Knowing more than one language is often indispensable when it comes to learning about other cultures and making connections with a broader range of people from around the world.

Considering that most people speak only one or two languages fluently, one might say that learning how to speak four is a rare and significant achievement for the average high school student. The more fluent someone is in more than one language, the greater the person’s ability to form bonds with people across cultures.

Senior Emily Torres recognizes how beneficial it is to be multilingual. In addition to speaking English, Torres speaks Spanish and French and is learning Italian.

“My parents are from Mexico and speak Spanish fluently, so that’s usually what I grew up around,” Torres said.

Torres’ mother knew that Emily had the skills necessary for learning more than one foreign language early on.

“I noticed [Emily] using the bilingual prayer booklets in church and saw her interest in learning more,” she said.

But Torres didn’t begin learning to speak Spanish fluently until later.

“My older siblings helped me learn English first, so I didn’t learn Spanish fluently until I was 8 and took my first trip to Mexico,” Torres said.

Torres’ first trip to Mexico gave her the perfect opportunity to immerse herself in Spanish and proved to be formative for her.

“I understood Spanish really well before I went, but in Mexico it was kind of like emerging into just Spanish.” Torres said. “So I was kind of forced to speak and grasp it, and that’s when I learned it really well,” she said.

That sudden jump into a foreign country was similar to how her mother learned English, but unlike for Emily, it would become a long term experience that she is still going through.

“By moving to this country, learning English was something I was forced to do it if I wanted to get anywhere,” Torres’ mother said. “For me, [learning English] is a continuous learning experience. It’s been one of the most difficult things I have done.”

But unlike Emily, her mother didn’t have the same advantage growing up that Emily did when she learned Spanish.

“Learning English was much harder to do than Emily learning Spanish, mainly because Emily was immersed in Spanish and English from day one while I first became introduced [to] English when I was 19,” she said.

After becoming fluent in Spanish, Emily had options to choose from, starting in middle school.

“I really got interested in French in eighth grade,” Torres said. “I think it was intro to foreign languages where you take Spanish and French, and Spanish was just kind of a waste of time, so I decided to do French, and I started in freshman year.”

This year, Emily is taking French 4 and has begun to study Italian, hoping to learn more in the future.

“[Emily is] a really serious student and she’s a really broad-minded person,” said French teacher Megan Hurt. “She’s interested in a lot of things, and whatever she does, she does well.”

Hurt knows the benefits that come along with learning a foreign language, having experienced many of them firsthand.

“There are a lot of reasons to learn a foreign language, and I think one of the primary ones is to enhance your understanding of the world, you know, it’s just a big bonus all around,” Hurt said.

Emily agrees and believes that speaking a familiar language can help others.

“Growing up with parents who speak more Spanish than English, I think it’s important to me to be able to speak more languages because you never know when you’re going to meet someone who doesn’t speak English, and being the friendly face they can understand better, it’s kind of nice,” she said.

“I think [learning a foreign language] would unify people more by allowing someone to branch out to more people and create relationships with them,” Torres’ mother said. “One of the greatest benefits of learning Spanish is having it on your resume for customer, client, or patient based careers,” Torres’ mother said.

As far as future plans go, Emily is ready to continue exploring new languages.

“At the moment, I speak very little Italian, so I’d like to study Italian and probably a little more French in college, and maybe take Portuguese at some point,” Torres said.

Emily’s mother has high hopes, and wants her daughter to continue studying.

“I think [Emily] will be more confident and more secure with herself and will also have helpful tools for getting jobs throughout her life,” her mother said. “I hope that when she finishes school she will have some sort of diploma for a foreign language.”