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1Lingua Franca • Vol 13 • Issue 1

LINGUA FRANCAA BI-ANNUAL NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY WORLD LANGUAGES AND CULTURES AT SALEM STATEsalemstate.edu/languages

An Interview with Louissa Taha Abdelghany, Professor of Arabic and French

Professor Louissa Taha Abdelghany joined the world languages and cultures faculty in September 2015 as a full-time professor. A native of Lebanon and an instructor with many years of experience, as well as boundless energy, Professor Abdelghany is currently teaching Arabic and French courses. She has also been charged with promoting Arabic language courses and the Minor in Arabic Studies at Salem State. We asked her a few questions to get to know her better.

What are your first impression of teaching at Salem State University?I have to admit that so far teaching at Salem State has been a unique experience. The majority of students here juggle between their studies and their jobs. They are very hard-working and determined, and I truly admire their dedication and respect their effort to keep the balance between classes and work.

I’m especially enjoying my Arabic class and the laughs I hear once I ask my students to loudly repeat an expression and pronounce an Arabic sound that does not exist in

English. I’m so glad to be a part of the Salem State community and I’m excited to provide more to both the Arabic and the French programs.

What’s it like to study French or Arabic in Professor Abdelghany’s class?There are no specific sets of techniques I intentionally apply in my classroom or one specific style of teaching I follow. My experience has taught me to be flexible in my approach and to listen mostly to my students themselves and try to meet their interests and their needs.

I strive to maintain a comfortable classroom atmosphere where conductive learning takes place. Students have to feel comfortable in a language classroom to be able to participate without any fear or hesitation. I always encourage my students to speak, give comments and ask questions.

I also believe that motivation is the key element in any foreign language classroom. Therefore, I tend to do whatever it takes to keep my students motivated during class time, and involve them in classroom presentations and collaborative activities. I am a very active and energetic professor and my goal is to be able to transmit this positive energy to my class. Language is engaging and fun so I intend to use games, art, songs, video clips, poems, newspapers, and movies frequently in my lessons.

You’ve been fortunate to learn several languages during your life, how do you think this has changed you?Growing up in Lebanon, where everyone could speak at least two and sometimes three languages, I took the concept of multilingualism for granted. It is not until I moved to the United States when I truly realized the significance and the value

INSIDE THIS ISSUELouissa Taha Abdelghany page 1

Department News Abounds page 3

Faculty News page 3

Ellen Elias-Bursac page 4

A new minor for World Languages: German? page 5

Hispaniola and Latin America page 5

One Day at the Elections page 6

Language as My Odyssey page 6

Free, Open Textbooks page 7

The Value of Studying Abroad page 8

My Experience in Costa Rica page 10

Pura vida! page 10

Let’s MEETUP page 11

Language Clubs’ Corner page 11

Poetry Corner page 12

Psi Sigma Iota Honor Society page 12

EDITORS: Jon Aske Kenneth Reeds

WEB PUBLICATION: ssclinguafranca.wordpress.com

JOIN SALEM STATE’S LANGUAGE CLUBS’ MAILING LISTS and FACEBOOK GROUPS Visit This Page: tinyurl.com/ssulanguageclubs

WORLD LANGUAGES AND CULTURES TEL: 978.542.6258 [email protected]

Volume 13 • Issue 1 • Fall 2015

2 Lingua Franca • Vol 13 • Issue 1

of languages. I started to view languages in a different way, to appreciate their motion and conception and to acknowledge what they mean and represent in the world. I began to see that the study of languages is a way to learn to better understand ourselves and our place in the world, and also a gateway to discover other cultures and to celebrate diversity, collective traditions, and individual expression.

What would you say to a student who might be interested in studying Arabic or French? I would definitely encourage them to learn if not one of these fabulous languages, maybe both if they have the opportunity to do so. While studying Arabic is totally different from studying French, both languages will open up the students’ world, introducing them to rich cultures and civilizations. With the growing importance of the Middle East in international affairs, there is a large demand for workers in the West who are versed in the Arabic language and culture. Knowing Arabic is a significant asset these days, one that makes graduates more marketable in a variety of fields like business, industry, education, finance, journalism, translation, international law, consulting, and foreign services.

Both Arabic and French are associated with many cultures, what do most people not realize about these languages? Both Arabic and French are among the top ten most spoken languages in the world. While Arabic is the sixth most common spoken language, French is the tenth. Most people don’t realize that there are 420 billion Arab speakers in the world (native and non-native). They also don’t know that Arabic has contributed numerous words to the English language like: نطق [koton] cotton, ركس [succar], sugar, لازغ [ghazal] gazelle, ةراثيق [qithara] guitar, لوحكلا [alcoo’hool] alcohol, ءارحص [sahra’a], sahara, طاريق [qeerat] carat, نوميل [laymoon] lemon, ربجلا [aljabr] Algebra.

In regards to French, people are not aware that there are more countries in Africa where French is the official language than in Europe.

