La Tertulia, the Spanish Table, demonstrates instructor’s love of teaching Spanish

Conversation at La Tertulia

BC Spanish instructor Archana Alwar launched BC’s La Tertulia (The Spanish Table) nearly six years ago to provide a nurturing place for students to practice, encourage a love of the Spanish language, and demonstrate how much fun it is to speak another language.

As it is not a class, participants don’t have to worry about grades and can practice their Spanish in a low-stress environment. For one hour each Wednesday morning during the fall, winter and spring academic quarters, Alwar reserves a table in the cafeteria where she hosts anywhere from two to 15 students, faculty and staff. They come from all levels of Spanish proficiency, and come to practice speaking the Spanish language. “When students take advantage of this experience, it helps them develop a true love of the Spanish language and learn more about the culture of Spanish-speaking countries,” Alwar said. “We also have a great time together.”

And, they get to know one another. As a get-acquainted exercise, “Participants first introduce themselves, say where they are from and tell what classes they are taking,” Alwar said. “I encourage anybody from any level of Spanish to come and improve their speaking ability”.

The motivations to attend La Tertulia varies, though all want to improve their proficiency in Spanish. Two who attended were Alwar’s Spanish I students Kim Hutchinson and Robert Koczarski. Neither had taken Spanish in high school and they needed to learn Spanish quickly.

“We were both preparing to take a month-long trip to Guatemala in the summer to do volunteer work with a non-profit organization, Amigos de Santa Cruz,” Hutchinson said. “Robert and I attended La Tertulia every week it was offered spring quarter. La Tertulia has been very helpful to me, since my sole purpose in taking Spanish is to be able to talk to people when we go to Guatemala. I really like Archana as a teacher. She makes the class interesting by presenting the material in a lot of different ways, and La Tertulia is an extension of that.”

Alwar says “La Tertulia provides a way for participants to improve their skills and learn new ones. “I think it is very important for people to learn more about Spanish culture, and we do that by getting together and having an enjoyable time speaking Spanish,” she said. “When students take advantage of this experience, it also helps them develop a true love of the Spanish language.”

Alwar, a native of Puerto Rico who has been teaching for 16 years, says her primary goal as a Spanish Instructor is to have students interact in Spanish and believes this to be the key to effective language instruction.” Alwar volunteers her time for La Tertulia. “I am very happy that I am doing this,” she said. “I know that I am helping my department, as well as helping more people learn another language.”

– by Sharon Berg

Last Updated October 3, 2016