Language Opportunities on Campus

Photos by Billie Throm

Article by Madeline Teeter

NEWBERG, Ore. – This academic school year, new language opportunities have arisen at George Fox University (GFU). Gatherings for Spanish, German and Latin allow students to keep their language skills from getting rusty.

Susana Martinez, assistant professor of Spanish and modern languages coordinator, began her work as a Spanish professor at GFU in the fall of 2025. She wanted ways to connect with others on campus, which led to the idea of starting gatherings where people could practice conversations in German or Spanish.

“A lot of people know Spanish but haven’t actually had conversations in it,” Maritnez said. Through these weekly gatherings, students grow more confident in their Spanish speaking abilities and don’t forget what they learned in the past.

Anyone is welcome, as some attendees are fluent in Spanish, whereas others have minimal experience. “I’ll pair you with someone on a higher or even level, depending on what works best,” Martinez said. 

Sometimes the group will pair off into one-on-one conversations, whereas other times they will have group conversations or play games. “It’s not a class,” Martinez said. “It’s highly flexible and adapted to who’s there day to day.”

The German group is structured the same way and meets bi-weekly. Martinez said there are about 18-20 people who speak German at GFU and some will simply listen to the conversations around them, while others are fluent and conversing.

Last semester, the German group held a Christmas banquet with traditional German food, while the Spanish group had a game and snack night. Martinez said that members from the Community Language Program were invited to the event alongside students. “Game night was a really fun event,” she said. “Students, staff and faculty got to connect in an informal event learning together.”

The Latin Reading Group is structured differently than the other two gatherings. As the name suggests, it is focused on reading Latin rather than speaking it.

Dana Robinson, assistant professor of history and theology and associate director of the honors program, explained that while conversational Latin is possible, she and the others at GFU have not had that experience.

“The group started because a student asked me right at the start of the year if there would ever be a Latin class offered at GFU,” Robinson said. Robinson thought the chances of a Latin class were slim but she had already been thinking of ways to bring Latin onto campus. “I can’t do a class but I can do a reading group.”

The Latin Reading Group meets weekly, with three to five consistent attenders. Robinson said that those who have attended all had a background in Latin to some degree, although anyone is welcome to come. “It’s for anyone who’s patient,” she said.

The group has read a variety of texts, such as Thirty-Eight Latin Stories and Scribblers, Sculptors, and Scribes. The latter has passages to read along with vocabulary and grammatical guides. Robinson said that her favorite part of the book is its pictures of old graffiti written in Latin, as she enjoys seeing the language handwritten by Latin speakers that has lasted until today.

During the Christmas season, the group read How the Grinch Stole Christmas in Latin, which Robinson said was quite difficult to read. “We try fun things but also feel challenged,” she said. Her favorite reading so far has been Winnie-the-Pooh, as she said it is fascinating to experience children’s books and classic myths in the ancient language.

While those are the three languages with official gatherings at the moment, more opportunities could arise in the future. Martinez said she would love to start other language groups, such as for French, if enough students were interested. “The hard thing is finding the date and time.”

For those looking to keep up the practice of other languages, these groups are available resources. If there is another language group you would like to see formed, the first step is reaching out and seeking others who share the same interest.