The Intercultural Living Exchange, a UMBC’s living and learning community, is an innovative academic living exchange program that incorporates linguistic and cultural components while promoting values of diversity, and sustainability by student-faculty interaction and service learning, three vital elements in the fostering of student success at UMBC (click here for mission statement and learning outcomes).
The program, a residential community in Harbor Hall comprised of undergraduate and graduate students, promotes linguistic proficiency through the immersion of students in the language and culture of one of these clusters: Chinese, Japanese, French, and Spanish. It also fosters the development of intercultural communication and social entrepreneurship skills viewed as essential for success in today’s ever-integrating world. The linguistic and cultural competence of the mentor, as well as the knowledge and expertise of the faculty liaison for each group contributes, make this one of the most effective ways of obtaining cultural competency and fluency in a language while living within the university environment. Residing in the Intercultural Living Exchange is also an excellent opportunity for students preparing to study abroad, or for those wishing to maintain linguistic proficiency obtained in a previous international study experience. Workshops focusing on intercultural training, and professional development help our ILE students prepare for international careers.
If you are interested in participating in this diverse experience, or wish to obtain more information regarding the ILE program. Please contact Dr. Elisabeth Arévalo-Guerrero, director of the ILE, or MLLI Administrative Assistant Kahi Fraser. You may also stop by the department of Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication, Fine Arts room 463 (410-455-2109) to pick up an application.