{"115241":{"#nid":"115241","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Campus Forges Friendships through Second Languages","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EEvery couple of weeks in the courtyard outside the O\u2019Keefe building behind the Women\u2019s Softball Complex, people of all ages take part in a language development exercise reminiscent of the biblical Tower of Babel.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf you come over here during a session, you wouldn\u2019t think you\u2019re in Georgia,\u201d said Adria Motiwalla, student services coordinator at the Georgia Tech Language Institute.\u0026nbsp;Those participating in these multilingual conversations are part of the Language Institute\u2019s Friends Beyond Borders Language Cafe. This conversation program provides an opportunity for\u0026nbsp;students, faculty and staff from around the globe to socialize and brush up on second language skills.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Language Institute hosts recent high school\u0026nbsp;graduates, college students and professionals\u0026nbsp;from abroad who come to the United States either on short-term scholarships or to spend time learning English before applying to an undergraduate or graduate program stateside.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think there\u2019s a lot of credibility with the name Georgia Tech, so students want that on their transcript,\u201d Motiwalla said. \u201cWe have students transferring in from all over the planet saying they\u2019re not getting quality English elsewhere.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECollege students and business types also use the center to hone English skills for a professional environment. The largest cohorts speak Arabic, Korean and Spanish, but other languages heard at the Institute include French, Portuguese, Chinese, Thai and Japanese.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhat the Language Institute needs more of is English speakers.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019d love to have staff who travel for Tech and maybe want to brush up on a language,\u201d Motiwalla said.\u0026nbsp;The program welcomes all students, faculty and staff who want to improve and practice\u0026nbsp;a second language.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor those looking for a more in-depth conversational experience, the Language Institute also offers a conversation partner program that matches speakers through an \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/languagepartners.ning.com\u0022\u003Eonline system\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s a tool to meet somebody on campus and develop a friendship, with the goal of hopefully meeting a speaker with whom you can do a language exchange,\u201d Motiwalla said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPart of Tech\u2019s strategic plan is to produce global citizens; the Language Institute offers a place to begin that global journey without even leaving campus. Those interested in attending Friends Beyond Borders events may sign up online at esl.gatech.edu. Attendance is open to anyone with a GTID.\u0026nbsp;The next Friends Beyond Borders Language Cafe meets on Friday, March 16, at 1 p.m., with subsequent events on March 30, April 13 and April 27.\u0026nbsp;The Language Cafe will also participate in the upcoming 2012 Culture Fest on April 2.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThrough Friends Beyond Borders, students, faculty and staff from around the globe socialize and brush up on second language skills.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Through Friends Beyond Borders, students, faculty and staff from around the globe socialize and hone language skills."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2012-03-08 15:09:06","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:48","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-03-08T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-03-08T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"116511":{"id":"116511","type":"image","title":"Students Participate in Friends Beyond Borders","body":null,"created":"1449178241","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:30:41","changed":"1475894736","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:36","alt":"Students Participate in Friends Beyond Borders","file":{"fid":"194240","name":"fbb_sept._11___154.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fbb_sept._11___154_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fbb_sept._11___154_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3509226,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/fbb_sept._11___154_0.jpg?itok=HU7G-ugw"}}},"media_ids":["116511"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/esl.gatech.edu\/","title":"Language Institute"},{"url":"http:\/\/languagepartners.ning.com\/","title":"Conversation Partner Program Signup"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"26551","name":"conversation partners"},{"id":"4696","name":"foreign language"},{"id":"26541","name":"friends beyond borders"},{"id":"1802","name":"international"},{"id":"4406","name":"Language Institute"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:adria.motiwalla@esl.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAdria Motiwalla\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELanguage Institute\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-376-2249\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}