Hablas Español?

Weekly Spanish lessons allow students to hone their language skills



Enter Kimball Food Court on Friday afternoons and it’s not English you’ll hear — it’s español.

The source is La Mesa de Conversación, where members come to hone conversational Spanish skills, participate in cultural exchange, and form friendships.

La Mesa de Conversación, more commonly referred to as Spanish Table, meets every week to add a relaxed extracurricular component to Spanish language courses. The participants are diverse: regulars include professors, foreign language assistants (FLAs), underclassmen who are beginning their language education, and upperclassmen who have completed language training and want to hold on to their skills.

The format is simple: grab some food and join in on the conversation. No English allowed.

The participants hone conversational skills in a low-pressure environment, more like chatting with friends than speaking in class. Jaclyn Jankowski ’11, a premed psychology major, considers the Spanish-only environment “good practice, to get closer to fluency.”

Additionally, Spanish Table offers a varied look into the cultures of many Spanish-speaking countries, augmenting the material explored in class.

Rocio Fuentes, visiting assistant professor of modern languages and literatures, organizes Spanish Table. Fuentes hails from Mexico, and shares her own heritage within the conversations at Spanish Table.

This year’s seven Spanish FLAs represent Spain, Mexico and Peru. All are recent college graduates, living and teaching at Holy Cross in a foreign exchange capacity. The FLAs — Iria Bello, Dolores Juan Moreno, Deeni Olivares Mendoza, Ines Ordiz, Alberto Perez, Eva Maria Vives — are in charge of the once- or twice-weekly practicum classes all language students must attend, which focus on speaking ability.

Evelyn Salinas, an FLA from Peru, enjoys the informality of Spanish Table. “We talk about any topic; nothing specific!” she says. “The most difficult part for students to improve is fluency and by this activity they can really improve.”

The get-togethers help students learn more about the various Spanish-speaking cultures across the world.

“What I enjoy by participating is to get to know my students a lot better, and also to make them learn about cultures, because Spanish and Peruvian cultures are very different.”

In one instance, the Spanish Table group celebrated the Mexican holiday El Día de los Muertos on Nov. 1 making crafts and discussing its place in Mexican heritage.

From the student perspective, Amy Mullen ’09, a Spanish major, relishes the opportunity to keep her language skills sharp. She studied abroad in La Coruña, Spain, last year, and misses the constant exposure to the language.

“I just like speaking Spanish. I know that my language skills are a little weaker than they were last year, when I was speaking the language non-stop, so the Mesa is a nice way to get another hour of español into my life,” she says.

Abby Parsons ’09, another La Coruña resident last year, echoes that sentiment. As an English major and studio arts minor, Parsons found herself unable to incorporate Spanish classes into her senior year schedule.

“I participate in the Spanish Table to keep up with my Spanish after returning from Spain,” she says. “I find it to be a great way to reconnect with my fellow Coruñesas and to speak with the FLAs about their current study abroad experience here in Worcester.”

For advanced students such as Mullen and Parsons, interacting with the FLAs is more social than academic. After studying abroad, they can empathize with the culture shock that the FLAs might be feeling. Mullen explains, “My experience as a total outsider in a foreign country made me want to spend time with people in the same situation.”

By Alexandra Winslow ’09