Anything else to add? I would like to encourage all students to make the study of languages a priority and to fit it in their busy schedule. It is sad to know that only 18% of Americans report speaking a language other than English, while 53% of Europeans (and increasing numbers in other parts of the world) can converse in a second language. Learning languages would promote global communication and would also increase international understanding, something we are desperately in need of in our days.


¿Qué pasa? Quoi de neuf? Novità? Department News AboundsIn Translation: Did you know that translation is one of the fastest growing job sectors in the U.S., with an estimated 42% increase in jobs by 2022? This fall, we launched our new undergraduate Certificate in Translation. The certificate is 18-21 credits combining advanced courses in English, advanced courses in either French, Italian or Spanish, and courses on translation. All courses can “double dip” with courses in a student’s major, minor or general education curriculum. Students completing the certificate will develop a portfolio of work that can be used to obtain a job as a translator with a translation company or begin work as a freelance translator. Interested? Try our introduction course WLC 300-Introduction to Translation this spring! More information at: salemstate.edu/academics/schools/28596.php

Do you “Like” us? The department has launched a new Facebook page facebook.com/SSUworldlanguages and continues to tweet from @SalemLanguages. Like our page and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with department news and trends in foreign language learning. Recommend our page to your friends!

Help us spread the word to raise money for YOU to Study Abroad! The world languages and cultures department will be participating in #GivingTuesday by launching a month-long fundraiser to create a fund for student study abroad. The crowdfunding site went live on Tuesday, December 1 at crowdfunding.salemstate.edu/studyabroad. Currently, approximately 1% of Salem State students study abroad. Compare this to students at private institutions in Massachusetts: 30% of Clark University students go abroad, 46% of students at Bentley University, and 53% at Boston College. We feel the need to help our students afford study abroad—a life-changing experience that allows students to gain the skills and perspectives needed to compete for jobs in our increasingly globalized society. We currently give $1,000 in study abroad awards each year to students who participate in one of our department-sponsored summer study

abroad programs. We would like to raise an additional $5,000 that would be used to fund study abroad awards for our WLC majors and minors who participate in summer, semester or year-long programs next year. Keep your eye out for our fundraiser message and share it widely. Encourage your employers, former and current teachers, friends and relatives to give!

Faculty Updates: Welcome to our new faculty members Dr. Louissa Taha Abdelghany (Arabic/French) and Prof. Claire Dix (Spanish). We hope you had a wonderful fall semester and look forward to working with you again next spring! Many thanks to Dr. Elizabeth Blood for filling in as acting chair this fall. We look forward to Dr. Michele Dávila’s return from sabbatical in January, rested, relaxed and ready to take on the “world!”

West African “WC” Course to be taught in Spring 2016: The topic for WLC 120-Perspectives on World Cultures this spring will be West African Cultures, taught by Dr. Mary-Kay Miller who specializes in the literature and culture of Senegal. This is a world cultures general education course, taught in English. Look for WLC 120 courses on Exploring Italy and French Culture through Film next fall!

Student and Alumni Stories Needed! The university is currently in the process of creating a new website that will be more user-friendly and more effectively showcase the awesome students and flexible programs we offer. We are looking for current students and alumni who are willing to share photos, short videos, and/or a written quote describing their experiences as a student in the worl languages and cultures department. What language(s) have you studied at Salem State? What do you like about our programs (faculty, courses, study abroad, clubs, etc.)? Submit your materials, along with a statement giving us permission to use them on the website, to Professor Blood ([email protected]).

CONGRATULATIONS to Ken Reeds, Michele Dávila and Anna Rocca, who all received nominations for this year’s Distinguished Teaching Award at Salem State. This is a great honor for them, and we are so proud that our department is so well-represented among the nominees!

In addition to chairing a session on translation at the Anglo-Catalan Annual Conference (Glasgow Scotland, November), Dr. Kristine Doll has published Six Catalan Poets (Wales UK: The Seventh Quarry Press, 2015). She is the editor of this collection of contemporary Catalan poetry and has translated two of the edition’s six poets from Catalan to English.

Dr. Fátima Serra participated in the 65th Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference, Charleston, SC. October 2015 with the paper: “El corazón helado (2007) de Almudena Grandes: ¿el antes y el después de una tradición?”

At the 2015 Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA) Conference, in Toronto, CA, Dr. Anna Rocca proposed, organized and chaired the roundtable: “21st Century Tunisian Women Writers’ Literary Production.” She also presented a paper entitled: “Tunisia: Representations of Women’s Solidarity, Yesterday and Today”.

Also congratulations to our Chinese instructor Ti-Cheng who will be away on maternity leave during the spring semester. We’re excited to welcome Yica Lin who will be teaching Chinese during her leave of absence.

