The Office of International Students & Scholars kicked off the first bi-monthly “All Languages Language Exchange” in the Student Resource Building on Oct. 3, providing a space for students to practice different languages at all skill levels. The language exchange is the most linguistically diverse event of its kind in recent history at UC Santa Barbara.
Students wore stickers signifying the countries of the languages they speak. Jack Dindia / Daily Nexus
A language exchange is a gathering where people are able to meet each other through practicing different languages they speak. This is the first language exchange at UCSB to be open to all languages. Previous events hosted by the Office of International Students & Scholars (OISS) and the Education Abroad Program (EAP) have centered on a limited number of languages, such as a Cantonese, Japanese, Korean and Mandarin language exchange hosted in November 2022.
Nadezhda Barbashova, a second-year psychological & brain sciences doctoral candidate, collaborated with the OISS to organize the event. Barbashova was inspired by similar language exchanges she attended while teaching English internationally, in countries including Thailand, China and Germany.
“We have so many international students who come from different countries and speak different languages,” Barbashova said. “We also have domestic students who grew up bilingual, like me, and we have all these languages on campus, so we might as well have a place where everyone can connect to each other and practice languages.”
According to Barbashova, the “All Languages Language Exchange” invites everyone to come, not just those who are fluent in multiple languages. This includes undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty and staff who speak only English.
At the event, participants were prompted to wear flag stickers that corresponded with the origin countries of the languages they speak. There were roughly 25 people at the event, representing places like the Netherlands, China and Japan.
There were also a variety of international snacks, including Gansito cakes from Mexico and Hello Panda cookies from Japan.
This is the first language exchange at UCSB to be open to all languages. Jack Dindia / Daily Nexus
Rosa Lopez Nakashima, OISS international student advisor and UCSB alum, emphasized the event’s openness and accessibility.
“It doesn’t have to be just to learn languages. People are always free to stop by,” Nakashima said. “I hope people can come here and learn new things, even if it’s not what they expect to learn.”
The language exchange gives international students a space to meet new people by communicating in their native language, according to Haruna Matsumoto, a third-year linguistics major and Japanese international student.
“This is my first time to see so many people speak Japanese. I’m always surrounded by English speakers, so I’m very glad to come here,” Matsumoto said.
Shane Zheng, who works as desktop support in the psychological & brain sciences department and spent five years living in Kobe, Japan, felt the event gave him a rare opportunity to practice his Japanese after connecting with Matsumoto.
“It brings my desire to hone my Japanese skills again because ever since I came back from Japan, I never got any chance to talk to people, so I got rusty,” Zheng said.
The event also awarded the attendee with the most accurate guess of how many nationalities are represented by international students at UCSB. Geography doctoral candidate Hui Shi, came the closest with a guess of 86, falling shortly behind the 102 nationalities on campus. She received an OISS-themed towel as her prize.
Barbashova felt the event went as expected and hopes that more international students will be informed about these events in the future.
“We definitely had more international students now compared to last quarter, but I just hope as many people from as many countries as possible find it, because I would like to create that mixing,” Barbashova said.
The next “All Languages Language Exchange” is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 17, at the Student Resource Building. The event will occur on the first and third Thursday of each month this year.
A version of this article appeared on p. 6 of the Oct. 10, 2024 edition of the Daily Nexus.
The “All Languages Language Exchange” is a fantastic initiative fostering cultural connections and linguistic diversity at UCSB. By welcoming participants of all skill levels, it creates an inclusive environment for both domestic and international students to engage meaningfully. The use of flag stickers to represent languages spoken adds a personal touch, encouraging conversations and new friendships. Events like this not only provide a space to practice languages but also celebrate the rich multicultural tapestry on campus. On such even, I was told about this post https://medium.com/@george.kv/stemxperts-review-2024-f5fe0c7dfee1 and now I am not afraid of getting online help.