When I came to college, I never expected to live in a Language Immersion Suite. I walked into college not really expecting to do much more with my French than the required four classes for my major and language requirement. Yet, a twist of fate put me inside my school's French Language Suite, and I'm so incredibly lucky for it.
I was terrified walking in, since I never had too much experience speaking French outside of the classroom, and language immersion suites, by their nature, require you to speak nothing but the language in question. I, also being a naive sophomore, didn't know what the heck I was doing.
I didn't realize it at the time, but being in the immersion suite was the best thing that could have happened to me. Both for my French, and for college in general.
Our T.A. that year--a Fullbright Scholar from France--lived with us in the suite, organizing events that allowed us to practice our French. I got to meet people I didn't even realize were in the French program, and in the process, realized that I should pursue a French minor.
This year, as a junior, I was lucky enough to be admitted into the Suite once more, and to have another round of Francophone fun. The current T.A., another Fullbright Scholar from France (they alternate T.A.s each year in each language suite), has also helped us all come together as a community of French-language learners--and as friends, too.
Living in a language suite is a great way to practice the language. It's a place to make mistakes, to learn, and to know that no one will judge you if you forgot your numbers, even if you're an Intermediate French Student. (Merci to one of the seniors for sitting me down and teaching me my numbers on my first day there. You know who you are. You're the real MVP!)
It's an awesome way to get involved--whether it's pizza night, movie night, Bowling Night, Secret Santas, or each year's culture show, you're a part of your campus community, and you get more cultural experiences. Even going to other Suite's events--in my school, the Chinese Suite throws a mean dinner party each week, and the Russian Suite has some lovely tea nights--you can get a taste of the fun.
You have a place to hone your skills without pressure to be perfect, a place to hang out, and new friends to be made. A place, also, to get involved with the Language Departments at your school. Through living in the French Language Suite, I gained tons of valuable experience in the language, to the point where I'm now considered an advanced speaker.
So, if your college or university has a language suite, and you're even remotely interested in learning the language, apply for it. It's a wonderful chance and opportunity. Language suites are the best, and believe me--they'll make your life at college even more fun!
