By Chelsea Reese
Students majoring in French or students who have some French language experience can now meet every Friday to converse with one another.
The “French table” met for the first time this year on Friday and will continue to meet from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. every Friday this semester in the Psychology building, Room 147. Frank Murgel, an English and foreign language lecturer, brought this “French table” to CSU-Pueblo to help students further their proficiency in other languages.
“It’s just for people to come together and practice their French,” Murgel said. “We accept all levels and we try to adjust the conversations so that each attendee gets something out of the hour that we spend.
“Every once in a while I try to remind people that. Let’s not get too advanced or start speaking too rapidly because some of us around the table need it just a little bit more slowly.”
This French meeting is mostly just for conversing with other students or professors who speak French, but sometimes there are also games involved, Murgel said. They also invite people to bring their lunch or snacks to meetings, he said.
Meetings like this are not something new to a foreign language program, Murgel said, and that these kinds of meetings are a part of the tradition of language programs.
“So it’s naturally something, since I had experienced it as a student in other places, I thought that this is something we should have. I didn’t invent it in other words, I’m not going to take credit for it,” Murgel said. “I’m just picking up on a practice that has been a part of all language programs.”
Last year’s average number of people who attended was about three to five, Murgel said.
“Some weeks, no one came because of schedules or commitments or maybe just lack of interest,” he said. “Last year, our attendance was more other professors. This year, for the first time, it was students.”
Other languages also meet during the week on different times and days. Contact appropriate professors for more information.