. He finds joy in being able to connect with other regardless of their language.

Leaders

2025-03-10 22:45:47 UTC

At Adelphi there is many different opportunities to connect with other cultures and people from various backgrounds. This plays a major role in Adelphi being a welcoming communicate where everyones background is embraced and celebrated

Place- Spanish Class - Maria Rattin

2025-03-11 20:11:27 UTC

From grades 7-12 I took Spanish classes in school. For the most part, it was required to speak in Spanish the whole time you were in class so that you would become more proficient in the language. This led to me having a lot of amazing conversations with my friends and teachers while practicing a new language.

Multicultural Experience - Maria Rattin

2025-03-11 20:14:10 UTC

In the summer going into 9th grade, my grandparents paid for a trip to take my entire family to Italy to visit their hometown. It was my first time leaving the country, so it was a whole new experience. It was so cool seeing where/how they lived. It was also really interesting to meet some of their family who was there and seen the joy on their face as they got to communicate in Italian.

Conversations - Maria Rattin

2025-03-11 20:18:46 UTC

I only speak English, so that is my main form of communication between my friends and family. The only people who are bilingual in my family are my grandparents, who speak Italian. Sometimes when they are speaking to each other, they go back and forth between Italian and English so I try to combine the words I know with their body language to understand what they are talking about.

Bilingual - Maria Rattin

2025-03-11 20:22:20 UTC

Both of my grandparents are bilingual and they are proud to be. They communicate with each other using a mix of Italian and English. My poppy always tells me stories of how he grew up in Italy and how different it was. He loves being Italian so much and is able to channel his culture through his language. I find that he loves my grandma so much because she is also Italian so she can relate to a lot of his stories and communicate with him like no one else can. No one else in my family speaks Italian, so they really value each other.

Leaders - Maria Rattin

2025-03-11 20:25:12 UTC

I think that there are so many opportunities to become a leader for multilinguals. Even if you aren't multilingual yourself, getting educated and promoting multilingual activities can make you a leader. In addition, a lot of schools and college offer amazing clubs where students are able to express their multilingual culture and share/relate to others. This can be a very empowering experience.

Conversations - Charlotte W

2025-03-12 00:21:25 UTC

My main form of communication is through English but my family background consists of Polish and Irish. Both my grandma and mom speak some polish words and phrases but are not fluent. From them I have gotten to hear and know some words of polish. However, I can't communicate fluently but I try to learn from what they are saying.

Experiences - Charlotte W

2025-03-12 00:25:07 UTC

This past summer, I went on a trip to Germany and Poland with my mom to visit family and sight-see. It was really cool and interesting to learn about where some of my family originated from a long time ago. I also like learning about the historic buildings and castles in both places.

Proud - Charlotte W

2025-03-12 00:31:07 UTC

My best friend can speak with English and Italian. She is proud of her Italian background and likes to learn about her background. Even though she is not completely fluent in Italian, she can speak and understand Italian phases and words when she hers them. Additionally, she can also write down or type them on paper or a laptop when need be.

Leaders - Charlotte W

2025-03-12 00:34:45 UTC

At Adelphi, many diverse/students from all different backgrounds attend campus. I know that there all a lot of clubs and programs where students can support or participate in activities to support their background.

Place- Puerto Rico

2025-03-12 01:47:41 UTC

I encountered many bilingual people when I went to Puerto Rico last year. Many people there speak both Spanish and English. My dad is very good at Spanish, but I am not the best, so it was slightly difficult for me to communicate at restaurants in particular.

Painting lesson with a Hispanic friend

2025-03-12 01:58:23 UTC

One of my favorite vacation memories is when I was in Costa Rica two years ago, and in the casita next to us was this Hispanic couple. She had been painting for over thirty years and offered to give me a painting lesson. Her kindness still lingers with me because she barely knew me but was eager to teach me more about painting with oil paints even when I barely understood her. I think this was a very special moment for me because it taught me that regardless of a language barrier, I could still follow along and have fun.

Parents

2025-03-12 01:59:20 UTC

I talked to my dad about his travels all over Latin America, and I learned a lot more about him. I also learned how he became o good at speaking Spanish.

Parent

2025-03-12 02:00:49 UTC

While my dad has lost some of his Spanish skills, he is about 90% fluent in Spanish through his travels and the people who helped him along the way.

