“Intercambio is about making connections. The reason why I like learning Spanish is because the people that I’ve met and been able to talk to who’ve just changed the way I look at the world,” said English teacher James Nelson, the Intercambio advisor.
At Intercambio, students explore languages other than their native one at weekly lunch meetings. The club is popular among ESL and Foreign Language students. Intercambio was designed not only to help students with their conversation skills, but also to foster cultural connections between students and help the transition of foreign non-English speaking students.
Intercambio was praised by members for its community and sense of belonging. “I like practicing my English with other people, and I like the people in the club,” sophomore Ruby Mendes, a native Spanish speaker, said.
Intercambio also serves as an academic club for foreign language students to do coursework. “I’ll come in with my Spanish homework, and then with whoever I’m talking to that day we’ll work on their homework, and then we’ll work on my homework,” freshman Vanessa Polly said.
“There are over 80 students who are native Spanish speakers learning English [at M-A], and then we have a couple 100 students who are native English speakers learning Spanish,” Nelson explained. By bringing these two groups of students together, Intercambio fosters collaboration and language fluency.
“In the club I get to practice my English more with other students,” Mendes said. “I’ve improved my pronunciation a lot in the meetings.”
Intercambio meets every Thursday at lunch in G-2.
