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On Thursday, April 14 more than 720 high school students from 24 Wisconsin high schools celebrated language, literature and culture with UW-Madison faculty, staff and students at World Languages Day 2005.
Students had a choice of 50 sessions ranging from Surfing Indonesian to Welcome to Mundo Maya. The scope of options offered at World Languages Day covered the globe, from the Americas to Africa , Asia , Europe and the Middle East. In addition, WLD participants had an opportunity to learn more about various ethnic groups in Wisconsin -- indigenous peoples, Scandinavians, Germans and others -- who helped shape the region and continue to influence it. Over 50 UW faculty, staff, students, and Madison community members led the sessions, allowing WLD 2005 to represent more languages than ever.
According to Catherine Reiland, coordinator of World Languages Day, "The program not only highlights UW-Madison's language, culture and area studies programs, but also celebrates the importance of language-learning in a fun and dynamic environment."
High school visitors were welcomed to campus by Gary Sandefur, Dean of the College of Letters and Science and Gilles Bousquet, Dean of International Studies and Director of the International Institute.
At lunchtime the UW Band offered a rousing selection of Wisconsin favorites while Bucky Badger danced with a number of lucky high school visitors.
The World Languages Day crew, made up of 40 energetic UW students, staff and Wisconsin residents, did a wonderful job helping the event run smoothly.
World Language Day is a program of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Language Institute. It is made possible with the generous support from the Anonymous Fund; African Studies; 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, and the Schoenleber Foundation. All sessions were held on April 14 from 9:20 a.m.- 2:00 p.m. in the Memorial Union, Red Gym and Lowell Center, all located on Langdon Street .
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Students and Teachers Share Their Comments about World Languages Day 2005
“My students were amazed at the possibilities at UW-Madison. For many of them it is a top-choice for college. They loved spending the day on campus.”
Teacher, Brookfield Central High School
“[Students] were very enthused about attending and very enthused about the experience afterwards. I think that it opened up their eyes to the possibilities of language study beyond high school and beyond the basic language choices.”
Teacher, Lincoln High School , Manitowoc
“The student sessions were tremendous. Very interesting and informative. My students were very impressed with the University and very interested in studying languages at the UW.”
Teacher, West High School , Madison
“I liked the variety of classes and the chance to meet people from other high schools. And with it all being on the UW campus it gave me a chance to feel out what college is like, it really made me look forward to and work harder for my future. The day as a whole, became more than a school trip, but an opportunity for us to look deeper into what we want to do with our lives after high school.”
High school student, Lincoln High School , Manitowoc
“I liked meeting different people from all over the world and learning what the differences were between our lives and theirs.”
High school student, Southwest High School , Green Bay
“I liked the sessions. They were fun and I really learned a lot. A lot of my sessions were about Africa and now I am thinking of traveling to South Africa sometime if I am able to.”
High school student, Hortonville High School
“I have always wanted to go to UW-Madison and this was a nice way to get a feel of the school, as well as see what different kind of languages are offered there. The trip only raised my hope for getting into UW-Madison.”
High school student, Lodi High School |
