In the beginning of our narratives, I thought that this assignment would be somewhat difficult due to myself not knowing what to write about. But listening to my peers ideas and thought processes helped me develop different ideas on what to write about which helped me think deeply on what experience I could talk about.

While writing our peers reflection, i felt that it was interesting to write about. I thought it was a good way to know more about our peers background as well as how we are able to connect to one another as well. I was able to read my peers perspective on their language barrier and compare it to how my narrative went. Also, reading my peers narrative, I learned better ways to write, using different writing strategies, different word choices that was able to improve my narrative as well.

During our interview, I was able to capture my peers emotions and thoughts through their self expression in writing and that brought the story to life. I also got to know more about them such as what they like to do for fun, what they majored in, and so on. I liked this activity because we were able to go in depth about our experiences as well as our personal life.

I believe this was valuable because my peers and I were able to express our thoughts and narratives in many different ways in many different perspectives. It also showed us how we all connect in a way through language barriers. We were able to use the expression of writing to create personal narratives that expressed our thoughts and emotions.

We also learned many new writing techniques which helped us develop and improve our narratives as well as give feedback to our peers.

I believe that writing is beneficial to everyone and helps us in our every day to day life. For instance, writing helps us with our communication. Writing helps us express our thoughts, ideas, and emotions. Writing also helps us connect with others. Wether is it writing a simple text message or email, we are able to express our sayings to others even from a distance. Writing also helps us with self expression. For example, being able to write and go into detail about experiences, our feelings, and thoughts in a way that can also be therapeutic. This allows us to get a better understanding of ourselves and share that with writing.

Writing also helps us learn and retain information better. When we write, this allows us to focus on the topic and analyze the information about it as well. When we engage with these topics it helps us retain the information written down.

Writing is also creative. Writing connects to creativity because we are able to use writing and our imagination to create narratives and story’s. We are able to create our own characters, settings and much more using the power of writing.

ABOUT MY NARRATIVE ESSAY
When reflecting on my narrative essay, I am most proud of the way I was able to use my
thoughts, emotions, and descriptive language to bring my story to life where others reading can
also be able to connect with me and visualize the story as they’re reading. Something else I am
proud of in my writing piece is that I am able to share my story to show that so many others go
through the same thing when it comes to language barrier and how we share things in common.
As many of us go through similar situations, my writing can help them not feel alone.
Some things that we did in our English Composition class that helped me when writing
this narrative essay is when sharing work with our peers to review and give feedback on it.
Giving me this feedback on my essay not only helped my writing and storytelling skills, it helped
me gather more valuable information with the ideas given by my peers to help include into my
story. This helped improve my essay much more than I thought it would. Furthermore,
something that we did in this class that was very beneficial to me are all the readings we did in
class about language barriers. These story tellings helped me process a story of my own which I
was able to write out and form a story that speaks on language barrier and how it had affected
me. Having multiple readings gave me different perspectives and thought processes on how I
should tell my own story, and who I should include, what I will be talking about, and how I will
put it all together to create my narrative essay. I believe that the audience intended for my essay
should be anyone who struggles with language barriers, or trying to learn and understand a new
language. I also believe this essay could be for those who want to understand how it feels to be in
a situation like this, whether it’s another kid my age or younger, or an adult. I think that anyone
who has some sort of language barrier should read this narrative essay so they can understand
that they’re not alone. So many people go through the same things but with different stories. We
can all share these experiences and have the same similarities that can form bonds. My narrative
essay connects to the larger theme of the course by emphasizing the challenges those face when
people form different linguistic backgrounds try to communicate. In addition, this also highlights
the importance of communication, compassion and their cultural backgrounds and overcoming
these language barriers to form relationships. This narrative essay helped me explore my own
emotions, and experiences to create something for others to read. This also helped me understand
the importance of our language and how it connects to our identity. This made me dive deep into
my past and reflect on situations that still stick with me in which I am able to express my
feelings and emotions onto my writing. This helped me gain more of an understanding of myself
and how much I have grown as a person. This narrative essay was a creative way to talk about
our past experiences and how we overcome things

