Global Village Academy COCABE Essay Winners

 

2nd Place, Elementary School Division

Ximena Galindo | 5th Grade, Mandarin Village, GVA Northglenn

 

 “My name is Ximena Galindo, I am a fifth-grade student at Global Village Academy North. My parents and my school have provided me with a very unique opportunity that has allowed me to become trilingual. I was born into a Spanish-speaking family where I also learned to speak English. My school is an immersion school where students have the opportunity to choose whether they will learn Chinese, Russian, or Spanish.

There are many benefits to knowing more than one language. Being trilingual brings me a feeling of accomplishment, and it also makes me feel unique; there are not many fifth-grade students who are trilingual. I will also be able to help others who may need help and do need a translator, which will always allow me to be a helpful citizen of the world.

The ability to speak three languages will provide me with a skill set that will set me apart from my peers when applying for college and scholarships as well as when I enter the career force. The world I have grown up in is different from that of my parents and grandparents. With technology and transportation having been made easier and available to more people, many businesses work on a global scale. 

Whether I choose a career in business, science, medicine, or education; being able to speak three languages will undoubtedly open more doors for me.”

 

 

“I have made lifelong friends as we have been together since Kindergarten. We have been through strict Chinese lessons, pages of Chinese character writing, and language learning together. Speaking a second language helps me with talking to other people. My dream is to be a doctor, and because I can communicate in Chinese, I will be able to help more people. I am proud to be bilingual. It is a part of me, it will help me in my future, and it makes me happier.

 

 

 

“During my nine years at GVA, I have had teachers from Chile, Mexico, Spain, Argentina, and Peru. These teachers have given me a broad understanding of the Spanish language and the small things that differ in the dialect from one country to another. Not only has school allowed me to speak English and Spanish daily, but I also speak Spanish to my father every day. My 86-year-old Abuelo is proud that I can speak Spanish with him too. Knowing two languages will help me when I become an adult. I will have additional job opportunities monolingual adults won’t have. Bilingual workers that can read, write, and speak another language get paid more because they are in high demand. I can be anything from a translator to a lawyer. I can go to college in Mexico or Spain.

 

 

 

“I am a proud fifteen-year-old bilingual speaker. I have studied Mandarin for over 11 years, starting in kindergarten and continuing it in tenth grade. As I became older, I became appreciative of the fact that I went to a school that allowed me to learn Mandarin, which is a difficult language. The opportunity to learn a second language has allowed me many chances to communicate with others and strengthened my desire to learn even more. I’m very proud to have taken the time and effort to learn about other societies, cultures, and languages. Being bilingual has allowed me to dive deep into the culture and history of two languages that I thought I would never learn. It gave me the chance to take an AP test at the age of thirteen. I am proud of myself and more confident in speaking to others in Mandarin and sometimes in Spanish.

 

No matter what age a person is, I believe they should embrace the opportunity to learn another language.”