Faculty News


Translating is never as easy as substituting one word for another. As those of us who translate or who study translation know, words are powerful vehicles through which culture, history, and identity are revealed or hidden. Ellen Elias-Bursac, in speaking about her new book, Translating Evidence and Interpreting Testimony at a War Crimes Tribunal: Working in a Tug-of-War (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), addressed some of the intricate challenges she faced as a translator for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Her work for the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague included translating documents into English and revising earlier translations for accuracy.

Ms. Elias-Bursac asks some crucial questions in the introduction to her book: “How can defendants be tried if they cannot understand the charges against them? How can a witness testify if the judges and attorneys listening to the testimony cannot understand what the witness is saying? Can a judge decide whether to convict or acquit if she or he cannot read the documentary evidence?” Ms. Elias-Bursac’s book attempts to answer these and many other questions related to translation and interpretation.

On Thursday, October 1, Salem State welcomed Ms. Elias-Bursac to its Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, located at the Enterprise Center in Central Campus. An audience of faculty, staff and Salem community members learned of the crucial importance of translation and interpreting in the lengthy and complex trials heard at The Hague. As in many international courts, English and French are among the working languages required by court personnel. Given the linguistic and cultural intricacies of the cases heard, the ICTY also admits the native language of the accused and the witnesses who are not competent in these working languages. Albanian, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, and Macedonian, therefore, need to be interpreted and translated.

A Conversation with Ellen Elias-Bursac, translator for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslaviaby Kristine Doll

In addition to the linguistic challenges of interpreting and translating, Ms. Elias-Bursac recounted certain cultural challenges, including the heated debates within the English Translation Unit at The Hague of issues such as the translating of group identity names – What one group calls itself is not necessarily what it wants to be called by outsiders; what does it mean, then, when outsiders consciously choose to use the words not meant for them to use? How is this cultural knowledge conveyed in a translation? Should it be?

We explored the slippery nature of identifying buildings that appear in exhibits of target lists—is the building an infirmary or some physical space where one could take a break and rest? —as well as the equally complex challenge to identify newly elected or appointed heads of regional authorities – is this person a prime minister? A president?

Ellen Elias-Bursac has won numerous awards for her translations of novels and non-fiction by Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian authors. She is a contributing editor to Asymptote journal and has taught at the Harvard Slavic Department, Tufts University, ASU and the New England Friends of Bosnia and Herzegovina. She spent over six years at the ex-Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague as a translator/reviser in the English Translation Unit.

The event was co-sponsored by the WLC department and the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, an academic and educational center advancing the study and teaching of comparative genocide. The center supports academic research and scholarship into genocide, memory and human rights, organizes curriculum teaching workshops for educators, sponsors international study and travel institutes and offers a graduate certificate in holocaust and genocide studies.

If you are interested in learning to translate, sign up for WLC 300 Introduction to Translation offered spring 2016 by the WLC, Thursday’s 4:30-6:50 pm. WLC offers a Certificate in Translation that prepares you to develop the necessary skills to become professional translators. For more information, see the department’s website or call 978.542.6258 for more information.


The world languages and cultures department is exploring the possibility of establishing a minor in German to compliment minors in other departmental languages. In this scenario, students would complete the Elementary German sequence, GER 101/102, and the Intermediate German sequence, GER 201/202, and pursue coursework related to German in other departments, such as history, music, international business, art and philosophy, to complete area studies work. Students would also have the opportunity to complete a summer, a semester or a full year abroad at Salem State’s new partner school in Germany, the University of Mannheim (Universität Mannheim) and receive full credit from Salem State toward their degree.

A new minor for World Languages: German? by J. Douglas Guy

German is the native language of 24% of all citizens of the European Union, making it the most spoken language in Europe. It is an official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein and it is spoken in other areas, such as eastern France, making it easy to travel the length and breadth of central Europe with this one language. As a dominant language in international business and politics and a powerhouse in modern engineering and green technologies, knowledge of German will be hugely beneficial for students’ 21st century careers. Anyone interested in discussing a minor in German is encouraged to see acting chair Prof. Elizabeth Blood or either of the German instructors, J. Douglas Guy or Spencer Wolf.

It is possible to argue that the term Latin America was coined by the French, specifically by Napoleon III (1808-1873), nephew and heir of Napoleon I and President of the French Second Republic and Emperor of the Second French Empire. Supposedly his aim was to expand the concept of Spanish-centric Hispano-America (Spanish America) in such a way that included the possibility of the French being part of it, thus the need for Latin, since the French language, like the Spanish language, also descends from Latin. You see, at the time it was important to Napoleon III that a man named Maximillian become the “emperor” of Mexico.

This French-influenced Mexican empire was not the only place where the two languages came into conflict in the Americas. Indeed, some of the Europeans’ first settlements in the “New World” were on the island that today is known as Hispaniola. Columbus arrived there in 1492 and a French colony was officially proclaimed in 1665. The island was divided with one side belonging to Spain and the other to France. Thanks to the exploitation of slaves in the French portion, “Saint Domingue” became known as the “Pearl of the Antilles” and was one of the most productive and wealth-creating colonies in the history of colonialism. However, the large number of slaves also meant revolt and eventually the French lost their jewel to the very people they had dehumanized to make it prosperous. Indeed, Haiti was the first country in Latin America to free itself of European colonialism with their declaration of independence in 1804.

