January 17, 2025 • 48 mins
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
My guest this week.
Julia Hosej, is a senior at ahigh school in northern Virginia
, and languages set her lifeafire, bringing welcome to
others, compassion for the worldand possibilities in her own
life.
Take a listen as she tells thestory of how languages formed
her joys and perspectives formedher joys and perspectives.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
We explore where language can take you.
Whether you're here to uncoverthe power of words, dive into
inspiring stories or simplyenjoy a thoughtful conversation,
you're in the right place.
This podcast connects education, community and global
engagement, showing how languageshapes our lives and the world
around us.
So grab your favorite drink,settle in and let's dive in.
(01:03):
Welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I'm ready for a wonderful conversation with a
young new friend that I met atthe Coalition of Community-Based
Heritage Language Schoolsconference in the fall of 2024
in Washington DC.
Julia Hosich, what a pleasureto have you on.
It's About Language.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Yeah, thank you so much.
I'm super excited.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Well, I'm super excited too.
Why don't you tell folks aboutwhere you are studying, what you
are doing and some about thebackground that you think is
important before we begin ourconversation today?
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Yeah, absolutely.
So.
I'm currently a senior at JamesMadison High School in Vienna,
virginia, and I mean in schoolrecently I've just really loved
studying languages, government,all these different things.
While I've been in high schoolI've kind of branched out a bit.
So I started off with Spanishmy first year and then I kind of
(02:01):
just went to my counselor inschool and I was like how do you
feel about me taking Spanishand French?
So it kind of built up on thatand now this year I've I took AP
Spanish last year and I'mstarting Chinese, so that's kind
of just a little hobby of mine.
I'm Brazilian American, so Igrew up speaking Well.
I think this is kind of a funnystory.
So my dad would only speak tome in English as a kid and my
(02:21):
mom would only speak to me inEnglish as a kid, and my mom
would only speak to me inPortuguese.
But I also grew up loving Dorathe Explorer, so I'd always
speak and it'd be some sort ofweird mix of, like you know,
english, portuguese and thenrandom words in Spanish.
So like languages have alwaysbeen a really big part of my
life and studying them andlearning them I've just like
(02:42):
really changed my perspective ona lot of things and being able
to communicate with other people, so that's just something
that's really important to me.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
It's interesting that you use the phrase there
changed my perspective on a lotof things.
Speak about that, because whatkind of perspective do you think
that it has brought you,compared to what you might have
had if you didn't have thatbackground?
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Absolutely so.
I think that ties a lot intobeing multilingual as well, like
I feel, like I've definitelyseen myself associate different
emotions, or just there'll betimes where I'll have a thought
and the word will pop into myhead.
In Portuguese, or you know, Ihave done a little research on
my own in the study oflinguistics about what are
(03:23):
called domain-specific words andthose are like words that only
exist in one language.
So, for example, like inPortuguese, there's this word
called salvagem, which meanslike this kind of longing for,
like family or like whatever itis.
The word for that emotion justdoesn't exist in English.
And I think there are suchinteresting occurrences in
different languages where youhave those words and those like
(03:45):
little pockets of meaning thatdon't exist anywhere else and
it's just different ways ofbeing able to express yourself
and understand what other peopleare trying to communicate with
you.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
So that's definitely changed my perspective on a lot
of things On a day-to-day placein school, for example, when you
are with your peers.
Place in school, for example,when you are with your peers.
How do you feel that yourbackground and that kind of
insight has helped others tounderstand what language and
understanding about language andcultural background can do for
(04:18):
them as well?
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Yeah, so I think I've also seen that in many ways.
So, being Brazilian American,and where I live, I'm one of
just a couple handful ofBrazilian people in my school.
So that's always reallyinteresting conversation because
I think I look very ethnicallyambiguous.
So it's kind of like oh, like,what's your background, what's
your like, ethnicity, whatever,whatever and kind of getting to
(04:45):
open that conversation withother people and tell them that
I'm Brazilian.
It's always just such a funtalk and meeting other
Brazilians, obviously when thathappens.
But I mean, another great thingis that's especially helped me
to connect with a lot of Spanishspeakers at my school, because
that's always a very fun thingto talk about.
Because what I didn't realizeuntil I started having these
conversations is a lot of peoplewho speak Spanish have actually
(05:08):
started learning a little bitof Portuguese on their own.
It's kind of a interestingoccurrence.
So now I have a lot of, likeSpanish speaking friends in
school that like well, Iremember the other day this one
girl came up to me, um, and Iknow she's um, I think she's
originally from Honduras, butshe came up to me and said hello
, how are you in Portuguese?
And it actually made my day.
(05:29):
It was the best feeling ever.
So just knowing that otherpeople can appreciate my
language and my background fromknowing those small things about
me, it's really cool.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
That was a beautiful phrase right there Just made my
day.
It was so important to hearthis in my own language and to
have this connection.
That's an insight into theimpact the positive impact of
reaching across language toothers that you experienced
right there.
(06:00):
How have you lived that in yourlife and brought that to others
?
You're pretty proactive withlanguage learning outreach,
aren't you?
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Yeah, absolutely so.
I currently am a volunteer at aBrazilian school in my
community and through thatthey've been really amazing and
empowering me to start my ownprojects or look at different
ways in which I can finddifferent outlets for language
learning and helping our school.
So one of those ways is thecommunity my family in Brazil is
(06:34):
originally from is.
They're from a very small townin a rural part of Brazil called
Jucasca, and in that townthere's one English school.
So I came up with this idea ofwell, to kind of encourage more
literacy, to find ways for thestudents at our school, abrasi,
to practice writing.
Why not try and do like a penpal program here, where the
(06:55):
Brazilian students in the UnitedStates write in Portuguese and
the Brazilian students in Brazillearning English right back in
English?
And that's just created themost amazing like bond between
these two schools.
We actually just had our end ofsemester call where all these
students have their pen pals andthey write to them for the
entire semester.
(07:15):
But then we do a day where weall get on Zoom and people get
to meet their pen pals and askquestions and see people face to
face and that's just like.
It's just incredible.
And I mean.
On one last note, there too isthis school in Brazil.
Before I reached out to them, Iactually found out that since
(07:35):
they're in such a rural location, many of them were dropping out
of the English school.
There was less of incentive tolearn English because they're in
such a secluded area that it'slike what am I going to do with
English in my life?
And after I started the programI got to read their letters and
it's just so incredible hearingabout all their dreams and you
(07:57):
know, I remember one girl wantedto go study in Korea or another
girl wanted to go study in theUnited States.
So being able to actuallyconnect them with people who are
kind of on the other side ofthat journey or like children of
immigrants, it's incrediblebeing able to see their
reactions and kind of give themhope that there are different
(08:18):
outcomes and they can dodifferent things with their life
if they put their minds to it.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
That's a wonderful gift of opening the world in a
town that you have a verypersonal connection to
historically in your family.
Then how about those that arelearning Portuguese in the class
in your school?
What kinds of openings do yousee in their lives or in their
thoughts about what it mightmean to them?
Speaker 3 (08:43):
In my public school we unfortunately don't have
Portuguese as a class.
Abrazi is like a separateschool, so it actually started
out as a group of mothers in thecommunity who would meet up on
weekends and bring their kids,and I'm lucky enough to be part
of one of the official classesof when it became a school.
(09:03):
So I was kind of raised throughthis community heritage
language school and, yeah, I'vebeen able to see Abrasi grow
from the ground up.
It's been amazing.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
That is great, and so this particular experience of
it.
And I did misspeak, so thankyou for correcting me.
This is not in the publicschools, but it is in this
Abrace Special Heritage LanguageSchool.
Indeed, what kinds of ways doesthis open eyes?
What kind of stories have youheard from those that are going
(09:35):
to this school or their families?
First of all, the presence ofthis community-based heritage
language school, in this casePortuguese in general, and then
this particular initiative thatyou created, this PenPal program
, that it's opened doors intheir minds, their hearts or
(09:56):
their lives.
What stories might you havethat you can share?
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Well, I think it's really a magical thing that you
see in every singlecommunity-based heritage
language school where you knowyou kind of step into that
building and it feels, like wealways say, it feels like you're
in Brazil even though you're inthe United States, like there's
always a group of moms, youknow, drinking little we call it
cafezinho, like little coffees,and they're gossiping and
they're playing games togetherand you're kind of you get hit
with that Brazilian culture thesecond you step into those
(10:30):
hallways and I'm sure I haven't.
Unfortunately I haven't gotten achance to go to other
community-based heritagelanguage schools, but just from
hearing from other people I'vetalked to and just knowing that
that's an experience, you know,it sounds amazing.
And one thing that stood out tome too this kind of is off topic
from your question, but Iremember hearing about Ukrainian
(10:53):
heritage language schools andthe impact, that feeling that
Ukrainian community in theUnited States while, like other
things are going on in the worldand there's so much uncertainty
like how comforting that can be.
But back to abadashi.
A lot of our students were I'mpart of a volunteer program
within the school.
A lot of the new volunteers weget were just different people
(11:15):
who join have also just comefrom brazil.
Whether it be like theirparents are here for work or I'm
like different, it's usuallywork related but for them
especially, it's very comfortingto be able to speak Portuguese,
and especially since it's sohard to find other Brazilians in
the area.
It's just amazing.