Sorority

2025-03-12 02:01:46 UTC

My best friend is part of a multicultural sorority at Adelphi.

Israel

avigailgavrielov — 2025-03-12 03:39:36 UTC

When I first returned to my home country after having been in new york for the past 12 years, at the time I experienced culture shock even though it was my own country. They speak much more advanced hebrew than I did at home in the US, which was also pretty difficult because I would barely be able to understand.

Celebrating friends bithday in a Hispanic household

avigailgavrielov — 2025-03-12 03:43:06 UTC

Growing up I had a very close Hispanic friend and one time during her birthday I got to experience her family's different foods, music, and celebrations, which I quickly grew accustomed to and i also managed to pick up a lot of the Spanish from her Ecuadorian household which I really enjoyed. I learned to love her traditions and cultures whenever we would hang out!

My mom

avigailgavrielov — 2025-03-12 03:46:15 UTC

My mom is proud to be multi lingual because she can communicate with her family and communicate with people around in New York after learning English as her third language. She is much more confident and also has access to understand and communicate with anyone now without any barriers. My mom taught me that the more languages you learn, the better it is incase you meet someone or travel somewhere.

My father

avigailgavrielov — 2025-03-12 03:48:53 UTC

My dad is a leader to me because he is the head of the family and in his business as well. He is capable of bossing 12 workers while also assisting and being there for his family. He protects and guides us whenever needed, and he also has a strong backbone and has built everything that he has for himself today alone without assistance, therefore making him a very strong, independent leader.

My boss

avigailgavrielov — 2025-03-12 03:50:50 UTC

My boss and I speak the same native language so it is easier for us to communicate when we don't want anyone else to understand us if it's private. We both speak Russian and can express ourselves freely around one another while also easily alternating to English. This is seen as a sign of comfort. and limiting language barriers/ discrimination.

Places-Mexico

2025-03-12 14:41:38 UTC

As a kid my family would travel to Mexico once a year for a vacation. During the trip I would meet employees who didn't speak English. This made me wonder and want to learn Spanish. By the end of the trip I would have learned the simple Spanish terms. Like hi, how are you, what's your name.

Experiences-going to the mall

2025-03-12 14:44:03 UTC

I feel the mall is a very diverse setting. there are people from all over the place. I once was in forever 21 and overheard someone said she's deaf and doing sign language I can't understand. In high school I took ASL so I went over and helped her be able to communicate what she needed to say. This was important for me because I felt bad she couldn't advocate fore herself but I was happy I was there to help.

Conversation - Friends

2025-03-12 14:45:44 UTC

Walking around my town I felt it was very diverse setting. When my friends would want to go to walk to get coffee we would always come across someone who spoke Spanish. We found this really cool being able to communicate with someone that speaks a different language.

Leaders - Clubs

2025-03-12 14:47:33 UTC

There are many multilingual clubs at Adelphi that a lot of students go and talk about their leadership roles being a voice on campus. This is so important so everyone is are getting treated equally.

Proud to be a Multilingual- My aunt

2025-03-12 14:50:33 UTC

My aunt is someone who is very proud to be a multilingual. She is from Italy and only spoke Italian so when she had to learn English it was a challenge for her. But that didn't discourage her. She would always tell us funny stories being in Italy and she was just always very positive.

I went to Italy for a vacation and although many tourists spoke English, I did not understand the people who lived there that spoke Italian. Although I hear some of my family members speak it, I still could not understand ti at the pace they were speaking.

2025-03-12 16:17:00 UTC

Adelphi Classrooms

daelynnhidalgo — 2025-03-12 16:17:29 UTC

A face-to-face place where people can have a conversation in another language is a classroom. The courses offered in different languages, such as Spanish, allow for the student to learn and to practice that language in the course offered. There are a wide range of languages and levels, ranging from beginners to advanced.

My Uncle

2025-03-12 16:18:44 UTC

My uncle has a very heavy accent in Italian so when he speaks to me sometimes it is hard to understand being that Italian was his first language. Although I understand some of it, when he speaks too fast or certain words I just cannot make out.

Adelphi Events

daelynnhidalgo — 2025-03-12 16:20:30 UTC

A place where people can try different multicultural experiences is at the events that Adelphi hosts for students. I have not stayed as informed to know where to find them, but I am aware of clubs that are specific to a culture but welcome anybody, and the school itself holds events that center around diversity and the celebration of different cultures.

