VMU celebrates Mother Language Day
On 21 February, the Institute of Foreign Languages celebrated the already traditional Mother Language Day. During the language lectures, lecturers of the Institute of Foreign Languages spoke about dialects and other varieties of the language they teach, and from 10 am onwards, both VMU students and Transform4Europe University Alliance partners were invited to take part in a fun and interactive talk show / game “Guess my Language”.
The Vice-Rector of Communication of VMU, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vilma Bijeikienė, welcomed the diversity of languages at VMU and the T4EU University Alliance and the cooperation with its partners as an opportunity to open up new possibilities. Dr. Teresė Ringailienė, Director of IFL, wished both to love and preserve the Lithuanian language, which has survived very difficult historical periods, and to appreciate and enjoy other languages, because historically Lithuania is a multilingual and multicultural country, and international students bring their own languages, cultures, and attitudes to our daily life.
The game for all Alliance students was hosted by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jaq Greenspon. We learnt many interesting things about their countries and cultures from the international students, and the participants were able to hear not only Ukrainian, Portuguese or Turkish, but also the really unusual languages such as Malayalam, Cornish, Cantonese, Irish… The participants who were the best at identifying languages were awarded prizes, and everyone definitely enriched their knowledge and had fun.
More events took place at VMU: on 20 February, an event dedicated to the Ukrainian language took place, and on 21 February, lecturers of specialised subjects were invited to speak in their own dialect. In the evening, everyone enjoyed a concert by Rokas Kašėta, a guest from Dzūkija, and an open mic, where everyone could read their own work.
More about the event: https://www.vdu.lt/lt/vdu-vyko-renginiai-gimtosios-kalbos-dienos-proga/
