The Spanish House, a living-learning community open to all students interested in improving their Spanish-speaking skills, is hosting a Spanish Scrabble night Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
Spanish House director Jessica Jacob said the frequent Scrabble nights are in collaboration with the Spanish club and offer music, snacks, prizes and of course, Scrabble, to all students.
Only in its second year of existence, Jacob said they are still trying to promote the living-learning community on campus. She said the residents are put in a situation where they speak only in Spanish and push themselves to incorporate Spanish in their daily lives.
“We try to create an intimate space,” Jacob said. “I like to think about it as a fake immersion, rather than in an actual country outside the U.S. We want to recreate that on campus.”
Students who want to apply to live in the house are only required to have taken or be placed in Spanish 201, which means the house is also open to incoming freshman. The director is a native or near-native speaker and conducts the weekly hour-long conversations with the residents.
The house includes an array of residents, not just Spanish majors and minors. Jacob said they accommodate anyone who wants to work on Spanish and open their conversation hour to all students and faculty.
Along with weekly meetings, residents also have trivia nights, poetry readings and other events, such as a salsa dancing night on April 18. Along with structured activities, Jacob said the residents are always having impromptu get-togethers outside of the house.
“It’s casual, but also structured in the sense that there is a curriculum,” Jacob said. “The students keep a diary of their experiences and put together a presentation in which they cook dishes from different countries for dinner.”
Hillary Catlin, a senior majoring in communicative disorders with a minor in Spanish, spent the last year as a resident in the Spanish House. She said the house provides a relaxed atmosphere where residents can collaborate to perfect their Spanish-speaking skills.
“It’s an informal setting, so it feels like the opposite of classroom. It’s easier; you don’t have to try so hard,” Catlin said. “You feel more comfortable asking questions.”
Catlin said the house has the convenience of a residence hall and offers a sense of companionship with the other residents. Because many of the residents are Spanish students, they can easily help each other with homework and have questions answered, she said.
“You become really close to people around you,” Catlin said. “We’ve become really good friends, even outside the house.”
Catlin is currently planning a trip with a former roommate of hers from the Spanish House for the two of them to travel around South America this summer to study the language and culture. She said they would have never met if it was not for the Spanish House.
“The experience is what you make it,” Catlin said. “It’s a relaxed setting if you want to practice Spanish, but you may get nervous in class. You incorporate everyday Spanish into your everyday life.”
