 |
 |
 |
Learn more about Sharri's story and find out what our students are doing. |
Intercultural Living Exhange (ILE)
A Place at the Intercultural Table
Exotic aromas of North African couscous, Chinese dumplings and Honduran pastelitos fill the air along with snippets of conversation in French, Chinese and Spanish. It's not the U.N. cafeteria, but the second-floor kitchen of UMBC's Harbor Hall, where undergraduate student residents of the Intercultural Living Exchange (ILE) are getting a taste of new cuisines - and new cultural insights.
ÒI knew I would be able to make connections with people from other countries while also being around people who speak my targeted language,Ó says Tony Harris, a modern languages and linguistics major studying Spanish and a resident of the ILE.
At the ILE residence, students live and study within specific language clusters led by graduate mentors who themselves are native speakers. Clusters meet regularly for academic projects and social activities, providing an opportunity for intercultural learning. ÒThe ILE is an immersive experience, an intercultural learning community that unfolds for these students as they interact on a regular basis,Ó says Judith Schneider, ILE director. ÒEvery day there are informal interchanges that open our student's eyes to different perspectives, different cultures and new values.Ó