(11:36):
You get the chance to practiceand for the people who are still
getting used to English andstuff like that, it's a nice
break from having to tackle thatlanguage barrier.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
It is stressful.
People that have never or haveseldom potentially sat in a room
in which their brain wasstruggling to learn a new
language don't know howexhausting and disorienting that
can be.
Don't know how exhausting anddisorienting that can be.
How do you bring the sympathythat you clearly have for people
(12:16):
in life in general and in thislanguage area in particular?
How do you bring that into yourschool as well as your life,
for those who are learning sayEnglish in this case, those who
are learning say English in thiscase, what kinds of other
things do you do to bring thatlanguage skill set?
You have to help peers in theschool system, in the community.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
So I've had a.
I've been really lucky to havethe experience this year to
start working in my school'sEast Hall department.
So I am also.
I do some math tutoring on theside in school.
And I remember the first weekof school this new teacher came
in and she was I.
She was talking to some otherteachers and I remember her
saying I'm a new teacher in theESOL department, I'm tutoring
(12:55):
math students in Spanish, kindof wanted another chance yet to
practice Spanish in my school,since I wasn't taking it as an
actual course.
So I quickly introduced myselfto her and I said hey, if you
ever need help, I'd love tovolunteer, do whatever.
And after that I got involvedduring the free period in my
(13:16):
school with tutoring thesestudents, many of which had just
come from Central America, andthings like English or math,
whatever it be.
And that's just been incrediblyeye-opening for me, because all
of these students have suchdistinctly different but
incredible stories.
(13:38):
One of my very, very goodfriends in that program one day
we were just talking, having acasual conversation.
She's from Honduras, I believe,or she moved around a bit as a
child, so don't quote me on thatbecause she's very, very
prideful of her heritage.
But we were just talking and wewere having a discussion about
what she perceived thedifferences between where she
(14:03):
had previously lived in theUnited States, and I asked her
what she liked more and she justcasually mentioned that where
her family currently is shedoesn't have running water or
electricity, and this isdefinitely a step up for that,
and it's just.
It was such a casual comment,but it completely changed my
perspective on a lot of what thestudents in that room have gone
(14:24):
through to get to the pointwhere they can be sitting there
and talking with me, and I thinkit always just goes back to
compassion.
And obviously my Spanish is farfrom perfect and they're
getting the chance to learnEnglish as well.
So whenever they see me in thehallways, we always do a little.
I speak to them in Spanish,they speak to me in English and
we both get to practice languageand share our stories.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
And it doesn't have to be perfect.
It just needs to get thosestories started and get some of
that work done.
You probably have heard atremendous number of stories.
That was an especiallyinteresting one of compassion
right there about the lifewithout the running water, for
(15:21):
example, because you're sooriented towards and skilled in
language and helping others todive right in and learn about.
That compares to what sometimeshappens in schools or
communities when people withdifferent languages and cultures
are encountered.
What do you bring to the tablethat can help people to
(15:43):
understand how to interact morefully with others?
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Well, I can definitely say being willing to
dive right in.
That's definitely somethingthat did not happen overnight
and I think it is the way.
I think it's this way for manypeople who are starting to learn
a new language.
You're always so scared, like,oh, what if I say the wrong
thing, what if I mess up?
And it's taken me years toovercome that idea that I can't
(16:08):
be perfect.
And I saw that first when I wastrying to.
I had the experience of, likelosing a lot of my Portuguese
and trying to build it back upto communicate with my family.
And it's those moments whereyou have to weigh like, oh, is
my, is my Portuguese going to beperfect?
Is Did I conjugate this rightor do I just want to be able to
express myself and share thatmessage?
(16:29):
But back to your originalquestion.
I definitely think that with Ithink there's a lot of cynicism
shown toward these people,especially knowing that someone
is coming from a differentbackground or you don't know
what they've been through, it'sit's easy to say, well, they're
(16:49):
different, I don't need toengage with them, no, I'm just
going to do my own thing, or Idon't, like it doesn't really
matter to me enough to show thatsort of compassion, like it
doesn't really matter to meenough to show that sort of
compassion.
So I just hope that I can setan example in my community and
other people can sort of seethat and realize that you know,
all it takes is just a littlebit of effort and, like I said,
(17:10):
compassion, to start thoseconversations and hear those
stories.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
That compassion part absolutely essential.
Thank you for bringing that inseveral times here, because that
is the key.
Have you experienced in some ofthe other things that you
volunteer with opportunities touse your language to help others
to settle in or to find theirway in a new community, if they
(17:40):
are indeed coming from anotherculture and language background?
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Well, I think the beautiful thing of speaking
multiple languages is you neverknow when you will meet someone
who has that language barrier intheir own life.
So, whether it be, I mean, onetime I remember being super
proud of myself because I was inthe aisles of a supermarket and
this person came up to me andthey couldn't speak English and
(18:03):
I got to speak with them inSpanish and kind of reorient
them.
Or, more recently, I'm actuallyundergoing more official
training to do this, but I foundthis experience about like a
year and a half ago to startworking as a translator a
Spanish translator for theChildren's Science Center.
So they put on these scienceevents in a variety of
(18:24):
communities.
But what ends up happening is alot of these communities have a
high Hispanic population andalthough the children speak both
English and Spanish, a lot ofthe parents are the ones that
don't speak English and you cansee that they're, like, very
apprehensive about communicatingbecause they want to give that
their child that experience andallow them to participate, but
(18:47):
they're worried about their ownability to communicate.
So, having those moments whereI've just been able to, you know
I'll have a mother look at mebecause once again, I don't
necessarily look like I wouldspeak Spanish.
I'll have a mother come up withme and be really come up to me
and be really unsure about herEnglish and I'll just break out
in Spanish and you can just seelike the relief, like wash over
(19:08):
her face or whoever it is inthat moment.
You really just never know.
So that's really my favoritepart about language.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
If I had to say part about language, if I had to say
that, relief, what aninteresting insight there is
that gives a person permissionto not feel out of place and at
ill at ease.
Thank you for pointing that out.
That's beautifully said.
You also have many volunteerthings that you do.
(19:36):
Obviously, you were a very busyyoung woman Customs and border
protection, law enforcement.
That's part of what you have onthe biography on my website,
and tell us more about what thatinvolves.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Well, this does also tie back to language, as does
everything in my life.
But on my father's side of thefamily my grandfather was a
forensic dentist.
So in school I was like why nottake criminal justice?
And through that I learnedabout this program called the
Customs and Border ProtectionLaw Enforcement Explorers.
That's kind of a mouthful, butit's this program where you get
(20:16):
to go out and I actually have asecurity clearance.
I had to do a background checkand I'm, with a lot of these
really really talented, reallydedicated other youth who are
interested in careers andcustoms and border protection.
But what I didn't realize when Isigned up for that is almost
all of them have parents who arealready in CBP.
(20:39):
So I'm showing up to I was likea 45 minute drive and I kind of
went up to my mom and I waslike do you mind driving me out
to like Sterling?
And we show up to this likelodge and they're like deer
heads everywhere and my mom'slike where have you taken me?
Like what is this?
And there are these people inuniforms that come out.
(21:00):
I'm like I don't really knowwhat it is.
But then they start talkingabout how you know CBP and law
enforcement is really just likefamily and it's a community and
that those are the values thatare emphasized in our post and
that's something that's you knowI spend five hours there.
I have to drive out to Sterlingfive hours every Sunday, but
(21:21):
that's what keeps me coming backis just the people.
And then back to language.
Most of them are native speak,heritage speakers of Spanish, so
, and a lot of them, a lot ofthem, are from also Puerto Rico.
So that's been a reallyinteresting experience getting
to hear like little differencesbetween the Spanish that I
(21:42):
learned in school, which isobviously very formal, like, I'm
sure, everyone who's beenthrough Spanish education is
conjugations, vocabulary, thevocabulary I learned from them
very, very different.
So I mean, it's an amazingexperience getting to learn
language with them but also bepart of their family and their
community and learn about allthe values in relating to
(22:07):
service and, you know, sacrificefor your country.
It's definitely been a veryunique experience.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
That's brilliant.
Where will that take you?
What is it that you do?
What is it that especiallyinterests you?
As far as what they do and how,your language and cultural
skills will be tapped.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Yeah, I think that's the million-dollar question
every person my age wants toanswer right now what are you
going to do with your life?
Where are you going to go?
to college, All those things.
But I think CBP and bordershave just given me such an
interesting insight to thingslike immigration.
You know a lot of the processesthat shape not Airport, because
(22:57):
that's where CBP is stationedat Like seaports, like different
ports of entry, but one ofthose is airports and I've
gotten to sit in passport boothsin the international section
and let people back into thecountry and say hey, welcome to
the United States, Welcome home.
And you know, I've gotten tosee some crazy like.
(23:22):
I've been in the side with allthe diplomats, all the really
important foreign service peopleand I think, in terms of my
career, like it's been one ofthose moments where I kind of
get to look at these people andbe like, wow, maybe that'll be
me someday, Like maybe I can gobe a diplomat or maybe I can go
travel the world and learn aboutlanguages and help out in
different communities.
(23:42):
And it's kind of seeing,hopefully, me in the future from
where I'm at in that passportbooth.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
That is a powerful image.
I'm excited just listening towhat you said right there.
Speaking of future, you're asenior at James Madison.
Speaking of future you're asenior at James Madison.
