Phrases such as “hola” and “au revoir” can be heard in the language hallway, but along with German, Spanish, French and Chinese, many students also speak languages that aren’t taught at school or speak these languages fluently without attending the class. Some students learn these languages outside of school on their own. However, due to the diverse student body at St. Paul Academy and Summit School which includes people with backgrounds from many different cultures across the globe, many have grown up learning to speak this other language with their family.

One of these students is sophomore Tabeer Naqvi, who speaks fluent Urdu at home and occasionally at school with her Pakistani friends and family. She states this is an integral part of her life because of how it connects her closely to her Pakistani culture.

Naqvi grew up speaking both Urdu and English together, so both were her first languages. “I learned it just like you learn English – by listening to my parents speak,” Naqvi said. Her parents were born in Pakistan and have spoken Urdu all their lives. “Inside my home, it keeps me connected to my culture…outside of my home it’s a way for me to communicate [with family and friends] without other people [who don’t speak Urdu] understanding,” Naqvi said. Along with speaking Urdu with her family, she has conversations with other students at SPA who speak Urdu or Hindi at home (which is very similar to Urdu), further connecting her to Pakistani and her friends Indian cultures.

She mostly speaks it with her parents and two younger siblings. However, out of her sisters, she is the one who chooses to speak Urdu the most. “I’m constantly pestering [my siblings] to speak in Urdu,” she said. Many of her Pakistani friends have lost the ability to speak it, communicating in English instead. “I a sense of pride because I’m known as that one desi girl who speaks Urdu fluently – I’m known for it in my desi community,” she said.

One of the reasons Naqvi began to actively speak Urdu at home was because she moved to Minnesota from Pakistan when she was four. “In order to communicate without my cousins making fun of me I needed to practice,” Naqvi said. But now, she speaks it as a way to remain closely tied to her Pakistani culture. “I feel like even though I moved away from Pakistan, I owe it enough to speak the language fluently.”

Another student who speaks a different language at home is junior Liza Bukingolts, who speaks Russian at home with her family. “It was the first language I learned, I grew up learning how to speak it,” she said. Bukingolts’ parents were born in Russia and their first language was also Russian. Although Bukingolts was born in the United States, she speaks to her parents in their native language.

She states that her parents always talked to her in Russian so it wasn’t something she was taught, she learned it how many students have learned English – simply by hearing and speaking. She also wants her four year old brother to continue trying to learn the language because of the connection it has with her family’s background in Russia. “It’s part of my culture, part of my identity. It’s part of who I am,” she said.

Senior Sam Suzuki is another student who speaks Japanese at home with his mother, who is from Japan, and occasionally his younger brother, sophomore Matt Suzuki. “It was my first language…I learned it from my mom and have sustained it by going to Japanese school on Sundays,” Sam Suzuki said.

Matt Suzuki states that he chooses to speak Japanese at home because “It helps me not [to] forget Japanese, plus it’s easier to speak my mom’s native language with her.”

Similar to other students who speak another language, “The best part is [that] there’s more of a cultural element [than not being bilingual] like in terms of food and even conversation,” Sam Suzuki said. Similarly, his brother, Matt Suzuki, states that “Speaking Japanese distinguishes me [from other non bilingual students].”

Along with languages not included in SPA’s language curriculum, there are some students who speak fluently in one of the four languages offered. Freshman Eva Garcia speaks Spanish as her first language with her parents, younger sister and extended family. “I speak Spanish because my Dad is from Mexico…I grew up speaking [it], was born into a family that only spoke [it], [and] was taken care of by friends that only spoke Spanish,” she said. Garcia is fluent in this language, but chooses to take the Spanish level four class anyway because she still struggles with spelling.

Garcia states that her dad didn’t know English very well, so she spoke Spanish just as another element of her life rather than a language she had to actively learn. While being able to communicate with her dad was another reason for learning Spanish, Garcia also states she finds herself many situations which call for her ability to speak Spanish well, such as in church, friends’ or cousins’ houses and when she goes to Mexico to visit her family. “I also think Spanish is important to me since it is a part of my culture and my family,” she said.

Senior Amber Skarjune also speaks a language taught at SPA, Chinese, with her family, specifically her mother. Skarjune grew up learning Chinese through her grandparents: “[They] lived with me when I was just a baby so I learned Chinese before I learned English because they would take care of me when my parents were at work,” she said. Along with speaking Chinese, Skarjune used to participate in Chinese dance, went to Chinese school on the weekends and currently goes to a Chinese art studio.

Skarjune states that, one thing difficult about being bilingual is that “There are words for each language which you can’t cross-translate…but being bilingual [is good] because you can [better] understand how languages work and the differences between them.”

Speaking another language at home not only connects these students with their parent’s backgrounds, but gives them insight to their own cultural identities which are closely tied to the language they choose to speak at home. “I think I’m really fortunate, I really appreciate the fact that I can speak two languages fluently. I think it gives me a lot of opportunities and I’d like to harness and also maintain my Chinese as best I can,” Skarjune said.