Four	distinct	accents	amount	to	one	strong	voice for	the	Linfield	College	language	program.	 This	year,	students	are	learning	from	native	speakers	in	each	of	the	languages	which	offer	majors:	German,	French,	Spanish	and	Japanese

Davis, Laura

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Linfield Magazine Volume 8 Number 3 Winter 2012 Article 13 Winter 2012 Bringing Language to Life Laura Davis Linfield College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/linfield_magazine Recommended Citation Davis, Laura (2012) "Bringing Language to Life," Linfield Magazine: Vol. 8 : No. 3 , Article 13. Available at: https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/linfield_magazine/vol8/iss3/13 This article is brought to you for free via open access, courtesy of DigitalCommons@Linfield. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@linfield.edu. Bringing language to life	 Four	distinct	accents	amount	to	one	strong	voice	for	the	Linfi	eld	College	language	program.	 This	year,	students	are	learning	from	native	speakers	in	each	of	the	languages	which	offer	majors:	German,	French,	Spanish	and	Japanese.	While	French	and	German	language	assistants	have	been	the	norm,	Spanish	and	Japanese	were	added	this	year.	 	 Noelia	Alfaro	Fernandez	of	Costa	Rica,	Esse	Dabla	of	France,	Manuela	Faschang	of	Austria	and	Nao	Okumura	of	Japan	take	part	in	classes,	lead	conversations	and	share	their	cultures	with	Linfi	eld	students.		 “These	four	young	women	truly	embody	the	linguistic	and	cultural	diversity	that	we	treasure	at	Linfield,”	said	Chris	Keaveney,	professor	of	Japanese.	“Young	native	speakers	bring	an	excitement	to	the	program	that	is	hard	for	us	to	replicate.”		 Equally	important	is	what	they	do	outside	the	classroom.	They	participate	in	language	clubs	and	plan	activities	from	their	cultures.	All	multilingual,	the	four	share	a	common	interest	in	languages.	They	cook	together,	share	an	office	and	sign	up	for	campus	activities	galore.Three	of	the	four	are	roommates.			 They	are	cultural	ambassadors	as	well.		 “The	professors	here	know	more	about	grammar	than	we	do,”	Faschang,	a	Fulbright	scholar,	said.	“But	coming	from	Austria,	I	have	a	different	accent	than	the	Linfield	professors,	which	gives	another	dimension	to	the	German	triangle.”	 Dabla,	from	France	and	also	a	Fulbright	scholar,	said	they	provide	cultural	relevance	as	well,	relating	news	and	first-hand	observations	about	their	countries.	She	has	African	origins	andstudents	often	aren’t	aware	of	the	large	African	community	in	France.	 “I	talk	about	student	life	back	home	more	than	grammar,”	added	Dabla,	who	also	incorporates	games	into	class.	Recently,	she	gave	students	a	song	with	the	verbs	erased	and	asked	them	to	insert	their	own.		 Working	with	a	native	speaker	is	a	critical	aspect	of	learning	the	language,	Alfaro	of	Costa	Rica,	said.	“You	learn	to	imitate	an	accent	by	listening	to	it,”	and	she	is	doing	the	same	with	her	English	studies.	She	has	been	most	surprised	by	the	hectic	American	lifestyle,	something	she’d	heard	about	but	didn’t	quite	believe.		 “People	are	really	busy	here,	all	the	time,”	she	said.	“It’s	very	different	in	Costa	Rica.	There	we	have	a	philosophy,	pura	vida,	which	literally	means	pure	life.	We	use	it	a	lot,	to	say	hello,	thank	you,	goodbye,	I’m	good.	It’s	a	way	to	take	life	easy,	with	no	rush.”	 As	they	go	about	their	days	on	campus,	the	four	are	often	mistaken	for	students,	which	is	a	plus.	“We	are	close	in	age	to	many	students	so	maybe	they	feel	comfortable	talking	with	us,”	added	Okumura	of	Japan,	a	degree-seeking	student	who	will	be	assisting	at	Linfield	for	two	years.	 The	four	assistants	underscore	Linfield’s	dedication	to	multicultural	awareness	and	engagement,	according	to	Peter	Richardson,	professor	of	German	and	modern	languages	co-chair.	 “They	audit	Linfield	courses	while	they’re	here,	bringing	international	perspectives	and	mature	voices	to	bear	on	a	wide	range	of	topics,”	Richardson	said.	“Our	students	have	much	to	gain	from	learning	more	about	faraway	cultures	from	someone	roughly	their	age.”	 Katherine	Thomas	’14,	president	of	the	Linfi	eld	French	Club,	digs	deeper	into	French	culture	through	personal	conversations	with	Dabla.	The	double	major	in	French	and	International	Relations	plans	to	spend	next	year	in	Marseille	through	Linfi	eld’s	study	abroad	program,	and	said	native	speakers	help	to	connect	what	she’s	learning	in	class	to	the	real	world.															“France	is	very	far	away,	but	there’s	a	whole	culture	there	that	is	going	on	with	their	daily	lives,	just	like	us,”	she	said.	“Meeting	someone	from	that	culture	bridges	the	gap.”– Laura DavisFrom left, Nao Okumura of Japan, Manuela Faschang of Austria, Esse Dabla of France and Noelia Alfaro Fernandez of Costa Rica are offering a native voice in Linfi eld language classes this year.2 4  -  l i n f i e l d  m a g a z i n e  Winter 2012LC_Magazine_mag24.indd  24 2/20/12  1:14 PM

Bringing Language to Life

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Bringing Language to Life

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