Sinclair is a diverse campus that hosts various international students. Since the 1980s, the Modern Languages Lab has been helping students further their understanding of foreign languages and international cultures. Over the years, the lab has changed to fit the needs of the student body.
Theodore Frost, director of the Modern Languages Lab, explained that the lab is integral to campus and helps promote diversity. It is also a quiet space for studying and practicing foreign language skills.
Located in Building 2 Room 321, the lab is central to bridging different cultures together and building strong student connections. Here, students can interact with classmates from around the globe and make new friends.
Before this year’s upgrades, the lab was full of desks with desktop computers attached. Frost said freeing up space by removing some of the desks would accommodate the rising number of students who come in to work with their laptops.
A copier will become available in the language lab so students can conveniently copy information from their textbooks.
Flags displaying different national identities hang from the ceiling alongside posters displaying maps and various cultural highlights from countries around the world, refreshing the space and adding to the overall theme of cultural diversity.
According to Frost, all students can benefit from these changes in the lab, whether they are enrolled in foreign language classes or are just looking for a new spot to study.
“Just because you aren’t taking a language course does not mean you are not allowed to utilize this place,” he said. Students of all majors are welcome to come in, take a seat and study.
The language lab is full of magazines, card games and books that can help visitors become acquainted with a new foreign language. Frost also mentioned that there were more advanced novels, which could pose an exciting challenge for students taking foreign language classes.
The Modern Languages Lab hosts a variety of events throughout the year. Movie nights are held in the attached rooms where students can come in and enjoy various foreign films.
It hosts a variety of cultural events, often highlighting Japanese, Latin American, and French cultures.
Frost himself speaks Spanish, French, Japanese and English. Spanish is the most sought-out foreign language on campus with Japanese coming in at a close second.
Students are encouraged to reach out to foreign language tutors through the Library, or they can approach Frost and ask for help while they are enrolled in language courses.
Students are always welcome to stop by the Modern Languages Lab, whether it is to study for related classes or to find a comfortable place to socialize and catch up on their assignments. All students can come into the lab and leave with a wider understanding of the diverse world we live in.
Josofine Addison, Staff writer
Check out more from The Clarion:
- Modern languages lab refreshes space for language learning
Sinclair is a diverse campus that hosts various international students. Since the 1980s, the Modern Languages Lab has been helping… Read more: Modern languages lab refreshes space for language learning - MyVoice: Banned Books Week gives a voice to silenced literature
In his chilling novel which later stood as the epitome for dystopian fiction, “1984,” George Orwell wrote, “Ignorance is strength.”… Read more: MyVoice: Banned Books Week gives a voice to silenced literature - MyVoice: Proposed federal loan cuts put humanities degrees at risk
In a divided America, education stands as a light in the most uncertain darkness. Whether students pursue degrees in art… Read more: MyVoice: Proposed federal loan cuts put humanities degrees at risk - Clarion cuisine: La Monarca: Tacos, ice cream and all one could want in a Central American restaurant
La Monarca Tacos and Ice Cream, located at 276 Linden Ave., is unassuming from the outside, but after the first… Read more: Clarion cuisine: La Monarca: Tacos, ice cream and all one could want in a Central American restaurant - MyVoice: The ones who hold the glue stick
The need to be sticky. There are purple, blue, white and clear glue sticks, plus an assortment of others if… Read more: MyVoice: The ones who hold the glue stick