To this day, the Spanish-speaking east continues a tense relationship with its French- and French-Creole-speaking neighbor to the West. Language and history play important roles in this conflict, but it is possible to argue that race is the overwhelmingly central point of contention: Haiti is proud of its African roots while Santo Domingo avoids recognizing what it is so obvious in the mirror. This dichotomy has taken many ugly manifestations over the years with perhaps the most shameful being the Parsley Massacre in 1937 when Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo ordered his troops to commit genocide against the Haitian population living in the borderlands between the two countries. Last summer many Haitians were deported across the same border. These deportations were done in the name of curbing undocumented immigration, but considering the history it is difficult not to wonder if uglier racial issues hid beneath bureaucratic euphemisms.

Perhaps the best way to quickly grasp Hispaniola’s multifaceted past and the way that history marks today is to watch the enlightening documentary Black in Latin America created by Henry Louis Gates Jr. The series’ first episode focuses on Haiti and Santo Domingo and there is much to be learned.

Hispaniola and Latin Americaby Kenneth Reeds


On Tuesday, November 3, 2015 I had the opportunity, through my Community Placements class, SPN 385, to participate as a Spanish interpreter for the City of Salem during its local elections. I was far beyond excited because it was the first time I worked as an interpreter for a public agency. I chose the shift from 1:30-8 pm. It was a long shift, but it was worth the effort.

I was assigned to the precinct in Salem High School. When I arrived, I was nervous because I was the only Latino among the poll workers. I was surprised because besides two men who were working on a census, I was the only Latino in the room. After a few minutes, the first Latino voters started to arrive. Some of them did not require my help, but a great number of them did. These individuals were able to speak some English, but still they were not able to communicate with the English-speaking workers at the registration table. All the poll workers were elderly and had trouble reading the names of voters in the registration books or understanding what they were saying. Also, voters had to prove their identity because the poll workers confused their last names.

One Day at the Elections by Javier Rodriguez Diaz

Some of the voters were frustrated and told me that things like that keep happening every time they go to vote. I believe there is a huge need for city workers who are trained to work with the Latino community. The majority of communication issues at the elections were not even related to individuals not being able to speak English. The city administration and the whole community need to be aware that the demographics are changing and that they must provide all citizens with services regardless of their culture or language.

At the end of the day, I was able to help a significant number of Latino voters. This made me happy because I can see that Latinos are becoming more involved in politics and civics. I am planning to volunteer again for the upcoming elections and I extend an invitation to everybody to do so.

I have come to Salem State as a transfer student from a small private college in Cambridge called Lesley University. The path to Lesley and from Lesley to Salem State has been wrapped through a labyrinth, often dark. To be a student of language, I’ve learned, is to see that labyrinth for what it is: not a byway, but life itself, or subjective experience made of language. To study languages of the past and present is to learn to love the maze, to laugh as it pretends to close you in with its immanent structures only to open onto universe after universe.

I remember the day that I found out that the iron walls of the language maze can be turned to the contours of a never-ending game. I was seventeen. The instructor of Caribbean Literature, a class reserved for fluent Spanish speakers at Salem High School, eyed me skeptically and asked me a question in Spanish. Her delight in my answer turned to sternness about a year later when she told me that what I had wasn’t a gift but a responsibility.

I had little idea of what that meant until, a few years later, I found myself in the maze’s iron embrace, sweeping floors and washing dishes into my early twenties. I had forgotten the game; although I remembered my Spanish, reading novels and indulging in the art of kitchen conversation in my friend’s mother’s kitchen over beer, I only felt the choke of the unlit path, leading me down ever narrower ways. One day, however, I reached out: working at a nursing home, I met a woman from Italy who had been ripped away from her own garden of language. I did my best to help her revisit that garden, offering conversation in my schoolboy Italian and letting her throw me into the maze of her dialect, which wound through seventy years of lived history. This was a tantalizing re-opening into my own maze, which I realized would probably never cease opening into new mazes. The crucial point, though, was that I now knew this wasn’t a descent; I had passed through the inferno, and each new maze was a path to delight, or rather, was delight.

Language as My Odyssey by Scott Sumrall

I haven’t been without my Virgil on this journey; or rather, I haven’t been short of Virgils. At Lesley, Dra. Sonia Pérez-Villanueva enhanced my love of the labyrinthine game of language, in particular by helping me relate it to literature. If I wanted to keep up on reading Latin while I studied Spanish literature, genial (“terrific”): I was encouraged to relate an eighteenth-century Spanish poem alluding to a sacred grove to a similar work in Ovid, for example.

