By Maria Gabriela Bolivar Gomez
The Studio for Languages and Cultures at Barry offers way more than students know. With free cafecito and amazing field trips and events, this certainly is a spot to have on your radar.
Unfortunately, not many students know about this little corner inside Barry’s Monsignor William Barry Memorial Library. Here are some things the Studio in room 208 has to offer.
The main service is personalized tutoring for Spanish and French for both staff and students. You don’t need to be enrolled in a Spanish course to stop by and indulge in foreign conversations. The students who have, have testified to wishing they knew about the studio way earlier in their time at Barry since it would have helped when they most needed it.
“The languages studio has helped me progress with my conversational Spanish, and it has been an asset to improving my skills overall,” said advertising junior Willima Nguyen.
Along with daily tutoring, the Studio offers students the internationally accepted “Siele” Spanish proficiency exam and a better chance as students and professionals in all application processes from internships and jobs to graduate schools.
The studio is run by the English and Foreign Language Department to organize a variety of cultural activities. The studio has partnered up with cultural non-for-profit organizations to deliver students some great experiences.
The pictorial exhibition, Visions of Asturias, along the North Miami Avenue fence, was a gift from the Language department and the Studio. Visions of Asturias was brought here directly from Spain in the hands of a foundation called Fundación María Cristina Masaveu Peterson who worked with the Centro Cultural Español (Spanish Cultural Center) and the Spanish Embassy itself. Among others, they have also worked with the Fundarte organization and the Miami Light Project.
The department takes pride in its contributions to Barry’s Hispanic Heritage Month. There is the Churro con Chocolate Caliente (churros and hot chocolate) event, and some movie events offered every September and October.
The studio organized a Calle 8 field trip where students walked along one of the historic streets of South Miami-Dade. There they immersed into the Cuban culture and its tobacco industry, Cuban coffee, and Cuban music, ending the night with a delicious, authentic Cuban dish.
Students also went to the Miami Book Fair and immersed themselves in literature from all backgrounds for a whole afternoon.
Upcoming trips are always in the making with the idea of going to Miami Bandshell to enjoy a night of live music by the beach at the top of the list.
When you walk inside the studio, you’ll see a large variety of art books donated by the Centro Cultural Español and an inviting couch to decompress in after a long morning of classes. It’s a great hangout spot for students to enjoy some good company, great coffee, and compete in a domino match.
You can keep up with the Studio’s events and upcoming trips on the Corq app.
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