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| 7965 Artcraft Rd. El Paso, Texas 79932 (915) 877-7435 (915) 877-7437 Fax |
| Elementary Student Work Leila Martinez - First Place – Grades 3-5 My Future Bilingual Career Welcome to my fabulous life! ¡Bienvenidos a mi vida fabulosa! Fast forwarding to the future, I find myself in a special place. Life is wonderful and I have fulfilled my dreams. I find myself in a job where day to day I am able to communicate with my patients and medical colleagues. When I examine my patients I can speak to them in either Spanish or English and give them a diagnosis of their disease. It is very difficult for a doctor when she is not able to help the people that need it because when they are ill and can’t explain their problems, they feel frustrated. I can tell patients what I think and advise them in their own language. Patients feel comfortable and they understand how much I care and wish to help them. It is very important to be bilingual in this country because of its Hispanic population. You need to speak English and Spanish correctly. The better prepared you are, the more opportunities you will have of being successful in helping others. You need to be bilingual to effectively communicate in both your professional and personal life. Be Bilingual! Jasmine Critine Cázares - First Place – Grades 6-8 Learning in Two Languages “¡Que Hermosa!” “How cute!” “Look at the baby” “¡Mira la bebe!” Yes, those were some of the first phrases I heard coming into the world. From then on, I knew I was going to be, you guessed it, bilingual. As I grew up, I developed my second language through my family and by actively participating in the two-way bilingual program at my school. Being bilingual is an advantage that not very many people have and I am proud to say that I am one of the lucky ones. I have been in the two-way bilingual program since kindergarten; it was both difficult and challenging at first, but I have put forth much effort and dedication and it has helped me a great deal. Also, by being bilingual I have had the opportunity to learn so much about my culture while having fun at the same time. For example, Dia de los Muertos o Day of the Dead is a holiday that I would have never understood as only an English speaker. While as a Spanish speaker, I can understand los espiritus coming back to earth to be their familia; however, as only an English speaker, the spirits coming might be scary or misunderstood. |
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