One part of Scripps culture that I appreciate is that education can exist outside of the classroom. An excellent example of that fact is the option to live in a Language Hall for students who know, or are learning, Spanish, French, German, and Italian. Having studied Italian for a year and preparing for a semester abroad, I decided to live in the Italian Hall in the Fall of 2019. Here is a bit about my experience and what students can expect if they live in one of our four language halls.
Towards the end of the academic school year, typically in March or April, students have the opportunity to apply to live in a language hall to bypass the room draw process. Students will be notified of language hall applications about a month before room draw so that they have time to decide what they want their residential experience to be for the following year. The application consists of questions about a student’s current comprehension of their chosen language and what they want out of this experience. Students are not selected based on how much knowledge they have, but rather how they would contribute to this smaller community. Each language hall will typically choose between 4-12 students, depending on the number of applications and location of hall, which is subject to change yearly. Those that are selected are usually given a single room along the chosen corridor next to their language hall mates.
Each language hall is led by a recent college graduate from a country that natively speaks the language. Since I have started learning Italian, I have been able to work with two Italian students, who both live and studied in Milan, Italy. These students will organize the language club, hall, and teach weekly lessons for Scripps, while also taking classes of their own at the 5Cs. They will organize events for the clubs and halls separately or combine them for larger events. Anyone in the consortium can join in on club events, but hall events are smaller and customized to the interests of those living in the hall.
In the Fall of 2019, I chose to live in the Italian Hall so that I could learn more about Italian culture from someone my age before I went abroad in the Spring of 2020. I was also not enrolled in an Italian language class, so I relied on Italian Hall and club to keep my language comprehensions skills up before I was fully immersed in the language that next semester. I really appreciated getting to know the Italian Hall leader, Monica, who gave me travel recommendations and taught me Italian slang. As a group, we would cook and listen to Italian music in our dorm kitchen and talk about Italian celebrity scandals. I had a few laughs in restaurants and bars while in Florence when a song I recognized played on the radio.
Although most people spend a year in their language hall, I learned a tremendous amount about Italy and Italian from one semester that I needed and appreciate. In a language hall, you get to belong to a small community of Scripps students that makes dorm culture extra special. It was fun watching Monica experience her first Halloween, which is not celebrated in Italy, and decorate her entire room and door with decoration. And in turn, she taught me about Carnivale, which was my first holiday experience in Italy.
Language halls can help you prepare to study abroad, learn a new language, or speak a language you grew up learning that you miss being surrounded by. It is a great way to meet people that also want proximity to a specific language that also want to interact with their neighbors and plan various activities to do together. With it being my most recent semester on campus, I look back to the Italian Hall fondly and the friendships that it created and strengthened.