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Students are encouraged to approach this writing contest in an imaginative and meaningful manner, expressing themselves in either their primary language or English. Teachers can assist students in focusing on the theme by exploring how being bilingual and using their creative bilingual voices will enhance their opportunities for learning, career, leadership, self-esteem, as well as the development of their cultural legacy in their future. The use of the writing process is encouraged (prewriting, sharing, revising, editing, and publishing) to develop a meaningful and expressive literary piece. Each literary piece should focus on the theme and demonstrate final editing quality. All students who enter the writing contest will be acknowledged for their efforts. Winners will be selected by a committee in four grade level categories, K-2nd, 3rd-5th, 6th-8th and 9th-12th.
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2010
Armando Vasquez
Alianza Charter School, Pajaro Valley Unified School District
Advocacy for Biliteracy: Reaffirming our Collective Commitments
It’s important to be bilingual because speaking two languages helps you to make friends. You can help people and you can help yourself. I can read the words and get the point. I can help to translate. I can help Daddy. It makes people happy. Two languages are important because if anything happens I can use it, like when I hear bad words I go tell Ruben or Mr. Jones. If I didn’t know Spanish I wouldn’t know. It’s good to be bilingual because if you get hurt, others can help you to get to safety.
I can learn to sing in both languages to earn lots of money. I know two rhythms, the one in Spanish and the one here, English. There are many rhythms in the planet, the Australian rhythm, the New York rhythm and the Africa one; I know two. If you go somewhere and you barely know the language, you hear the music, and it helps you. I can sing in two languages, people can understand me. They’re happy that at least someone knows their language.
Speaking two languages means I can talk to people. When I go to Mexico, I can speak to others. I can learn about my mommy’s culture. I can dance Folklorico like my mom. One day I can be the “dancing king” like my mom. She is the “dancing queen”.
Speaking two languages is like getting hatched. It makes you free to the world so you can learn other languages. And learning new languages lets you go to new places and meet new people that you can talk to in a new language and pretty soon you’ll be trilingual.
I think speaking more than one language is way loads of FUN!
2010
Elizabeth Pinedo
Boronda Meadows Elementary, Salinas City Elementary School District
Advocacy for Biliteracy: Reaffirming our Collective Commitments
Why is it good to be bilingual?
In my family to be bilingual signifies being part of two cultures, traditions, and identities. We have very
important reasons to value bilingualism in our home.
The most important reason for me is to be able to communicate with more people. Also, I can have more
friends and understand their languages. It gives me the opportunity to be able to travel the world and achieve my
goals to be able to communicate in the two languages I speak. Also, I will be able to realize my dreams to become a
bilingual professional.
The reason most important for my parents that I be bilingual is so that I can be proud to speak their language.
They tell me that to be able to speak more than one language will offer me better opportunities at a professional level.
The most important reason for the community is that we feel proud of being part of this nation and offer the best of
ourselves and to be able to unite our cultures and have a better community here in Salinas.
To be bilingual makes me feel doubly proud of my family and my country.
Porque es Bueno Ser Bilingüe
En mi familia ser bilingüe significa ser parte de dos culturas, tradiciones, y identidades. Tenemos rasones muy
importantes para valorar el bilingüismo en nuestro hogar.
La razón más importante para mí es poderme comunicar con más personas. También podré lograr tener
más amigos y entenderé sus idiomas. Me da la oportunidad de poder viajar por todo el mundo y lograr mis metas
y poderme comunicarme con lod dos odiomas que hablo. También podré realizar mis sueños y llegar a ser un
professional bilingüe.
La razón más importante para mis padres de que yo sea bilingüe es de sentirme orgullosa de hablar su
idioma, el español. Ellos me dicen que el poder hablar más de un idioma me brindará mejores oportunidades a nivel
professional.
La razón más valiosa para la comunidad es que nos sentámos orgullosos de ser parte de esta nación y poder
brindar lo mejor de nosotros. También el poder de unir nuestras culturas para poder lograr una mejor cumunidad en
Salinas. El ser bilingüe me hace sentir doblemente orgulloso de mí familia y mí país.
2010
Madison Coley
Valley Center Middle School, Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District
Advocacy for Biliteracy: Reaffirming our Collective Commitments
There are so many reasons why I am an advocate for my schools’ bilingual program. The program has improved my
confidence in my day to day life; it has increased my marketability in the future workforce, and has allowed me to
interact with other cultures that I normally would not have had the chance to interact with.
There are so many more learning opportunities participating in a bilingual program. Over the years, I have learned
about all of the different Hispanic cultures and customs. When you learn about different cultures, you can feel
confident about traveling to different countries and not feel lost in a sea of different words and customs. Not only
does a bilingual program provide confidence abroad, but it can also help you at home. There have been numerous
times when I have used my language skills to provide a language link between the Hispanic culture and my parents. An
example of this was when I took the role as an interpreter at my neighborhood garage sale and helped finalize a sale
between a Hispanic family and my parents.
