Let’s talk about the benefits of being bilingual! It’s my pleasure to have Natalia Simons with us to talk about this interesting topic. Natalia is the founder of Bilingo Books and is a published author of multiple bilingual children’s books! This is what she has to say about her first-hand experience with bilingualism:
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Growing up being bilingual
“One of the greatest gifts my mum gave me was raising me bilingual. I know life would be very different if I didn’t speak a second language. While my dad was working, we would always speak in Spanish and I would speak in English at school and when my dad came home.
We spent every summer holiday in Spain and would speak Spanish for the duration of the holiday. I loved going to Spain and would spend the entire summer with my family and friends. During this time, I was fully immersed in the language and culture. I loved the 4 day village festivities as everyone got together to celebrate, a lot of dancing and food was involved! I enjoyed learning everything about Spain, listening to Spanish music and eating all the delicious food made by my grandma.
I feel very thankful for being bilingual and being able to speak Spanish and although it’s not always perfect, the main thing is I’m able to communicate with my family. However, it wasn’t always easy growing up bilingual, sometimes the kids in Spain would tease me for not having the same Spanish accent as them or for just being the “different” one. There weren’t any resources such as books or films to turn to which would have really helped.”
Studying languages and uses in real life
“I knew when I was at school that I wanted to learn languages at university. Spanish and French were my favourite subjects so I studied them for my A levels. Before selecting my degree, I realised I wanted to learn a third language, Italian so I decided to take it alongside Spanish. The thing about speaking another language, you become curious and want to learn more! I’ve always been fascinated with Italy and the culture so thought it would be a fun language to learn.
I spent half of my Erasmus time in Milan, although I couldn’t speak much when I first arrived, knowing Spanish helped me understand and get by. My time in Italy was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I truly believe it made me a different person and gave me even more of a travel bug.
A few years after I’d been in Italy, I travelled South America solo for 5 months. Due to being able to speak Spanish, it made my experience even more rewarding as I was able to communicate with locals in each country and learn more about the way they lived.”
The benefits of being bilingual : how it has helped my career
“A clear example of the benefits of being bilingual is that I’ve been able to utilise my language skills in the workplace. My jobs in the past have included working as a Project Manager for a translation company, Spanish speaking customer service advisor for an online betting company, and I’ve worked as a freelance translator. I’ve had various jobs but none of them I truly loved. I wanted to find a job that I really enjoyed and could be my own boss.
When the pandemic hit, I was made redundant from my job working for a translation company. Although initially disappointing, I decided it was finally time to pursue my dream, to write a children’s book about my experience growing up bilingual.”
“My first book The Spanglish Girl / La Chica Espanglish is about a little girl who’s half English and Spanish. She spends her summer holidays in Spain with her grandparents and at first doesn’t know much Spanish. The children in the village laugh at the way she speaks; they say she speaks differently to them. Her grandmother reminds her how lucky she is to speak two languages and have two heritages.
I then decided to have my own independent publishing business called “Bilingo Books”, where I would publish more books to help children feel proud of their dual heritages. The books also help monolingual children learn languages and different cultures.
I’m so glad I decided to write these books because children and parents from all around the world have thanked me and explained how it’s made them feel empowered. I’ve also taken part in many virtual visits with schools in the UK and US.
If only there had been these types of books growing up, I know it would have made me feel proud of being bilingual. My aim is to publish as many bilingual books as possible in a variety of languages. I truly believe every bilingual child around the globe will benefit from these books.”
Thank you Natalia for sharing your lovely experience with us! You can follow her author journey on her Instagram or Facebook Page. If you would like to get one of her useful bilingual books, here they are:
“The Spanglish Girl / La Chica Espanglish” (UK / US / Spain)
“The Mexiglish Girl / La Chica Mexiglish” (UK / US / Spain)
“ABC Spain / ABC España” (UK / US / Spain)
See other bilingual books, other posts about parenting or other topics.