And what are you potentiallylooking at in your immediate
future and why?
Speaker 3 (24:13):
So in terms of what I've applied for major-wise to
most of the places, it's kind ofbeen a little bit difficult
because it feels like everycollege calls it something
different.
A little bit difficult becauseit feels like every college
calls it something different.
But personally I'm reallyinterested in the intersection
between both internationalrelations or global studies, and
linguistics.
I really think it's interestinghow language shapes our
perceptions and how havingsomeone who understands multiple
(24:35):
languages can influence the waywe write policy or laws or
shape the decisions of theleadership in our country.
And being able to have thosediscussions with people who
understand those multipleviewpoints.
I kind of want to be one ofthose people and I'm trying to
(24:55):
figure out what I need to learnto get there.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
What an intersection and what are some of the places
that you especially findpowerful to consider.
You're not yet accepted tovarious institutions but, in
keeping with that, what are someof the aspects of those places
where you have submitted yourapplication that you would
(25:21):
especially be excited about?
What populations, whatinstitutions and why?
Speaker 3 (25:27):
Well, I think I've been interested in a lot of
institutions that do primarilyresearch with linguistics.
So specific things that I'velooked at are language
acquisition in children and howdifferent linguistic
environments can influence that.
So I talked a little bit abouthow my childhood was and you
(25:48):
know being around a father whoonly spoke English and then a
mother who only spoke Portuguese, but you know, somehow just
from watching a TV show, spanishgot introduced there.
So I think getting to studythose different environments and
how they impact children canalso shape my interest in
education and working as ateacher in schools and those
(26:09):
different experiences that I'vehad.
But aside from that, I reallyjust am trying to keep the
perspective that anywhere I go,there are learning opportunities
in the places where you leastexpect them.
So I'm just super excited atthe prospect of getting a lot
more agency with my education.
And you know, obviously in highschool there are certain
requirements you need to fulfill, and it's the same in college.
(26:32):
But you get a lot more, like Isaid, agency in what classes you
want to take, and now I canspecialize a lot more and take
classes about specific areas ofthe world or now get to go into
language a lot more and explorea lot of the things that I've
shown interest in in high school.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
You certainly have some powerful plans.
I'm excited already to followand see what you've got.
Let's me go and tap on what youjust said about young children
and learning young children.
With your fascinatingbackground and you're clear in
being still being intrigued bythe whole experience yourself.
What let's take a look like,turn around and look at what
(27:15):
happens when children do nothave exposure to language.
What have you, in yourconversations and your
experiences, what would you havenoticed about what happens when
children are not exposed tolanguage, like you have been or
like those that you often workwith have been?
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Well, I mean, I'll quote every single teacher I
heard at the community-basedheritage language conference and
saying that all those childrenwho are especially children of a
parent who speaks anotherlanguage other than English,
whenever they don't learn thatother language, it's always when
they're older.
(27:55):
It's like Mom, why didn't youteach me that language?
Like now I feel left out ofthis community.
Or like it's so cool to bebilingual.
Like why didn't I have thatexperience when I was younger?
And it's one of those thingswhere I think parents sometimes
can undervalue the like, therole that language has in
(28:16):
shaping a child's identity,especially in the United States,
where I feel like there's somany different cultures, so many
different backgrounds.
To have the language, to beable to communicate with people
from my background in the UnitedStates, that's been very
critical to shaping my ownidentity and being able to.
I don't know exactly what I wastrying to say there, but I've
(28:41):
definitely had experiences assomeone who's an immigrant.
There's sort of this weirdfeeling of like am I Brazilian
(29:03):
enough to be consideredBrazilian?
Or you know what exactly is myidentity and you know I'm sure a
lot of people have had thatsame experience.
But I can tell you thatlanguage and being able to
communicate with people from mybackground definitely has helped
sort of quell that anxiety abit.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Helped to lower that struggle some.
How interesting.
Now, research work aroundadolescence has demonstrated
something to which you alludedand I'm going to expand on a
little bit the sense of here.
I have a heritage and I am notgoing to express it too much
(29:42):
because I don't know what itmeans to be say, in this case,
brazilian, while also being inthe United States out that
ethnicity because I want to fitin.
Every teen wants to fit in, weall want to fit in.
(30:03):
So how do you navigate that?
How do you help others tonavigate that?
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Because that's a huge psychological aspect of why
often languages are not just notcontinued but actively dropped,
sometimes by heritage languageteens.
Yeah, I think just havingespecially the process of
applying to college, havingthose moments where you can be
(30:31):
really introspective and kind ofthink back to not necessarily
what my culture is, but who am Ias a person and how my culture
shaped that right, and I think Alot of what I've aspired to do.
Actually this is kind of anincredible story.
My mother's father passed awaywhen I was way younger, so my
(30:53):
grandfather.
But through my interest inexploring them I've actually
learned that his interestsaligned exactly with mine.
So I'd go back to Brazil forthe holidays and I'd be like, oh
, I'm learning Spanish, I'mlearning French, like I want to
start a pen pal program, and itturns out my grandfather had all
those same interests and didall those same things, just in
(31:14):
his own way, even, I would say,the most incredible experiences.
I'm definitely a very avidreader and for some reason I was
going through my likebi-monthly like book shopping
spree and I was like, oh my mind, can you buy this book?
It's called the Book ofDisquiet by Fernando Pessoa.
(31:34):
My mom goes where'd you evenfind this book?
Like this was yourgrandfather's favorite book used
to quote this all the time, andI think it's.
It's definitely by exploringyour interests and just being
curious that you find out whatyour identity is and how maybe
your family, your school, yourfriends, how those different
(31:55):
aspects of your life shape that.
So yeah, it's definitely adifficult question to answer and
I don't know if I fullyanswered it myself yet, but
that's sort of what I'vegathered from my 17 years on the
earth.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
There's a fearlessness there, a
compassionate fearlessness inwhat you just said, Julia.
That is just beautiful to hearand would be an encouragement to
some young people that feelthat they were losing their
identity rather than gainingmore by embracing that
(32:28):
background.
And then you're also aroundpeers in your school that are
taking some languages for thefirst time.
How do you find their attitudesand what you're able to share
with them in your experiencesand with your background, to
encourage their language studiesand to help them to overcome,
(32:52):
say, blockages they may befeeling or discomforts they may
be feeling?
Speaker 3 (32:58):
Well, I've definitely become that person this year.
So before this year, all thelanguages I had studied or been
interested in were romancelanguages, right.
So I had a great foundation ofalready knowing Portuguese.
So when I went to take onSpanish or French, like it felt
like learning more of the same.
But this year I was like, no,why not try Mandarin?
(33:20):
Right, and the thing withMandarin is it is just
completely unlike anything I'vedone before.
And to add to that, everysingle student in my class
either speaks Mandarin as aheritage language or they
already know Mandarin in someway.
So, even though I'm in anintroductory Mandarin class,
like I feel like a bit of anoutsider.
(33:42):
But I think it's those momentswhere I kind of treat it as like
a little challenge, right.
Like I love the stories and Ifeel like I see a lot on social
media these days, just fromreflecting my own interest
people who take on all thesedifferent languages and then
they get to be that person, thatthey're the person that would
(34:04):
be least expected to speak thatlanguage.
So I mean, there's one man I'mthinking of specifically and he
is from the United States butspent a lot of time studying
Chinese abroad and he'll go torestaurants here and order in
perfect Mandarin and you'll justsee everyone's faces like light
(34:24):
up because it's so unexpected.
And I feel like that's a lot ofwhat the appeal of speaking
another language like.
Once you reach that point,obviously that takes a lot of
time and I'm still nowhere closeto that with my own studies in
Mandarin.
I feel like that's a greatincentive in sticking with it.
But also for a lot of thelanguages that are taught in
school like I'm thinking morespecifically Spanish, I feel
(34:47):
like a big incentive isdefinitely realizing how much
that's influenced media and howmany different ways you can, how
many different things you candraw upon to learn language.
I love listening to music indifferent languages or watching
international films and thatkind of gets me in the mindset
(35:08):
of I've recently.
I really love Jane Birkin filmsin French and she's sort of
like her French is a little bittwinged with like an American
accent, but I love.
After I watch those movies Ican't stop, like I want to like
speak French and kind of emulateher mannerisms and kind of get
in the groove of speaking Frenchfrom hearing it in the movie.
And I think there are a lot ofdifferent resources to draw upon
(35:31):
for students who might belosing their motivation with
what it's taught in school tokind of seek those language
learning experiences elsewhereand be able to learn from these
different sources.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Just keep with it.
Find those other sources.
You tapped on something there.
Some people will say I feellike a different person or I
have a little differentpersonality with my different
languages.
Does that happen to you too?
Speaker 3 (35:56):
Oh, I absolutely love this type of conversation
because, yes, and it's been areally fun experience seeing my
friends.
Like I said, I don't have a lotof experiences to speak, for
example, portuguese in schoolwith people because we just
don't have a very um largeBrazilian population in my
school.
But, like I've just had friendsbe around me, when I encounter
(36:18):
a Brazilian person in public orrealize that someone's Brazilian
and you kind of break into thatPortuguese, it's like I'll see
my friends standing there out ofthe corner of my eye.
I'm like shocked because I'mlike goodness, like I've never
seen you so animated, like whatis this?
Are all Brazilian people likethis?
