European Day of Languages – focus on languages and cultures
The European Day of Languages was traditionally celebrated at the VMU Institute of Foreign Languages (IFL) on 26th September. The Director of the IFL, dr. Teresė Ringailienė, welcomed the very large number of pupils and students (more than 200 participants) and expressed her satisfaction that we can implement the artes liberales here and now: no matter which field of study we choose, we can learn languages, learn about different cultures, thus developing soft skills and contributing to a broad education, and fostering humanistic values. As artificial intelligence is changing our daily lives and learning habits, IFL invited students and pupils to a lecture “From ABC to AI: Let’s improve languages with technology” by IFL lecturer Vaida Misevičiūtė on how to learn languages using different AI tools.
Although technology makes learning easier and faster, nothing can replace the lively interaction and conversation with a friend. So VMU students took up the challenge and joined the “Language Exchange” activity, where pairs of students, using different foreign languages, communicated on the proposed topics – about their countries, languages and cultures. Meanwhile, schoolchildren from VMU Rasa, VMU Ugne Karvelis, Saule, Raudondvaris, S. Darius and S. Girenas Gymnasiums, KTU and Eruditas Lyceum joined the activity “Multilingual and multicultural meetings”. International students from the USA, the UK, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Brazil invited pupils to learn about their cultures and languages. During the activities, participants not only listened to interesting presentations, but also actively participated in the activities themselves – dancing, singing, folding origami.
The European Day of Languages celebration not only served as a reminder of the importance of languages and a good mood-builder, but also provided a great opportunity for students and pupils to socialise in an informal setting and, for some, to make new friends.
