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Nick Belden, an 18-year-old student at Herkimer County Community College, counted the number of “mesas” — tables — and “sillas” — chairs — in the Center for Global Learning.
“Cuanto.” he said. Four.
He was practicing his Spanish with Daniel Perez Jordan, a HCCC student from Venezuela during a meeting of Language Circles, a program the college has sponsored for about a year.
The program is open to area residents and HCCC students and pairs English-speakers with native speakers of another language. In the group, they practice speaking the language in a non-classroom setting and learn about the cultures of students studying at HCCC.
Groups practicing Chinese, French and Spanish meet on a regular basis. To practice speaking other languages, Jordan said, individuals should make an appointment with the center.
Belden said he’s found Language Circles very helpful as he learns Spanish.
“It isn’t just like book work,” he said. “It helps a lot.”
And, Belden said, the small-group atmosphere makes it feel more personal.
“I feel like I’m learning a lot,” he said.
Jordan said he, too, benefits from participating in the group. He’s able to practice his own second language — English — by learning the idioms, colloquialisms and other common speech patterns.
In addition to practicing more conversational language, the atmosphere is also different than the classroom, Jordan said — friendlier and less formal.
“It’s more like a gym, where you come to work out,” said Jordan.
And after a good workout at the Language Circle, he said, you brain is able to translate more, faster.
Nancy Brown, a Richfield Springs resident, is hoping that’s true.
Brown, who has been doing mission work in Central America for four years, leaves for another mission in February, where she will be a greeter at a medical clinic.
She attends the Language Circle to maintain and improve her Spanish.
“You lose it very quickly,” she said.
Nick Belden, an 18-year-old student at Herkimer County Community College, counted the number of “mesas” — tables — and “sillas” — chairs — in the Center for Global Learning.
“Cuanto.” he said. Four.
He was practicing his Spanish with Daniel Perez Jordan, a HCCC student from Venezuela during a meeting of Language Circles, a program the college has sponsored for about a year.
The program is open to area residents and HCCC students and pairs English-speakers with native speakers of another language. In the group, they practice speaking the language in a non-classroom setting and learn about the cultures of students studying at HCCC.
Groups practicing Chinese, French and Spanish meet on a regular basis. To practice speaking other languages, Jordan said, individuals should make an appointment with the center.
Belden said he’s found Language Circles very helpful as he learns Spanish.
“It isn’t just like book work,” he said. “It helps a lot.”
And, Belden said, the small-group atmosphere makes it feel more personal.
“I feel like I’m learning a lot,” he said.
Jordan said he, too, benefits from participating in the group. He’s able to practice his own second language — English — by learning the idioms, colloquialisms and other common speech patterns.
In addition to practicing more conversational language, the atmosphere is also different than the classroom, Jordan said — friendlier and less formal.
“It’s more like a gym, where you come to work out,” said Jordan.
And after a good workout at the Language Circle, he said, you brain is able to translate more, faster.
Nancy Brown, a Richfield Springs resident, is hoping that’s true.
Brown, who has been doing mission work in Central America for four years, leaves for another mission in February, where she will be a greeter at a medical clinic.
She attends the Language Circle to maintain and improve her Spanish.
“You lose it very quickly,” she said.
