Café Spanglish provides option for bilingual, cross-cultural communication
On September 4, Spanish Ambassadors, in partnership with the Office of Study Abroad, Office of International Services and Poole College of Management’s International Business Dual Degree Program, kicked off the Café Spanglish program. Café Spanglish pairs undergraduate students of Spanish with international students from Spanish-speaking countries for language practice, cultural exchange and friendship building. Approximately 50 students participated – meeting their partners and Spanish ambassadors and laying the groundwork to spend quality time together throughout the semester.
Spanish Ambassadors faculty advisor Debbie Kane (MA in Spanish, 2012) who coordinated the event, stated “It was a blast! I’ve never seen students more engaged in a club activity from start to well past the end”. World Languages & Cultures department head, Jim Michnowicz, noted that “this is a great example of the innovative ways that WLC faculty and students are building the language skills and cross-cultural competencies that are so necessary in today’s world. There is nothing more gratifying than building bridges and friendships in your second language”.
Café Spanglish will continue throughout the semester, as pairs and small groups will continue to meet on their own for activities of their own choosing, and the whole group will reconvene at mid-semester and end-of-semester to further foster cross-cultural and cross linguistic relationships.
Students interested in more information on how to get involved with any of the many WLC student groups can contact their instructors, or follow the department on Instagram.