And I think that's such abeautiful thing about Portuguese
is I just associate it withsuch fond memories of my family
(36:41):
or inside jokes or little thingswith words, and obviously there
is that in every language.
But I definitely feel differentpersonalities and obviously
your voice changes a little bitwhen you speak, so it's like
that kind of definitely helpswith that feeling.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
But yeah, so do you have a favorite language to read
in, or do you feel that all ofyour reading can be in any
language and you'll absorb it?
Speaker 3 (37:06):
This is like.
I've always been fascinated,too, with Arabic poetry.
This is kind of a weird tangent, but before I started, before I
applied to take Mandarin, I wasactually on the wait list to
take Arabic, and I think such abeautiful thing about Arabic is
that it's heavily influenced byreligion, and you can see that
(37:28):
in the words and, like I mean,how it's applied in a lot of
ways.
And I was really interested inanother intersection between
religion, which I think is socrucial to, or so fun is such a
core thing about how people livetheir lives and also language,
which is how we expressthemselves, and I thought
(37:48):
studying that intersection couldbe really interesting as well.
So I really love reading.
Obviously, it's translated,because I can't understand any
Arabic myself, even though I'vetried to learn little bits of it
myself.
Translated works of Arabicpoetry have definitely been an
interesting read for me.
Speaker 1 (38:09):
That sounds fascinating and that's another
one of those non-Roman alphabetlanguages that for those of us
that enjoy language learning,and linguistics is catnip, my
dear catnip.
Speaker 3 (38:20):
Yes, I saw you were a teacher of Russian as well.
That must have been incrediblydifficult to learn as well.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
It was totally fun to learn because I considered it
to be a magic alphabet when Iwas young and wanted to create
secret notes to write just tomyself.
But it was intriguing forstudents over and over again and
I really enjoyed changing theway that people were able to
look at how writing happens too.
You know, julia, you've talkedabout, you've used the word
(38:50):
intersection a couple of timesin this conversation and one of
them was the intersection oflanguage and religion.
Fascinates you because it is somuch of a.
Both are part of an identity.
Are there other intersectionsof language and you've referred
to some during this conversation, but are there other ones that
I haven't tapped on that you'relike?
I'm fascinated by theintersection of language and
(39:14):
what else in people's lives.
Speaker 3 (39:17):
That's a really interesting question, because I
mean, my approach to learningand what I want to study is I
kind of just want to learn alittle bit of everything and I
feel like, once again, languagerelates to everything in some
way.
It's how we express ourselves.
So, whether that be sociologyor I mean, like I said, religion
(39:38):
, history, geography, there areso many different elements that
comprise how culture is createdand how identities are created,
and language is how weeffectively communicate that.
So I don't know if I'm able toanswer that with another
specific one thing.
It's more just, I want to learnabout everything and use
(40:00):
language to be able tocommunicate what I've learned.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Thank you.
That was beautifully said.
Now here's the next question.
Right now, we have people thatare taking a look at AI as an
option that they sometimes feelwill mean that people don't have
to learn languages.
So you could just take adigital translator and it will
do a great job for us, and offand running we go.
(40:25):
And what is the point of thestudy of languages?
I think that, with the thingsthat you have spoken about, from
a humanity point of view, it'snot going to be too hard to
guess what other possibleresponses might be.
But still, let's focus in onthat a little bit, because
you're emerging into an AI worldand you, how do you see that
(40:48):
tendency to feel that digital isgoing to take care of our needs
that way?
Speaker 3 (40:52):
Yeah, this is funny because I just had someone kind
of tell me, like why are youstudying languages?
That seems a little silly to me, like if the world is going to
be taken over by AI and we'rejust going to have better and
better translators, like whybother?
And I think it just goes backto understanding that joy of
being able to speak that otherlanguage and having that
different perspective.
And maybe you know you haveworth for something in your
(41:16):
language but you'll never get toexperience the way that meaning
is kind of captured in adifferent one.
And you know there are hundredsand hundreds of languages and
hundreds of different ways ofsaying something and I recently.
I was reading, like I was doingsome of my own, independent like
linguistic research and um,edward Sapir was talking about
hundreds of different ways todescribe a rock, like something
(41:39):
that simple can just be umexplained and and communicated
in so many different ways, andsure you can use a translator,
but once again, you never get toexperience that joy for
yourself, and that's changed myperspective and my worldview,
and I hope other people don'tshy away from having that
(41:59):
experience themselves, eventhough AI can take care of it
for them now.
Speaker 1 (42:03):
They might not ever get a chance to experience that
joy for themselves.
There's an important statementright there.
What do you think BrazilianPortuguese is especially fond in
your heart?
Family, certainly, but whatelse does Brazilian Portuguese
in particular bring joy to youin Does?
Speaker 3 (42:33):
Brazilian Portuguese in particular bring joy to you
in that you bask in that as partof your heritage, understanding
through that language.
I love that question as wellbecause I mean, I think two
years ago I visited or maybethree years ago now I visited
Portugal and it's stillPortuguese and but it really
reminded me and expanded my viewof like what it means to be
specifically Brazilian, speakthat Brazilian Portuguese,
(42:55):
because we always make jokes,you know, obviously you can
understand most of what thepeople who speak Portugal
Portuguese are saying, butthey'll have different terms,
different ways of saying things.
They're like just a lot moreliteral.
So that's kind of reminded meof the very minute differences
between languages and how muchthat can impact how
(43:16):
communication actually happens.
And then I've done, I've lookeda lot into as well, like I
forget if it's Catalanspecifically, that's like a mix
between Portuguese and Spanish,just all these different
amalgamations of language andhow my Portuguese is
specifically the way it is butit's branched off in so many
different ways for differentpeople.
(43:38):
That also reminds me too.
After high school I am extremelyexcited to be able to kind of
take my first steps into likethe real world, and I've decided
to try and do that, possibly bydoing the El Camino, and that's
this hike through.
I mean, obviously I'm sure alot of people have heard of it,
(44:00):
but it's a hike through Europeand you start in oh, it depends
on which route you do, but youstart in Portugal and you go
through France and then you endup in Spain.
So for me, that's going to bethe final test of language for
me, and I'll get to use myBrazilian, portuguese, but
communicate with people from allover the world and my French
and my Spanish and all thelanguages that I've been
(44:20):
practicing.
Obviously, people speak Englisheverywhere now, so I'm sure
that'll come in handy, but it'llbe the final test with the
languages that I've developedand carefully taken my time to
study and practice.
Speaker 1 (44:36):
And you'll be right there in the cultures as well,
taking your time and comingacross people from all over the
world that are also walking theCamino now too.
Oh, wow, that's awesome,Fantastic.
I wish you'd well on that one,because that's a wonderful,
wonderful thing.
I've got a question for you now.
I would like you to imagine infront of you a peer of high
(45:03):
school age a peer high schoolage and I'm asking you to look
at that peer and tell them whyit is that taking a language and
also understanding that peoplespeak other languages and come
from other places is somethingto be valued.
(45:30):
And why Help a peer that'spushing back a little bit on all
of this?
They've got enough on theirplate.
They're just fine.
Everybody speaks English.
What do you say to that peer?
Speaker 3 (45:45):
Yeah, absolutely.
I think I've met a lot of thesepeers as well in my school,
because I think people viewlanguage learning as something
that's very daunting and I thinkin some regards it really is.
But I think that the rewards ofthat challenge are more than
worth it when once again you getto apply that language and see
(46:05):
the different experiences inwhich you can help someone or be
able to understand further.
And I think language coursestoday do a great job of focusing
in on that culture, like maybein my, for example, in my French
class right now, we're not justlearning about France, french
and France, but we're alsolearning about how it's used in
(46:27):
Vietnam and how colonization hasimpacted the French that is
spoken there, or differentislands or pigeon languages or
places all around the worldwhere that language is.
That language has evolved andkind of taken its own form and
influenced culture in the people.
Because I think, when it comesdown to it, obviously language
is constantly evolving and Imean you even see that in
(46:50):
schools, like there's new slangevery week and people have
different ways of saying things.
But taking the time to learnthat new language and having
that foundation to understandthe changes around us and how
they've impacted certain areasor people.
It's just an invaluableexperience, and taking that time
has so many unexpected rewards.
Speaker 1 (47:10):
Julia Hosich.
Thank you so much foreverything that you've shared
today.
Do you feel like you've had anopportunity to express what's in
your heart, mind andexperiences about language?
Speaker 3 (47:23):
Absolutely, this has been amazing and I hope that
anyone listening or this hasbeen amazing and I hope that you
know anyone listening or anyonewho has questions about you
know community-based heritage,language schools or language
learning, what that looks likein the public school system, or
you know growing up inmulti-lingual households.
I hope people are able torelate or maybe take something
(47:44):
new out of this.
So thank you so much for havingme.
This has been amazing.
Speaker 1 (47:48):
Thanks for listening to Julia's stories about the
power of language and languagesin her life.
Check out my website,fluencyconsulting, for her story
and the stories of many othersfor whom language is a key
component of their identity andtheir world, and share your
(48:08):
stories with me.
Go to fluencyconsulting.
Let's have a conversation andtell stories one to the other.
Speaker 2 (48:17):
Thank you for joining us on this episode of it's
About Language with your host,Nora Lulich-Jones.
Remember, your voice matters.
Together, we can build strongerconnections through words.
Until next time, take care andkeep the conversation going.
