Fluent Season: Group Help for Learning Languages

WHEN BETH RABBIN returned to Maryland in early 2006 after two years of living and working in Florence, she worried that she would lose her newfound fluency in Italian. "I was looking up classes [online]," says Rabbin, 26, a fitness instructor and an office administrator, "but it's so expensive. I started thinking, 'It's probably not worth it. I'm kind of past the grammar stuff ... and it's not worth all the money, just to do worksheets."

But by searching for "Italian language groups" on the Internet, the Bethesda resident found an informal, no-cost alternative: the Montgomery County Italian Language Meetup Group, hosted by Meetup.com. She registered with the Web site (for free) and RSVPed for a bi-monthly meeting. Soon, Rabbin found herself in a Starbucks, practicing her "ciaos" and "come vas" (How are you?) with new "amici" (friends) over "caffe" (coffee) and "dolci" (desserts).

Initial awkwardness aside, Rabbin was happy to socialize in Italian and began organizing bi-monthly Friendship Heights-based meetings for the group's approximately 700-member Washington chapter.

Don't worry. Not everyone attends at once — that might be like a scary scene from a Fellini film.

"We usually get somewhere between 10 and 15 [participants each meeting]," Rabbin says, "and that's a really good number, I think. It's big enough that you can split into smaller groups, but it's small enough that you get to meet everybody.

"Over time, I've probably lost some of my skills, just from not speaking Italian [constantly], but this has definitely helped me learn, too," Rabbin says. The Italian group is one of more than 60 Meetup.com-hosted foreign language groups that convene regularly in and around Washington. Local linguists practice a variety of languages — everything from Korean to Kurdish — and the largest groups (French and Spanish) each boast more than 1,400 members.

Experts say language skills, whether gained through meetups or formal classes, can be a particularly valuable leg up in the competitive working world. So, learning and practicing a new vernacular — or even brushing up on that rusty high school French — is a smart idea.

"Since the world has changed so much and we're living in this global society," foreign language skills are increasingly important for American professionals, says Marty Abbott, director of education at the Alexandria-based nonprofit American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. "If we expect to be able to sell our goods abroad, it's going to be important that we're able to speak the languages of the countries that we sell our products to."

Abbott, who is also a former language educator and administrator of 33 years, says that meetups can boost language skills. "There's no better way to learn a language than to get together with other people to speak it," she says.

Plenty of meetup members feel the same way.

"There are some people who come to the [Italian] meetup because they travel to Italy with their jobs," Rabbin says. "They say, 'I don't speak a word of Italian, but I've got to go to Rome for my job, and I want to learn.'"

Rabbin says she thinks employers are "impressed" by her Italian fluency. "I think people see that as a plus," she says.

People of all ages and interests can join any meetup group, and membership is free or costs a minimal amount (Meetup.com charges approximately $10 to $20 per month for each group's online space, and some organizers split the fee among members). Because meetings are often held in public spaces, like restaurants, cafes and bars, organizers encourage group members to buy a drink or snack and stay awhile. Some meetings last for hours.

The Arabic Language and Culture group's weekly meeting, for example, typically runs about three hours — from 3 until 6 p.m. every Sunday at Adams Morgan's Old City of Jerusalem Cafe. Fouad Francis, 34, who organizes the group of more than 500, says the sessions never feel like a chore.

"It's a friendly, social gathering," Francis says. "We discuss events. We discuss what's going on in the world, what they are learning [in Arabic]."

Francis, a Silver Spring resident who lived in Kuwait for 18 years, says he enjoys sharing his native tongue with others.

"Believe it or not, I speak a lot more English than I speak Arabic," Francis says. "Most of my friends are not Arabic. So, I like to maintain my language and speak my language. It keeps [Arabic] fresh in my memory ... so I don't forget it."

Humayun K. Marufkhail, 32, who organizes the 18-member Pashto Language & Culture Meetup Group, started the group in August to gather support for the nonprofit Global Pashtun Institute for Peace & Democracy (which he founded two years ago to raise American awareness of the Pashto culture that originated in Afghanistan and Pakistan).

Native Pashto speakers, non-Pashtun Americans learning the language, and a diplomat who uses Pashto on trips abroad are among the individuals who have found the group online and come to monthly meetings at Fairfax's Panera Bread.

Though not everyone in the group knew of Marufkhail's Institute and its broader goals, Marufkhail says most are supportive.

"They've given me ideas for the Web site and [advice about] where to go for grants," Marufkhail says.

Networking takes place on a more personal level among participants in the nearly 60-member Washington Polish Language Meetup group. Malgosia Mikolaj-czyk, 32, says Polish Americans at the monthly meetups often bond over shared childhood experiences.

"I think what people want [is the opportunity to talk about] 'Where have you gone in Poland?' 'What did you experience growing up?'" the Rockville resident said at the group's October Salsa Night meeting at Clarendon Grill. "Some people, our parents would make us go to Polish school on Saturdays, so we'll talk about that. ... I don't really hang out with Polish people, so it's nice to do this once in a while, just to speak Polish."

Non-native speakers say the meetups are an unparalleled chance to chat in foreign languages. Keith Gilbert, 40, the primary organizer of the Italian meetups since 2003, believes that casual conversation at meetups — in addition to formal lessons — has helped him become proficient in Italian.

"I've definitely improved my language skills since I've joined," Gilbert says. "The focus on language that people find — to actually be able to go and try out language skills and talk about whatever is on their mind — is the biggest benefit. Otherwise, there just aren't many opportunities out there to speak Italian."

Photos by Lawrence Luk for Express