By Ela Jalil
Every Monday from 4-5:30 p.m., students entering the Saint Mary’s multipurpose area attend Language Chats, where they are able to immerse themselves in the language of their choice, no matter their fluency level.
Language Chats are hosted by the Language House, a living-learning program that is based at Saint Mary’s Hall. The program grants students the opportunity to live with peers that are learning the same “target language,” and grants them a multicultural environment to improve upon their language skills, according to the School of Languages, Literatures, & Cultures website.
The program also has native-speaker mentors that assist students with additional learning experiences such as weekly cultural and linguistic events that grant language immersion opportunities. Sophomore Katherin Sondaval, whose major is undecided, has been working as a Spanish mentor since last November, helping facilitate conversations at this week’s chat.
Born in Guatemala, Sondaval is a native Spanish speaker and has to plan weekly cultural and linguistic events for 15 Spanish students at the Language House.
“My favorite thing about teaching is sharing something I’m passionate about with others,” Sandoval said. “I love learning foreign languages, and really enjoy spending time with people that enjoy that as well.”
The chats have many regular attendees, one of them being Mareike Debye, a junior majoring in business management and German studies. She has been participating in the Language House and attending the language chats for five semesters.
As the child of German immigrants, Debye has spoken in German ever since she was young and finds the Language House a great way to reimmerse herself with the language. She is used to utilizing her English skills to simplify statements to communicate with her parents and now finds that she’s doing the same with German.
“I get to practice and incorporate and create conversations that are inclusive to all different language levels. So that’s been a really great practice for me, in terms of thinking about OK, I know how to say one way, what are different ways that I can say this so that it’s more accessible to other audiences?” Debye said.
Language Chats create a welcoming environment regardless of an individual’s skill level. Allison Aki Parish, a junior majoring in Chinese and information science, is a native Japanese speaker who is currently learning Chinese. She finds it interesting to talk to people learning Japanese as she is able to see the missteps in grammar and word choice that she isn’t as familiar with as a native speaker.
“And as a learner, I get to practice my Chinese and I know my Chinese accent is pretty bad,” Parish said. “So, it’s nice to have a place where I can talk without being graded or being judged … it’s nice when the native speakers corrects my Chinese because I need the correction.”
The language chats offer 13 language tables regularly, and if a language isn’t being offered a student can contact a Language House for it to be added. Adina Trunbick, a senior psychology major, began leading the Hebrew Language Chats this semester. Trunbick began speaking Hebrew at 4 years old when she was meeting her relatives in Israel for the first time, and has continued to cultivate her speaking skills throughout the years.
“My favorite part of being a part of the Language Chats is seeing the gradual progression in students’ comfort and confidence while speaking Hebrew. I also love meeting new people and learning about their lives and experiences through our conversations each session,” Trunbick said.
Trunbick, among many others, just appreciates the way they’re able to help out their fellow students.
“Above all, I think my favorite part is that I get to give back to the UMD community.”
Featured Image: The Language House hosts Language Chats every Monday that provide students an opportunity to converse in various languages. Snacks are offered, and everyone from native speakers to beginners are welcome to come. Photo taken on Feb. 20, 2023 in St. Mary’s Hall by Ela Jalil.