European Day of Languages together with the Institute of Foreign Languages of VMU

We invite you to celebrate the European Day of Languages together with the Institute of Foreign Languages of VMU on September 26, 8:30 a.m., V. Putvinskio Str. 23, Room 106! In the first part of the event, a representative of Alliance for Recruitment will present the need for languages in the labor market, and the students who know more than one language will share their success stories. In the second part, pre-registered teams will participate in the orientation game “Mosaic of Languages and Cultures in Kaunas.”

Part I

8:30–8:35 a.m. opening of the event ( the IFL Director Dr. Teresė Ringailienė)

8:35–8:55 a.m. presentation “The need for languages in the modern labor market” (representative of the company Alliance for Recruitment Kristina Kazlauskaitė)

8:55–9:15 a.m. discussion “Student success stories: why it was worth learning languages” (moderator Dr. Teresė Ringailienė)

Part II

9:20–9:25 a.m. introduction to the rules of the game “Mosaic of Languages and Cultures in Kaunas”

9:30 – start of the game

10:45 – end of the game and counting of points (the participants return to V. Putvinskio Str. 23, Room 106)

11:00 – awarding of the winners

 

Registration for students https://forms.gle/SyLEvVDEZyQ1Zixh7

 

The Future of Languages conference was held in Iceland on 8-9 June

The Future of Languages conference, organised by the International Federation of Language Teachers’ Associations (FIPLV) North and Baltic Region, took place in Iceland on 8-9 June. The conference also included a meeting of the Nordic-Baltic Leadership Council, where LKPA was represented by its President Almantė Meškauskienė, Deputy Director of the VMU Institute of Foreign Languages. During this meeting, the situation of language teaching and learning in the Nordic and Baltic countries was presented.

„Languages in higher education: plurilingual approaches and informal learning formats“

Last week, an Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme  “LANGUAGES IN HIGHER EDUCATION: PLURILINGUAL APPROACHES AND INFORMAL LEARNING FORMATS” took place. The programme was organised by the Institute of Foreign Languages, the Faculty of Humanities and the Transform4Europe team. The programme was attended by 22 participants from different European countries: Poland, Germany, Estonia, Spain, Bulgaria, France, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. The participants listened to presentations on multilingualism, non-formal language learning, discussed different language teaching formats, shared experiences and learned about language learning/teaching activities of the Goethe Institute, the Ukrainian Centre at Vytautas Magnus University, and the Cultural Centre for Various Nations.

Day of Georgia at Vytautas Magnus University

On 26 May, Georgia celebrates its Independence Day. In order to commemorate this day, the Institute of Foreign Languages of Vytautas Magnus University and the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy are inviting you to the meeting with the Ambassador of Georgia in Lithuania, Salome Shapakidze, on 22 May.

At the meeting with the Ambassador “Georgia in the Contemporary World: Rethinking Georgian Identity,” many questions will be addressed: Who are contemporary Georgians? Is Georgian language really that difficult? What is the national and foreign policy of Georgia? What is the Georgian politics of memory? The discussion will be moderated by Assoc. Prof. Andžej Pukšto, and it will take place at 11.30 am in Room 311 (V. Putvinskio Str. 23).

The meeting will be followed by the opening of the photo exhibitions “Living Culture of Three Writing Systems of the Georgian Alphabet” and  “The Knight of the Panther’s Skin – Georgian Manuscript Heritage” (ground floor of V. Putvinskio Str. 23). The participants will also be invited to a small reception with some Georgian snacks.

 

The Institute of Foreign Languages wishes you all a Happy Easter!

The VMU Institute of Foreign Languages invites you to get to know different languages and cultures

The VMU Institute of Foreign Languages invites you to get to know different languages and cultures and to join the “Language tasters” online. One meeting per week is planned, focusing on a different language each time. This is a great opportunity to learn interesting facts about languages, to learn a few phrases, to get to know the lecturers or the international students coming to VMU. Join MSTeams here: https://msteams.link/F4CU   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Invitation: webinar for VMU community „Sexual harassment and its prevention: how to recognise and act?“

Invitation: webinar for VMU community „Sexual harassment and its prevention: how to recognise and act?“

We would like to invite VMU Academic, Non-Academic Staff and students to participate in the webinar „Sexual harassment and its prevention: how to recognise and act?“, which will take place in April 17, 13:00–14:30 p. m.

VMU lecturer and Equal opportunities’ coordinator Laura Lapinske will present the forms of sexual harassment and provide common examples and situations of sexual harassment in academia. Participants will learn how to recognize the case of sexual harassment, how to act and whom to contact, how to behave in a bystander’s situation and how to use this role to stop or prevent the abuse.

During the training you will learn about: It is an interactive, hands-on training that will engage participants in discussions, quick surveys and group work. Participants will take an active role analysing situations and finding solutions to everyday life problems, related to sexual harassment.

Apply here.