Continuing to participate in a bilingual program throughout high school and college will prepare me for my future in
the corporate workforce. As soon as high school graduation ends, all students will be scrambling to apply to all the
best colleges and universities. This process is difficult and challenging and everyone will be trying to standout from the
pack. By stating on my college application that I have completed a bilingual program and am now bilingual will give
me an advantage that most applicants will not have. Living and working in California, it is almost essential to be able
to speak Spanish, since the Hispanic culture is the fastest growing and largest minority group in the state. Getting into
the best college or university is a primary factor in determining my compensation in the workforce. Not only will being
bilingual help me with getting a top salary, it will help with the resume and application process. Being bilingual will
help me to get the best and most rewarding job possible. Once in the work force, my language skills will allow me to
communicate with different types of managers and co-workers, both here and overseas.
There are numerous wonderful aspects about being in a bilingual program; it has brought so many rewards to my
life. I strongly feel that future parents should consider placing their children in a bilingual program. I will definitely
place my children in a bilingual program and it will be a deciding factor as to the school I choose for my children. The
bilingual program at my school has improved my confidence, increased my marketability in the future workforce and
has allowed me to interact with different cultures other than my own. I think once in high school and in college, I will
study another language so that I can become trilingual and further my ability to communicate with the ever-expanding
world.
2010
Miriam Chavez
Long Beach Polytechnic High School, Long Beach Unified School District
Poder hablar dos idiomas es un privilegio que muy
pocos tienen. Yo me considero una de las personas que tiene la
dicha de poderse comunicar tanto en inglés como en español.
Aunque ahora me considero afortunada, antes pensaba lo
contrario. Mis padres siempre orgullosos del español, me
enseñaron a hablarlo antes de que yo entrara a la escuela.
Así que el primer día de clases fue desastroso ya que yo sólo
entendía el español, esta primera experiencia me afectó
durante mis primeros años de estudios. Entrar a un ambiente
distinto donde el idioma era diferente me hizo dudar de mi
misma al principio, pero ahora eso mismo me está ayudando
a alcanzar mis metas y a cumplir mi compromiso con mi
comunidad.
En mi primera escuela, yo era una de las pocas niñas
que no sabía hablar inglés en un nivel que se comprendiera.
Este fue uno de los obstáculos más difíciles que tuve que
enfrentar ya que la mayoría de mis compañeros no hablaban
español y entonces no nos podíamos comunicar. Conforme
iba aprendiendo el inglés, mis habilidades de entablar una
conversación con mis compañeros fueron mejorando. Lectura
fue probablemente el nivel más difícil de inglés porque mi
pronunciación era de lo peor. Esta dificultad me hacía sentir
mal porque además de no saber pronunciar las palabras, no
sabía el significado de la mayoría del vocabulario en la lectura.
Pero cada día que pasaba, mi vocabulario se fue extendiendo
y también la manera en como pronunciaba las palabras que
terminan con –tion. Me sentía muy insegura para levantar la
mano y ser voluntaria en responder a las preguntas a pesar de
que sabía la respuesta porque veía que algunos se sonreían con
mi pronunciación. Hoy en día todavía tengo un acento distinto
y algunas palabras me resultan difíciles de pronunciarlas pero
estoy alcanzado la madurez que no tenía antes y al menos
puedo solicitar ayuda a mis maestros para mejorar mi dicción y
entendimiento de estas palabras inglesas.
Ahora que por fin puedo comunicarme más que
antes en ambos lenguajes, me he dado cuenta de lo mucho
que puedo ayudar a mi comunidad. Por eso soy voluntaria en
una organización que ofrece comida gratis a los que tienen
problemas económicos. La fecha que empecé, fue un día
festivo. Al servir los alimentos, pude observar que la mayoría de
la gente que asistió era hispana y que muchas de las personas
no comprendían el inglés, así que les hable en español. Ese
día pude entender de que puedo ser útil a la comunidad en
general porque tengo la habilidad de comunicarme con la gente
que no ha tenido tiempo de aprender inglés. No sólo me sentí
afortunada, sino también sentí una sensación de felicidad y
satisfacción conmigo misma ya que la gente que estaba a mí
alrededor me agradecía con una sonrisa sincera. Ahora ya he
encontrado una manera para usar el español para el beneficio
de otros y sentirme bien de mi origen hispano.
