Be cool, sprich Deutsch
Gail Kropp's German 1 class performs "Backe, Backe Kuchen"
Sharman Bruni, Editor-in-Chief
April 4, 2012
Filed under Features, On campus, Top Stories
“Bienvenue, Willkomen, Bienvenidos!”
Dressed to the nines and flashing vibrant smiles, MCs Jeff Stock and Zachary Scovel welcomed a packed crowd to Solano Community College’s Fourth Annual Foreign Language Night on Friday, March 30.
Students performed songs and skits in their respective French, German, and Spanish classes to demonstrate what they have learned and to enjoy a night of shared languages and cultural diversity with family and friends.
Professor Margaret Abel-Quintero and her Spanish 1 class performed the song “De Colores” in honor of César Chávez. “De Colores” is known as the theme song for the campesinos (farm workers) whom Chávez spent his life defending and for whom he advocated better treatment. This year also marked the fiftieth anniversary of the United Farm Workers, the labor union which Chávez co-founded.
César Chávez Day was observed as a state holiday in California, Texas, and Colorado on March 31.
“This is my second time,” said third-semester Spanish student Joshua Bonds. “I like it. I enjoyed it the first time I came with Ms. Abel-Quintero.”
“I used to teach Spanish before I became a dean,” said Jeffrey Lamb, dean of Liberal Arts. “I’ve been coming here for four years. It’s great. It’s amazing to me how excited the students are, the families that come, it’s a great crowd.”
“It’s actually more fun than I thought it would be,” MC Jeff Stock said. “I’m taking Spanish 2. I love it. I’m taking it so I can actually learn the language, I don’t need language credits for anything.”
Stock has a background with the Marines working as a Russian interpreter and has taken German along with his current Spanish class at Solano.
Those like Stock who speak two or more languages were recognized as polyglots and included students Nicol Baker, Rosemary Bennett, Annie Brownwood, Holly Donohue, Isabel Espinoza, Tasha Hagerman, Cat Ligioso, Eric Lozano, George Reyes, Zachary Scovel, Paul Tack, Alex Zakrzewski and Lisa Zanolini.
“I have always been interested in foreign languages,” said MC Zachary Scovel, who takes French and German. “I studied Spanish five years prior to this. I’ve been to Europe and I just love the culture and everything that’s involved in it.”
“It’s awesome, I am so stoked right now,” said student James Hill. Hill attended the event to sing and dance to “Los Marcianos Llegaron Ya” with his Spanish 2 class. His teacher, Abel-Quintero, relayed that “Los Marcianos Llegaron Ya” was written as a comical response to Orsen Welles’ radio broadcast of “The War of the Worlds.”
Other performances included “Alouette” by Lorna Marlow-Muñoz’s French 1 class, “La Bamba” by Elisabeth Sturm’s Spanish 1 class, “Be Cool, Sprich Deutsch” by Gail Kropp’s German 4 class and the skit “Le Chewing Gum,” by Marlow-Muñoz’s French 4 class.
The students ended the night by singing alternating rounds of “Frère Jacques” for the French students, the Spanish version “Fray Felipe” and “Bruder Jakob” for the German students.
