Languages of the World Day
The next Languages of the World Day will take place on Wednesday, April 7, 2027. Planning is in progress — check back for updates!
Languages of the World Day 2025
On March 5, 2025, in Union South on the UW-Madison campus, the Language Institute hosted Languages of the World Day, an all-day event for high school students and their teachers from urban, suburban, and rural school districts from around the state to learn about diverse world languages and cultures.
Exemplifying the Wisconsin Idea, this outreach program raises awareness of the rich linguistic diversity of the region and world, of the interconnected nature of language and culture, and of the transformative potential of language learning.
More than 60 UW-Madison faculty, staff and students representing diverse languages from around the world hosted introductory language lessons and workshops on topics related to music, dance, film, literature, food, and the scientific study of human language.
For questions, contact outreach@languageinstitute.wisc.edu
Languages of the World Day 2025 Playlist
Presenters shared musical selections, which were compiled into a 5.5-hour Spotify playlist of songs from around the world.
Testimonials
“Thank you so much for providing such an excellent opportunity to our students! This was the first time that many of my students have ever been on a college campus, and they really enjoyed this opportunity!”
“The event was great, I was very pleased to have gone. It was an experience I won’t forget, whether that be because the Zulu click noises are in my head or the Dutch pirate songs keep coming back to my mind. Thank you all for having us!”
“It is really fun and I’m very glad that I was able to do it! I would definitely do it again! It’s cool to learn about languages and cultures that are different than what you know.”
Event Photos
Participating High Schools in 2025
Burlington High School (Burlington, WI)
Christian Life School (Kenosha, WI)
Crandon High School (Crandon, WI)
Fall River High School (Fall River, WI)
Lake Mills High School (Lake Mills, WI)
Lincoln High School (Manitowoc, WI)
Little Chute High School (Little Chute, WI)
Marquette University High School (Milwaukee, WI)
Mount Horeb High School (Mount Horeb, WI)
Neenah High School (Neenah, WI)
New Berlin Eisenhower High School (New Berlin, WI)
Nicolet Union High School (Glendale, WI)
Oakfield High School (Oakfield, WI)
Platteville High School (Platteville, WI)
Prairie du Chien High School (Prairie du Chien, WI)
South High School (Waukesha, WI)
St. Mary Catholic High School (Neenah, WI)
Waupun High School (Waupun, WI)
West Allis Central High School (West Allis, WI)
Languages of the World Day 2025 Sponsors
We are grateful to the many sponsors whose contributions made Languages of the World Day 2025 possible:
- African Studies Program
- Anonymous Fund
- Brittingham Wisconsin Trust Grant
- Center for East Asian Studies
- Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia
- Center for South Asia
- College of Letters & Science
- Department of Asian Languages & Cultures
- Department of French & Italian
- Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic +
- Department of Spanish & Portuguese
- European Studies
- Institute for Regional and International Studies National Resource Center
- Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies Program
- Language Institute
- Language Sciences
- Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies
- Russian Flagship Program
- Second Language Acquisition PhD Program
- Wisconsin International Research Consortium