My guest this week.
Julia Hosej, is a senior at ahigh school in northern Virginia
, and languages set her lifeafire, bringing welcome to
others, compassion for the worldand possibilities in her own
life.
Take a listen as she tells thestory of how languages formed
her joys and perspectives formedher joys and perspectives.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
We explore where language can take you.
Whether you're here to uncoverthe power of words, dive into
inspiring stories or simplyenjoy a thoughtful conversation,
you're in the right place.
This podcast connects education, community and global
engagement, showing how languageshapes our lives and the world
around us.
So grab your favorite drink,settle in and let's dive in.
(01:03):
Welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I'm ready for a wonderful conversation with a
young new friend that I met atthe Coalition of Community-Based
Heritage Language Schoolsconference in the fall of 2024
in Washington DC.
Julia Hosich, what a pleasureto have you on.
It's About Language.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Yeah, thank you so much.
I'm super excited.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Well, I'm super excited too.
Why don't you tell folks aboutwhere you are studying, what you
are doing and some about thebackground that you think is
important before we begin ourconversation today?
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Yeah, absolutely.
So.
I'm currently a senior at JamesMadison High School in Vienna,
virginia, and I mean in schoolrecently I've just really loved
studying languages, government,all these different things.
While I've been in high schoolI've kind of branched out a bit.
So I started off with Spanishmy first year and then I kind of
(02:01):
just went to my counselor inschool and I was like how do you
feel about me taking Spanishand French?
So it kind of built up on thatand now this year I've I took AP
Spanish last year and I'mstarting Chinese, so that's kind
of just a little hobby of mine.
I'm Brazilian American, so Igrew up speaking Well.
I think this is kind of a funnystory.
So my dad would only speak tome in English as a kid and my
(02:21):
mom would only speak to me inEnglish as a kid, and my mom
would only speak to me inPortuguese.
But I also grew up loving Dorathe Explorer, so I'd always
speak and it'd be some sort ofweird mix of, like you know,
english, portuguese and thenrandom words in Spanish.
So like languages have alwaysbeen a really big part of my
life and studying them andlearning them I've just like
(02:42):
really changed my perspective ona lot of things and being able
to communicate with other people, so that's just something
that's really important to me.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
It's interesting that you use the phrase there
changed my perspective on a lotof things.
Speak about that, because whatkind of perspective do you think
that it has brought you,compared to what you might have
had if you didn't have thatbackground?
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Absolutely so.
I think that ties a lot intobeing multilingual as well, like
I feel, like I've definitelyseen myself associate different
emotions, or just there'll betimes where I'll have a thought
and the word will pop into myhead.
In Portuguese, or you know, Ihave done a little research on
my own in the study oflinguistics about what are
(03:23):
called domain-specific words andthose are like words that only
exist in one language.
So, for example, like inPortuguese, there's this word
called salvagem, which meanslike this kind of longing for,
like family or like whatever itis.
The word for that emotion justdoesn't exist in English.
And I think there are suchinteresting occurrences in
different languages where youhave those words and those like
(03:45):
little pockets of meaning thatdon't exist anywhere else and
it's just different ways ofbeing able to express yourself
and understand what other peopleare trying to communicate with
you.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
So that's definitely changed my perspective on a lot
of things On a day-to-day placein school, for example, when you
are with your peers.
Place in school, for example,when you are with your peers.
How do you feel that yourbackground and that kind of
insight has helped others tounderstand what language and
understanding about language andcultural background can do for
(04:18):
them as well?
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Yeah, so I think I've also seen that in many ways.
So, being Brazilian American,and where I live, I'm one of
just a couple handful ofBrazilian people in my school.
So that's always reallyinteresting conversation because
I think I look very ethnicallyambiguous.
So it's kind of like oh, like,what's your background, what's
your like, ethnicity, whatever,whatever and kind of getting to
(04:45):
open that conversation withother people and tell them that
I'm Brazilian.
It's always just such a funtalk and meeting other
Brazilians, obviously when thathappens.
But I mean, another great thingis that's especially helped me
to connect with a lot of Spanishspeakers at my school, because
that's always a very fun thingto talk about.
Because what I didn't realizeuntil I started having these
conversations is a lot of peoplewho speak Spanish have actually
(05:08):
started learning a little bitof Portuguese on their own.
It's kind of a interestingoccurrence.
So now I have a lot of, likeSpanish speaking friends in
school that like well, Iremember the other day this one
girl came up to me, um, and Iknow she's um, I think she's
originally from Honduras, butshe came up to me and said hello
, how are you in Portuguese?
And it actually made my day.
(05:29):
It was the best feeling ever.
So just knowing that otherpeople can appreciate my
language and my background fromknowing those small things about
me, it's really cool.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
That was a beautiful phrase right there Just made my
day.
It was so important to hearthis in my own language and to
have this connection.
That's an insight into theimpact the positive impact of
reaching across language toothers that you experienced
right there.
(06:00):
How have you lived that in yourlife and brought that to others
?
You're pretty proactive withlanguage learning outreach,
aren't you?
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Yeah, absolutely so.
I currently am a volunteer at aBrazilian school in my
community and through thatthey've been really amazing and
empowering me to start my ownprojects or look at different
ways in which I can finddifferent outlets for language
learning and helping our school.
So one of those ways is thecommunity my family in Brazil is
(06:34):
originally from is.
They're from a very small townin a rural part of Brazil called
Jucasca, and in that townthere's one English school.
So I came up with this idea ofwell, to kind of encourage more
literacy, to find ways for thestudents at our school, abrasi,
to practice writing.
Why not try and do like a penpal program here, where the
(06:55):
Brazilian students in the UnitedStates write in Portuguese and
the Brazilian students in Brazillearning English right back in
English?
And that's just created themost amazing like bond between
these two schools.
We actually just had our end ofsemester call where all these
students have their pen pals andthey write to them for the
entire semester.
(07:15):
But then we do a day where weall get on Zoom and people get
to meet their pen pals and askquestions and see people face to
face and that's just like.
It's just incredible.
And I mean.
On one last note, there too isthis school in Brazil.
Before I reached out to them, Iactually found out that since
(07:35):
they're in such a rural location, many of them were dropping out
of the English school.
There was less of incentive tolearn English because they're in
such a secluded area that it'slike what am I going to do with
English in my life?
And after I started the programI got to read their letters and
it's just so incredible hearingabout all their dreams and you
(07:57):
know, I remember one girl wantedto go study in Korea or another
girl wanted to go study in theUnited States.
So being able to actuallyconnect them with people who are
kind of on the other side ofthat journey or like children of
immigrants, it's incrediblebeing able to see their
reactions and kind of give themhope that there are different
(08:18):
outcomes and they can dodifferent things with their life
if they put their minds to it.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
That's a wonderful gift of opening the world in a
town that you have a verypersonal connection to
historically in your family.
Then how about those that arelearning Portuguese in the class
in your school?
What kinds of openings do yousee in their lives or in their
thoughts about what it mightmean to them?
Speaker 3 (08:43):
In my public school we unfortunately don't have
Portuguese as a class.
Abrazi is like a separateschool, so it actually started
out as a group of mothers in thecommunity who would meet up on
weekends and bring their kids,and I'm lucky enough to be part
of one of the official classesof when it became a school.
(09:03):
So I was kind of raised throughthis community heritage
language school and, yeah, I'vebeen able to see Abrasi grow
from the ground up.
It's been amazing.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
That is great, and so this particular experience of
it.
And I did misspeak, so thankyou for correcting me.
This is not in the publicschools, but it is in this
Abrace Special Heritage LanguageSchool.
Indeed, what kinds of ways doesthis open eyes?
What kind of stories have youheard from those that are going
(09:35):
to this school or their families?
First of all, the presence ofthis community-based heritage
language school, in this casePortuguese in general, and then
this particular initiative thatyou created, this PenPal program
, that it's opened doors intheir minds, their hearts or
(09:56):
their lives.
What stories might you havethat you can share?
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Well, I think it's really a magical thing that you
see in every singlecommunity-based heritage
language school where you knowyou kind of step into that
building and it feels, like wealways say, it feels like you're
in Brazil even though you're inthe United States, like there's
always a group of moms, youknow, drinking little we call it
cafezinho, like little coffees,and they're gossiping and
they're playing games togetherand you're kind of you get hit
with that Brazilian culture thesecond you step into those
(10:30):
hallways and I'm sure I haven't.
Unfortunately I haven't gotten achance to go to other
community-based heritagelanguage schools, but just from
hearing from other people I'vetalked to and just knowing that
that's an experience, you know,it sounds amazing.
And one thing that stood out tome too this kind of is off topic
from your question, but Iremember hearing about Ukrainian
(10:53):
heritage language schools andthe impact, that feeling that
Ukrainian community in theUnited States while, like other
things are going on in the worldand there's so much uncertainty
like how comforting that can be.
But back to abadashi.
A lot of our students were I'mpart of a volunteer program
within the school.
A lot of the new volunteers weget were just different people
(11:15):
who join have also just comefrom brazil.
Whether it be like theirparents are here for work or I'm
like different, it's usuallywork related but for them
especially, it's very comfortingto be able to speak Portuguese,
and especially since it's sohard to find other Brazilians in
the area.
It's just amazing.