Having arrived at Salem State, I find the same kind of receptivity and willingness to help me weave together my interest in theory, philosophy, and literature, all through the lens of language (which, as I’ve mentioned, I tend to think of as nothing short of everything); in studying an author like Jorge Luis Borges, for example, I’ve been encouraged by Dr. Reeds to relate the material to other areas of interest to me, such as Lacanian psychology. Likewise, I’ve been introduced to the works of Italo Calvino through my re-entry into Italian under the guidance of Dr. Rocca. This focus on the lens of language also helps me hone my awareness of current events, a pursuit I consider crucial to my study of political science.

Since arriving at Salem State, I have found a new friend in a visiting faculty member, Professor Wang Xiaohui, from the People’s Republic of China. Conversations in Chinese are a romp through the most wonderfully frustrating wing of my labyrinth, or more accurately at this point, my labyrinth complex. These opportunities to master the art of winding through the labyrinths, through disciplines like literature and everyday opportunities like human interaction, are what I consider to be fundamental to my future plans. Particularly, as someone who intends to intern in Italy as an undergraduate and to seek my next degree in Europe and/or Taiwan, I look forward to preparing myself further by staying close to what has become my center: the ongoing non-center of the language labyrinth. At Salem State, I know that I have the support and the community to do exactly that.


Every student is familiar with Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, which some teachers revile but which has pretty much done away with commercial encyclopedias because, for the most part, it is as good, if not better, and probably more complete and up-to-date than the competition.

But did you know that there is a movement and communities of individuals who aim to create and promote other types of free digital content, in a way that is similar to Wikipedia, including high-school and college textbooks? For some subjects free or open textbooks are already available, with the number growing constantly thanks to the work of volunteer teachers and scholars. This movement is being driven in part by the high cost of textbooks, which has grown dramatically in recent years, with college students paying over $1,200 a year on average for such books in 2014. The increase in the price of textbooks in recent years is only matched by the increase in the price of drugs: a greater than 10 time increase (1041%) since 1977, over three times the rate of inflation (308%). Sometimes students are simply not buying the books that they need to do well in a course because of their high cost.

By the way, we are talking here about content that is free primarily as in free speech (or freedom), not as in free beer, though it is also free of cost. English uses the same word free in two different senses. The original sense of free content has to do with free as in Spanish libre or French libre, not as in Spanish gratis or French gratuit, although these textbooks are actually both. In other words, this free content does not just cost $0, but it is also free as in unconfined, unrestricted, unconstrained, and unhampered.

In the age of digital content where making copies of any work is virtually free (gratis), it is no surprise that some content has come to be made freely available by content creators who simply want to donate their creations to the world. This is something that started in the software field with the open-source software movement:

“Free software” means software that respects users' freedom and community. Roughly, it means that the users have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. Thus, “free software” is a matter of liberty, not price.

With the transition of textbook publishing from physical to digital, in which content can be easily duplicated, we can expect more and more such offerings by generous volunteers since, after all, the profits in textbook publishing goes mostly to publishers not to content authors. One of the best known examples of this phenomenon is the encyclopedia Wikipedia, where volunteers create the content and share it freely with the whole world, which you can access from your computer or your cellphone, allowing us to find information online for free and having a fairly good encyclopedia at the tip of our fingers. It wasn’t too long ago, however, when anybody who wanted to access that kind of information had to go through some effort at a library.Because information, including books, is going digital, whether we are crazy about it or not, all we need to access it is a simple electronic device with a screen. In recent years the device of choice is no longer a computer. Tablets and cellphones are rapidly becoming the main way we access digital content and that includes open textbooks and, more generally, what is known as Open Educational Resources (OER) used in schools, which are a growing phenomenon.

Free, Open Textbooksby Jon Aske

Wikipedia has grown into a much larger world of shared content, what is known as Wikimedia, ‘a global movement whose mission is to bring free educational content to the world.’ Another kindred project is Creative Commons, which is ‘a non-profit organization devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share.’ Many other non-profits have been created sharing similar goals. A relatively new area of free content promoted by these open communities involves textbooks and other OER. And a recent study shows that these OER are just as effective as traditional materials in business and biology courses.

It is not just Wikimedia and other non-profits that are involved in this. Even the U.S. government has taken some timid steps to reign in what they see as excessive costs to students by promoting open textbooks and educational materials. In October, Congress reintroduced the Affordable Textbook Act which encourages universities to start open textbook pilots. Some worry, however, that centralization and a top-down approach to these efforts may go against the open source principle.

Promoters of the concept of open textbooks and other educational resources are committed to creating communities of experts that create content that will be shared by a community of educators and students. But the Open Education Resources movement is still in its infancy. Only 6% of college-level courses take advantage of these resources, often because quality open textbooks are not yet available for many disciplines. There is much work to be done. Crucially, the content has to be created, but faculty have to become aware of these resources, start using them, and even be willing to help create them and expand them.

