Wilsonville High School is host to an array of different cultures within its campus. Certain students are fluent in a second language, apart from English, making them bilingual. This could entirely affect their learning in many different ways. 

Being fluent in a second language provides many opportunities for students in and out of school. In school, clubs like Mecha are beneficial to Spanish-speaking students, in which they plan a variety of Mexican-themed activities. Furthermore, AP classes for languages like Spanish and Chinese can provide a great addition to a student’s schedule. 

Out of school, bilingual speakers are helped in their job search by providing a unique skill to help customers. Jobs like translators, customer service workers, bank clerks, etc. supply jobs for people with this unique skill set.

Junior Nour Shaheen states “I’ve been speaking Arabic and English my entire life, I learned both when I was 3.” He adds “I’ve noticed that I’ve had less struggle learning Spanish than my classmates, I attribute that to my experience with Arabic and English.” For students similar to Nour, switching between languages are completely natural and they provide useful for his academics.

While some may have learned both languages when they were young, others had to adapt. Junior David Munoz reflects saying “I had to learn English in school so it was tough the first couple of years, my parents only taught me Spanish. But I eventually got the hang of English and was glad to be Bilingual.” 

David’s experience differed from Nour’s as he had to adapt to learning a second language in school rather than sponging it up as an infant. Nevertheless, both reached the same mentality and are grateful for their skills.