On November 17, over 600 high school students and teachers from the state of Wisconsin visited UW-Madison for the 10th World Languages Day.
A program of the Language Institute, World Languages Day connects Wisconsin students with the wealth of expertise in world languages and cultures at UW-Madison, inspiring students to explore new languages, cultures and world regions.
Participants in the college-for-a-day experience attended four sessions throughout the day, choosing from nearly 50 workshops, classes and interactive presentations offered by UW-Madison faculty, staff and students.
Topics at the event ranged from "Arabic Graffiti" and "Will Japanese be Part of Your Future?," to "Hidden Paris," and "Hmong Language and Culture: Traditional Songs, Stories and Ritual Practices."
Wisconsin teachers also participated in professional development workshops including "What Students Want to Learn: First Results from a National Survey" and "Internationalize Your Curriculum: A Toolbox from UW-Madison."
World Languages Day encourages all students to commit to language and culture learning at the high school level and beyond.
As one student participant commented, "I enjoyed being able to see other cultures and languages from around the world come together for one day. Learning about other languages and the cultures of the people who speak those languages was great. World Languages Day was a great experience and learning opportunity that I'm glad I was a part of. The day was amazing.”
World Languages Day is supported by the College of Letters & Science Anonymous Fund; African Studies Program; Center for East Asian Studies; Center for European Studies; Center for Russia, East Europe and Central Asia; Center for South Asia; Global Studies, Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies; the Evjue Foundation and the Russian Flagship Center.