La carrera que yo he elegido es la de ser juez. Para ello
tengo que ser antes abogada y como jurisprudente, debo de
tener una confianza crítica con mi cliente para que durante el
tiempo que dure el proceso yo pueda obtener toda la verdad
y ganar su caso. Yo soy hispana y me considero una persona
que va hacer todo lo posible por pelear por los derechos de los
hispanos. Quiero que pierdan el miedo de llevar sus casos al
tribunal simplemente porque no son ciudadanos de los Estados
Unidos. Siendo como soy, yo voy a ofrecerles la confianza y la
fortaleza para enfrentarse contra las cosas injustas que cada
día aumentan. Lo he pensado y he llegado a la conclusión de
que puedo llegar a ser una buena juez porque pudo analizar
los problemas desde diferentes puntos de vista dependiendo
del caso. Por si fuera poco, si yo cumplo con mis metas, en los
juicios donde yo ejerciera como juez y la gente en el tribunal
sólo comprendiera el español nos entenderíamos muy bien y no
serían necesarios los intérpretes. En el futuro, cuando la gente
hispana vea un juez que hable su mismo idioma se sentirá
aliviada ya que saben que van a poder hacerse entender ante
los ojos de un juez
Durante mi niñez, mi vida como bilingüe no fue como
yo hubiese querido por la falta del entendimiento del inglés,
convirtiéndose ésta en una barrera. Con la ayuda de mis padres
y maestros que estaban comprometidos con el bilingüismo,
he podido saltar este obstáculo. Ahora que ya domino los dos
idiomas puedo ayudar a mi comunidad como un compromiso
social y lo seguiré haciendo cuando ejerza mi carrera. Cuando
sea una juez bilingüe, mi vida seguirá un rumbo positivo
inspirando un sentimiento de confianza no solamente en la
gente hispana y sino en todos los que lo necesiten.
Speaking two languages is a privilege that very few
have. I consider myself one of the persons that have the bliss
to communicate both in English and Spanish. Although I now
consider myself lucky, I used to think otherwise. Before I
entered elementary, my parents, proud of their origin taught
me Spanish as my first language. Therefore, my first day of
class was disastrous because I only understood Spanish; this
first experience affected me during my early years of studies.
Entering a different environment where the language was
different made me doubt myself at the beginning, but now it
is helping me achieve my goals and meet my commitment to
my community.
In my first school, I was one of the few girls who
didn’t know how to talk English at a comprehensible level.
This was one of the most difficult obstacles I had to confront
because the majority of my colleagues did not speak
Spanish, so we couldn’t communicate. As I was learning
English, my skills of engaging in a conversation with my
classmates improved. Reading was probably the toughest
level of English because my pronunciation was the worst.
This difficulty caused me to feel awful because apart from
not knowing how to pronounce the words, I did not know
the meaning of the majority of the vocabulary terms in the
reading. However, everyday that passed my vocabulary was
expanding and I was improving the way in how I pronounced
the words ending in –tion. I felt very insecure to raise my
hand and volunteer in answering I knew the answer to
because I heard students snicker at my pronunciation. Even
today I still have a different accent and some words are
difficult to pronounce, but I am reaching the maturity level
that I did not have before and I can request help from my
teachers to improve my diction and understanding of certain
words in English.
Now that I can finally communicate more than
before in both languages, I have noticed how much I can
help in my community. I am a volunteer at an organization
that offers free food to those with economic problems. The
day that I started was a holiday. As I was serving the food,
I saw most people who attended were Hispanic and that
many did not understand English, so I addressed them in
Spanish. That day I understood that I can be useful to the
community because I have the ability to communicate with
people who have not had time to learn English. Not only
did I feel fortunate, but I also felt a sense of satisfaction
and happiness because people around me showed their
appreciation with a sincere smile. Now I have found a way to
use Spanish for the benefit of others and feel good about my
Hispanic origin.
The career I have chosen is that of a judge. In order
to do this, I have to be a lawyer before and as jurisprudent, I
must establish a critical trust bond with my customer during
the time duration of the process until I can get the entire
truth and win their case. I am Hispanic and I consider myself
a person who will do the best to fight for their rights. I want
them to lose their fear of taking their cases to Court simply
because they are not citizens of the United States. Being
the person that I am, I will give them the confidence and
strength to confront the injustices that are increasing daily.
I have given it thought and I have reached the conclusion
that I can be a good judge because I can analyze problems
from different points of view depending on the case. If I
accomplish my goals, during the trials where I act as judge
and people in the tribunal only understand Spanish, we
could understand each other very well, and interpreters
would not be required. In the future, when the Hispanic
people see a judge who speaks the same language, they will
feel relieved because they know they are going to be able to
get their points through in the eyes of a judge
During my childhood, my life as a bilingual was not
as I would have wanted because I did not fully understand
English, which became a barrier. With the help of my parents
and teachers who were used to bilingualism, I overcame this
obstacle. Now that I dominate both languages, I can help my
community and will continue to do so even when I carry out
my career. When I become a bilingual judge, my life will take
a positive course inspiring a feeling of confidence not just in
the Hispanic people but in all those who need it.
