OVIEDO, Fla. -- Moving to a new place can be tough, but it is more difficult if you must learn a new language. One 5th grader at Carillon Elementary School in Seminole County did it quick after moving from Puerto Rico.
- Jeremy García-Abreu did not know English when he moved from Puerto Rico
- Now he teaches another student the langue
- García-Abreu was recognized for his good work
"I speak to everybody and then I say, 'What do you say? You speak too fast and I don't understand,'" said Jeremy García-Abreu with a bit of an accent.
Abreu is in his 5th grade classroom working on an art project sitting down in a round table with his classmates surrounding them.
"What is that?" asked Garcia-Abreu to his classmate on the left.
"That's my gingerbread man!" exclaimed his friend.
"But what is that?" Garcia-Abreu did not understand.
That is because everyday Garcia-Abreu is learning a new word, sometimes two or three.
The young boy was asked how many English he has learned while he was visiting his school's Media Center.
"Oh my gosh like 80 percent," he laughed.
When Garcia-Abreu first came to Florida from Puerto Rico last October, understanding his classmates was tough.
"I don't know. I go like that," Garcia-Abreu shrugged his shoulders as to show his confused face.
Garcia-Abreu and his family moved to Seminole County after Hurricane Maria struck the island. Two days after they moved, he started school at Carillon Elementary School.
"I first learned about mouths, eyes, hair," explained Garcia-Abreu, stating he started learning how to say body parts in English.
He has those down as he describes the drawing he did to his classmate.
"I draw the face and the hair," Garcia-Abreu showed his friend.
But now, Garcia-Abreu has taken on another responsibility. Garcia-Abreu decided to help his classmates who are walking the same path as him when it comes to language barriers.
"Borra con esto," Garcia-Abreu told Diego when he handed him an eraser. Diego just moved from Venezuela a few weeks ago and Abreu felt identified.
Another 5th grader noticed what García-Abreu was doing.
"He didn't know how to speak English, or anything and he was going through a hard time, and now that we have a new student, Diego, he's helping Diego a lot and Diego is moving faster than García-Abreu and I thought that was amazing what he did," said Brielle Mullen, one of Abreu's classmates.
Mullen had the opportunity to nominate herself or a classmate for a prestigious Disney award. She decided to nominate Garcia-Abreu for his amazing heart in helping Diego learn English. Garcia-Abreu was then awarded Disney's Dreamer and Doer Award.
It seems Garcia-Abreu enjoys teaching, at least that is what his mother, Eleny Abreu, told Spectrum News 13.
"He corrects me now when we're in public," she laughed.
And while Garcia-Abreu enjoys learning a new language, he is making sure he keeps speaking what he grew up with.
"I talk in my house Spanish for I don't forget the Spanish," he laughed.
It has been 14 years since Carillon Elementary school had a Disney Dreamer and Doer student recognized. The principal says the school is excited to see García-Abreu was chosen.