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By Sarah Pokora '99   ............................

Breaking Bread in Eight Languages Within any institution it's difficult to find any one aspect that receives universal approval. But the Smith students, professors and staff eating lunch once a week at tables set aside for foreign-language speakers say they couldn't be happier about their lunch hours in the Duckett House Special Dining Room. On Mondays, French and Italian speakers gather for lunch; on Tuesdays, tables are reserved for German and Chinese language enthusiasts. Wednesdays' lunch tables are Spanish and Japanese; Thursdays' are Korean and Russian. The Japanese language table meets again on Fridays. It all began in the late '70s when the foreign-language departments requested a space where they could meet informally with students outside of the classroom to practice speaking a foreign language, to make announcements about cultural events and to discuss other departmental activities. In response to their request, Smith's Residence and Dining Services began providing each department with a small private dining room once a week at lunch time for its "language table"--gatherings which have grown to host on the average 30 people a day. On any given day the language tables' diverse compositions are their greatest strength. Students get a chance to meet students from other houses and visit informally with classmates, instead of eating as usual in their home dining room. Allison Bechtel '99, who spent last year on the Junior Year Abroad (JYA) program in Geneva, attends the French table for similar reasons. "I don't otherwise have a chance to see all the people from last year who went to Geneva with me," she says. "We're busy with classes and activities and we don't live in the same houses, but we know we'll see each other here once a week for lunch." Besides the assortment of students taking a particular language course, those that each foreign-language department encourages to attend include all native speakers within the Smith community. The language-table gatherings enable students to learn not only from the professors but also from their peers. Professor Mary Ellen Birkett of the French department explains the benefits of having non-professorial native speakers at the tables: "Students are not being judged or graded. They can talk and practice without the pressure of making any errors and still receive valuable help." Antje Scherssig, an American studies program graduate student from Hamburg University, visits the German table every week. It has provided a great opportunity for her to meet students other than those in her program. Though Scherssig has been speaking English for 16 years she says she still needs the hour once a week where she can "relax and speak German, yet still interact with the Smith students." Her presence also benefits the students. Not only can students listen and talk fluently with her, but as a Hamburg University student she can provide insight and advice to students interested in Smith's JYA program in Hamburg. Grace Fu, a teaching assistant in the Chinese department and a University of Massachusetts graduate student, echoes Scherssig's praises. Fu attends the Chinese language table with her students because "in class we have a limited time to talk personally with the students about their interests and goals. During the language table hour we can offer students advice on jobs and graduate schools." Spanish professor Reyes Lázaro is quick to confirm the importance of these casual conversations. She notes that the tables not only allow students to see nonacademic and practical applications of their foreign-language skills but help form good speaking habits. "Once the students relate to each other in Spanish in an informal way," she says, "it becomes a habit and they automatically will think and talk in Spanish the next time they see each other." After suffering a temporary attendance lull in the late '80s, the tables are now more popular than ever. The resurgence in language-table attendance is seen as part of a larger trend. Lázaro states that the renewal results from society's shift to a modern global perspective and "the increase of awareness in others and their languages." Both professors Lázaro and Birkett also have personal reasons for attending their language's tables. Birkett states simply, "I like the students I know and I enjoy speaking French with them." Lázaro says not only can she visit with students but also her colleagues as well: "The tables create a great sense of community." That sense of community has become an important aspect of senior Rachel Laff's campus life. Laff, who has studied French all four years at Smith, realized during her junior year in Geneva that learning languages "is about the thrill of participating in another culture and having the skills to communicate with others." The realization prompted her to take up Spanish and attend the Spanish table this year in addition to completing her French major. After spending spring break in Paris and Barcelona, Laff says she was amazed by how accurately the tables reflect their home countries. "The classrooms," she says, "are too academic to offer a feel for another culture and the people. That's what the tables are for: to talk with people who have lived, studied and visited there."

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