Language House hosting events to strengthen Spanish, French skills

Laura Renfijes and Anthony Hudders, Salve Regina’s Fulbright foreign language teaching assistants for the 2015-2016 academic year, are hosting several events designed to help members of the University community practice their French and Spanish language skills.

Renfijes, who is from Argentina, and Hudders, who is from Belgium, are part of Salve Regina’s Language House living learning community. Through this immersion program, American and international students live together in Carnlough Cottage, practice their Spanish and French language skills and share culture with native speakers.

An open house for students interested in learning more about the Language House will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9 in Carnlough Cottage. Also, a question-and-answer session about the 2016-2017 Language House will be held at 12:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11 in Drexel Hall.

In addition, Renfijes and Hudders are hosting the following recurring events this semester:

Language tables: Open to all members of the University community regardless of their Spanish or French proficiency, language tables are an informal opportunity to have lunch with native speakers while improving language skills.

• Spanish: Mondays at noon in the Miley Hall executive dining room and Wednesdays at 1 p.m. in Global Cafe.
• French: Mondays at 1 p.m. in the Miley Hall executive dining room and Thursdays at noon in Global Cafe.

Movie nights: Open to all undergraduate students, movie nights are a great opportunity to make new friends and enjoy movies in the native language.

• Spanish: The second Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. in Carnlough Cottage
• French: The first Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. in Carnlough Cottage

Mateada/Submarino: Open to all undergraduate students, Mateada/Submarino allows participants to learn more about the Language House and its immersion program while enjoying Argentinian treats. Mateada/Submarino is held the third Thursday of each month at 3:30 p.m. in Carnlough Cottage.

Volunteering at Pell: Members of the Language House visit Pell Elementary School to teach Spanish and French to children in the after-school program. The Spanish program will be held Mondays from Feb. 29 through April 4 (meet at Miley Hall at 3:15 p.m.). The French program will be held Tuesdays from March 1 through April 5 (meet at Carnlough Cottage at 3:15 p.m.).

For more information on any of the programs listed above, email Renfijes at laura.renfijes@salve.edu or Hudders at anthony.hudders@salve.edu.

Editor’s note: The Language House is open to sophomores, juniors and seniors. Applications to join the Language House for the 2016-2017 academic year are due Feb. 15.