Four Fulbright Foreign Language
Assistants Marks a First for CMC

This fall, CMCers returning to campus might notice fellow students speaking in tongues foreign tongues, that is. Those individuals could be the College's four language assistants native speakers all who come to CMC via the Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Program. Although hearing the cadence of a language other than English is certainly nothing new to CMC, what is unique this year is that the Language TAs Romina Anselmo (Argentina), Mina Septier de Rigny (France), Hee Young Kim (South Korea) and Laila Mahmoud (Tunisia) are all Fulbrighters; it is the first time that CMC has hosted four Fulbright Language TAs on campus at the same time.
"The Language Residents play a critical role in the department's mission to immerse students in language and culture," says Marie-Denise Shelton, professor of French and Chair of the Modern Languages Department at CMC."This year, we are thrilled to have four Fulbright Language Assistantsfor Arabic, French, Korean, and Spanish. This is an outstanding opportunity for our students and the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures."
In accordance with the FLTA Program which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the language assistants reside on campus and work with students during the school year in a variety of ways, including tutoring, supervising language labs, leading language table discussions, as well as assisting with cultural activities corresponding to their respective languages.
"In my case,I teach Spanish," says Romina, who comes to CMC while on leave from her position as a secondary school teacher in San Pedro de Jujuy in Argentina. "What I think is the most difficult thing for them (students) is the speaking skill. That is why I am here, to help them to practice, improve their Spanish and help them to be fluent in it."
According to the FLTA Website, the program enables young educators to refine their teaching skills, increase their English language proficiency and extend their knowledge of the cultures and customs of the United States while engaging in non-degree studies at accredited post-secondary U.S. educational institutions.
"One of the things I like about being an assistant is that students are more relaxed when working with you than with a teacher, because the situation is less formal and the age difference is smaller," says Mina who hails from Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne region of central France.
"You can have really interesting and friendly relationships with your students," she continues. "I studied to teach French as a foreign language in France, but I had no significant experience. This year as a language assistant is a first step in my teaching career, it will allow me to gain experience and feel more confident in teaching."
Although they come from far-flung corners of the globe, each assistant is eager to share their language and culture with other CMCers.
"I'm so happy whenever students come to me and ask questions about Korean culture and language," Hee Young says. "Whatever their motivations for learning Korean language are, it's really nice to have some people coming to me and showing interest in my culture especially when I'm in another country."
And, according to Laila, the benefit cuts both ways. "Working as a language assistant is a very interesting position to hold because it gives me the chance to assist classes with my supervisor so that I can see and learn from his ways of teaching."
However, with opportunities come challenges; in this case, they're in the form of potential linguistic stumbling blocks to be overcome.
"It depends on the students and their levels but usually pronunciation is one of the difficult things when you start learning a new language," Mina says. "As for French, spelling can be very different from the pronunciation for example, 13 ways to write one sound.
"I think English is much more logical than French, but they are close," she continues, "so it's hard for me not to apply the complicated French structures to the English to forget native language's structures. I always tend when using English to structure it using my French structure patterns."
For Laila, the potentially confusing muddle of English slang, especially phrases that are culturally specific, is the most difficult part of the English language. Learning the Arabic alphabet, which differs greatly from the Latinate alphabet, is the main difficulty she expects her students to encounter.
"But I strongly believe that CMC is offering one of the best Arabic programs so that makes it easier for the learner to become fluent and confident when using the language," Laila states.
According to Hee Young, pronunciation, especially for beginners, presents a formidable challenge. "It's hard to distinguish the sounds that English doesn't even have," she says. "After finishing three conversation classes at the beginning level, I was out of breath. However, I was so rewarded when I saw the students who actually improved their pronunciation after the class."
And, so far, what do the Fulbright Teaching Assistants like most about living and studying in the United States?
Hee Young: "I found that the classroom culture here is totally different from that in Korea. From the first day I was shocked. Students were raising their hands and waiting until the professor gave them a chance to speak. That never happens in Korea. No one but the teacher wants to talk unless the professor points out a particular student to answer the question. I haven't spoken in the classroom so far, but who knows? At the end of this semester I could be the one who is raising a hand and eager to speak."
Romina: "I really enjoy the way of combining life, work and studies while sharing my culture,and at the same time I can learn from other ones. Also, meeting people from all over the world is something that I love. Everything is so well organizedthatI can do all the things at the same timeand enjoythem, mostly."
Mina: "This is the first time for me in the U.S., so everything is quite new. I have just been here for one month, but I can say I like the way people are very friendly and smiling all the time, also they are very helpful and generous. Living and studying on a campus is very interesting too, it is completely new for me as we don't have this kind of on-campus life in France, this campus life is really dynamic."
Laila: "Well, I can say it is a challenge, but it is a wonderful experience as it makes me discover other things about myself. I really enjoy the different status and having different duties andprivileges, but I do think it is still a little early to answer this question."
Let Romina have the last word: "Being at CMC was not my choice, in fact the Fulbright Program in Argentina selected the best teachers of English, so, according to my profile and my teaching experience, CMC chose me and I love it because I could have never imagined being in such a wonderful place like this." Bueno!