 

Multilingual pedagogy activities for VMU “Atžalynas” pro-gymnasium children

On March 23, pre-service teachers studying English with CLIL taught children at VMU “Atžalynas” pro-gymnasium using plurilingual pedagogy skills. Students from Italy, Spain, Turkey and Kazakhstan taught children to greet each other in multiple languages, shared curious facts about their countries, and showed language cognates  which raised children awareness to plurilingual competencies. The children sang, danced, drew , and actively asked questions, so the hour went by very quickly. The students were pleasantly surprised at how active the children were, how well they spoke English at such a young age, and how good of a pronunciation they had of other languages. Furthermore, the students observed that Lithuanian schools strive for multilingualism and multiculturalism. Multilingual posters, informative messages, and posters about important calendar days—Down syndrome day, Odd  Socks day were acknowledged in the school. It is very nice that children from a very young age are taught to appreciate and experience multilingual and multicultural environment.

“Furniture1” is looking for Customer Service Specialist

Customer Service Specialist
Job description

Furniture1 – company for our customers which is changing the way they buy furniture and for
our colleagues – it is a place to create positions where they can learn and grow.
Our values are simplicity, honesty, innovation, effectiveness and trust. Everyone who belongs to
our team is responsible to ensure that our operations, services and standards reflect them.
We are currently looking for a bright and motivated Customer Service Specialist to help us launch
and grow our business in Czech and Slovak market.
If you’re like us: strive to be UNBEATABLE in CUSTOMER SERVICE, always exceeding customer
expectations. Join us!
Responsibilities:
● Advice and help our clients to choose the right furniture, solve day to day issues;
● Understand Customer’s needs and provide guidance in our e-shop;
● Make purchases from manufacturers;
● Excellent communication, organizational, and problem solving skills;
● Ability to maintain effective communication between logistics / planning functions,
customer service / sales, and production / manufacturing floor;
● Strong organizational skills;
● Able to multi-task and solve problems in a timely manner;
● Detail-oriented with solid written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills;
● Ability to work in a team environment.
Requirements
● Good verbal, written & listening skills in Czech/Slovak languages;
● Communicate with Customer’s;
● Decent English for daily communication with the team and colleagues;
● Passion for excellent customer experience;
● Ability to multi-task and take responsibility & ownership in challenging situations;
● Strong attention to detail;
● Ability to work effectively in a team: a friendly, empathic and solution-oriented person.
Experience – you don’t need any experience. We will teach you!
Company offers
● Great company environment with young international staff;
● International trainings and team buildings;
● Opportunity to improve and grow with the company;
● Free working day on yours birthday;
● Amazing office with chill lounge / gaming room.
Competitive salary based on experience, all of the usual office perks and more. You would have
an opportunity to contribute to meaningful and challenging projects, therefore we guarantee
that everyday life will definitely not be boring!
Salary
1100 – 1600 €/mon. net

If you are interested, please send your CV: hr@furniture1.eu

International Conference on Multilingualism at VMU

International Conference on Multilingualism at VMU

The Institute of Foreign Languages of Vytautas Magnus University (VMU IFL), in cooperation with the Language Teachers’ Association of Lithuania (LTAL), is organising the 7th international scientific conference “Sustainable Multilingualism 2023”, which will take place in Kaunas, Lithuania, on June 9-10. Abstracts are accepted until April 1.

The tradition of sustainable multilingualism at VMU

The international conference “Sustainable Multilingualism 2023” is the seventh conference organised by VMU IFL and LTAL, which aims at bringing together language policy makers, language and plurilingual competence researchers, language teachers, students and anyone interested in discussing and sharing their experiences, insights and perspectives in the key issues of multilingualism.

“The Institute of Foreign Languages is a promoter of the tradition of multilingualism at VMU, contributing to this mission through its direct work, offering and facilitating the learning of more than 30 languages for the university, city and national community. In addition to that, we also fulfil this mission through our international activities, bringing together foreign and Lithuanian scholars to solve common problems. Almost 200 scholars from all over the world come to the conference organised every two years. This includes both established scholars with extensive experience and those who are just starting their careers, such as former or current VMU students,” explains Prof. Dr. Nemira Mačianskienė, the chair of the scientific committee of the conference “Sustainable Multilingualism”.

Conference themes and speakers

The two-day international conference will address the topics of multilingualism in society (language policy implementation, language preservation, linguistic human rights, etc.), language education and plurilingual competence development, multilingualism and professional practice, the development of teachers’ plurilingual competence, and the topics on the contemporary Lithuanian language, which is the basis of our plurilingual competence.

Plenary speakers, world-renowned scholars, will present their current research on the challenges of language learning/teaching, translation and the future of a multilingual world. This year’s conference programme includes four plenary presentations by:

  • Enrica Piccardo, the Head of the Centre for Educational research in Languages and Literacies at the University of Toronto, Canada and co-author of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2020) and The Routledge Handbook of Plurilingual Language Education;
  • François Grin, the Director of the Observatory on Economy, Languages and Training at the University of Geneva (Switzerland);
  • Maria Teresa Zanola, the President of the European Council for Languages (ELC/CEL), the Professor of French Linguistics at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (Milan, Italy) and the Director of the Observatory of Terminologies and Language Policies;
  • Lithuania will be represented by Auksė Balčytienė, the Professor at the Department of Public Communication, the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy, VMU.

Registration

The deadline for abstract submission and registration for the conference Sustainable Multilingualism 2023 is April 1. Abstracts are accepted in English, French, German, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Spanish and Ukrainian.

You are kindly invited to share your research or just listen to the presentations and chat in a foreign language with the conference guests, improving your plurilingual competence.

Abstract submission and registration are available on the conference website.

SM 2023 CALL FOR PAPERS