Language is able to form bonds between different people and countries. Being fluent in more than one language, opens doors to the whole world of numerous unique cultures, traditions and new experiences.

Language path of senior Perla Sanchez started when she was only seven years old. She was born in California but her family moved to Mexico when she was seven years old. In her case she had to self-taught English and Spanish at the same time. She already knew how to speak English but had problems in writing and reading as a child.

“I moved there when I was seven and came back at fourteen. When I moved there, I didn’t know Spanish. I learned Spanish in a year. I learned how to speak, write, and read. At that age you, like a sponge, you suck up everything very quickly. Just being submerged in that society helps improve your speech. It comes naturally,” said Perla Sanchez.

She faced misunderstanding and misinterpretation at school life, because she had to learn subjects in unknown language. It’s hard to find your company when you are scared to talk in front of people because of an accent.

“I had struggles more schoolwise because when I was at the second grade I was busy learning how to read, write and speak Spanish instead of studying what I supposed to study. I wasn’t really learning the subjects because first of all I tried to learn the language.” said Sanchez.

 When she moved back to America, she had to revisit English language after a long break of not using English at all. At the beginning Perla Sanchez had a hard time communicating, because she talked fast and with a strong accent.

“I got really frustrated because I hated repeating myself. I didn’t understand that nobody could understand me. I used to feel uncomfortable to speak,” said Sanchez.

Since that time her English has improved.

“Her strength is a grammatical concept and pretty good understanding of the patterns of English. I think a lot of it has to deal with the fact that she understands the patterns of Spanish so well. So she is able to compare them,” said English teacher Cecil Short.

Through years she made huge progress in learning both languages. Her accent is gone, she does not have struggles with reading or writing neither in English nor Spanish. Perla does not spend so much talking Spanish as she used to do, but she is always happy to have a small Spanish talk in a shop.

Her main advice in learning foreign languages is to go to country where people speak the language you would like to learn and talk as often as you can. Textbooks can help you in knowing rules and words, but practicing in public is the best way to expand your knowledge and become fluent in language.