Moving from Columbia to Florida at 9 years old, sophomore Zara Valencia Morales had to embrace a new culture, life and language. Picking up English quickly was important: not only did she have to succeed in school, but she was also a translator for her family, communicating to doctors and legal professionals. Even at a young age Valencia Morales understood that knowing two languages was going to be crucial to helping her family make decisions.

For many others as well, being able to speak another language is not just a skill, but part of their identity. It has the ability to connect others in more than just a conversation. 

What does it mean to be bilingual?

Having the ability to speak a few phrases in another language is an impressive skill, but being able to fully communicate and understand a person in a non-native language is where talent is really shown. Being bilingual means being able to read, write and speak fluently in two languages. 

Sophomore Tara Brewster grew up in Germany, communicating in German until around eight years old, when she moved to Florida and had to learn English. Memorizing a new alphabet, grammar rules and pronunciation came with difficulties, but Brewster grew up watching American shows which greatly helped her understanding of English. 

“I think both languages have gotten equally comfortable for me, but I can express myself differently in each language,” Brewster said.

As children, it is easier to learn new languages while still understanding native ones. The National Library of Medicine writes that during childhood, the brain is more receptive to language and has a bigger capacity to learn a new one. The environment also plays an important role. Having a rich and engaging environment where communication is constant allows learning a new language to be successful. For example, being somewhere where a different language is spoken makes someone constantly have to think in a new way and keeps their brain active and alert. 

What are the benefits?

Out of the roughly 7000 languages in the world, achieving fluency in even two is impressive. Share America states that only 22% of all Americans can speak another language, and the majority of them can speak Spanish or Spanish Creole. 

Siblings freshman Vincenzo Dellepiane Vallejo and junior Fiore Dellepiane Vallejo are originally from Chile, but moved to Florida in December of 2024. Learning English after knowing only Spanish came with its difficulties, but a second language introduced them to many more opportunities. 

“I can understand more people than an average person can,” Vincenzo said. “And that’s really important to me when I visit other countries where they speak Spanish or English.”

Moving across the world or traveling to someplace new and finding people with a similarity and connection makes for an easier journey. 

AP Spanish teacher Nizta Ariza is originally from Puerto Rico and moved permanently to Florida with her husband who is in the military. She believes being fully immersed in a culture provides the best atmosphere to learn a language. She uses her experience to teach her students, immersing them in the language instead of giving them a lengthy vocabulary list to memorize. 

“Being bilingual has a lot of benefits,” Ariza said. “You can understand different people and it can help you in the job industry. If you want to go outside of the country, you get a bigger advantage overall to connect with other people.”

Not only does being able to speak multiple languages contribute to future success, but it also improves one’s cognitive abilities. Author Neel Burton from Psychology Today says that bilingualism brings improved judgment. People who can speak foreign languages bring forward more rational or utilitarian conclusions when making decisions. 

What is it really like?

For those not bilingual, they may wonder what it is like to juggle two languages. Do they have to think in one language and translate to another? Is there an “off” switch? However, in reality, the brain works differently than most assume. 

Inside the bilingual mind, the brain is constantly active, always paying attention to the speakers around them and controlling what language should be used. The National Library of Medicine writes that bilingual children have a bigger ability than monolingual children to discriminate between languages, learn phoneme repertoires and learn words. 

 An author from MIT Technology Review writes that when bilingual speakers are given a question to answer, they can come up with two answers, one in each language. However, with more practice, speakers can gain cognitive control and think in whichever language they wish to. 

Sophomore Hyewon Kim is originally from Korea and had to learn English when she was 7 years old.

“It depends on which language I’m speaking,” Kim said. “If I’m speaking in Korean, I think in Korean, but if I’m talking in English, then I think in English.”

While bilingual speakers can switch between the languages they are speaking and thinking, their experiences can also change based on their environment and situation. Time spent in one culture and the amount of engagement in both languages can also impact one’s view. 

Valencia Morales moved from Columbia when she was 9 years old, learning English and the culture. 

“Spanish is more comfortable because it allows me to express myself how I want, and it’s the language where I have more recognition,” Valencia Morales said. 

What are the impacts?

For families who are not native English speakers, it is often the children who become the translators. This responsibility can be both helpful and challenging. With already having to learn new vocabulary and correct pronunciations, it can be difficult to have the confidence to speak clearly with others especially in a more public setting. 

“When it comes to public speaking, many bilingual people get self-conscious about their accents which can make them feel insecure about the way they speak or communicate with others,” Valencia Morales said.

According to the Cambridge University Press, conversion anxiety is common for speakers learning a new language, but many have found that the best way to overcome it is to continue learning from mistakes and not get discouraged if they pronounce a word wrong. 

Translation is like a bridge between two worlds and can bring people together and allow a complete embrace of one’s culture. However, that bridge is not crossed without difficulties.

“I feel in the beginning, when I first started learning English, there was a divide with English speakers because I didn’t know English very well, so it was difficult to communicate with others,” Ariza said. 

Some experiences can bring on a feeling of separation because language barriers act as a strong obstacle between people. In languages with large vocabulary or continuous additions, speakers may feel even more of a barrier. 

“A downfall is that Korean is more of a new language so there’s constantly new vocabulary being made and it’s hard to keep up with, and not many people can speak it here,” Kim said. 

While speaking two languages can open new doors of opportunities, it can also bring in some frustration when there is difficulty communicating with others.