Speaking French will do more than get a tourist through France.

For University of Mary Spanish professor Scott Sigel, it lets him converse with refugees in Lebanon. He'll talk with people in the same camps from which al-Qaida has recruited.

"Extremists move into these camps, targeting 14- to 15-years-olds to be suicide bombers," Sigel said. "I would like to break the cycle."

His hope is they will talk with him, and other people like him, instead of internalizing their experiences.

"They are afraid to speak," he said. "They don't trust anybody. We try to get someone to talk about the violence, so it doesn't become internalized."

He did something similar in Algeria. By the time he left, people were coming up to him and thanking him for the hope he gave them, he said. Sigel is a professional interpreter, but what he does can be done by people who are not professionals, he said.

Bilingual skills are needed in many areas of the world, including several places in the United States, to help people. Sigel is getting a global studies program together to connect students with the opportunities. Students from a variety of disciplines, such as physical therapy or education, could work with people in other parts of the country during the May term, he said. He sees possibilities with the Hmong population in Minnesota or the Haitian community in Florida.

"I want to figure out a way to get students on a plane to Minnesota," he said.

He also wants to get people in the community whose first language is not English involved.

Sigel and other university officials are talking about a way to make the global studies program a part of the May term, which is between the spring and summer semester.

"For some students, when they think about leaving for an entire semester, it is a lot of money and time, and some are involved in athletics," registrar Janine Thull said. The May term would be a niche that could make it possible for more students to participate without causing a conflict for athletics and be less costly than a semester program, she said.

The university has offered some study abroad experiences during May term, such as class trips to South Korea, England and Italy. They also have occupational therapy, physical therapy and nursing students go to Guatemala as part of the God's Child Project.

But there are ways to have a global experience within the United States, Thull said. Students who helped with Hurricane Katrina relief learned about cultures in another part of the United States, and this type of experience could be replicated with other cultures in the United States, she said.

Sigel comes to the University of Mary from Minot State University. He lives in Velva, from where he commutes. He reads about a dozen languages. He has a bachelor's degree in romance languages from Harvard and a doctorate in Spanish and classics from Stanford University. He is a licensed interpreter for medical and legal in Spanish, French and Portuguese.

He will spend the next 16 days in Lebanon talking with refugees about their experiences.

"When Iknow I might have a chance to change someone's life, it's a decision Ineed to go," Sigel said. "Ialso evaluate if the advantages outweigh the risks."

He heeds notices from the government about travel. He planned to go to Afghanistan earlier this year, but canceled when the government sent a notice that his safety couldn't be assured.

"I'm not looking for trouble," he said.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@;bismarcktribune.com.)