Conversations

2025-03-12 16:20:42 UTC

The only times I hear more than 1 language around me is at school or in the city where it is very diverse. It is so special to see how many people pass each other and hear multiple conversations but all in different languages

Adelphi Campus

daelynnhidalgo — 2025-03-12 16:22:34 UTC

A place where people can speak freely about controversial issues is really anywhere on campus. It is especially seen in classrooms where teachers let students lead the discussion if there is an issue that is weighing on them, but it is also seen anywhere, in any building or outside bench area where there is a group of people. Friends talk amongst each other and that is another way that these issues are spoken about.

My grandma

2025-03-12 16:23:58 UTC

My grandma is proud to be bilingual and she loves that she was able to get the chance to learn more than 1 language. Although she mostly speaks English, she loves when she meets someone who speaks Italian that she can bond with over that and speak it with them.

Adelphi Students

daelynnhidalgo — 2025-03-12 16:25:07 UTC

People who identify and are proud to be bilingual or multilingual, are the students on campus. I count for one of these students as I am proud to be bilingual and it makes me even happier that I still make the attempt to practice at school especially. The same can be applied for other students on campus!

clubs

2025-03-12 16:27:59 UTC

I know that my high school had a lot of clubs which is so smart because it makes new classmates feel welcomed when they speak a different language an just moved here.

Adelphi Teachers

daelynnhidalgo — 2025-03-12 16:28:05 UTC

People who can be a model or leader for multilinguals are the teachers who represent the school and their cultures. I immediately thought of Professor Arellano-Torres specifically for this prompt but there are many other teachers who can count for this as well!

Place- India

2025-03-12 16:31:55 UTC

As someone who went to India for the first time during my winter break. I saw all my family there and they knew how to speak Hindi, Punjabi. I only spoke English and moderate Punjabi so for me talking to my grandpa and grandma was really hard. They don't really know English and so as much I wanted to communicate with really well my parents would have to translate stuff I would say so they can understand. But throughout my trip there I was perfecting my Punjabi and Hindi. It was really nice to be able to communicate in a different language.

Family Gathering

2025-03-12 16:34:29 UTC

Some experiences I have had with my language would be during Diwali. It is a Festival of Lights and spreading positivity. I love this holiday cause we go to the gurdwara sahib and then afterwards my family gets together for a dinner where we speak Punjabi and English mostly. My mom always makes variety of dishes and my aunt brings some dishes at our house to celebrate the holiday together.

Conversations-Manpreet

2025-03-12 16:37:34 UTC

As someone who always spoke broke Hindi and didn't know how to write in Punjabi even. I try my best to communicate with my elderly whenever I do meet them since they don't know English at all. I can speak Punjabi somewhat and English at the same time. When I used to speak a different language at school my teachers always pointed it out like a bad thing. They even put me in ESL classes because they thought my English wasn't perfect enough. From there I started to only speak English and later on I somewhat forgot how to speak Punjabi.

Proud to be bi-multilingual

2025-03-12 16:40:09 UTC

I used to very discouraged on my Punjabi even though I knew moderate amount. But now as I have grown up I have realized that I should be proud I can communicate even a little and switch out my language with my family to communicate. Not everyone has this ability and since I do I should take advantage of it.

Being a leader at a club

2025-03-12 16:43:31 UTC

I'm a leader of a cultural dancing club at AU. I am very proud it because everyone in that club is Punjabi . It allows me to be versatile and everyone looks up to my captaincy cause I'm always reachable if someone needs help. It's sometimes hard organizing events but my team helps me and we communicate in Punjabi in the club. Recently, we decided to do a joint program with another cultural club at AU.

