At Lawrence University, students are provided with the unique opportunity to revel in language-learning for a two-day immersion at Lawrence’s Door County residence, Björklunden. Immersion weekend occurs during Winter Term for those pursuing French, German, Japanese and Russian, followed by the spring immersion for Spanish and Chinese.
One’s arrival at the immersion weekend starts with a language pledge that asks for students to honor a no-English policy for the remainder of their time at Björklunden. For Dominica Chang, the Margaret Banta Humleker Professor of French Cultural Studies and Associate Professor of French, this pledge is not one to force students but is rather a way to get students “motivated to participate and speak.” It is a rare occasion, as academic study of language does not necessarily offer the colloquial or casual feel of everyday conversation; this is why immersion is vital. Chang would state later in the interview that “immersion weekend was always about creating a space where students are pushed to be outside of their comfort zone and to be able to express themselves on topics — hopefully a student is able to feel even just a bit more comfortable doing so, even in the classroom.” Chang emphasized that this weekend was always about immersion. Initial iterations of the immersion weekend would consist of former professors Eliene Hoft March, Judy Sarnecki and the late Lifongo Vetinde inviting students to their own homes for a Saturday immersion over food, which has now expanded into the full Björklunden immersion weekend experience.
For Val Muzzarelli, a sophomore majoring in art history who has recently started the German track and plans to add a German minor, “the minor is sort of a result of Björk.” Muzzarelli tells me that xe would’ve pursued German in high school, but it was not offered, so xe took the chance at Lawrence to pursue German for xir language requirements. Muzzarelli was initially hesitant about going on the Björklunden trip, saying it was thanks to “[Associate Professor of German Allison Guenther-Pal] inviting me and telling me that there was extra space at Björk.” However, xe was surprised at xir own knowledge while at Björk, saying, “I knew more than I thought I did.” Muzzarelli credits the professors’ support, stating that “just having that reassurance, for me, is comforting,” as the Björklunden immersion weekend facilitated an encouraging environment.
Danny Glasco, a junior majoring in psychology and minoring in Japanese, says his interest in the language has evolved from being interested in media from Japan to eventually pursuing the language at Lawrence. He states that he now has more of an incentive to learn Japanese that is not just geared at the media or obtaining his minor. Glasco will be studying abroad in Japan for the upcoming Spring Term, and he is excited to pursue Japanese and the immersion that comes with it. Glasco states, “You can’t learn a language in a vacuum because language doesn’t exist in a vacuum.” For Glasco, going to Björklunden was not a necessity, as he had already completed his minor requirements.
Michael Diaz, a sophomore majoring in business and minoring in French, started studying French in high school. For Diaz, the act of speaking in French is meaningful for him; as he says, “the most interesting part of language is actually using it; for example, going to speak with a professor is motivating for me.” Diaz utilizes notable French singers, from Edith Piaf to Charles Aznavour, as well as translated manga and French-dubbed anime, all in the hopes to increase his exposure to French. Björklunden for him was “the most authentic French experience [he] could get.” Continually, Diaz states, “hearing different accents, different ways of speaking, different wording is enriching for me.”
Kokoro Tamai, a sophomore majoring in computer science and minoring in Spanish, attended this year’s winter immersion weekend at Björklunden in hopes to assist learners as a native speaker of Japanese. Her first attendance at Björklunden was during Spring Term 2024 for Spanish. She states that she “struggled a lot, because my Spanish level at that time was not good.” She describes her exhaustion, saying that “after having a whole conversation for 30 minutes […] my brain just doesn’t work.” This was a common consensus among students during the Björklunden immersion weekend.
Carina Bryan and Kate Dunn, both first-years, have started Russian during their first Fall Term at Lawrence. Bryan plans to major in History and Russian, while Dunn has hopes to major in linguistics with a minor in Russian. Dunn stated that for her, Björkluden was helpful as “there is a hurdle of hearing your target language and tending to tune it out — to get over that first hurdle, you really have to focus on what people are saying instead of resorting to that question of ‘what does that mean in English?’” Bryan and Dunn bonded over their difficulties of not being heritage speakers of Russian and took the time to meet outside of class to study and ruminate on the language. For Bryan, immersion is crucial for her passion for the language. She says, “I love going through YouTube [and] finding folk choirs from different regions.” She specifically mentioned the Pyantnitsky Choir. For both students, this immersion was a chance to truly utilize Russian with the hopes of feeding their passion for the language.
Annika Gruber, a first-year with an undecided major and a minor in French, can attest to this. She admits that, at Björklunden, “even though I consider myself semi-fluent, I think my brain wants to hear English after a little bit.” Gruber was introduced to French from the young age of three in Montreal, Canada, but proficiency was difficult to maintain after she moved to the United States at “9 or 10.” Gruber adds that it’s important to have multiple levels of languages for immersion weekend, as it allows everyone “to be exposed to the upper-level classes and lower levels. You can kind of learn from each other. For example, you can see the progression of what you can aspire for as a student just taking French, versus an advanced student who will work to slow down more, be a bit more clear or thoughtful.”
Language offers us multitudinous ways of understanding, as meaning oscillates between translation, speech and the liminality of what a word might signify. In a world of increasing global communication, it is important to pursue the act of learning a language. The hope is that the immersion weekend will create an incentive for students to continue their journey.