(11:36):
You get the chance to practiceand for the people who are still
getting used to English andstuff like that, it's a nice
break from having to tackle thatlanguage barrier.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
It is stressful.
People that have never or haveseldom potentially sat in a room
in which their brain wasstruggling to learn a new
language don't know howexhausting and disorienting that
can be.
Don't know how exhausting anddisorienting that can be.
How do you bring the sympathythat you clearly have for people
(12:16):
in life in general and in thislanguage area in particular?
How do you bring that into yourschool as well as your life,
for those who are learning sayEnglish in this case, those who
are learning say English in thiscase, what kinds of other
things do you do to bring thatlanguage skill set?
You have to help peers in theschool system, in the community.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
So I've had a.
I've been really lucky to havethe experience this year to
start working in my school'sEast Hall department.
So I am also.
I do some math tutoring on theside in school.
And I remember the first weekof school this new teacher came
in and she was I.
She was talking to some otherteachers and I remember her
saying I'm a new teacher in theESOL department, I'm tutoring
(12:55):
math students in Spanish, kindof wanted another chance yet to
practice Spanish in my school,since I wasn't taking it as an
actual course.
So I quickly introduced myselfto her and I said hey, if you
ever need help, I'd love tovolunteer, do whatever.
And after that I got involvedduring the free period in my
(13:16):
school with tutoring thesestudents, many of which had just
come from Central America, andthings like English or math,
whatever it be.
And that's just been incrediblyeye-opening for me, because all
of these students have suchdistinctly different but
incredible stories.
(13:38):
One of my very, very goodfriends in that program one day
we were just talking, having acasual conversation.
She's from Honduras, I believe,or she moved around a bit as a
child, so don't quote me on thatbecause she's very, very
prideful of her heritage.
But we were just talking and wewere having a discussion about
what she perceived thedifferences between where she
(14:03):
had previously lived in theUnited States, and I asked her
what she liked more and she justcasually mentioned that where
her family currently is shedoesn't have running water or
electricity, and this isdefinitely a step up for that,
and it's just.
It was such a casual comment,but it completely changed my
perspective on a lot of what thestudents in that room have gone
(14:24):
through to get to the pointwhere they can be sitting there
and talking with me, and I thinkit always just goes back to
compassion.
And obviously my Spanish is farfrom perfect and they're
getting the chance to learnEnglish as well.
So whenever they see me in thehallways, we always do a little.
I speak to them in Spanish,they speak to me in English and
we both get to practice languageand share our stories.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
And it doesn't have to be perfect.
It just needs to get thosestories started and get some of
that work done.
You probably have heard atremendous number of stories.
That was an especiallyinteresting one of compassion
right there about the lifewithout the running water, for
(15:21):
example, because you're sooriented towards and skilled in
language and helping others todive right in and learn about.
That compares to what sometimeshappens in schools or
communities when people withdifferent languages and cultures
are encountered.
What do you bring to the tablethat can help people to
(15:43):
understand how to interact morefully with others?
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Well, I can definitely say being willing to
dive right in.
That's definitely somethingthat did not happen overnight
and I think it is the way.
I think it's this way for manypeople who are starting to learn
a new language.
You're always so scared, like,oh, what if I say the wrong
thing, what if I mess up?
And it's taken me years toovercome that idea that I can't
(16:08):
be perfect.
And I saw that first when I wastrying to.
I had the experience of, likelosing a lot of my Portuguese
and trying to build it back upto communicate with my family.
And it's those moments whereyou have to weigh like, oh, is
my, is my Portuguese going to beperfect?
Is Did I conjugate this rightor do I just want to be able to
express myself and share thatmessage?
(16:29):
But back to your originalquestion.
I definitely think that with Ithink there's a lot of cynicism
shown toward these people,especially knowing that someone
is coming from a differentbackground or you don't know
what they've been through, it'sit's easy to say, well, they're
(16:49):
different, I don't need toengage with them, no, I'm just
going to do my own thing, or Idon't, like it doesn't really
matter to me enough to show thatsort of compassion, like it
doesn't really matter to meenough to show that sort of
compassion.
So I just hope that I can setan example in my community and
other people can sort of seethat and realize that you know,
all it takes is just a littlebit of effort and, like I said,
(17:10):
compassion, to start thoseconversations and hear those
stories.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
That compassion part absolutely essential.
Thank you for bringing that inseveral times here, because that
is the key.
Have you experienced in some ofthe other things that you
volunteer with opportunities touse your language to help others
to settle in or to find theirway in a new community, if they
(17:40):
are indeed coming from anotherculture and language background?
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Well, I think the beautiful thing of speaking
multiple languages is you neverknow when you will meet someone
who has that language barrier intheir own life.
So, whether it be, I mean, onetime I remember being super
proud of myself because I was inthe aisles of a supermarket and
this person came up to me andthey couldn't speak English and
(18:03):
I got to speak with them inSpanish and kind of reorient
them.
Or, more recently, I'm actuallyundergoing more official
training to do this, but I foundthis experience about like a
year and a half ago to startworking as a translator a
Spanish translator for theChildren's Science Center.
So they put on these scienceevents in a variety of
(18:24):
communities.
But what ends up happening is alot of these communities have a
high Hispanic population andalthough the children speak both
English and Spanish, a lot ofthe parents are the ones that
don't speak English and you cansee that they're, like, very
apprehensive about communicatingbecause they want to give that
their child that experience andallow them to participate, but
(18:47):
they're worried about their ownability to communicate.
So, having those moments whereI've just been able to, you know
I'll have a mother look at mebecause once again, I don't
necessarily look like I wouldspeak Spanish.
I'll have a mother come up withme and be really come up to me
and be really unsure about herEnglish and I'll just break out
in Spanish and you can just seelike the relief, like wash over
(19:08):
her face or whoever it is inthat moment.
You really just never know.
So that's really my favoritepart about language.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
If I had to say part about language, if I had to say
that, relief, what aninteresting insight there is
that gives a person permissionto not feel out of place and at
ill at ease.
Thank you for pointing that out.
That's beautifully said.
You also have many volunteerthings that you do.
(19:36):
Obviously, you were a very busyyoung woman Customs and border
protection, law enforcement.
That's part of what you have onthe biography on my website,
and tell us more about what thatinvolves.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Well, this does also tie back to language, as does
everything in my life.
But on my father's side of thefamily my grandfather was a
forensic dentist.
So in school I was like why nottake criminal justice?
And through that I learnedabout this program called the
Customs and Border ProtectionLaw Enforcement Explorers.
That's kind of a mouthful, butit's this program where you get
(20:16):
to go out and I actually have asecurity clearance.
I had to do a background checkand I'm, with a lot of these
really really talented, reallydedicated other youth who are
interested in careers andcustoms and border protection.
But what I didn't realize when Isigned up for that is almost
all of them have parents who arealready in CBP.
(20:39):
So I'm showing up to I was likea 45 minute drive and I kind of
went up to my mom and I waslike do you mind driving me out
to like Sterling?
And we show up to this likelodge and they're like deer
heads everywhere and my mom'slike where have you taken me?
Like what is this?
And there are these people inuniforms that come out.
(21:00):
I'm like I don't really knowwhat it is.
But then they start talkingabout how you know CBP and law
enforcement is really just likefamily and it's a community and
that those are the values thatare emphasized in our post and
that's something that's you knowI spend five hours there.
I have to drive out to Sterlingfive hours every Sunday, but
(21:21):
that's what keeps me coming backis just the people.
And then back to language.
Most of them are native speak,heritage speakers of Spanish, so
, and a lot of them, a lot ofthem, are from also Puerto Rico.
So that's been a reallyinteresting experience getting
to hear like little differencesbetween the Spanish that I
(21:42):
learned in school, which isobviously very formal, like, I'm
sure, everyone who's beenthrough Spanish education is
conjugations, vocabulary, thevocabulary I learned from them
very, very different.
So I mean, it's an amazingexperience getting to learn
language with them but also bepart of their family and their
community and learn about allthe values in relating to
(22:07):
service and, you know, sacrificefor your country.
It's definitely been a veryunique experience.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
That's brilliant.
Where will that take you?
What is it that you do?
What is it that especiallyinterests you?
As far as what they do and how,your language and cultural
skills will be tapped.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Yeah, I think that's the million-dollar question
every person my age wants toanswer right now what are you
going to do with your life?
Where are you going to go?
to college, All those things.
But I think CBP and bordershave just given me such an
interesting insight to thingslike immigration.
You know a lot of the processesthat shape not Airport, because
(22:57):
that's where CBP is stationedat Like seaports, like different
ports of entry, but one ofthose is airports and I've
gotten to sit in passport boothsin the international section
and let people back into thecountry and say hey, welcome to
the United States, Welcome home.
And you know, I've gotten tosee some crazy like.
(23:22):
I've been in the side with allthe diplomats, all the really
important foreign service peopleand I think, in terms of my
career, like it's been one ofthose moments where I kind of
get to look at these people andbe like, wow, maybe that'll be
me someday, Like maybe I can gobe a diplomat or maybe I can go
travel the world and learn aboutlanguages and help out in
different communities.
(23:42):
And it's kind of seeing,hopefully, me in the future from
where I'm at in that passportbooth.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
That is a powerful image.
I'm excited just listening towhat you said right there.
Speaking of future, you're asenior at James Madison.
Speaking of future you're asenior at James Madison.
And what are you potentiallylooking at in your immediate
future and why?
