Language Lab x IPO Trivia Night!

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

Language Plaza Open House!

Poster with text Language Plaza Open House. Why should I come? If you want to live in a Language House. If you want a tour of a Language House. If you want free food!

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

All things Chinese literature with Deltas!

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.

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Master the AZERTY keyboard with French typing tests!

One of the first things I did while taking French 110 (now 111/112) was add a French keyboard to my laptop and phone. What I didn’t know as a beginning French student was that even the French keyboard layout is different!

Layout of a French AZERTY keyboard from the Mac keyboard settings.

This layout is called AZERTY, with all the additional French characters (ex. ç, é, and à) arranged on number and symbol keys. It also swaps the positions of Q/A, W/Z, and M, which actually helps you type in French faster, believe it or not! As you advance in French, improving your typing (“la dactylographie”) skills will make a difference in typing emails, essays, and texts. Here are two typing practice recommendations to boost your AZERTY typing skills!

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