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. The playlist can be accessed here: go.wisc.edu/LWD2025-playlist
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!”— participating Wisconsin high school teacher
“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!” — participating Wisconsin high school student
“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.”— participating Wisconsin high school student
Participating High Schools
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:
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- 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
Session Descriptions
| Session Title | Presenter(s) | Presenter/Sponsoring Unit(s) |
| Alaaf und Helau: Celebrate German Carnival! | Patricia Haberkorn | Second Language Acquisition PhD Program; Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic+ |
| Art Speaks: Uncovering Culture Beyond Language | Nilvio Alexander Punguil Bravo | Civil Society & Community Research program at the School of Human Ecology |
| Beyond Words: Untranslatable Concepts from Five Nordic Countries | Drew Swasey, Berit Skogen, Helen Durst, Nico Borbely, Liina-Ly Roos | Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic+ |
| Chinese New Year and Zodiac Animals | Tianlu Zhang | Department of Asian Languages and Cultures |
| Deciphering Japanese Characters | Maria Tsoy | Department of Asian Languages and Cultures |
| Digits with Depth: Chinese Numbers and Their Cultural Significance | Yaqian Zhao | Department of Asian Languages and Cultures |
| Discover Laos: A Journey Through Culture, Cuisine, and Dance | Onsee Khamphouvong | Department of Asian Languages and Cultures |
| Discovering Spanish Accents: Voices of the U.S. | Kiley Specht | Department of Spanish and Portuguese |
| Durbar: Discover the Magic of Horses in Northern Nigeria! | Abubakar Muhammad | Department of African Cultural Studies |
| Dutch Pirate Songs | Charlotte Vanhecke | Language Sciences Program; Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic+ |
| Emily in Paris, Croissants, and Clichés: What’s Real About France? | Mathilde Garnier | Second Language Acquisition PhD Program; Department of French and Italian |
| Eré Òṣùpá: Yoruba Moonlight Games | Tana Ajiki | Department of African Cultural Studies |
| Explore Indonesian Language and Dance! | Hany Noviya | Department of Asian Languages and Cultures |
| Explore Yoruba Through Music and Dance | Oluwatoyin (Toyin) Olanipekun | Second Language Acquisition PhD Program |
| Explore the Vibrant World of Hausa Colors! | Maryam Isa | Department of African Cultural Studies |
| Exploring Japanese Culture Through Paper Crafts | Mina Yoshimura, Shiori Tsutsui, Maiko Kawano | Department of Asian Languages and Cultures |
| From Anime to Appetizers: Learn Hiragana and Basic Japanese | Takako Nakakubo | Department of Asian Languages and Cultures |
| From Grounds to Fortune: The Art of Turkish Coffee | Emre Bozer | Second Language Acquisition PhD Program; Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic+ |
| From А to Я: Your Journey into the Russian Script | Lidia Gault, Natalia Petrova | Second Language Acquisition PhD Program |
| Greetings from the Ancient Mediterranean: Letters from Egypt, Greece, and Rome | Marissa Gurtler | Department of Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies |
| Hip-Hop and Pop Music in Kazakhstan | Jacob Aehl | Russian Flagship Program |
| Hąą, Pōsōh, Aaniin, Boozhoo, Shekoli! What do YOU Know About the Native American Languages of Wisconsin? | Sarah Lundquist, Yolanda Pushetonequa | First Nations Cultural Landscape Tour |
| Imperfect, Untamed, and Rebellious: Multilingual Cardboard Cover Books from Latin America to Palestine | Saylin Alvarez, Lisa Arnold Masri | Department of Spanish and Portuguese; Institute for Research on Poverty |
| Italian Regional Delicacies: Culture on a Plate | Jessica Dubie | Department of French and Italian |
| Korean Traditional Games: Let’s Throw Yuts! | Steven Gagnon, Jaerin Ahn | Department of Asian Languages and Cultures |
| Let’s Make Some Noise! Learn to Pronounce Sounds in Languages Across the World | Rebecca Shields | Language Sciences Program |
| Low Lands or High Water? How the Dutch Live (In Part) Below Sea Level | Jolanda Vanderwal Taylor | Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic+ |
| “May a Duck Kick You!”: Creativity and Cursing in the Ukrainian Language | Isabella Palange | Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic+ |
| Passport to the Basque Country | Ireide Calero Caballero | Department of Spanish and Portuguese |
| Persian New Year: Experience the Blooming of Nature and Traditions | Fatemeh Mirsharifi | Department of Asian Languages and Cultures |
| Reviving Kazakh: How Q-Pop is Making the Language Cool Again! | Avery Coleman, Gulnara Glowacki | Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic+ |
| South Asian Singing and Meditation | Farooq Asif, Jampa Khedup, Laleh Ahmad | Department of Asian Languages and Cultures |
| Study and Intern Abroad at UW-Madison | Anna Nordhaus, Ali Garbacz | International Academic Programs |
| Swahili for a Kenyan Safari Adventure | Rachel Maina | Department of African Cultural Studies |
| Tagalog Unveiled: Dive into Filipino Language and Culture | Richard Nicolas | Department of Asian Languages and Cultures |
| Test Your Might: Language Trivia! | Kerry Uniyal, Ryan Goble, Kylie Holland | Language Program Office |
| The Ghostly Tales of Zhongyuan: China’s Festival of Spirits | Zhijie Wang | Department of Asian Languages and Cultures |
| The Real “Eataly”: Learning Italian Through Food! | Loren Eadie | Department of French and Italian |
| Unlock the Click Sounds of Zulu Language! | Zama Nkabinde | Department of African Cultural Studies |