Who translated my essay?
I wrote this essay in Spanish and asked my sister,
Diana to translate it for me. I chose her because she knows
what it is like to be in a school where communicating with
your peers is complicated because of a language barrier. I
felt she would know how to exert the emotions I put in this
essay.
Thank you for taking the time in reading my essay and
translation.
2009
Kevin Ponceau
Valley Elementary School, Poway, California
Hola, me llamo Kevin Ponceau. Yo tengo cinco años. Yo voy a kinder todos los días. Mi maestra se llama Sra. Sánchez.
Yo hablo cuatro idiomas: japonés, inglés, francés y español. Yo también puedo leer y escribir en cuatro idiomas. Cuando
sea grande yo puedo tener un buen trabajo y hacerlo yo solo. Yo puedo trabajar en todas partes del mundo. Puedo tener
muchos amigos. A mi me gusta la escuela y poder hablar cuatro idiomas.
Adiós,
Kevin Ponceau
2009
Natalie McGhee
Valley Elementary School, Poway, California
SAVING ANIMALS
“So, Kira, what do you want to be when you grow up?” Hmmm…I thought. I want to be a veterinarian. “Of course,” Mrs.
Bernard, my teacher said, “you could help animals and you could use your Spanish to speak to people. My eyes widened,
“And help endangered animals!” I shouted. Mrs. Bernard smiled and nodded. “Okay everybody, time to change the Spanish!”
Mrs. Bernard shouted.
Middle School
“Sit!” Mrs. Rodriguez shouted.
I whispered to my best friend, “I liked our first day of 5th grade with Mrs. Bernard better.”
“I know!” she whispered back.
“Today, we will be working on a job form” Mrs. Cath said.
“Cynthia, could you please pass out theses forms out to each student?”
“Kira!”
My head came up from my desk. “Yes?” I asked.
“Please count how many students there are and then pass out some pencils.”
“1,2,3,4…I counted.
“While you are waiting for your pencils, look over some of the questions and please have neat writing.”
“33,34,35,36.” While passing out pencils, I wondered what the questions would be. I sat down and answered the questions.
Question #1: What do you want to be when you grow up? A veterinarian, I answered.
Question #2: How do you think you could use your biliteracy to do you job? I could go to Spanish speaking countries
and speak to people there, I wrote.
High School
“Hello students. My name is Mr. Gonzalez and I will be your 12th grade teacher. Today we will be filling out a questionnaire.”
He passed out a piece of paper. The same question from 8th grade was on it.
Question 1: What do you want to be when you grow up? A veterinarian, I answered.
Question 2: Why? I want to help save animals around the world.
Question 3: What city or country would you work in? Any country with Spanish speaking people, and animals from tropical
rain forests, like Costa Rica.
Veterinarian School Graduation
“Congratulations Kira!” said my mom.
“You are such a good girl!” said my papa.
“Mom, Dad, I love you. Good girls Cathie.” My dog, Cathie and my little sister, Kindra were there.
“Mom, I know this is big news, but in 2 days I am catching a plane to Costa Rica to go help animals.
“Oh, that’s great! You’ve always wanted to go somewhere, use your Spanish, and help animals.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
2 Days Later
That night, I fell asleep on a plane to Costa Rica. I dreamt about helping birds, monkeys, and turtles, hoping to
save at least some endangered species. I woke up hoping my dreams would come true.
The End
2009
Alina González Hernández
Valley Center Middle School, Valley Center, California
Releasing Multilingual Dreams Today:
Creating New Worlds Tomorrow
My life has always seemed as if I were two different people, living in two different worlds, and speaking in two different
languages. I’ve grown up watching Christina and Oprah. Listenting to Shakira and Hannah Montana. Reading Harry Potter
and Ezperanza renace. Never realizing that these thwo different people in two different places with different languages
were alike in so many ways.
Being bilingual is wonderful. I can combine English and Spanish in any conversation without even forcing my mind to think
about it. I am a proud Latina always looking for the mexican in everything. Once, at the end of a movie, I stayed in the
theater to watch the credits and find out who all the latinos and latinas who worked on the film were.
That was when it hit me. I was going to prove to the world that these two different people I am could accomplish something
almost as great as an ALMA award. I am planning on becoming the Latina version of Steven Spielberg.
This big dream will combine my multicultural dreams of being able to show the world that when you combine the many
possibilities of bilingualism you get a world full of taking chances, believing, and knowing that being bilingual is it’s own
ALMA award. Being two different people, living in two different worlds and speaking two different languages has taught me
that being bilingual helps release multilingual dreams today, creates new worlds tomorrow and that…rocks!
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