Dos Idiomas en Dos Maneras – Two Languages in Two Ways

I have been, of course, trying to increase my abilities in Spanish and this challenge is part of my learning experience (mi experiencia de aprendizaje) here in Chile.  I have lived in El Paso, Texas for over 4 years (minus this stint in Chile), and have made learning Spanish a specific personal goal in my life.  Each semester (cada semestre) since I arrived at UTEP, I have taken a Spanish class and I even enrolled in the university as a student in order to get top quality instruction in the areas of speaking, reading, writing and listening in Spanish.  I enjoy this learning experience, but also have felt my limits as a learner, especially as an adult trying to master a second language (un segundo idioma).

Recently (recientemente), I was given an opportunity to deliver a presentation to a group of students here in Chile who are learning English as part of an immersion program. The basic idea is that these students, who want to enter doctoral programs in the United States, take a year of intense training (entrenamiento intensivo) in English in order to improve their skills.  The students are exceptional in their disciplines, and have been identified as individuals with great potential for scholarship. This effort is provided as a scholarship (una beca) to this select group, in order to help them achieve academically and compete internationally.

I was happy to participate (participar) in this event and to work with these students, to offer anything I could in terms of perspective on doctoral programs and the process of choosing a university in the US.  Also, it was my first presentation (mi primera presentación) in English in Chile, so this was also a new and different challenge for me.  In a sense, my own experiences learning a second language provided me with the practical experience to be able to approach this presentation and subsequent conversation with a deepened sensitivity and an increased understanding (un mayor entendimiento).

As I was preparing for this task, I had to consult (consultar) colleagues back at UTEP to let them know that I had to do this for prospective doctoral students in Chile.  I wanted to have all my facts correct, and for this I surely needed help (ayuda), and this required communication with the Office of Graduate Studies, who in turn sent me plenty of materials to utilize (utilizar).

Yet, the irony was that all the materials they sent to me were in Spanish, and I had to spend some time translating (tiempo para traducir) these materials into English.  I never thought this would be a task that I needed to do, but having two languages (dos idiomas) at the same time (al mismo tiempo) is an important skills and one that I feel my stay here in Chile is helping to facilitate.  Oh, and by the way, someone (not at this meeting, but at another gathering here in Chile) told me that I spoke English very well…maybe I am really becoming Chilean.