My Grandparents- Allison Kwait

2025-03-12 16:53:53 UTC

My grandparents (my mom's parents) speak both English and Yiddish. They are proud to be bilingual and often incorporate Yiddish words and phrases into our conversations so that I am exposed to the language. Growing up the children of Jewish immigrants from Poland, their parents did not teach them Yiddish in their home. However, my grandparents soon picked it up as they heard them speaking in it frequently with others. Although I am no where near being fluent in Yiddish, I am proud to say that I know some words and phrases thanks to my grandparents.

places

2025-03-12 16:59:09 UTC

I have traveled to Mexico for a family vacation. We grew up taking Spanish classes all through elementary and middle school. When getting picked up from the hotel we have conversations with our spanish speaking driver.

experiences

2025-03-12 17:01:01 UTC

I spent Greek Easter with my best friend. Ive been attending their parties since kinergarten and I love getting to try new foods, seeing their traditions and learning more about their culture

conversation

2025-03-12 17:02:16 UTC

I engaged in conversations in a different language in the different countires I have travelled to. It is a great way to connect with people from different cultures and I get to see life through their perspective and stories

proud

2025-03-12 17:05:11 UTC

my friend grew up in a greek speaking household, so she is able to understand and speak greek, and english but in school she was able to relate greek to spanish and italian so those classes were easier for her too.

My Spanish Class- Allison Kwait

2025-03-12 17:05:27 UTC

I've taken Spanish in school since seventh grade. Now that I'm in Spanish 4, my professor encourages us to speak solely Spanish in class. I've had many opportunities to have conversations in Spanish as well use linguistic tools from both English and Spanish to communicate with my professor. As most people in my class don't speak Spanish fluently, they often combine both languages which can be beneficial to get their point across in an effective way.

clubs

2025-03-12 17:07:13 UTC

there are many clubs in my old high school that allows students interested in different languages, study more about the culture and they had leaders for each club to share their findings and try to recruit new members to the club

Passover at my friend's house- Allison Kwait

2025-03-12 17:11:41 UTC

I celebrate Passover with my family every year. On the first night, we typically go to my cousin's house in Brooklyn, and the rest of the holiday is celebrated at my house. My friend Liz's family celebrates both Jewish and Catholic holidays as her mom is Jewish and her dad comes from a Catholic family. Last year, I went to her house during Passover and got to experience how her family celebrates the holiday. While they ate similar food to my family, some dishes were different. They also didn't read from the Haggadah like my cousins do. I really enjoyed this experience as it provided me with exposure to other ways in which people celebrate the same holiday.

My Rabbi- Allison Kwait

2025-03-12 17:21:50 UTC

The rabbi at my temple speaks both English and Hebrew. She is a model and leader for multilinguals not only in the religious sphere of Judaism, but also in terms of culture. My rabbi holds various events in which members of the congregation can attend and read and analyze Torah. She also leads Shabbat services and those for the Jewish holidays. As I go to a reform temple, there is use of both English and Hebrew. The Torah is in Hebrew, but our discussions of it might be in both languages.

Places- Gabriela Bernier

2025-03-12 18:48:49 UTC

I went to Los Angeles California last summer and I was surprised to see the variety of languages I heard being spoken. From what I can differentiate I was able to grasp Spanish, English, Italian, and Portuguese being spoken in restaurants a streets. As I write this I realize that its not really a shocker for L.A to be so diverse since the city is known for its beautiful weather, Hollywood, the beaches, and famous landmarks such as the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

My Workplace

alanhuang4 — 2025-03-12 18:51:08 UTC

I'm working at a Korean Bakery, In many ways I experience multilingualism such like talking to customers they come from different places and speak different languages. My co workers speak many languages such as spanish, english, japanese and much more. I also learned a tiny bit of korean working their as most of the customers were a old group.

Church Classes

alanhuang4 — 2025-03-12 18:54:01 UTC

When I was really little I went to a church for classes I met alot of diverse people their and also we had like a culture day there or like a day were we bring food from different cultures and share it with one another.

Friends/Co workers

alanhuang4 — 2025-03-12 18:57:10 UTC

I met alot of new friends while I was working and having a conversation with them when they speak more the one language. When they were speaking to my other friends in another language they translate it for me and also I met new friends that speaks more then 5 languages.

Friends / me

alanhuang4 — 2025-03-12 19:00:17 UTC

I'm proud to be able to speak 2 languages since its better to know at least 2 or more languages for job opportunities. My friend/ co worker knows more then 5 languages since he learned them by going to different countries and experiencing there culture and learning throughout his trip there.

Clubs

alanhuang4 — 2025-03-12 19:03:12 UTC

When I was in high school me and my friend was in the key club. I was just a normal key club member while he was like the president/ or someone important I forgot. He spent most of his time coordinating and planning for trips and deciding what happens for the club. During my time in that club I met alot of diverse people and friends.

