As the child of Vietnamese immigrants,

my first language was Vietnamese. 

I was fluent in verbal and written 

Vietnamese communication.

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By the time I started primary school, I learned

English as my second language and was a true bilingual. However, as the years passed and 

Vietnamese was less frequently used at home,

I eventually lost my ability to speak Vietnamese.

Linguists would call me a receptive bilingual:

an individual who could understand the 

language, but could not speak it. 

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In high school, I studied four years of the 

French language. I spoke French when I visited 

France at the age of fourteen and won 

a superior distinction in my county's World 

Language competition. 

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When I studied abroad in Italy, my internship

was located in a small community outside of Sorrento. There were no English speakers due to the lack of tourism. Out of respect for the Italian culture and community, I took it upon myself to learn basic Italian in order to communicate with

my co-workers, supervisor, and other community members. Relying heavily on technology to help

me learn Italian, I acquired basic knowledge. However, the language was not stored in my

long-term memory following my return to the United States.

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In college, I studied two semesters of the

Spanish language. With the help of my dialect coach in Guatemala and my professor, I was able to learn basic Spanish that I can hopefully implement in

the workforce.

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