From Classroom to Conversation

An important factor in the Jumbo undergraduate experience is the foreign language requirement for all students enrolled in the School of Arts and Sciences. There are many ways of fulfilling this requirement, from studying multiple languages across six semesters, to taking courses on cultures from around the world, to even putting your skills to the test while studying abroad. For those who join entry-level language courses, they often find community and support systems that last for years to come. BY ZANNA AMANFU ’24

Learning a foreign language can be a crucial component in developing skills to engage in cross-cultural communities. However, beyond language fluency, developing these skills requires a devotion to understanding the philosophies of those native to the region(s) of the language you wish to learn. To reach this level of nuance when learning a second language, you benefit from having passionate instructors in a department that recognizes both the impact of immersion and the impact of patience and practice when helping students build the foundations for language proficiency.

The Department of Romance Studies at Tufts goes above and beyond in this realm, especially with instructors like Maria Isabel Castro, a professor of Spanish at Tufts. I had the pleasure of speaking with Professor Castro and two of her former students, Paula and Edward, over Zoom about their language experience here over the past year. It was clear upon virtual reunion that the relationships formed during language courses have positively impacted these students far beyond the classroom.

Maria Isabel Castro Lecturer in the Department of Romance Studies

Paula and Ed began their Spanish speaking journey roughly ten years ago, and they both agreed that the lecture-based Spanish courses they had taken prior to Tufts did not serve them as curious students looking to enhance their learning through Spanish courses founded in culture. Ed made the distinction between his previous exposure to language courses in a classroom, stating that Tufts allowed him to develop better comprehension of language and grammar by learning through culture. With an informed emphasis on the multidimensionality of the culture rather than language alone, Tufts’ foreign language departments cultivate an immersive classroom experience for students looking to move beyond the bounds of lecture-based language courses.

Edward Iuteri ’24, Economics Major

Professor Castro spoke fondly of the personal fulfillment that she witnessed amongst students who grew at different paces and at all levels. Regardless of their previous experience with a foreign language, she expressed that, “Tufts students are very curious. They don’t want to just learn Spanish—they want to know how to relate to the culture and if they can go to a country [and use the language].”

Seeing the pure excitement from both Professor Castro and her students, I wondered what classroom structures facilitated such fruitful engagement that had students eager to go beyond the offerings available to them. Of the many activities that solidified their positive language experience, Paula and Ed agreed that group discussion, coined mesas redondas or roundtables, were especially insightful. During these roundtable discussions, the class would discuss worldly issues that immediately affect today’s society. Paula expressed how it is difficult enough to speak eloquently about these concepts in one’s own native language, so becoming familiar with these conversations in Spanish was both challenging and invaluable. She expanded by expressing that being assigned unfamiliar composition topics encouraged her to apply cumulative knowledge from her time under Professor Castro’s teaching. Ed directly correlated these difficult roundtable discussions with his enhanced ability to speak in Spanish about topics that he was passionate about outside of classroom contexts.

Paula Hornbostel ’24, Biology Major

In hearing all of these profoundly positive portrayals of the classroom experience, I tasked Paula, Ed, and Professor Castro with encapsulating their experience in the class with just one word. Paula prefaced her word by explaining that Professor Castro invited mistakes in the classroom—that is how she found it easiest to learn, knowing that the classroom community had the intention of lifting one another up and growing from mistakes. Ed proclaimed that office hours helped him navigate difficult grammar rules. Despite the demands of his athletic schedule, Professor Castro was receptive and made time to focus on Ed’s individualized needs as a student. Moreover, he centered his experience on the recurring truth that he looked forward to attending class every day. He previously found it difficult to feel equally invested in every topic in a class, but with Professor Castro’s instruction, he found enrichment in every facet. Paula and Ed’s respective words were “supportive” and “intriguing”; these are exactly the terms one might hope to use when describing their ideal classroom environment. Professor Castro described “wonderment” as the overarching feeling of being the teacher in the classroom witnessing the learning.

Any incoming Tufts students looking to experience our language departments can expect to immerse themselves in a classroom where their instructors prioritize guided learning founded in culture-based content over immediate mastery.