Throughout the academic year, the Writing and Language Studio hosts informal language tables during the weekday lunch and dinner hours. These tables are open to all members of the Duke Kunshan community and provide a space for participants to learn, practice, and use a language with other students/staff/faculty in an informal environment. They are different from language classes that teach people grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and so forth. The language tables aim to improve people’s communication competence in the target language, advance their intercultural communication skills, and promote both community building and the value of multilingualism.
Location: Academic Building Cafeteria
Languages:
Language Tables are open to all members of the Duke Kunshan community and are completely voluntary. There is no registration or prerequisite needed to join a table. While regular participation is welcomed and encouraged, it is not required.
Spring 2022:
Monday:-
Tuesday: 12:00 PM Spanish (with Kevin)
Wednesday: 11:15 AM Korean, 11:30 AM Spanish (with Elisabeth), 12:00 PM Cantonese
Thursday: 11:30 AM Japanese, 12:00 PM French, 12:30 PM Wu Dialect, 5:30 PM German
Friday: 12:30 PM Italian
There might be minor adjustments of Language Table schedule every week. Please visit Duke Kunshan Engage for the latest schedule.
If you are interested in facilitating a language table by yourself or co-facilitating with others, please contact the Writing and Language Studio Coordinator.
Leading a language table is a great way to practice your facilitation and communication skills. It is also a great opportunity to meet students, staff, and faculty members who are interested in learning about a language and culture you know well.
Facilitators should be proficient speakers of the language, with a good understanding of its communication norms, grammar, and vocabulary. Facilitators should also be willing to help those who are trying to learn a new language.
Facilitators are not required to prepare any lesson plans or materials for language tables. However, especially if a table has a lot of beginning-level learners, we encourage the facilitator to brainstorm some topics to talk about for each session as well as some basic grammatical patterns and phrases for participants to learn.
Each language table will meet once a week or once every other week, depending on interest and on facilitator schedules.