Level week 6 - The french tongue

     Growing up my parents only spoke to me in French. I can now say I am incredibly thankful. Both of my parents were born and raised in France. After having my first two siblings in France my family moved to Canada where they had their first child. I came four years after when my family moved to the Lehigh Valley. Growing up speaking French at home and being taught English at school was pretty difficult for me. 

    I remember growing up in math class I would always count to myself in French and then get confused when the teacher would say the numbers in English. It took some time to get used to but I eventually got the hang of it. As I grew up my vocabulary expanded in both languages and I felt more comfortable. I was proud of being able to speak two languages at my age because most of the students and friends I had around me only spoke English. 

    It made me feel so unique. I kind of labeled myself as the French girl in a way. I told everyone that I could speak French. Whenever we had to say a fun fact about ourselves in school that was always my go-to. However, there was a downfall to this because I was used to only speaking French with my family I became shy whenever someone asked me to say something in French. My mind would go blank and I would completely forget how to speak. 

    That also took some time to get used to. I had to build up my self-confidence so that I was able to do certain things. Now that I look back, I am extremely grateful that my parents took the time and effort to make sure that all of us are fluent in French. It allowed us to be close to our family members and it opens so many paths for us. Especially career-wise, because we are all able to work worldwide since we all speak English and French. The French background allowed us to pick up pretty easily in Spanish when all 4 kids took it in high school. 

    I want my children to be able to have the same opportunity that my parents gave me. I want them to be able to speak to their grandparents in their native language. Learning languages is a privilege that some people forget that we have.