How My High School Semester Abroad Has Helped Me Become Multilingual

This post was written by CIEE Global Navigator alum Fiona K. from Massachusetts who participated in the Global Navigator Marketing Internship in spring of 2025.  

"Stand up if you are bilingual!" I stood up. “Keep standing if you are multilingual." I sat down. This was during a cultural assembly in my elementary school. This was my initial motive behind wanting to learn how to speak three languages fluently.  

I grew up bilingual, I spoke both English and Russian. I did not feel drawn to any other languages besides my two native ones. But I was determined to be one of the only kids at school who were able to be multilingual.  

If you’re looking to achieve this goal as well while being a high school student abroad, here is my insight on how to study abroad in high school and how this experience strengthened my ability to become multilingual.  

1. Choose a Focus Language  

Like I previously stated, I didn’t feel drawn to focus on any language in particular.  

My school had limited options, Spanish or Latin. I chose to take Spanish because I decided that learning it would be a valuable life skill. (P.S. I was right!) As I took classes I started to realize that this actually might be a really good fit. Having a prior language background really helped me understand the language better and helped with my experience abroad.  

As I kept going through the school year I realized that I wanted to go above and beyond when it came to learning Spanish. This is what leads me into my experience as a high school student living in Spain.  

2. Consider Your Language Background

Living abroad seems scary at first especially if you don’t know the local language. This is both scary yet exciting.  

I was positive that this was the way I would be able to become trilingual. And it was! Since I had prior connections to understanding languages, when people were speaking to me and I hadn’t learned the vocabulary word yet, I could still make out what they were saying in a sense.  

This made my experience more enjoyable in a sense and I was able to get the most out of it. Even if you go abroad and only speak one language it is still beneficial. For example, you go to study abroad in Spain and you don’t understand a single ounce of it. Well guess what, after you return you’ll be full fluent and you’ll be able to consider yourself bilingual.  

After that, you can study in another country and learn a third language! As long as you are determined to become trilingual you will get what you put into your experience.  

3. Experience Language Learning Abroad  

My program was in Spain where I lived with a local host family and fully emerged in the language. This gave me the ultimate opportunity to really dial in on learning Spanish. Since I was also a student I was able to travel to many different regions in Spain which provided insight on different dialects. This helped me understand also how different cultures affect the language. Listed below are some tips that I suggest on how to expand your experience abroad while learning another language.  

Tips: 

• Have discipline (focus on only speaking in your target language) 
• Make mistakes (the only way you learn is by messing up) 
• Ask questions!
• Take extra language learning classes (this is what helped me dive more into the grammatical side of the language as well as reading and writing) 
• Be scared and excited (this is what triggers your flight or fight when you’re on the spot, speak whatever you remember when you freeze. Most of the time you’ll have gotten your point across!)  

How to Make Your Dreams a Reality 

Going abroad with a program like CIEE really helped make my dreams come true. While on the program you attend a local high school, live with a local host family, speak in your desired target language, and explore different parts of your host country! The CIEE Spain staff provide a welcoming and safe environment with 24/7 support.  

Check out all of the high school semester abroad programs and apply today!