Get News & Updates Directly To Your Inbox
Get News & Updates Directly To Your Inbox
Find A Doctor Or Hospital In Your Network.
Christina’s mother was just a year old when she emigrated to the U.S. with Christina’s grandparents. “She grew up, went to school here and learned to speak English as fluently as she did Spanish,” she explains. “My father, on the other hand, finished his education in Mexico and emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 19. While my mother could speak Spanish, reading and writing in Spanish weren’t her strong suits. So my father made it his goal to teach my sister and I to speak it fluently.”
Christina’s parents used an approach many experts tell advise parents to try when teaching their kids two languages – “one parent, one language.” Christina’s mother spoke with her in English, and her father spoke to her in Spanish.
Learning two languages offers many benefits. The list is long, but here are a few:
Christina is grateful that her parents ensured she is equally comfortable speaking English and Spanish – along with bigger view of the world and other brain-related advantages.
“Growing up, I knew that I had to speak to my mother in English and my father in Spanish,” she adds. “My maternal grandmother, who also spoke Spanish, reinforced my father’s teachings and gave me someone else to communicate with in Spanish.”
Do you have a story about being bilingual or its benefits? Share it with us in the comments below.
Originally published 9/28/2016; Revised 2023
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, a Division of Health Care Service Corporation,
a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
© Copyright 2024 Health Care Service Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Telligent is an operating division of Verint Americas, Inc., an independent company that provides and hosts an online community platform for blogging and access to social media for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas.
File is in portable document format (PDF). To view this file, you may need to install a PDF reader program. Most PDF readers are a free download. One option is Adobe® Reader® which has a built-in screen reader. Other Adobe accessibility tools and information can be downloaded at https://access.adobe.com.
You are leaving this website/app ("site"). This new site may be offered by a vendor or an independent third party. The site may also contain non-Medicare related information. Some sites may require you to agree to their terms of use and privacy policy.
Powered by Telligent