Experiences- Gabriela Bernier

2025-03-12 19:49:28 UTC

Thinking back to my elementary days, I remember befriending a new girl who only spoke Chinese, while I only spoke Spanish at the time. Despite our language barrier, we became best friends very quickly. We communicated through simple gestures like smiles and waves when greeting each other, and we kept up with each other throughout the day, having lunch together and swinging during recess. This is a memory I cherish because it shows the innocence of friendship and the beauty of connecting with someone beyond language differences.

Proud - Samira R

2025-03-12 20:00:29 UTC

I grew up with immigrant parents from the Dominican Republic. My first language was Spanish as it was just easier for my parents to communicate with me and how important it was to them for me to know Spanish fluently. As I grew up, I realized how amazing it is to be multilingual. It opens so many doors and opportunities, allows me to communicate with different Hispanics, help my community, and allows me to travel to Spanish-speaking countries with an advantage. Learning new words, and phrases, as well as improving my reading and writing in my language are all aspects that I am proud of and will continue to do so I can make sure when I have children they will be proud of being bilingual as well.

Bestfriend's Family

2025-03-12 20:06:36 UTC

When I think about those around me that are bilingual and are proud to be it makes me think of my best friend's family because they speak Creole, and I began to comprehend a few words after spending so much time at her house as a child. Being around her parents and listening to their daily conversations helped me naturally pick it up even though I never received any formal instruction. The amount of information you can take in simply by being in that setting is astounding and it makes me proud of myself to be able to pick up small parts of their conversations. Now that I have grown up a bit, when I visit their home I find myself greeting them in Creole and saying goodbye in Creole as well, out of respect. I love the language and learning it small bits at a time makes me appreciate language even more.

Dominican Republic

2025-03-12 20:11:26 UTC

When I visit the Dominican Republic, I am automatically greeted by a large part of the family that still lives there. Once I arrive I speak Spanish entirely because my family does not practice English over there. I remember times when my younger cousin would get upset at my sister and me for speaking English amongst one another because she felt excluded and unintelligent for not understanding us. When going to the store without my parents I would find myself having a hard time adjusting to only Spanish, even forgetting some words when trying to communicate because of how used to code-switching I am when in America. It taught me how different the two countries are and encouraged me to expand my Spanish even more so switching to Spanish-only would be much easier for me in times like this.

Indian Wedding Venue Job

2025-03-12 20:15:31 UTC

It has been so awesome to work at a wedding location that accommodates Indian weddings. I don't comprehend a word of the several languages I hear, including Punjabi and Hindi. Even yet, the amount of knowledge I've gained about the culture simply from being in its presence is astounding. I've been accustomed to the cuisine, the beautiful attire, such as sarees, and even some customs, such as the groom's entrance, or baraat. I can sense the vitality, the happiness, and the significance of everything even if I don't comprehend the language. It only serves to highlight the extent to which culture transcends language!

Conversations- Gabriela Bernier

2025-03-13 15:26:11 UTC

Living in New York has taught me the English language, and it feels wonderful to finally master it. I speak with many educated people, which inspires me to expand my vocabulary and sound more advanced. However, I can never feel the same excitement as when someone speaks to me in my native language. Spanish holds a special place in my heart since it's the first language I learned, the one I speak with my mother, and the one in which I can express myself most comfortably. Learning English was a goal I achieved, but Spanish is something I search for everywhere I go. It's the language in which I laugh the most, and my voice feels softer and more comfortable when speaking it. The reality is, mastering English has led me to put Spanish aside a little. When I speak to my mother now, I often find myself stuttering or saying things like "how do you say" or "you know what I mean," which saddens me. But when I visit her for the summer, everything comes back naturally, and we both laugh over jokes only we understand. Speaking Spanish will always be a priority in my life, and I’m so lucky to have it.

Proud to be bi-lingual- Gabriela Bernier

2025-03-13 15:32:03 UTC

If I had to choose my favorite quality about myself, it would be being bilingual. Not just because it's an advantage in the job market, but because it allows me to help others in meaningful ways. The greatest reward comes from seeing someone in need who only speaks Spanish, and witnessing the relief on their face when I offer them assistance in a language they can understand.

Leaders- Gabriela Bernier

2025-03-13 15:36:08 UTC

Becoming part of the E-board in my dance team, AUbailadores, has been a great accomplishment. This leadership role allows me to use my welcoming personality and bilingual skills to bring people together through music, dance, and culture. Seeing everyone’s unique dance styles come together as they follow my lead fills me with pride and emotion, making me feel on top of the world.

