Non-Spanish speakers, be jealous. The new Intercambio series at the Walters Art Museum in Mt. Vernon is fun, interactive and not to be missed — a welcome change from classroom language learning.
Most learners of a foreign language who aren't forced to speak the language outside of the classroom are plagued by a reluctance to do so, or a crippling shyness.
In the classroom, not everyone gets the chance to practice their speaking skills, either.
The Walters's new Intercambio event is composed of fellow learners who not only share the common goal of learning a language, but also a common love for art, which helps loosen the tongue.
This past Sunday was only the second incarnation of the fall series, which runs on the second Sunday of each month from October through May (skipping January), but the series is already popular and polished, not to mention free.
Each event runs from 3:00 – 4:30 p.m., and is basically an interactive Spanish-language guided tour featuring five or six different pieces throughout the Walters. The pieces are chosen based on a theme.
The guide and creator of the event, Andrea Vespoint, begins by giving a brief description in Spanish of the historical and artistic background of each piece. Pieces can be anything — a painting, sculpture, jewelry, etc. Vespoint then engages the attendees with questions in Spanish and encourages comments about the artwork.
So far attendance hasn't been high, with about 15–20 people of various Spanish levels attending each event, but an intimate group is well suited for conversation.
Vespoint, who is also the community outreach coordinator for the museum, started the program this past February.
One of her goals as coordinator is to expand the demographic the museum attracts, and Vespoint thought language might be good grounds on which to build new community connections and attract the Spanish-speaking and immigrant populations of Baltimore to the Walters.
So far the program has attracted mainly those interested in learning Spanish or in the process of learning Spanish, even though it was created to attract a mix of both native Spanish speakers who want to improve their English and native English speakerswho are looking to practice Spanish.
October's event was a little more successful in that regard. Vespoint says that there were two or three native Spanish speakers. The group was able to divide into smaller groups, which facilitated discussion. Vespoint is hoping for more native Spanish speakers to attend the series in the future.
This Sunday's theme was vases (floreros/jarrones), featuring a carved agate vase with the Greek god Pan's face on both sides, a realistic duck-shaped vase, a Greek amphora and French and Chinese vases.
Last month's theme was death and dying; Vespoint is still working on deciding the theme for Dec. 11th's Intercambio event.
It takes Vespoint a minimum of five hours to prepare for each event, as she personally selects pieces according to her chosen theme and does extensive background research on each piece in order to give interesting and engaging presentations.
She has had requests from parents for child-oriented Intercambio events, but she is still working on recruiting bilingual children – "Children will learn better from each other," she explains.
For now the monthly event is best suited to adults, who will certainly be able to learn from one another, though there are hopes that this will change in the future..
The speaking pace is plenty slow and well-articulated besides, making the event intelligible for a wide range of Spanish-speaking levels and especially good for learning new vocabulary.
The atmosphere is exceedingly friendly and engaging; Vespoint asks questions of the attendees, welcoming their opinions as well as any historical knowledge they can contribute to the discussion.
The vocabulary practiced is not useless outside the art or museum context; there is a lot of physical vocabulary dealing with objects, shapes, colors and materials that can be applied to daily life.
Take a break from finals in a month or check out an Intercambio event next semester.
No registration is needed — just show up in the lobby of the Walters and have fun practicing your Spanish.