What a better institution of higher learning for the OER movement to catch on in than a public university such as Salem State University, where the students could use the financial break? Inspired by the open textbook movement, I have decided to give away the Spanish linguistics textbook that I have been working on for the last two years. I encourage my colleagues to get involved by learning more about OER and to consider using them in their classes, and even to create their own OER materials to share. I also encourage students to learn more about OER and to talk to their professors about this topic.

(See the online version of this article at ssclinguafranca.wordpress.com for relevant Web links and references.)


Salem State students at the Costa Rica 2014 trip

This summer we are going back to Heredia, Costa Rica. During four weeks, students will live with a Tica family and earn six credits of Spanish language, culture or literature at Universidad Latina with other Costa Rican and international students. We will explore the country in multiple excursions: exciting hikes to volcanoes, relaxing baths in hot springs and yes, zip-line and water rafting for the adventurous. Cultural and service learning activities will make this the life-changing experience that many claim study abroad is. In the words of Terry Pratchett:

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” Terry Pratchett tells us. (Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky)

The numbers don’t lie. Several studies have proven how the study abroad experience changes lives (see the online version of this article at ssclinguafranca.wordpress.com for the sources of these claims):

Study Abroad and Careers, Salaries and Job Skills:

97% of study abroad students found employment within 12 months of graduation, when only 49% of college graduates found employment in the same period. That means they were twice as likely to find a job.

25% higher starting salaries: that’s how much more study abroad students earn than those college graduates who do not study abroad. 1 In a lifetime, study abroad students out earn their peers by 17%. This translates into earning an extra $567,500 over one’s career.

90% of study abroad alumni got into their first and second grad school choice.

The Value of Studying Abroad and Costa Rica 2016by Fátima Serra

84% of study abroad alumni felt their studies abroad helped them build valuable skills for the job market.

80% of study abroad students reported that study abroad allowed them to better adapt to diverse work environments.

70% of study abroad alumni claimed that because of study abroad they were more satisfied with their jobs.

59% of employers said study abroad would be valuable in an individual’s career later on with their organization.

34% of study abroad alumni claimed that study abroad helped them choose their career field.

Study abroad and Graduation and Academic Performance

100% greater improvement in GPA post-study abroad. Students GPAs tend to rise as they approach the completion of their undergraduate degree. Students who studied abroad saw their GPAs rise twice as quickly as a result of going abroad compared to students who stayed in town according to a Georgia study.

19% more likely to graduate. That describes how study abroad participants are more likely to graduate than non-participants by six years. Even at four years, study abroad participants are 15% more likely to graduate.

By travelling students learn other ways of doing, other ways of thinking and other ways of speaking. But above all programs abroad are about creating connections by finding others and finding yourself. When we go discover the world it becomes common ground and a common bond.

Returning students have proven all this time and again. On many occasions a four week program has been catalyst for students to embark on new professional avenues and longer study abroad experiences. The following is Jamie Desmond’s recap of what the Study Abroad immersion program in Costa Rica 2014 meant for her and I hope that many Salem State students consider following her lead and will join the world languages and cultures department in Heredia, Costa Rica this summer.

For more info: Fátima Serra [email protected]/costarica


World Languages and CulturesHeredia, Costa Rica 2016 Summer Program: May 21-June 18

Come to Costa Rica with us! You can earn six credits for Spanish language, culture and literature at the Elementary, Intermediate or Advanced Level.

The adventure excursions — zip-line, water rafting — museums, pristine beaches, and the friendliness of the Costa Rican people make this experience a wonderful opportunity.

COST:Airfare, Tuition, Room and Meals, Excursions, Activities, Volunteering and 6 credits of Spanish Language, Culture/ Literature: $3,895 Financial Aid Available

For more information, contact Dr. Fátima Serra: [email protected]

Visit salemstate.edu/costarica


The opportunity to go to Costa Rica was presented to my Spanish class during the spring 2014 semester by Dr. Serra, who came in and told us about a four week program in Heredia, Costa Rica. She told us how we would take two Spanish classes while abroad, go on multiple excursions to learn about Costa Rica and its culture, and live with a host family. We would spend some time volunteering in a school, teaching elementary-age students some English. It was there, in the underdeveloped region of Heredia with these students, that I realized how lucky I was for what I had back at home. It was also in that school that I realized I wanted to help and give back in any way that I could. This was also when I decided I no longer wanted to be just a high school history teacher. I reformed my idea of my future job and have now sought ways to become a teacher for English language learners (ELL). It was through this trip that I decided to apply for a Fulbright Scholarship to Uruguay. If the results don’t allow me to go to Uruguay, Dr. Serra has told me about other potential options for me to accomplish my dream.

