Courtesy of Silvermine Dual Language Magnet School (main image);  Shutterstock.com (background)

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My Superpower!

Reisli Maldonado Quintero wants the world to know why she’s proud to be able to speak both English and Spanish. 

September 16, 2024
By Rebecca Zissou

As You Read, Think About: What are some of the benefits of speaking more than one language?

What if you could have a superpower? Would you want to fly like a bird? Run as fast as a cheetah? What if you could read people’s minds? 

Reisli Maldonado Quintero says she has a superpower. The nine-year-old is bilingual! That means she knows two languages. The fourth-grader from Norwalk, Connecticut, can speak, read, and write in English and Spanish.

Earlier this year, Reisli came in first place in a national essay contest for bilingual students. She wrote about why being bilingual is her superpower.  

As part of her prize, Reisli won $500 and an iPad. And she got the chance to let people know what’s so special about being bilingual.

Reisli is among the more than 67 million people in the United States who speak more than one language. She says the skill helps her to get to know kids from many backgrounds. Being bilingual also allows Reisli to help her family figure out life in a new country. 

Fleeing Home

Jim McMahon/Mapman®

Until she was 6 years old, Reisli lived in Venezuela. That’s a country in South America where most people speak Spanish. Some areas of the country are dangerous, and Reisli’s parents often feared for their family’s safety. Hoping for a better future, Reisli’s family decided move to the U.S. in January 2022.

They are hardly alone. Since 2014, more than 7 million Venezuelans have left their homeland. Hundreds of thousands moved to the U.S.

Settling In

In February 2022, Reisli and her family arrived in Norwalk. Friends in the area helped them settle into their new home. 

A month later, Reisli and her older sister, Magdielis, started classes at Silvermine Dual Language Magnet School. Reisli was nervous on her first day. She recalls holding tightly to her sister’s hand. 

“I thought kids were going to bully me because I didn’t speak English,” she says.

But Reisli’s classmates were welcoming, and she made new friends. She still had a major challenge ahead of her: learning English. It was difficult, but with the help of her teachers and an app called Duolingo, Reisli became fluent. 

Courtesy of Silvermine Dual Language Magnet School

Reisli (center) accepted her award in New Orleans, Louisiana, in March.

Helping Others

Now Reisli is helping her parents learn English. In the meantime, she says one of the biggest benefits of being bilingual is being able to translate for her mom and dad. She helps them communicate with workers at stores and with people who call their home.  

Reisli sometimes misses Venezuela, since most of her family still lives there. But she’s grateful for her life in the U.S.—and for learning a new language. 

“When I came to America when I was 6, I was scared. I didn’t know English,” Reisli wrote in her essay. “Now being bilingual is my superpower.”

Celebrate Hispanic History

Each year, people in the United States celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month starting on September 15. About 65 million people in the U.S. are Hispanic. The month is a time to honor the traditions and ways of life of people whose families are from countries where most residents speak Spanish.  

Why September 15? It marks an important anniversary for five countries in Central America. On that date in 1821, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua declared independence from Spain. 

Pictured: A group performs a traditional dance from El Salvador at a California festival in September 2023.

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  1. Describe two ways being bilingual has made a difference in Reisli Maldonado Quintero’s life.
  2. According to the article, why did Reisli’s family move to the U.S. from Venezuela?
  3. What is the main idea of the sidebar, “Celebrate Hispanic History”?
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