Speaker 3 (24:13):
So in terms of what I've applied for major-wise to
most of the places, it's kind ofbeen a little bit difficult
because it feels like everycollege calls it something
different.
A little bit difficult becauseit feels like every college
calls it something different.
But personally I'm reallyinterested in the intersection
between both internationalrelations or global studies, and
linguistics.
I really think it's interestinghow language shapes our
perceptions and how havingsomeone who understands multiple
(24:35):
languages can influence the waywe write policy or laws or
shape the decisions of theleadership in our country.
And being able to have thosediscussions with people who
understand those multipleviewpoints.
I kind of want to be one ofthose people and I'm trying to
(24:55):
figure out what I need to learnto get there.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
What an intersection and what are some of the places
that you especially findpowerful to consider.
You're not yet accepted tovarious institutions but, in
keeping with that, what are someof the aspects of those places
where you have submitted yourapplication that you would
(25:21):
especially be excited about?
What populations, whatinstitutions and why?
Speaker 3 (25:27):
Well, I think I've been interested in a lot of
institutions that do primarilyresearch with linguistics.
So specific things that I'velooked at are language
acquisition in children and howdifferent linguistic
environments can influence that.
So I talked a little bit abouthow my childhood was and you
(25:48):
know being around a father whoonly spoke English and then a
mother who only spoke Portuguese, but you know, somehow just
from watching a TV show, spanishgot introduced there.
So I think getting to studythose different environments and
how they impact children canalso shape my interest in
education and working as ateacher in schools and those
(26:09):
different experiences that I'vehad.
But aside from that, I reallyjust am trying to keep the
perspective that anywhere I go,there are learning opportunities
in the places where you leastexpect them.
So I'm just super excited atthe prospect of getting a lot
more agency with my education.
And you know, obviously in highschool there are certain
requirements you need to fulfill, and it's the same in college.
(26:32):
But you get a lot more, like Isaid, agency in what classes you
want to take, and now I canspecialize a lot more and take
classes about specific areas ofthe world or now get to go into
language a lot more and explorea lot of the things that I've
shown interest in in high school.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
You certainly have some powerful plans.
I'm excited already to followand see what you've got.
Let's me go and tap on what youjust said about young children
and learning young children.
With your fascinatingbackground and you're clear in
being still being intrigued bythe whole experience yourself.
What let's take a look like,turn around and look at what
(27:15):
happens when children do nothave exposure to language.
What have you, in yourconversations and your
experiences, what would you havenoticed about what happens when
children are not exposed tolanguage, like you have been or
like those that you often workwith have been?
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Well, I mean, I'll quote every single teacher I
heard at the community-basedheritage language conference and
saying that all those childrenwho are especially children of a
parent who speaks anotherlanguage other than English,
whenever they don't learn thatother language, it's always when
they're older.
(27:55):
It's like Mom, why didn't youteach me that language?
Like now I feel left out ofthis community.
Or like it's so cool to bebilingual.
Like why didn't I have thatexperience when I was younger?
And it's one of those thingswhere I think parents sometimes
can undervalue the like, therole that language has in
(28:16):
shaping a child's identity,especially in the United States,
where I feel like there's somany different cultures, so many
different backgrounds.
To have the language, to beable to communicate with people
from my background in the UnitedStates, that's been very
critical to shaping my ownidentity and being able to.
I don't know exactly what I wastrying to say there, but I've
(28:41):
definitely had experiences assomeone who's an immigrant.
There's sort of this weirdfeeling of like am I Brazilian
(29:03):
enough to be consideredBrazilian?
Or you know what exactly is myidentity and you know I'm sure a
lot of people have had thatsame experience.
But I can tell you thatlanguage and being able to
communicate with people from mybackground definitely has helped
sort of quell that anxiety abit.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Helped to lower that struggle some.
How interesting.
Now, research work aroundadolescence has demonstrated
something to which you alludedand I'm going to expand on a
little bit the sense of here.
I have a heritage and I am notgoing to express it too much
(29:42):
because I don't know what itmeans to be say, in this case,
brazilian, while also being inthe United States out that
ethnicity because I want to fitin.
Every teen wants to fit in, weall want to fit in.
(30:03):
So how do you navigate that?
How do you help others tonavigate that?
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Because that's a huge psychological aspect of why
often languages are not just notcontinued but actively dropped,
sometimes by heritage languageteens.
Yeah, I think just havingespecially the process of
applying to college, havingthose moments where you can be
(30:31):
really introspective and kind ofthink back to not necessarily
what my culture is, but who am Ias a person and how my culture
shaped that right, and I think Alot of what I've aspired to do.
Actually this is kind of anincredible story.
My mother's father passed awaywhen I was way younger, so my
(30:53):
grandfather.
But through my interest inexploring them I've actually
learned that his interestsaligned exactly with mine.
So I'd go back to Brazil forthe holidays and I'd be like, oh
, I'm learning Spanish, I'mlearning French, like I want to
start a pen pal program, and itturns out my grandfather had all
those same interests and didall those same things, just in
(31:14):
his own way, even, I would say,the most incredible experiences.
I'm definitely a very avidreader and for some reason I was
going through my likebi-monthly like book shopping
spree and I was like, oh my mind, can you buy this book?
It's called the Book ofDisquiet by Fernando Pessoa.
(31:34):
My mom goes where'd you evenfind this book?
Like this was yourgrandfather's favorite book used
to quote this all the time, andI think it's.
It's definitely by exploringyour interests and just being
curious that you find out whatyour identity is and how maybe
your family, your school, yourfriends, how those different
(31:55):
aspects of your life shape that.
So yeah, it's definitely adifficult question to answer and
I don't know if I fullyanswered it myself yet, but
that's sort of what I'vegathered from my 17 years on the
earth.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
There's a fearlessness there, a
compassionate fearlessness inwhat you just said, Julia.
That is just beautiful to hearand would be an encouragement to
some young people that feelthat they were losing their
identity rather than gainingmore by embracing that
(32:28):
background.
And then you're also aroundpeers in your school that are
taking some languages for thefirst time.
How do you find their attitudesand what you're able to share
with them in your experiencesand with your background, to
encourage their language studiesand to help them to overcome,
(32:52):
say, blockages they may befeeling or discomforts they may
be feeling?
Speaker 3 (32:58):
Well, I've definitely become that person this year.
So before this year, all thelanguages I had studied or been
interested in were romancelanguages, right.
So I had a great foundation ofalready knowing Portuguese.
So when I went to take onSpanish or French, like it felt
like learning more of the same.
But this year I was like, no,why not try Mandarin?
(33:20):
Right, and the thing withMandarin is it is just
completely unlike anything I'vedone before.
And to add to that, everysingle student in my class
either speaks Mandarin as aheritage language or they
already know Mandarin in someway.
So, even though I'm in anintroductory Mandarin class,
like I feel like a bit of anoutsider.
(33:42):
But I think it's those momentswhere I kind of treat it as like
a little challenge, right.
Like I love the stories and Ifeel like I see a lot on social
media these days, just fromreflecting my own interest
people who take on all thesedifferent languages and then
they get to be that person, thatthey're the person that would
(34:04):
be least expected to speak thatlanguage.
So I mean, there's one man I'mthinking of specifically and he
is from the United States butspent a lot of time studying
Chinese abroad and he'll go torestaurants here and order in
perfect Mandarin and you'll justsee everyone's faces like light
(34:24):
up because it's so unexpected.
And I feel like that's a lot ofwhat the appeal of speaking
another language like.
Once you reach that point,obviously that takes a lot of
time and I'm still nowhere closeto that with my own studies in
Mandarin.
I feel like that's a greatincentive in sticking with it.
But also for a lot of thelanguages that are taught in
school like I'm thinking morespecifically Spanish, I feel
(34:47):
like a big incentive isdefinitely realizing how much
that's influenced media and howmany different ways you can, how
many different things you candraw upon to learn language.
I love listening to music indifferent languages or watching
international films and thatkind of gets me in the mindset
(35:08):
of I've recently.
I really love Jane Birkin filmsin French and she's sort of
like her French is a little bittwinged with like an American
accent, but I love.
After I watch those movies Ican't stop, like I want to like
speak French and kind of emulateher mannerisms and kind of get
in the groove of speaking Frenchfrom hearing it in the movie.
And I think there are a lot ofdifferent resources to draw upon
(35:31):
for students who might belosing their motivation with
what it's taught in school tokind of seek those language
learning experiences elsewhereand be able to learn from these
different sources.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Just keep with it.
Find those other sources.
You tapped on something there.
Some people will say I feellike a different person or I
have a little differentpersonality with my different
languages.
Does that happen to you too?
Speaker 3 (35:56):
Oh, I absolutely love this type of conversation
because, yes, and it's been areally fun experience seeing my
friends.
Like I said, I don't have a lotof experiences to speak, for
example, portuguese in schoolwith people because we just
don't have a very um largeBrazilian population in my
school.
But, like I've just had friendsbe around me, when I encounter
(36:18):
a Brazilian person in public orrealize that someone's Brazilian
and you kind of break into thatPortuguese, it's like I'll see
my friends standing there out ofthe corner of my eye.
I'm like shocked because I'mlike goodness, like I've never
seen you so animated, like whatis this?
Are all Brazilian people likethis?
