100+ attend World Languages Day for the Community

On Saturday, March 13, the Language Institute welcomed an audience of 100+ to World Languages Day for the Community, a special program of the Year of the Humanities.

The event highlighted languages as a vital and essential focus of study in the humanities.

Inspired by the long-standing and popular World Languages Day for high school students, guests at World Languages Day for the Community were treated to performances and presentations by UW-Madison faculty, staff and students, with a focus on diverse languages and world regions. 

A welcome was provided by Sally Magnan, Language Institute director, and professor Magdalena Hauner, College of Letters & Science Associate Dean for the Arts and Humanities, followed by a performance by the Russian Folk Orchestra.  

Guests also attended presentations from faculty and staff from many UW-Madison departments on topics such as “French Around the World: Images and Insights,” “Indonesia Today: Facebook, Indonesian Idol and Television,” and “Read Ancient Greek in Thirty Minutes!”

The afternoon wrapped up with closing remarks from Robert Howell, Associate Dean, Division of International Studies, and a performance by Korean Drumming and Dance.

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Grant establishes new undergraduate Russian Flagship Center

UW-Madison has received a 3-year grant for close to $1 million from the National Security Education Program to establish an undergraduate Russian Flagship Center.

The new program will provide highly-motivated students in all majors the opportunity to achieve a professional level of competence in Russian.

The Russian Flagship Center is a program of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature and the Language Institute with the Center for Russia, East Europe and Central Asia and the Doctoral Program in Second Language Acquisition.

Students interested in applying to the program should contact Director Karen Evans-Romaine at evans-romaine@wisc.edu or Associate Director Dianna Murphy at diannamurphy@wisc.edu

For more information:

• Grant to establish undergraduate Russian Flagship Center (University Communications)
• New Russia program to improve access to language, study abroad (The Badger Herald)
  

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March 19, 20: 'What is a German Department?' at UW

"What is a German Department?" — the 12th annual Graduate Student Conference of the German and Dutch Graduate Student Association —
will take place on March 19 and 20, 2010.

The two day conference will be hosted at the Pyle Center and will feature a variety of scholars and experts.

This year's keynote speaker is Claire Kramsch (University of California, Berkeley), "Language departments as privileged sites for the study of meaning."

For more information: "What is a German Department?"

This conference is made possible by the generous support from the Department of German, the Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, the Language Institute, Center for German and European Studies, the Center for European Studies, University Lectures Committee, the UW Anonymous Fund and ASM. 

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World Languages Day: A Special Community Event - 3/13

The Language Institute invites you to participate in a celebration of the richness and diversity of the world’s languages, peoples and cultures at World Languages Day.  

The free event is Saturday, March 13, 2010 from 1:00-4:00 pm at the Memorial Union, 800 Langdon Street.  No advance registration is necessary.

The program includes performances by the Russian Folk Orchestra and Korean Drumming and Dance Group, and workshops and presentations led by University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty, staff and graduate students:

• French Around the World: Images and Insights:  Sally Magnan, Department of French and Italian
• Folksongs and Linguistic Diversity in Wisconsin: James Leary, Department of Scandinavian Studies
• The German Immigration Experience: Cora Lee Kluge, Department of German
• Franz Kafka and the Kafkaesque: Hans Adler, Department of German
• Hebrew in Caves: The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Cynthia Miller, Department of Hebrew & Semitic Studies
• Hmong Language and Culture: Choua Lee, Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia
• The Inkas’ World Through Inka Language: Armando Muyolema, Department of Anthropology
• Indonesia Today:  Facebook, Indonesian Idol and Television: Hening Paramita, Department of Languages & Cultures of Asia
• Speaking Swahili Through Your Clothes:  Magdalena Hauner, Department of African Languages and Literature
  

…and more!

This event is free and open to audiences of middle-school age and older. 

For more information: www.languageinstitute.wisc.edu/wld_community

Or contact Wendy Johnson (608) 890-1428.  

World Languages Day for the Community is sponsored by the Language Institute with support from the Year of the Humanities, the Department of African Languages &Literature, Department of Classics, Department of French & Italian, Department of Hebrew & Semitic Studies, Department of Languages & Cultures of Asia, Department of Scandinavian Studies. 

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+700 Wisconsin high school students, teachers participate in World Languages Day

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. 

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. 

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. 

Category: Area Studies
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Young travels to South Korea, gives plenary address

Professor Richard Young (Department of English and Doctoral Program in Second Language Acquisition) gave the plenary address, Interactional Competence in Language Teaching and Learning, to the Korean Association of Foreign Language Educators in Seoul, South Korea in September, 2009. 

In March, 2010, Young is scheduled to give another plenary address, Discursive Practice in Language Learning and Teaching, to the American Association for Applied Linguistics. 

Yong’s recent publications include Language and Interaction: An Advanced Resource Book (Routledge, 2008) and Discursive Practice in Language Learning and Teaching (2009, Blackwell.) 

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First Lady Doyle talks to a packed house about language learning, Peace Corps

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