Freewrite: how did you learn?

In New York schools there is a program for bi-lingual students. The state has an abundance of Spanish-speaking people, many students who attend elementary school for the first time in America need to transition from Spanish to English language, so the program incorporates both languages into the classroom while progressing more toward English. This assists students in learning to speak the language.
My elementary school was Meadow Hill; it was a "GEMS" program school, that stands for Global Explorations Magnet School. Diversity and cultural awareness were very important aspect in the school.

I learned a second language early in life; my Spanish classes started in elementary school, grade 3. The bi-lingual and Spanish learning classes was where I met my best friend, Kim, with whom I still "besties" today. : )

My choice to attend Spanish class and a few bi-lingual classes as well, opened many doors for me. Being friends with Kim helped integrate the language into my life; her parents are from Peru and at that time they spoke very little English. Spending time at her house was beneficial to acquire the Spanish language. I was able to take Spanish classes all through jr. high and high school as well.

After high school I took it upon myself to keep learning new languages. When I worked at an outlet store in NY, I met many foreigners who loved to shop there. By working there I was able to pick up on Portuguese, which is very similar to Spanish so learning it was fairly easy. I used an online "program" called LiveMocha.

Once I got the hang of Portuguese and was comfortable assisting the Brazilian customers in their own language, I moved on. Next I learned Mandarin Chinese from a c.d. program, Pimsleur. This so far was the easiest way to learn for me. The c.d. says a phrase in English, then in Chinese...repeat the phrase back out loud in Chinese. With each new disc you build upon the lessons, and before you know it you're speaking Mandarin! The majour problem with this program is that Mandarin does not use Arabic letters as English does, it uses Chinese characters so learning to read the language is difficult. Once you work through the discs you are able to speak to people in Mandarin, which is pretty cool.