My experiences in Costa Rica teaching English have profoundly shaped my interest in this project and informed my approach to teaching. Originally, I underestimated the impact of this trip, yet with each week this changed. I began to love Costa Rica and dreaded returning home. I vowed I would return and that I would learn

My Experience in Costa Rica with the WLC Departmentby Jamie Desmond ’16

Spanish so that I could better communicate with my Mamá Tica. The trip to Costa Rica helped me find what I loved and where I wanted to see myself in the future. My time in Costa Rica taught me the impact that culture can have on one’s education and, in particular, how it aided my learning of a second language there. By learning about Costa Rican culture and truly experiencing it on my own, I felt I not only learned Spanish but their way of life. Truly immersing oneself into the culture allows for so much more development of one’s person.

Costa Rica helped me to start viewing my future by impacting many students and seeing them go on to make a future, but I also see it as living like the Costa Ricans. The Costa Ricans live a life that is mixed between good “vibes” and helping others. I now feel I live by the Costa Rican slogan “Pura Vida,” meaning ‘pure life,’ because to live a life similar to the Costa Ricans, is to live a life in that frame of mind and to be appreciative of what you are given and your experiences.

So many thoughts ran through my mind as I prepared myself for my second study-abroad adventure. I always said that Costa Rica was the one country that I’d like to visit and this was now my opportunity. My flight was booked, my bags were packed, and I knew that I was ready, even if in the back of my mind I was still second guessing my decision.

The anxiety that I felt knowing that I’d be living in a Spanish-speaking country for 11 weeks was both terrifying and liberating. I remember only wishing that I knew someone else at this moment who was doing the same thing. I felt as though I was going into this experience alone, which wasn’t completely untrue, but I knew that if I had someone to relate to at that moment; most of my fears would have gone away. But that’s life. We have to lack something to learn what we need.

Pura vida! A Way of Life and A Way of Remembering by Terrell Greene

I hopped on my flight for my “vacation”, as my friends had called it. I had met with another SOL mate, our name as part of the SOL Education Abroad program, on a connecting flight and soon things calmed. As soon as the plane landed in Alajuela, Costa Rica any thoughts of returning home were replaced with anticipation for the adventures ahead. I would meet my host mom, her son, and my two roommates next, and then it was school and weekend trips through the country from there on.

The first stop was volcán Poas (Poas Volcano), where I can still remember the scent of volcanic fumes that arose. Following that, the group of 23 of us traveled to the rainforest in Manuel Antonio and saw an abundance of iguanas, monkeys, and raccoons. Was this for real? How were we all so lucky to live the ¡Pura vida!, a common phrase used to express/describe the Costa Rican carefree and laid-back attitude?

During my time in Costa Rica, I was able to meet locals and immerse myself within the language. I received the opportunity to volunteer in elementary schools, along with others, to help kids learn English and I even volunteered my time at a Senior Center where I heard stories of those who grew up in Costa Rica. I gained so much appreciation for the Spanish language and for the privileges I had in the U.S. through SOL.

For me, ¡Pura vida! was not just a phrase to live by, but more of a way for me to remember my experiences and the people that I encountered. After my first six weeks I had to say goodbye to most of the friends that I met in the program. Then after nine weeks I said goodbye to nearly all of them. ¡Pura vida! Is the one thing that will forever link us together, memories and all, no matter where we go, and I’m more than grateful to Costa Rica for giving me that.


Have you considered practicing your language skills in a fun social setting by joining a MEETUP group? MEETUP events happen all over the Boston area, providing a chance to get to know people from all walks of life and from all over the world who like to speak French, Spanish, Italian, German, Arabic or other languages.

My own MEETUP group—Voulez-vous Français—meets every other Friday in Porter Square, Cambridge. About 30 people show up each time to eat, drink and socialize in French. It’s a fun and casual fran-cophone event, open to anyone who can speak French at an inter-mediate level or higher. We have a number of members who are na-tive-French-speakers from all over the world, including Haiti, France, Canada, Belgium, Morocco, and Benin, but most of our members are non-native speakers from the U.S. like me. We meet in a bar (Tavern in the Square), but all ages are welcome to come and participate. It’s a nice way to meet new people and relax on a Friday night. We start at 6:30 m and many people hang out until around 9 pm or sometimes later. Members pay $1.00 each time they come. On occasion, we organize other fun activities such as having a house party, dining out, going to a French movie, or attending cultural events together. It is simple and free to join MEETUP. Just go to meetup.com to sign up and join any group you like. Once you become a member, you will be sent regular invitations to upcoming events and be asked to RSVP. Some groups might charge you a dollar or two each time you go (which helps to defray the costs that the organizer must pay to maintain the website), but many are free.

