By Fatima Salinas

A conversation between a doctor and patient can reveal as much about cultural expectations as it does about medical care. Even when two people speak the same language, differences in how they interpret questions, express agreement, or communicate concerns can lead to misunderstandings.

These interactions illustrate something the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ Center for Language and Culture Learning (CLCL) wants more people to recognize: language and culture influence nearly every aspect of daily life, often in ways people don't notice.

That understanding is behind The Language Lab, a new podcast created by the center to explore how communication shapes relationships, professional experiences, and interactions across cultures.

The idea emerged from conversations with students who wanted more opportunities to engage with languages and cultures outside the classroom, but needed something flexible enough to fit their schedules. It also reflected the center's interest in making language and cultural understanding more accessible to the broader campus community.

"We want to create a space where these different perspectives can come together, where academic research meets real-world experience, and where conversations can lead us in directions we might not have anticipated," said Emilie Destruel, host of The Language Lab and associate professor in the Department of Languages, Literature, Linguistics, and Cultures.

Extending the center's work

CLCL already supports language learning through conversation groups, tutoring, and cultural activities that help students practice languages and connect with others.

The Language Lab builds on those opportunities by examining questions that extend beyond any one language or academic discipline.

The podcast's first episode explored why learning languages still matters in the age of artificial intelligence. Its second examines how language skills translate into professional opportunities, challenging the assumption that studying another language is valuable only for careers in translation, teaching, or international work.

Those conversations reflect the center's broader interest in helping students recognize skills they develop through language learning, including interpreting meaning, adapting to unfamiliar situations, and understanding different perspectives.

"You don't have to become fluent in another language for the experience of learning it to transform how you communicate and interact with others," Destruel said.

For students studying business, health care, engineering, or other fields, those skills can influence how they collaborate with colleagues, build relationships, and navigate cultural differences.

Creating connections across disciplines

The podcast also offers CLCL a way to connect language scholarship with experiences and expertise from other fields.

By bringing together faculty, students, alumni, and professionals, the series can explore how cultural understanding influences everything from patient care to workplace communication.

One example is health care, where a patient may nod politely when a doctor explains a treatment plan without necessarily understanding or agreeing with it. Recognizing how cultural expectations influence communication can help health care professionals create opportunities for patients to express concerns and ask questions.

"Successful communication isn't just about making ourselves understood. It's about creating the conditions for mutual understanding," Destruel said.

Looking ahead, potential podcast topics include American Sign Language, accessibility, and linguistic rights, as well as conversations with students about their experiences studying abroad.

The center also sees opportunities to develop relationships with campus partners and community organizations through discussions about language access, technology, education, and professional life.

For Destruel, the podcast's value ultimately lies in what listeners do with those conversations.

"For me, the success of The Language Lab isn't simply about how many people listen, but what happens because they listened," Destruel said.

That might mean a student choosing to take another language course, a professional reconsidering how they communicate with colleagues, or a listener approaching an unfamiliar perspective with greater curiosity.