When I went to Miami (Ilana Shimunova)

ilanashimunova — 2025-03-14 15:04:31 UTC

When I went to Miami, I noticed how common Spanish was in everyday conversations. Many people spoke both English and Spanish, and sometimes I found myself in situations where Spanish was the primary language. At a Cuban restaurant, the staff greeted me in Spanish, and even though I don’t speak the language, I could pick up a few words from the menu and context.

This experience made me realize how multilingual Miami is and how important language is in shaping interactions. Even though I don’t speak Spanish, it was interesting to see how language plays a big role in the city's culture and how people naturally switch between languages in daily life.

Family Party - Ilana SHimunova

ilanashimunova — 2025-03-14 15:09:31 UTC

At a family party, I noticed how language connects generations. My relatives switched between English and Russian, depending on who they spoke to. My younger cousins, who mostly speak English, struggled to understand a joke told in Russian. When it was translated, the meaning wasn’t the same, showing how language carries culture.

This made me appreciate being able to speak both languages and how important it is to keep them alive in my family.

Grandparents

ilanashimunova — 2025-03-14 15:14:02 UTC

One memorable conversation I had in Russian was with my grandparents at a family gathering. They mostly speak Russian, so I had to switch from English to communicate with them. We talked about their childhood, old traditions, and how life has changed over the years.

ilanashimunova — 2025-03-14 15:24:36 UTC

I am Proud to be bilingual because it helps you connect with family, appreciate culture, communicate with more people, and even opens career opportunities. It also keeps your heritage alive and strengthens thinking skills.

Adelphi's diversity

ilanashimunova — 2025-03-14 15:28:35 UTC

Adelphi's diversity makes it simple to join clubs, meet new people, and develop cross-cultural connections. This helps students become leaders by pushing them out of their comfort zones, developing collaborative skills, and establishing inclusive environments. Participating in groups and events emphasizes communication and collaboration, which are essential qualities of effective leaders.

Grandparents

2025-03-17 18:11:29 UTC

My grandma is quite proud to be bilingual as it helped her in her career. Her coworkers and employer found her quite reliable considering the fact that nearly no one else in the office was as fluent in Spanish as she was.

Lunch with a Brazilian friend in a Columbian restaurant

2025-03-17 18:14:12 UTC

I took my friend to this Columbian restaurant I knew, very good btw, but I always have trouble ordering from there because most of the waiters only speak Spanish or broken English and my Spanish is awful. My friend speaks Portuguese but can also speak Spanish, and orders for us. He says the difference between the two languages is minimal, and its easy to make the switch.

Brighton beach

rachelfazylov — 2025-03-17 18:32:59 UTC

When I went to Brighton Beach, I noticed that many people spoke Russian in daily life. Some spoke both English and Russian, but in stores and restaurants, Russian was the main language. At a bakery, the staff greeted me in Russian, and I understood some words from the menu and signs. This showed me how language shapes a community and how people switch between languages every day.

Rachel Fazylov

rachelfazylov — 2025-03-17 18:44:15 UTC

I was raised using English at school and Russian at home. During meals, holidays, and get togethers, my family always spoke Russian, and I picked up a lot of customs from them. Additionally, I helped my parents with translation in appointments and stores, which helped me understand the importance of language in everyday situations. I've grown to value my bilingualism and how it helps me stay connected to my family and culture.

conversations: Rachel Fazylov

rachelfazylov — 2025-03-17 18:47:28 UTC

One of my friends speaks Spanish and English, and at times she blends the two languages in a conversation. Despite my lack of Spanish, I make an effort to grasp by using words I am familiar with. She explains things to me or switches to English when I don't understand. Just by conversing with her, I've picked up new Spanish vocabulary over time.

proud- Rachel Fazylov

rachelfazylov — 2025-03-17 18:50:29 UTC

I take great pride in my bilingualism. Although it was occasionally challenging, I grew up speaking Russian at home and English at school. I'm happy that I never lost my Russian, even though there were moments when I felt different from others my age. I am able to read, write, and understand both languages because of my family, and I am aware of how important it is to maintain my language and culture.

