On November 18, 2009 the Language Institute hosted over 700 Wisconsin high school students and teachers at the ninth World Languages Day held on the UW-Madison campus.
- Over 700 students and teachers crowd the Great Hall in the Memorial Union for World Languages Day.
The popular outreach program introduces Wisconsin students to languages and cultures around the globe through workshops, presentations and performances led by UW-Madison faculty, staff and students.
Workshops at World Languages Day span the globe and this year's event included:
- "Icons and Idols: A Journey into Argentine Popular Culture"
- "Write Your Name and Say Hello in Russian!"
- "Journey to the West, and through Chinese Characters"
- "Bollywood and Beyond: Hindi Songs in North India"
World Languages Day continues to be a popular field trip opportunity for high schools, attracting new schools each year. This year, eights schools of 27 attended for the first time.
- Students learning Thai for World Languages Day.
Through World Languages Day, high school students discover and take home new interests that they might pursue in their future studies.
One teacher said of the experience, "World Languages Day gave my students a taste of a college campus and opened their eyes to what was available for them to learn."
World Languages Day was made possible by the generous support of 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 and Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies.