Can we talk pretty one day?

While Princeton's global aspirations are laudable, they are undermined by the simple fact that mastery of a foreign language in four years is extremely difficult, especially given the many demands put on a Princeton student. Students who are not majoring in a language are even more hard-pressed to develop fluency. Moreover, most upper-level language classes deal almost exclusively with literature, which is not always the best preparation for holding conversations in a foreign language about real-world problems.

The weekly language tables offered at residential colleges are intended as one way for students to hone their speaking skills. These tables are certainly a great asset for many students but in most cases are not adequate for the upper-level speaker. Many of these tables cater to all speakers, from intro level upward, which may inhibit upper-level students looking to have advanced conversations. Ultimately, the language tables are most helpful to intro-level speakers, and they are accordingly geared and advertised most to these students. Unfortunately, the needs of more proficient students fall through the cracks.

To solve this problem, language departments could establish small seminars with the purpose of enhancing both fluency in the modern spoken language and a more comprehensive understanding of culture. The fabric of such courses should be rooted in speaking and comprehension of the language as it is used around the world, and these courses should be exclusively geared toward more proficient students. Some departments already have similar courses, including FRE 215: France Today: Culture, Politics, and Society, which promises to offer French speakers a communicative basis to survive in the modern French economy. If more departments followed suit, Princeton students would be better prepared to live up to the University's aspirations of Princeton being in the service of all nations.