As a Foreign Languages major, I have taken many languages courses during my two years of college. Scripps only offers Spanish, Italian, French and German but multiple other languages are offered across the consortium, and they are available to all students. The languages I have taken have been Spanish (at Scripps, Pitzer and Pomona), Portuguese (at Pitzer and CMC), Italian (at Scripps) and French (at Scripps). What I have really enjoyed about all the language classes I have taken is that the cultures behind the languages we are learning are an important part of the classroom. When I am in an Italian class, we discuss not just the language but Italian history, culture, music, food everything!
One of the most interesting classes I’ve taken is Portuguese Virtual Learning Community or PORT35. It is only a half credit course, and it is entirely virtual, it was even before the pandemic! How it works is all the Claremont students are placed in pairs with a student in Brazil and we must meet once a week where we help our pair with their English, and they help us with our Portuguese. It is an interesting class because although it is considered a language class it is so much more than that, we are connecting with people from different walk of life and learning about their culture and sharing ours. I recently found out that there is a similar type of class for Spanish and would encourage people to try either because it makes learning a language a much more social and casual experience.
Another great resource across the consortium for the languages departments is the Oldenborg Dinning Hall at Pomona which is designed so that speaking in English is not allowed. Every table is assigned a language and you must only speak that language, it is a great way to practice your languages in a setting that is common for college student to find themselves in. It is really fun to go there and meet new people and make friends which you can start hanging out with outside of Oldenborg and language classes.
Many of the language classes, especially the first few levels require you to complete conversation hours which you can complete at Oldenborg or with the Language Assistant. Each college will hire a Language Assistant for the languages they offer, and their job is to host events and conversation hours and create a sense of community amongst students interested in those languages and or cultures.
I have never had a bad experience with a language professor, they have always been so kind and supportive, especially during the entirety of the pandemic, they did their best to make their classes enjoyable and interactive. I am only two years away from graduation and hope to meet many new professors in the multiple language departments but also continue building my current relationships with some.