Leaders, Rachel Fazylov

rachelfazylov — 2025-03-17 18:52:18 UTC

I was always assisting my Russian and English-speaking classmates in high school with adjusting to classroom life. I observed how important it was to comprehend diverse languages and cultures, especially for kids who felt out of place. I liked translating or clarifying things when necessary to make people feel more at ease and included. I learned from this experience how language connects people and the importance of accepting many cultures.

Dominican Republic

juliamusheyev — 2025-03-23 22:35:21 UTC

During winter break, my family and I went to DR and stayed in Punta Cana. I saw many people speaking different languages at the hotel. There were people speaking in Turkish, Russian, Spanish, and other languages. It was very interesting seeing a lot of people with different cultural backgrounds.

Daniel Kaziev - Place

2025-04-13 20:08:46 UTC

When I visited some family in Israel , all of them spoke either English and Russian, along with hebrew, so having two common languages made it easy to communicate with them.

Experiences- Daniel Kaziev

2025-04-13 20:10:09 UTC

My experiences with my family out the country played out very well, since we were able to speak in two common languages and find a middle ground for quick and easy communication in english and/or russian

Conversations: Daniel Kaziev

2025-04-13 20:11:04 UTC

Almost everyone close in my life except a few handful of people speak russian so overall its very easy to communicate and conversate with them.

Daniel Kaziev

2025-04-13 20:12:28 UTC

I am proud to be bilingual , since russian was my first language, school was mainly responsible for teaching me English which played out well because I learned different languages at home and school to then have both these skills.

Daniel Kaziev

2025-04-13 20:13:33 UTC

the closest I can think of a leader is my synagogues rabbi since he speaks english, russian and hebrew so everyone in the setting understands him.

Place- Cancun Mexico

2025-04-16 22:52:04 UTC

I've been to Mexico with my family now about 5 times in the past 10 years. Besides the beautiful weather and the time spent with family, I don't fully speak Spanish but anytime we get to the resort or at the airport, I try my best to understand and respond to people in Spanish. It's a really good way to practice and I don't do so bad and don't feel embarrassed.

Holidays at my grandmas

2025-04-16 22:54:15 UTC

Growing up, we would always spend any major holidays, mainly Christmas and Thanksgiving at my grandma's house. My dad's side speaks Spanish so every holiday or mainly anytime we went over to her house, all I would be surrounded by would-be Spanish speakers, and although I can't speak it, I have picked up words and phrases to make me understand the language.

Conversations

2025-04-16 22:55:54 UTC

As said before, whenever i go to Mexico i do try to speak and understand more spanish because I do want to learn it because it feels like I have to because I was born in Guatemala and my dad's side and my girlfriend and her family speak it too.

Place- Guatemala: Alejandro Gonzalez

2025-04-16 23:34:08 UTC

For spring break i went backpacking in Guatemala for 12 days, while i was there i encountered many conversations where i needed to speak Spanish. Spanish being my first language i had no issues while having these conversations and it felt good to be able to communicate in my first language.

Lucianna

2025-05-20 00:12:34 UTC

I have a very diverse family. We joke that we are the united nations. We have members from Japan, Italy, France, Germany, Israel, Peru, Columbia and Argentina; and we all share the same blood. At family parties, birthdays, events, etc. we all come together. There is a chaos between all of us. When we have visitors, they always say "Ive never met an asian person that can speak Spanish" or the same with a German person. We laugh but it is truly an experience. Those that only speak english and their own original language still communicate with those that speak different languages. We are all brought together and communicate in our own ways but its always the same.

Lucianna

2025-05-20 00:15:21 UTC

Being bi-lingual is something i feel proud of. To be able to communicate in more than one language comes in handy. I think being able to have this "American" identity and whole other "Spanish" identity makes me unique. I have been able to make connections because i have this background. It has helped me at work aswell.

Punjab

2025-05-20 11:41:36 UTC

I am pretty fluent in speaking Punjabi but going to Punjab made my Punjabi so much better. When I came back there was a better dialect. I remember being able to engage with my grandparents and im so grateful becuase they taught me about my culture and told me stories about my parents

AU Bhangra

2025-05-20 11:42:58 UTC

Here on campus we have a punjbai folk dance team called au bhangra and in that group me and teh girls speak a mix of the language

I am proud

2025-05-20 11:43:47 UTC

I am very honored to speak both languages and to be part of a great culture that encourgaes me. Our history is truly inpiring