And I think that's such abeautiful thing about Portuguese
is I just associate it withsuch fond memories of my family
(36:41):
or inside jokes or little thingswith words, and obviously there
is that in every language.
But I definitely feel differentpersonalities and obviously
your voice changes a little bitwhen you speak, so it's like
that kind of definitely helpswith that feeling.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
But yeah, so do you have a favorite language to read
in, or do you feel that all ofyour reading can be in any
language and you'll absorb it?
Speaker 3 (37:06):
This is like.
I've always been fascinated,too, with Arabic poetry.
This is kind of a weird tangent, but before I started, before I
applied to take Mandarin, I wasactually on the wait list to
take Arabic, and I think such abeautiful thing about Arabic is
that it's heavily influenced byreligion, and you can see that
(37:28):
in the words and, like I mean,how it's applied in a lot of
ways.
And I was really interested inanother intersection between
religion, which I think is socrucial to, or so fun is such a
core thing about how people livetheir lives and also language,
which is how we expressthemselves, and I thought
(37:48):
studying that intersection couldbe really interesting as well.
So I really love reading.
Obviously, it's translated,because I can't understand any
Arabic myself, even though I'vetried to learn little bits of it
myself.
Translated works of Arabicpoetry have definitely been an
interesting read for me.
Speaker 1 (38:09):
That sounds fascinating and that's another
one of those non-Roman alphabetlanguages that for those of us
that enjoy language learning,and linguistics is catnip, my
dear catnip.
Speaker 3 (38:20):
Yes, I saw you were a teacher of Russian as well.
That must have been incrediblydifficult to learn as well.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
It was totally fun to learn because I considered it
to be a magic alphabet when Iwas young and wanted to create
secret notes to write just tomyself.
But it was intriguing forstudents over and over again and
I really enjoyed changing theway that people were able to
look at how writing happens too.
You know, julia, you've talkedabout, you've used the word
(38:50):
intersection a couple of timesin this conversation and one of
them was the intersection oflanguage and religion.
Fascinates you because it is somuch of a.
Both are part of an identity.
Are there other intersectionsof language and you've referred
to some during this conversation, but are there other ones that
I haven't tapped on that you'relike?
I'm fascinated by theintersection of language and
(39:14):
what else in people's lives.
Speaker 3 (39:17):
That's a really interesting question, because I
mean, my approach to learningand what I want to study is I
kind of just want to learn alittle bit of everything and I
feel like, once again, languagerelates to everything in some
way.
It's how we express ourselves.
So, whether that be sociologyor I mean, like I said, religion
(39:38):
, history, geography, there areso many different elements that
comprise how culture is createdand how identities are created,
and language is how weeffectively communicate that.
So I don't know if I'm able toanswer that with another
specific one thing.
It's more just, I want to learnabout everything and use
(40:00):
language to be able tocommunicate what I've learned.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Thank you.
That was beautifully said.
Now here's the next question.
Right now, we have people thatare taking a look at AI as an
option that they sometimes feelwill mean that people don't have
to learn languages.
So you could just take adigital translator and it will
do a great job for us, and offand running we go.
(40:25):
And what is the point of thestudy of languages?
I think that, with the thingsthat you have spoken about, from
a humanity point of view, it'snot going to be too hard to
guess what other possibleresponses might be.
But still, let's focus in onthat a little bit, because
you're emerging into an AI worldand you, how do you see that
(40:48):
tendency to feel that digital isgoing to take care of our needs
that way?
Speaker 3 (40:52):
Yeah, this is funny because I just had someone kind
of tell me, like why are youstudying languages?
That seems a little silly to me, like if the world is going to
be taken over by AI and we'rejust going to have better and
better translators, like whybother?
And I think it just goes backto understanding that joy of
being able to speak that otherlanguage and having that
different perspective.
And maybe you know you haveworth for something in your
(41:16):
language but you'll never get toexperience the way that meaning
is kind of captured in adifferent one.
And you know there are hundredsand hundreds of languages and
hundreds of different ways ofsaying something and I recently.
I was reading, like I was doingsome of my own, independent like
linguistic research and um,edward Sapir was talking about
hundreds of different ways todescribe a rock, like something
(41:39):
that simple can just be umexplained and and communicated
in so many different ways, andsure you can use a translator,
but once again, you never get toexperience that joy for
yourself, and that's changed myperspective and my worldview,
and I hope other people don'tshy away from having that
(41:59):
experience themselves, eventhough AI can take care of it
for them now.
Speaker 1 (42:03):
They might not ever get a chance to experience that
joy for themselves.
There's an important statementright there.
What do you think BrazilianPortuguese is especially fond in
your heart?
Family, certainly, but whatelse does Brazilian Portuguese
in particular bring joy to youin Does?
Speaker 3 (42:33):
Brazilian Portuguese in particular bring joy to you
in that you bask in that as partof your heritage, understanding
through that language.
I love that question as wellbecause I mean, I think two
years ago I visited or maybethree years ago now I visited
Portugal and it's stillPortuguese and but it really
reminded me and expanded my viewof like what it means to be
specifically Brazilian, speakthat Brazilian Portuguese,
(42:55):
because we always make jokes,you know, obviously you can
understand most of what thepeople who speak Portugal
Portuguese are saying, butthey'll have different terms,
different ways of saying things.
They're like just a lot moreliteral.
So that's kind of reminded meof the very minute differences
between languages and how muchthat can impact how
(43:16):
communication actually happens.
And then I've done, I've lookeda lot into as well, like I
forget if it's Catalanspecifically, that's like a mix
between Portuguese and Spanish,just all these different
amalgamations of language andhow my Portuguese is
specifically the way it is butit's branched off in so many
different ways for differentpeople.
(43:38):
That also reminds me too.
After high school I am extremelyexcited to be able to kind of
take my first steps into likethe real world, and I've decided
to try and do that, possibly bydoing the El Camino, and that's
this hike through.
I mean, obviously I'm sure alot of people have heard of it,
(44:00):
but it's a hike through Europeand you start in oh, it depends
on which route you do, but youstart in Portugal and you go
through France and then you endup in Spain.
So for me, that's going to bethe final test of language for
me, and I'll get to use myBrazilian, portuguese, but
communicate with people from allover the world and my French
and my Spanish and all thelanguages that I've been
(44:20):
practicing.
Obviously, people speak Englisheverywhere now, so I'm sure
that'll come in handy, but it'llbe the final test with the
languages that I've developedand carefully taken my time to
study and practice.
Speaker 1 (44:36):
And you'll be right there in the cultures as well,
taking your time and comingacross people from all over the
world that are also walking theCamino now too.
Oh, wow, that's awesome,Fantastic.
I wish you'd well on that one,because that's a wonderful,
wonderful thing.
I've got a question for you now.
I would like you to imagine infront of you a peer of high
(45:03):
school age a peer high schoolage and I'm asking you to look
at that peer and tell them whyit is that taking a language and
also understanding that peoplespeak other languages and come
from other places is somethingto be valued.
(45:30):
And why Help a peer that'spushing back a little bit on all
of this?
They've got enough on theirplate.
They're just fine.
Everybody speaks English.
What do you say to that peer?
Speaker 3 (45:45):
Yeah, absolutely.
I think I've met a lot of thesepeers as well in my school,
because I think people viewlanguage learning as something
that's very daunting and I thinkin some regards it really is.
But I think that the rewards ofthat challenge are more than
worth it when once again you getto apply that language and see
(46:05):
the different experiences inwhich you can help someone or be
able to understand further.
And I think language coursestoday do a great job of focusing
in on that culture, like maybein my, for example, in my French
class right now, we're not justlearning about France, french
and France, but we're alsolearning about how it's used in
(46:27):
Vietnam and how colonization hasimpacted the French that is
spoken there, or differentislands or pigeon languages or
places all around the worldwhere that language is.
That language has evolved andkind of taken its own form and
influenced culture in the people.
Because I think, when it comesdown to it, obviously language
is constantly evolving and Imean you even see that in
(46:50):
schools, like there's new slangevery week and people have
different ways of saying things.
But taking the time to learnthat new language and having
that foundation to understandthe changes around us and how
they've impacted certain areasor people.
It's just an invaluableexperience, and taking that time
has so many unexpected rewards.
Speaker 1 (47:10):
Julia Hosich.
Thank you so much foreverything that you've shared
today.
Do you feel like you've had anopportunity to express what's in
your heart, mind andexperiences about language?
Speaker 3 (47:23):
Absolutely, this has been amazing and I hope that
anyone listening or this hasbeen amazing and I hope that you
know anyone listening or anyonewho has questions about you
know community-based heritage,language schools or language
learning, what that looks likein the public school system, or
you know growing up inmulti-lingual households.
I hope people are able torelate or maybe take something
(47:44):
new out of this.
So thank you so much for havingme.
This has been amazing.
Speaker 1 (47:48):
Thanks for listening to Julia's stories about the
power of language and languagesin her life.
Check out my website,fluencyconsulting, for her story
and the stories of many othersfor whom language is a key
component of their identity andtheir world, and share your
(48:08):
stories with me.
Go to fluencyconsulting.
Let's have a conversation andtell stories one to the other.
Speaker 2 (48:17):
Thank you for joining us on this episode of it's
About Language with your host,Nora Lulich-Jones.
Remember, your voice matters.
Together, we can build strongerconnections through words.
Until next time, take care andkeep the conversation going.
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