text: People tend to learn best when they are using things that are more familar to them.  Language is so intimately tied to culture, identity, our history etc.  It allows us to fully express ourselves.  When we lose that ability, we lose so much more.  I believe it is important to maintain a native language.  I also believe in our ability to learn other languages. In doing so, we open up so many other worlds too.  To me, it's not a choice of "one or the other". . .it's the choice to learn more than what I already know, and to nuture what I already have.