The Brown & White

The Global Union's Language Exchange Program offers Lehigh students, faculty and staff the opportunity to practice a language of their choice with a native speaker for free.

"There's no books, no homework - just a chance to practice a language of interest," Bill Hunter, the director of the Global Union, said. "We don't teach - we facilitate."

Hunter said the program has offered about eight languages every semester since it began nine years ago. However, he said the Global Union is very open to introducing more languages and meeting the interests of those in the program.

"If someone walked in and said they wanted to learn an African dialect, we'd try to find someone to facilitate it," Hunter said.

This semester, the program offers sessions in Spanish, French, Turkish, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Japanese, Hindi and English. Different levels are available for the more popular languages, Spanish and French.

The sessions consist of discussions held in the language, so students in attendance need to be at a level where they have studied the language for at least one year, Hunter said.

"Sometimes we have students that start out just listening in sessions because they're a little hesitant and want to re-familiarize themselves with a language, and that's totally fine," Hunter said.

Lauren Berner, the Global Union's graduate assistant, manages the Language Exchange Program, matching native speakers with people interested in practicing that language.

Berner explained the process can work in two different ways. Sometimes, native speakers will contact her about wanting to be facilitators, and she will advertise their language so students can sign up to practice it. Other times, a student will ask for a specific language and she will try to find a facilitator for it.

The facilitators lead sessions one-on-one or in groups, depending on the language, Hunter said.

The largest number of people in a session is about seven or eight, Berner said. If more people are interested in a particular session that already has eight people in it, the Global Union will open up another session of that language to prevent the groups from becoming too large, Berner said.

The Global Union finds facilitators for the program mainly through international students on campus, Hunter said. But, there are also American students who can fluently speak a language and offer to facilitate, Hunter said.

Some American students also offer to facilitate English, giving non-native English speakers a chance to practice too. Hunter said facilitating is a volunteer position.

"It's a kindness of the heart," he said. "The facilitators give their time to help others practice a language."

Sofia Covarrubias, '12, the intermediate Spanish facilitator, enjoys helping others learn her native language.

"Spanish is my first language, and I know what it takes to learn a second language," she said. "I like it when people take an interest in Spanish. I like helping them practice and sharing my culture."

Covarrubias said the Language Exchange Program is great for students who don't want to lose a language from high school, but don't have time to fit that language into their schedule in college.

In a typical session, Covarrubias will hold a discussion in Spanish on a topic. In a recent session, she said, the students discussed Mexican Independence Day.

People in the session will listen to her and ask her questions. The sessions are also a way for people to learn slang and ask questions about certain vocabulary words, Covarrubias said.

"I think the Language Exchange Program reinforces diversity," she said. "Spanish is a language spoken around the world. The sessions give students a chance to practice, open up and meet people who are willing to share their heritage."

Hunter said he thinks it's very important for students to be able to speak a second language.

"If you're fluent in a second language, you're generally far more marketable," he said.