In the bustling halls of Chelsea High School, where academic pursuits mixed with teenage dreams, Gus Alafita found himself captivated by the Spanish edition of the novel, “Harry Potter,” which held secrets beyond its pages. Whether immersed in its chapters during class discussions or reading at home, little did Alafita realize that this literary adventure would become the foundation for his remarkable journey into fluency, unveiling his talent in cultivating a foreign language.

While many students took a foreign language class in high school, Alafita was set apart quickly. Students and teachers noticed that Gus was reading the book, and when they noticed it was in Spanish, they began to question his choice of literature.

“I watched a YouTube video a while ago, and it said that to learn something, you need a lot of exposure to it, and I was at the level that it wasn’t too difficult but I could still learn a lot,” Alafita said.

Foreign language education in the United States is sometimes frowned upon due to its low success rate, with only 7 percent of the population speaking more than one language a lot of parents and other education institutions are saying something in the curriculum needs to change.

“I think it would be excellent if schools implemented this type of assignment. Everyone has a book they like, and it’s easier if you know the characters of the book already,” Alafita said 

Many students take Spanish class because they consider it an easy language credit and want to learn more, but are worried about a grade as the class gets harder.

“I think we should all be challenging ourselves, constantly learning, and learning a language is really beneficial. It gives you something to do every day,”  Alafita said