Cornell University held its fourth annual World Languages Day (WLD) event on Saturday, October 26, 2024. The day-long event invites middle and high school students from the Ithaca community and greater New York state to experience the varied opportunities for language learning available at a higher education institution. This year, over 55 middle and high school students registered for the event.
The day consisted of many engaging events and activities, including language sessions, student panels, culture sessions, student group performances, and an info fair featuring various campus departments and organizations.
The morning kicked off with a welcome plenary, where the director of the Language Resource Center (LRC), Dr. Angelika Kraemer, emphasized the importance of languages and the hope that participants would use this day to fuel their excitement and exposure to languages and cultures from around the world. The welcome plenary continued with an address by Daria Badger '26, who shared her experience with languages growing up with a Polish background, and the impact learning languages at Cornell and studying abroad in Taiwan have had on her life: "I am so incredibly grateful for all the opportunities learning another language has afforded me. I found new friendships, was able to travel to a continent I had never been to before, and was able to communicate with people in a language other than English… There are so many resources for virtually every language you could ever want to learn. Do some exploring and find out what works for you."
The welcome plenary concluded with a visit from Touchdown, Cornell's own Big Red Bear, who joined the group of participants and volunteers for a photo op.
Participants then attended their first session. The exciting line-up of sessions this year included:
- Amaze your peers. Baffle your elders. Learn ASL!
- Bangladesh: Land of rivers, food, and festivals
- Oh, the places you'll go! Languages = Superpowers (French)
- German popular music from jazz to Kraut-Rock to hip-hop
- 케이팝 – K-pop dance training (Korean K-Pop)
- Feel the rhythm with Shimtah (Korean Drums)
- Languages of Southeast Asia: The Gameshow!
- What is Study Abroad anyway?
- Turkish Delight: Revealing the gems of Turkey's past and present
- The "Carol of the Bells": An unknown story of a well-known Ukrainian song
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The sessions introduced participants to world languages they may not have been previously exposed to, and also gave them a chance to discover the many linguistic possibilities open to them on a college campus. Cornell volunteer and LRC Student Assistant Bora Shin '25 reflected that she "was surprised how the students were really enthusiastic about world languages. The presenters were engaging and made it fun and the students were interested to learn another way to communicate with people. Learning languages takes effort and time, but it was memorable to see everyone in the room so eager to learn." Dr. Thierry Torea, Senior Lecturer of French and co-presenter of the French session, remarked that "WLD is crucial for connecting with young learners. Their enthusiasm for learning one or more languages was inspiring. It’s an event that should be replicated at every university."
While youth participants were attending their first session, Klarman Atrium was abuzz with student groups and campus organizations setting up tables for the info fair held in tandem with the lunch hour. Campus units represented at the info fair were: Brittany and Adam J. Levinson China and Asia-Pacific Studies Program, College Bound, Cornell Japan United States Association, Education Abroad, Einaudi Center for International Studies, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Language Expansion Program, Quechua, Translator Interpreter Program, Language Resource Center, and a demonstration by Cornell Kendo Club. Youth participants were encouraged to interact with the representatives at each info fair table and earn a sticker for their WLD Passports. Completed passports were entered into a drawing during the closing session, where three lucky winners received goodies from the Cornell Store.
The lunch break was split into two sections. While half of the participants enjoyed lunch and the info fair, the other half watched a performance in the Klarman Auditorium by student groups Cornell LOKO and Cornell Shimtah. Each group shared their talent in performances of both modern and traditional Korean music.
After lunch, youth participants enjoyed their second and third sessions, before being welcomed back into Klarman Auditorium for a closing session to reflect on the impact of the day. Youth participants commented that the day "made me want to learn more about languages," that they "loved meeting different kinds of people," and they "liked that there were a lot of resources available about a lot of different languages and cultures." All youth participants expressed having a positive experience and shared that they gained valuable new insights from WLD. This feedback coincides with the mission of WLD, as stated by Liz Millhollen, Upward Bound Associate Director and WLD co-coordinator: "WLD is an incredible opportunity. It's important to bring secondary students to campus to explore so many diverse languages around the world. They don't have that chance at their schools and this allows them to experience and be exposed to languages they might become passionate about."
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World Languages Day was made possible by the generous support of over a hundred volunteers, presenters, performers, and info fair representatives. Success of the event is also owed to the generous financial sponsorship provided by the College of Arts & Sciences, the Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs, and the David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement.
To hear more about WLD, listen to the recent episode of the LRC podcast Speaking of Language.
And save the date for WLD 2025 on Saturday, October 25!