Cover Letter

Martina Lopez
9/14/23
Narrative Essay
Tongue-Tied: My Journey through the Language Barrier
I have always been hesitant about Speaking Spanish. Whether it’s to a family member, a
teacher, or a family friend, it was hard. I had grown up with English being my first language, so
having to learn Spanish growing up was more difficult for me. Even though I am much more
fluent in Spanish now, there are situations where the lack of Spanish knowledge affects the way I
am able to express what I had to speak about. There are some situations where it can be hard for
me to communicate with others. For instance, giving directions to someone who speaks Spanish,
or having to speak to an adult or family member on the phone. This can be hard for someone
who grew up mainly learning the English language.
I had learned most of my Spanish through my parents, who are fluent in Spanish since
they were both born and raised in Argentina until they came to the US in their early twenties.
Whenever I think about my language barrier It always reminds me of the arguments I would
have with my father whenever I would mispronounce a spanish word or noun. He would always
be the first to correct me but then comes the lecture that feels forever on why my Spanish
speaking should be perfect. “ How are you going to talk to your family in Argentina when you
visit?” He says. I always found this funny due to my father not knowing so much English. Seems
very hypocritical to say in my opinion. I am always the one who was called over in order to help
him send emails, text messages, make phone calls, and so on. I do thank him though because this
helped me to push myself to learn how to speak more fluently. Without him or the help of my
mother, and teachers, I am not sure how far I would have come.
My elementary school had also helped me with my Spanish speaking since they offered
bilingual classes. Some days we would have classes with English speaking teachers, while other
days we would walk across the hall to the Spanish speaking teachers that would help us improve
our Spanish. The first situation that really stuck with me throughout my childhood was when I
was in the 5th grade, our school had offered students to go downstairs to the younger children
and read them books in Spanish. Me being bilingual, I had been sent downstairs to read to a
group of students. I remember being very nervous since I’m never really used to speaking
Spanish to others other than at home with my parents. When I arrived at the classroom I had
been sent to the back of the room and was given a book to read. When I got to see the children I
was going to read to, I introduced myself and proceeded to read this book to the best of my
ability. As I was beginning to read, all eyes were on me. Teachers walking around, I felt as if I
had to speak on stage. I begin to struggle pronouncing certain words and I stutter while reading.
The children then began to chuckle. This was certainly embarrassing for someone who has been
learning Spanish for years and still is trying to get the hang of it. I just felt embarrassment come
over me. Did these children know more Spanish than me?” I thought to myself. Shortly after I
proceeded to finish the book and headed back upstairs with the feeling of shame and confusion. I
never wanted to get sent back downstairs to read after that, it felt humiliating.
Through my high school years, My Spanish had definitely gotten better throughout the
years. I am able to hold a conversation in Spanish with others, if it’s to a stranger on the street or
having to speak on the phone with a Spanish speaker. I had taken a Spanish class my freshman
year in highschool, where we learned how to differentiate nouns, hold conversations with one
another, etc. Throughout the semester we had been given exams about the Spanish language, and
I was nervous about each one. I thought my Spanish knowledge wasn’t good enough, where I
thought I would have to end up retaking these quizzes or exams in order to pass the class. To my
surprise, each quiz showed me the improvement of what I had learned so far. I felt good about
myself, and I felt no shame. I had felt so comfortable in this class because there were so many
others who also struggled with Spanish, but we all got to learn and improve together. This helped
me with my confidence and I began to participate more in the class. Even if I confidently raised
my hand to answer a question and ended up with the wrong answer, It did not feel like I was
being judged or laughed at. Towards the end of the semester, there was a final assignment in
which we had to create a project to present in front of the entire class. This made me extremely
nervous. I have social anxiety and I do not like speaking in front of big groups of people. It
makes me extremely nervous to where I will have the thought of my younger self again and
begin to struggle with my Spanish speaking to where I am stuttering again. This project would
take weeks to finish, so I had time to practice. The topic of the project was to discuss the
corruption in the government and how it has affected our economy. I felt like I wouldn’t be able
to do it. When it comes to the government, there are a lot of words that can be very difficult to
pronounce and understand. But I knew I could do it. I began to practice almost every other day
talking to myself about how I would present this project. I would then present in front of my
sister or other family members as a small audience to help relieve some of the nervousness I had.
By doing this, I was able to practice enough for the final exam.
Today is the day where I stand up in front of the entire class to present the project I’ve
been waiting for weeks to do. As I sat in my chair watching other students present their projects,
my heart began to race. I was so nervous to mess up in front of everyone. About two more
presentations go by and then I hear my name being said out loud by my teacher.
“Martina Lopez, you may present your project now.”
I stood up and walked up nervously trying to remain calm while focusing on my
breathing. “I can do this. I can do this” I probably repeated to myself in my head too many times
that i can count. And here goes nothing. I begin my presentation and Introduce myself to the
class, and talk about how government corruption has effects on the economy as it impedes fair
competition, increases costs for businesses and taxpayers. Time feels as if it is moving in slow
motion but I am really trying to focus on finishing the presentation smoothly. As i finish my
presentation, I look to the back of the classroom where there sits my teacher with a slight smile
on her face which really made me feel so assured and confident. My classmates give a round of
applause and I proceed to head back to my seat where one of my fellow peers complimented my
presentation on how I did such a great job. This really meant a lot for me since I had always
struggled with my Spanish speaking and being able to present something smoothly without
messing up was such a huge accomplishment for me.
I look back and think how scared I used to be when speaking to others in Spanish and
how it prevented me from learning so many new things. But now I am so grateful to how far I’ve
gotten and how much I have improved. This is always a reminder to me and to anyone else who
struggles with another language and has that language barrier that they can overcome this. All
you need to do is have that confidence in yourself and to never give up. To this day, I wouldn’t
say my Spanish is one-hundred percent fluent, but from where I first began, I am always proud
of what I am able to do in my second language. My Spanish is a part of my identity and I am so proud to be able to know the Spanish speaking language.