GRC is home to many students and staff who can speak more than one language. They all come from different backgrounds and have exciting stories to tell. We visited with just a few to find out what it’s like to speak multiple languages.
Originally born in Brazil, Cesar Augusto came to Winchester just last year. He is fluent in Portuguese and English. While he can understand Spanish, he says, “I can’t write it down or talk properly.”
While Cesar has had to speak primarily English since coming to America, his thoughts are still in his own language. “For example, this Thanksgiving break, I stopped going to school for a week, so I talked a lot in Portuguese, but when we came back and I went to school I started kind of thinking in English.
Cesar said he never actually studied the language, but instead picked it up naturally over the years. “When I was growing up I was playing games and watching stuff online and I would just get exposed to English,” he says. “Then when I started to do the process to come to America and now this stuff, of course, I have to like focus a little bit more so But it was kind of natural.”
Cesar’s goals right now are to continue his education here in America, and try out for the GRC soccer team next year.
One of our very teachers here at GRC speaks or is familiar with five different languages. LaVonne Rutton is fluent in both English and Spanish, and knows some German, Japanese and French.
“My first desire was to be an ESPN girl because my dad watched sports all the time,” she says. “I thought I want to be the girl that interviews the sports guys. When they told me I had to move out of Kentucky, being 18 and 19, that was not an option for me. I was like there’s no way, so I changed my major and became an educator. They said one of the things that will open the doors for you is if you learn another language.”
This is what set Ms. Rutton on her path, and since then she has taught Spanish and English to a variety of students. Her favorite language she’s learned is Spanish as she’s been able to form many connections with students from all over the world.
Alberto Martinez Quiroz came to Winchester a couple years ago from Mexico. Because he’s lived in Kentucky for a couple years now, Alberto has naturally picked up English.
“This one time my sister woke me up, and I didn’t know what was going on, so I just started speaking English, like with no reason,” he says, “and she was like, ‘Why are you speaking English?’” Most of what he does is translate English into his own language so he can understand it.
Aside from English and Spanish, he is also able to speak Filipino and some Japanese. He also wants to learn German. “Germany is one of the countries I want to visit because it just seems pretty nice,” he says.
This is one of several languages that Alberto wants to learn about in his life. He would also like to learn other European languages like French and Italian, so that he can explore all sorts of cultures from across the world.
There is much more to most students and staff when you take the chance to talk to them.
