Spring has sprung in the Language Lab, and we’re hosting a study session to get you through the final stretch of your language classes! Stop by the Language Lab for study snacks, cozy vibes, and the opportunity to work with our language tutors! Bring your friends, classmates, and study group!
When: Monday, April 7 from 5-8 pm
Where: Language Lab
I have a terrible habit of hoarding blank notebooks, fancy pens, and cute stickers. So instead of letting them continue to sit in my desk drawers forever, I decided to start a language journal! The concept is simple yet effective: try to use only your target language to fill up a journal! I’ve been writing entirely in Chinese, but this method works for any target language. Honestly, I find journaling to be challenging, but here are some tips (and prompts!) for you to begin and stay motivated to write your very own language journal!
Continue reading “Leilani’s tips for keeping a language journal!”Listening to music in the language you’re learning helps you improve your pronunciation, listening skills, and even grasp some grammar patterns. It’s fun, you can do it anywhere, and it’ll expand your Spotify playlist. Here’s some of my favorite artists broken down by genre.
Continue reading “Patricio’s recommendation of the week: Listen to more Spanish music!”
This week’s recommendation is to learn Icelandic. It is believed to be the hardest Germanic language to learn for English speakers. It has some intense grammar and complex pronunciation. But you should learn it anyway! Icelandic is the closest living relative to Old Norse, which was spoken by Vikings. I’ve been trying to learn it and Drops is so far the best app to do it. One of the best features it has is lessons to teach you how to pronounce the extensive alphabet, which is tricky as there’s a mix of rolling r’s similar to Spanish, the eu sounds similar to French, and the gargling r’s from German. Some fun words I’ve learned are Hjàlp! (Hee-owl-fff-p, i.e. help!), tuttugu (impossibe to describe how it’s pronounced, i.e. twenty), and sveppur (sveh-prrr, i.e. mushroom). Some not so fun words I’ve learned are matvöruverslun (…, i.e. grocery store) and sjúkrahús (shoe-crah-whose, i.e. hospital).
We’re going around the world in just 2 hours at the Language Lab x IPO (International Programs Office) Trivia Night! We’re serving up tricky questions, information about studying abroad, and also pizza!
When: Wednesday, March 12 from 6-8 pm
Where: Vollum Lounge
Stop by our table in the GCC Foyer on Tuesday, March 11 between 11:30 and 1:00 to learn more about what the Language Lab is, what LangLabbies do, and what fun language-themed events are on the agenda this semester!
Come tour the Language Houses as part of the Housing Application process for the 2025-2026 school year! House Advisors and Language Scholars for each house will be available to give tours of each house and answer questions about the selection process. Food and drinks will be available!
When: Sunday, March 9 from 12-2 pm
Where: Language Plaza
Today we’re checking in with Chinese tutor Deltas, a native speaker from Tianjin, China! Deltas has been tutoring me in Chinese this year, and I can say from personal experience that he is very knowledgeable, even when I throw a weird grammar question at him. We chatted about Tianjin dumplings, Zhang Ailing, and traditional Chinese roof tiles!
Leilani: First, could you tell me a little bit about your background? How long have you been speaking Chinese and what do you do at Reed?
Deltas: I’m an international student from Tianjin (天津), China. I’ve been speaking Chinese since I was born, it’s my native language. I study Math-Stats at Reed. I used to study literature, but I kind of found it wasn’t my thing. Too much English reading. So I switched to Math-Stats, and math is pretty fun, completely different taste. And I also do Chinese drop-in tutoring and individual tutoring. I also play for the Frisbee team.
Continue reading “All things Chinese literature with Deltas!”
