Language and Culture Commons renovations aim to form collaboration and international communication

Students finding themselves on the first floor of Ettinger may have stumbled across an open-concept blue room, adorned with projectors, computers, a TV, couches, chairs, and hanging white lights. No, this isn’t the lounge aboard the Starship Enterprise; it’s the newly renovated (and renamed) Language and Culture Commons.

Renovations to the “Language Lab” as it was formerly called took place beginning in May of 2016, with the project wrapping up in September of that same year. However, the call for change was inspired by more than just a desire for a new, aesthetically pleasing space.

“Everything around us has changed,” said Dr. Luba Iskold, Professor of Russian and Director of the LC Commons. “Our students have changed, our teaching methodology has changed and our needs have changed.”

The former space, built in 1985, centered around “audio-lingual” learning, in which students would don a pair of headphones and practice their languages in a private, cubicle-like cell. As time went on, the teaching style of language professors shifted toward a group-centered, collective practicing effort, displaying the need for a space to match.

“It’s been a trend recently, at least in higher-ed, to go from rigid, stagnant and uninviting spaces to something flexible, appealing, and very inviting to people,” added Dr. Iskold. “So that was our goal.”

The new facility’s features have been utilized not only by the Foreign Language Department, but also the Office of Admissions, the Academic Resource Center, as well as various clubs and organizations.

“We really want people to know that this space is available,” said Dr. Eileen McEwan, Associate Professor of French and Department Chair. “If there are professors that want to do some kind of project with a university in India, or Portugal, or wherever, they can use this space to hold their classes and have their conversations and work on collaborative projects in a way that we haven’t had the space to do before.”

The revisions, which began May of 2015, were preceded by extensive planning, coordination, and the input of student and faculty focus groups.

“All the students that work here on a daily basis were part of those focus groups, as well as other students that joined in,” said Dr. McEwan. “And as we were modelling, those students that work here were putting in ideas, so the students were very heavily involved in the process from the beginning.”

According to McEwan, the Language and Culture Commons serves as a “showcase of the latest technology available to campus,” as coordinated with the Director of OIT, Allan Chen.

“The idea is this place can also grow,” added Dr. McEwan. “Technology is easily changeable and it can adapt.”

From Friday, Mar. 3 to Sunday, Mar. 5, the Language and Culture Commons will host the NEALLT (Northeast Association for Language and Learning Technology) Conference, which will feature presentations from Professors from West Point, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Carnegie Mellon, among others.

While many students will be home for break, students and staff still have the opportunity to attend and experience workshops, discussions, and presentations. To register, students and staff should contact Dr. Iskold at lubaiskold@muhlenberg.edu.

Ultimately, Dr. Iskold, Dr. McEwan, and Technician of the LC Commons, Fulvia Alderiso, hope to offer any student or faculty member the space to conduct collaborative work that utilizes the features the LC Commons has to offer.

“The way you build your space, you can anticipate an outcome,” said Dr. Iskold. “You really need to understand your objective and what it is that you want; to create a flexible, inviting space that allows for collaborative exploration and learning, as opposed to individual stations."

Photos courtesy of Haris Bhatti and the Language and Culture Commons