World Languages Day 2011: Students, teachers, presenters coming together to celebrate world languages and cultures!

On November 16, 2011, over 700 high school students and teachers from around Wisconsin joined with current UW-Madison language students and 50+volunteer presenters from the UW-Madison community in the new Union South for a fabulous day celebrating diverse languages, cultures and peoples.
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See the photo gallery>

See College of Letters & Science "News & Notes" article>

Read the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune Article "Lincoln High School Students Enjoy World Languages Day">

UW-Madison Student Wins Vista Higher Learning Video Contest "Languages: My Future"

John Lendved, French major and resident of the French House, is one of six winners of the Vista Higher Learning video contest this year. In his video, John connects the story of his French grandmother and American grandfather with his own exploration of French language and culture. Almost two hundred videos were submitted as part of this annual contest, sponsored by the publisher specializing in foreign language textbooks. Congratulations, John! Read more>

Hybrid (F2F/Online) Chinese Courses for High School Students

The Language Institute has developed an introductory, 2-year sequence of multimedia, online Mandarin Chinese courses for high school students, for hybrid (teacher-guided/online) delivery, and seeks Wisconsin districts or high schools interested in using these materials to offer Chinese to students in their schools in the 2012-13 academic year. View narrated course demo > Learn more >

Language Institute Lectures on iTunesU

Audio podcasts of 2010-11 Language Institute lectures are now available on iTunesU! We are pleased to present lectures by Dan Davidson, Celester Kinginger, Glenn Levine and Kanno Yasuko for the series on Immersion and Language Learning: Contexts and Challenges, as well as an invited lecture by Alastair Pennycook, for the Second Language Acquisition Talk Series. Lectures by Lynn Mario T. Menezes de Souza, Monica Heller, Christina Higgins and Awad Ibrahim, for the 2011-12 series, Cosmopolitanism and Language, will be posted as soon as possible after each talk. Learn more >

Language Institute Welcomes New Interim Director, Says Farewell to Founding Director

The Language Institute begins a new academic year with gratitude and fond wishes for founding director Sally Sieloff Magnan as she embarks on retirement from the university. Professor Magnan will continue to be active in the Language Institute with the research study Goals of Postsecondary Students and the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning.

The Language Institute welcomes incoming interim director Junko Mori. Professor Mori hails from the Department of East Asian Languages & Literature where she teaches Japanese and Japanese linguistics. She is also co-chair of the Doctoral Program in Second Acquisition.

In photo, left to right: Malliga Somasundaram, Dianna Murphy, Sally Sieloff Magnan, Wendy Johnson, Modupe Olubiyi.

Dane County Ninth Graders Explored Intersection of Food, Language and Culture at Eating Across Cultures

Learning languages, discovering new traditions, and preparing and tasting typical dishes from around the world were all part of a weeklong adventure at Eating Across Cultures July 25-29, 2011. The Language Institute workshop was part of College for Kids II, a program of Education Outreach & Partnerships. Read more>

Whitewater High School Students and Chinese Instructor Gather to Celebrate the End of the Year

Whitewater High School students and instructor Yichen Lee celebrated the end of their year taking part in the pilot offering of Online Beginning Chinese Courses for High School Students with a celebration in Whitewater. Read more>

UW-Madison Students of Chinese Win Awards at State Chinese Speech Contest

UW-Madison students swept gold and silver medals in all of the college levels at the Eighth Wisconsin State Chinese Speech Contest on April 30, 2011. Read more>

USA Today Article Highlights Language Immersion Programs at UW-Madison, Other Institutions

Language floors in the International Learning Community and summer intensive language institutes at UW-Madison are featured in the April 29, 2011 USA Today article "College campuses add language immersion programs." Read more>

Language Institute Study: Goals, Expectations of Students and the National Standards

The Standards for Foreign Language Learning were designed to describe 'what students at all levels, K-16, should know and be able do.' Research on the Standards to date has not investigated student perspectives on the Standards. Do the goals of the Standards align with the goals and expectations that students at the college level have for their own learning? This lecture presents findings from a Language Instiute study on the alignment of postsecondary student goals and expectations with the goals of the Standards. The study is based on a written questionnaire admininistered to over 16,000 students at 11 U.S. universities, and interviews with 200+ students at two universities. Learn more>

New Russian Language Floor in the International Learning Community in the Fall 2011

The UW-Madison International Learning Community (ILC) a residential learning community in in Adams Hall, will be home to a new Russian-language floor beginning in the Fall 2011. Russkii dom, the Russian House, joins existing language programs in the ILC in Arabic, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Nordic languages (Danish, Norwegian and Swedish). Students in Russkii dom will enjoy opportunities to use Russian outside of the class, participate in Russian-related activities, and live in a community of internationally-minded students. Learn more>

Profiles of UW-Madison Language Students and Alumni

Developing global and intercultural competencies through language learning and study abroad is a priority for undergraduate education at UW-Madison. In our new and expanding Love Languages Profiles, UW-Madison students and alumni reflect on their language learning experiences and describe how languages have contributed to their personal growth, education, and professional goals.  Participants also reveal details about their personal interests, daily lives and backgrounds. Learn more >