Losing Language

Grisel speaks Spanish at home with her mom in NYC, and during the summers with her dad and cousins in Puerto Rico. She never thought it was a gift to be bilingual, but her close friend Aura had a very different experience. Aura’s Chilean parents chose to speak English with her when she was a little girl and, as a result, she can’t speak Spanish or communicate easily with her grandparents. Aura longs to have Spanish tumble easily out of her mouth and she wonders why her parents made the choice to teach her English first.

Grisel speaks Spanish at home with her mom in NYC, and during the summers with her dad and cousins in Puerto Rico. She never thought it was a gift to be bilingual, but her close friend Aura had a very different experience. Aura’s Chilean parents chose to speak English with her when she was a little girl and, as a result, she can’t speak Spanish or communicate easily with her grandparents. Aura longs to have Spanish tumble easily out of her mouth and she wonders why her parents made the choice to teach her English first.