Great question! Millions of students around the country are maintaining home language, so there is no shortage of people to meet and connect with! A few ideas to get you started:
+ Locally: Talk to other students at your school. You’d be surprised how many other students speak two or more languages. Since schools in the U.S. tend to focus on English, students don’t often have a chance to discuss what goes on at home. At the very least, students who are taking English Language Learner (ELL) classes are definitely fluent in their home languages and may appreciate other students welcoming them.
+ Attend community events. Your ethnic community may have events where you can meet others who are trying to keep your home language specifically!
+ Sign up for our newsletter. The SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE newsletter is written for students, their families, and the educational community. In it, we often list area events celebrating bilingualism (specific language communities, and cross-community events, too). If you get a chance to attend bilingual events, you will meet other students and families who care about home language as much as you do.
+ Follow #SpeakYourLanguage and #BilingualPride, two of our popular hashtags on twitter. Here, we post news and ask others to share their stories, so we can celebrate bilingual life together. If you post about your home language experiences, you may find that others respond to you and share their experiences, too!