New house creates language precinct
The Monroe Lane Language House offers a communal meeting place for students who share the same language, whether it’s Persian, Arabic, Hindi or even English.
Posted 11/14/02
Students at the Monroe Lane Language House converse.
Photo by Jennifer Gerow (English ’03).
Monday through Thursday evenings, a cacophony of six languages fills the dining room at the Monroe Lane Language House. Dining together by language, students discuss events of the day in Arabic, Hindi/Urdu, Persian, Japanese, Chinese and Italian. English occasionally creeps in as well, especially on Wednesday evenings when residents are free to sit at different tables.
The diverse collection of languages distinguishes student life within the University’s newest language house and residence hall, which became home to 75 students at the beginning of this academic year. Located at the corner of Monroe Lane and Jefferson Park Avenue, Monroe Lane Language House sits adjacent to the French, Spanish and German houses. A fifth, the Russian House, is on Cresap Road near the Ivy Road-Emmet Street intersection.
Nearly doubling the number of language house residents, the new facility strengthens the concept of a language precinct, where a distinctive international atmosphere is alive 24 hours a day. With nine languages (10 counting English) spoken in such close proximity, students can experience multiple languages and cultures in one small area of Grounds.