Since March 2024, I began my involvement with Café Jasette through the TRUSU OuiSpeak French Club, initially as Digital Media Coordinator and later, in Sept 2025, as Vice President of the club. This project aimed to create a welcoming environment for students to practice French while sharing their own cultural experiences, fostering both language development and intercultural exchange. Rather than following traditional language practice formats, Café Jasette encourages participants to engage in conversation naturally, draw on their existing language knowledge, and learn collaboratively from one another’s perspectives.
During each session, I facilitated discussions, guided participants in exploring vocabulary and pronunciation, and encouraged them to express cultural insights from their own backgrounds. This dynamic approach allowed learners to gain confidence in speaking French while simultaneously appreciating the diversity of experiences and languages represented in the group. By supporting and organizing these sessions, I also developed my leadership, communication, and organizational skills, learning to adapt activities to the needs of diverse participants and to manage the logistics of running a student-led language program.
This project deepened my understanding of how language learning and intercultural exchange intersect. It taught me the importance of patience, empathy, and responsiveness in facilitating inclusive and engaging learning spaces. Looking forward, I plan to continue contributing to language and cultural programs, applying the skills I have developed to support meaningful interactions, promote cultural awareness, and strengthen community engagement at TRU and beyond.
