The LRC hosts conversation hours in many languages, some in collaboration with the language departments. These are led by speakers of the target language and offer an opportunity to use a language you are learning, outside of class, in an informal, low-pressure atmosphere. They are open to any learner, but are probably most useful to those at an intermediate level or above. Gain confidence through experience! Just using your new language skills helps you learn more than you might think, without instruction or correction. Come to Conversation Hour in your language and have fun! If you are learning a language we don't have a conversation hour in, find a group of learners and we'll help set it up. See us in G04 Stimson Hall during the day or send us an email at cornelllrc@cornell.edu to get started. Conversation Hours are open to the public.
If you are interested in facilitating a Conversation Hour, please complete our Spring 2025 facilitator form and we will get back to you.
We also have a variety of board games available for checkout (for a complete list of games, check our LRC library holdings)!
Spring 2025 Schedule
Conversation Hours start on Monday, February 3 and run through Tuesday, May 6, unless noted otherwise. There are no sessions during February Break (February 15-18) and Spring Break (March 29 - April 6). We are in the process of scheduling spring hours. Please check back for more details and follow us on social media (@CornellLRC).
Conversation Hours meet in G25 Stimson Hall unless noted otherwise.
All times are ET.
| Language | Date, Time, & Location | Facilitator |
|---|---|---|
| Arabic | Mohammad Al-Labadi | |
| Armenian | Wednesdays, 5-6 pm | Karen Petrosyan |
| ASL | Lisa Sunde | |
| Bangla | Samirah Tabassum | |
| Cantonese | Wednesdays, 4:30-5:30 pm | Wilson Kan |
| Catalan | Wednesdays, 4:30-5:30 pm | Clara Alcolea Vila |
| Dutch | Mondays, 5-6 pm (G24A) | Noah Duguma |
| English° | Wednesdays, 12:15-1:15 pm | Oluwapelumi Egunjobi & Elda Abayneh |
| English° | Thursdays, 6-7 pm | Paul Jensen |
| English° | Serene Wang | |
| French | Tuesdays, 5-6 pm meets every other week | Carly Hermann |
| German (Sprachcafé*) | Mondays, 5-6 pm (Big Red Barn) starts January 27, no session on May 5 | Rajvi Thakore & Anna Reynders |
| Japanese | Bora Shin, Tami Takada, & Cougar Hashikura | |
| Korean | Doyeon Kong | |
| Mandarin | Shangke Liu | |
| Mandarin | Serene Wang | |
| Norwegian | Mondays, 5-6 pm (Big Red Barn) starts January 27, no session on May 5 | Sarah Uttormark |
| Persian/Farsi | Maral Arzani | |
| Polish | Saturdays, 1:30-2:30 pm (on Zoom) | Barbara Batycka |
| Quechua | Eddy Machaca | |
| Russian | Wednesdays, 3-4 pm | Dina Gamous |
| Spanish | Maria Persaud Fernandez | |
| Spanish | Tuesdays, 12-1 pm | Gillian Rzepka |
| Spanish | Thursdays, 5:15-6:15 pm | Aidan Helfant |
| Spanish | Fridays, 1:30-2:30 pm | Drew Soshensky |
| Thai | Wednesdays, 6-7 pm (on Zoom) meets once a month | June Boonyanuphong |
| Turkish | Pelin Kumbet | |
| Vietnamese | Quynh Anh Tran | |
| Yiddish | Fridays, 12-1 pm (on Zoom) starts on 1/24 | David Forman |