Event Report: Language Festival held on January 15, 2022
The Language Festival was held on January 15th.
The Language Festival aims to promote understanding and inclusion of diversity, cultivate student leadership, and promote interactions between the university and the local people by having students from various countries and regions act as lecturers and introduce languages that symbolize their respective regions, cultures, histories, and values.
This year, 10 students representing linguistic minority groups among the many international students at APU introduced themselves and their own cultures and languages. The lectures were given in both Japanese and English, so that both international students and locals alike could participate in a language they were comfortable with.
In addition to basic numbers and greetings, words and phrases which represent their areas, cultures, histories, or sense of values, which are untranslatable into English (e.g. ‘Itadakimasu’ in Japanese.), or which have their origins in Japanese, were introduced interactively, through the use of visual media and speeches. Participants and student lecturers actively made efforts to understand and respect each other's cultures. The post-event questionnaire results showed that many participants who attended the event in the hopes of achieving cross-cultural understanding, language learning and international exchange greatly enjoyed the experience.
Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was held in a hybrid format using both online and face-to-face sessions with care taken to prevent the spread of infection, and was attended by about 100 participants.
The event was organized by Professors Eto, Itabashi and Itoi of the Center for Language Education, Professor Tsutsui of the Education Development and Learning Support Center, and the student lecturers. It was held with the support of Beppu City. The students who participated in the event felt that it was an opportunity for them to improve their problem-solving and leadership skills.
Visit the link below for more detailed report.
Report for Language Festival
*This event was selected as one of the events supported by CIL's event subsidy (a program to encourage and promote outstanding initiatives related to diversity, inclusion, and inclusive leadership by accepting applications from within the university).
Language Festival Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/apu.languagefestival
