Spanish Conversation Tables
May 8, 2015
This year, students enjoyed lunch and Spanish practice with Martha Lucht, NISO secretary. Students would join her at lunch in Duhme Hall to improve their language skills through informal conversations in Spanish. Mrs. Lucht volunteers to assist students who plan to study abroad during her lunch hour. This began when first-year Stamps Scholar Sam Albert asked for help preparing to study abroad in Columbia this summer. Sam describes the sessions:
We simply had conversations in Spanish. Often we just talked about what was new or what went on during the past week. Sometimes, however, Sra. Lucht would present to us some situation we might find ourselves in, such as losing our boarding pass in an airport in Spain, and see how well we could use our Spanish skills to get out of it.
Left to right: Christine Mintert, Nick Cinko, Sam Albert, Giovanni Malloy, KayLeigh Olivares, and Martha Lucht have dinner at Poblano's.
Since then, eight other students have joined in the Spanish conversations. First-year Communications and Theatre student Christine Mintert joined as preparation for studying global communication in Barcelona, Spain this summer. Christine was particularly impressed with how patient and fun Mrs. Lucht is during the sessions. She shares her initial reasons for joining in:
At the very least, I would have some Spanish capability for travel, but Spanish is a pretty widely-spoken language and it’s especially relevant in the US. I’m hoping that I’ll improve my Spanish enough while I’m in Spain that I could potentially test out of a few classes here and even add a minor in Spanish. I’m not sure how feasible that is, but we’ll see.
Giovanni Malloy, sophomore in Industrial Engineering, dove in as “a fun way to get to know more people and brush up on a language that I haven’t taken since high school.” More than first-time speakers are invited as well. Neurobiology and Physiology student, KayLeigh Olivares, joined despite already being fluent in Spanish. She took the lunches as a way to explain research and career aspirations in Spanish, as well as “a good opportunity to help others practice conversing in the language. Above all, the biggest thing I took away from the sessions were new friends.
Giovanni says, “The best things I can take away from the sessions were getting to know Martha and sharing good times and laughs with friends.” To join in the conversation next semester, email Martha Lucht and let her know your availability.