If you are at the beginner level in French, you might try joining the Boston French Language Meetup instead, which charges $3.00 per meeting, but accepts all levels. They meet at a pub in Central Square, Cambridge on Sunday afternoons and are open to all ages as well.A wide variety of MEETUP language groups can be found in and around Boston. Here is a partial list:

Let’s MEETUP and speak a foreign language! by Richard Strager

• Boston Area Arabic Language Meetup• Boston German Language Meetup• Boston Spanish Language Meetup• Lunedì Italiano Boston/Cambridge• Boston Italian Language and Culture Meetup• Boston Japanese and English Language Club

Keep in mind that some organizers will be open to creating events in your local area, if you show interest. And if you don’t find a language group you like, you may consider starting your own. That’s what I did. Feel free to contact Professor Richard Strager ([email protected]) for further information. He has attended all of the groups listed above with the exception of Arabic, which he has just begun to learn this semester.

ITALIAN CLUB PAINT NIGHTThe Italian Club hosted a super-successful paint night on Wednesday November 18. Approximately thirty-five students filled up our Language Lab in SB 117 at 6 pm. The atmosphere was sensational, collaborative, relaxing and joyful! Paint is a form of therapy that encourages creativity and self-expression, and often you do not have to be an artist to enjoy its benefits. In fact, participants appreciated the final product as well as the therapeutic, meditative ritual of the creative process. Take a look of their creations: facebook.com/groups/SSUitalianclub. Kudos to the Italian Club officers: Caitlin O'Toole (President), Marta Marucci (Treasurer), Thea Miller (Secretary) and Javier Rodriguez (Vice-President.)

Language Clubs’ CornerSALSA DANCING WITH THE SPANISH CLUBThe Spanish Club has met several times already this semester. They met on Wednesday, November 4 at Rockafellas in Salem to dance salsa, with lessons provided. People are encouraged to join them in their fun-filled activities. Join them in the fun!: facebook.com/groups/SpanishClubSSU/

Voulez-vous françaisMeetup group

Find Meetups for any interest at Meetup.com


Poetry Corner: Jarchas from Dr. Doll’s Spanish Literature Classby Kristine Doll and the class of SPN706Jarchas (kharjas) are brief poetic jewels dating as far back as the 10th century. They are the first poems written in Mozarabic, a Romance dialect spoken in southern Spain. Appearing as the final verses of longer poems written in Arabic or Hebrew, jarchas are characterized by notes of desire, longing and sensuality. Written by men in the voices of women who long for the return of their beloved ones, jarchas are poignant glimpses into the emotional realm of men and women in early Spain.

Here are just a few selections of original jarchas written by students of this semester’s graduate (SPN706) class in Spanish literature. Following the tradition of reciting poetry to the accompaniment of music, we offer suggestions for musical pieces to enrich the reading of each jarcha. Canciones sugeridas para acompañar la lectura:“Fotografía” – Juanes and Nelly Furtado

Habib Ali al-Jifri –Bésame, bésamedime donde puedo ver tus huellasy la luz de tu faz.

El amanecer no alumbra el cielo descubierto –Sufro solo en la oscuridadEsto es mi despedida

(Kristen Duhamel)

“Como dueles en los labios” - Grupo Maná“Ella me ha besado” -Pablo Ruiz

Ven a mí sr. mío Ibrahim,oh besa mis labios de carmín;si no vienes,¿Cómo viviré sin ti?

(Martha Abeille)

Mi amor, donde estasPorque no me llamasEstoy desorientadaSin tu finuraHa tanto tiempo y te extrañoOjala que dios me oiga

(Jessica Silva Manzo)

Venid mis hermanas, ¡y esuchad!Voy a explicarles mi calamidadNo sé donde está mi amorNo puedo vivir sin mirarA los ojos negrosEn que me quiero ahogar

(Ellen Begley Woods)

Phi Sigma Iota Honor Society and other departmental awardsThe following list of students and other individuals were inducted into our department’s Psi Sigma Iota Honor Society at the end of the last academic year. It is important to us to recognize their hard work and achievement.

MAT in SpanishAnelbys BajramovicDarcy desGroseilliersJulie Sargent

MAT ESLErin McManusFrenchJeffrey RobinsonSamantha Trullo

ItalianThea Miller Nadine Solimine

SpanishRosa de la CruzAngelica GreenRuthann SterlingCorinne TurnerAlicia Vizuet

Honorary InducteesLeonor Figueroa-Feher, PhDProfessor Domenico Savio Teker

Faculty/Administrators Elisa Castillo, PhDRonnette Wongus

The following students are recognized for their achievement with Departmental Honors

Departmental Honors Mirwais Mohammad Anwar – ArabicElizabeth Darmetko – Chinese Nathalie Reyes – FrenchCaitlin O’Toole – Italian Ryan Viglione – Spanish Marta Marucci – World Languages Terrell Greene – Departmental Service

We are proud to announce the following list of graduates from spring 2015:Marilin Berroa – Spanish BAAngelica Green – World Languages and Cultures BAChristopher Johanson – Spanish BAKatherine Palencia – Spanish BAJacqueline Ramirez – Spanish BACorinne Turner – Spanish BARyan Viglione – Spanish BAWendy Cahill – Spanish MATLeanne Cirigliano – Spanish MATJacqueline Mokaba – Spanish MAT

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