Opening & Plenary talk: Does learning a new language rewire your brain?

12:00: Opening by Prof. Tiziana Lippiello.

12:30: Plenary Talk by Prof. Panos Athanasopoulos.

What is language good for? One obvious answer is communication, which helps us transmit information rapidly and understand the mental state of others, crucial for group cohesion and survival. Moreover, it is often said that learning a foreign language is an enriching experience that broadens our perspective and access to other cultures and ideas. Here, I will be taking these questions further: Does language tune our vision to specific aspects of reality? Does learning a new language change the way we see the world? Does thinking in a foreign language actually help people make better decisions? The current talk will bring together evidence from psycholinguistics and cognitive neuroscience to begin to sketch an answer to these questions, and thus highlight some of the ways in which language can enhance, or meddle with our thinking in some often surprising ways.

13:30: Discussion

Bilingual Intercultural Awareness workshop – Mandarin & English

Join us for our inaugural bilingual intercultural awareness workshop as we celebrate Languages Week. This interactive workshop will be delivered in a mix of Mandarin and English and explores cultural influences, attitudes and behaviours, and includes a variety of intercultural activities and discussions.

The workshop will be pitched at intermediate-level Mandarin speakers and above – both native speakers and language learners are encouraged to attend! 到时见！

For full details about the intercultural training programme please visit www.warwick.ac.uk/interculturaltrainingLink opens in a new window

Intercultural Awareness workshop (English)

Join us for this intercultural awareness workshop as we celebrate Languages Week. This interactive workshop will be delivered in English only and explores cultural influences, attitudes and behaviours, and includes a variety of intercultural activities and discussions. See you there!

For full details about the intercultural training programme please visit www.warwick.ac.uk/interculturaltrainingLink opens in a new window

Film screening: Award-winning comedy Pot Luck (L'Auberge Espagnole) introduced by Reece Goodall

What happens when students from all over Europe find themselves on an exchange at university in Barcelona? Whether you've studied abroad already or are planning on doing so, this is a must-see hit film!

Translation Slam hosted by Rosalind Harvey

Come and see professional translators Ruth Clarke and Annie McDermott in friendly competition to produce translations of a Spanish literary text by Esteban Catalán Muñoz, and compare and contrast the process of translating. Hosted by critically acclaimed literary translator Rosalind Harvey.

Library Language Exchange: Indonesian

Learn conversation language skills and meet new friends at Library Language Exchange. This week we will be learning basic Indonesian and about Indonesian culture, as well as playing a variety of games to assist your learning. All students are welcome, and refreshments will be provided!

Language Taster sessions

Hello, we are the Language Centre.

You can study languages with us at a range of levels, from beginners to advanced.

We currently offer 10 different languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

You can take language modules as part of your degree or alongside your degree.

There are many reasons and ways to learn a language.

Maybe you studied a language at school, and you want to continue learning it to keep up your skills or for employment after your degree. Maybe you’re returning to study or starting postgraduate studies and want to take up the rare opportunity of expanding your learning further.

Maybe you have never studied a language before and you are looking to pick up a language for a Year Abroad and to meet minimum proficiency to be considered for a study place in that language.

We have set up Taster Sessions in our 10 languages to help you choose a new language. Please sign up for one of our tasters.

Languages Alumni Event: SMLC

Ever wondered what career language students go onto after their degree? Come along and gain inspiration from recent alumni from the School of Modern Languages and Culture. An opportunity to listen to language graduates talk about their work, how their degree helped, and benefit from their experience and advice!

Confirmed speakers: Ruby Riley, IT Manager at DHL (French & German - 2019); Michael Ojetunde, Government Analyst at Baringa (French & Economics - 2022) and other alumnis.

Bilingual Intercultural Awareness workshop – Spanish & English

Join us for this bilingual intercultural awareness workshop as we celebrate Languages Week. This interactive workshop will be delivered in a mix of Spanish and English and explores cultural influences, attitudes and behaviours, and includes a variety of intercultural activities and discussions.

The workshop will be pitched at intermediate-level Spanish speakers and above – both native speakers and language learners are encouraged to attend! Nos vemos!

For full details about the intercultural training programme please visit www.warwick.ac.uk/interculturaltraining

Language Taster sessions

Hello, we are the Language Centre.

You can study languages with us at a range of levels, from beginners to advanced.

We currently offer 10 different languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

You can take language modules as part of your degree or alongside your degree.

There are many reasons and ways to learn a language.

Maybe you studied a language at school, and you want to continue learning it to keep up your skills or for employment after your degree. Maybe you’re returning to study or starting postgraduate studies and want to take up the rare opportunity of expanding your learning further.

Maybe you have never studied a language before and you are looking to pick up a language for a Year Abroad and to meet minimum proficiency to be considered for a study place in that language.

We have set up Taster Sessions in our 10 languages to help you choose a new language. Please sign up for one of our tasters.

Languages Games Night

Join us for a fun, linguistically very diverse evening with classics such as Scrabble, Taboo and other board games, but also a quiz, a cockroach xylophone, silly games where you have to jump, run and twist to win, a treasure hunt and cool prizes for the winners. There will also be playful introductions to different languages such as German, French, Spanish, Italian and Arabic if you‘re up for a challenge.

Language Centre Module Fair: Drop-in Sessions

Hello, we are the Language Centre.

You can study languages with us at a range of levels, from beginners to advanced.

We currently offer 10 different languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

You can take language modules as part of your degree or alongside your degree

Come and talk to our tutors who will be able to advise on the best module for you and how to enrol for it. We will be available Wednesday 8 March 1-4pm and Friday 10 March 1-4pm on Floor 4 of the FAB building.

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/languagecentre/Link opens in a new window

The mystery of the Griko language spoken by the Greeks in Southern Italy over many centuries

Emanuela Pina (Doctoral Student) Translation and Language Sciences, UPF

The extreme South of Italy is home, up to nowadays, to two tiny Greek- speaking communities, which once used to be way more extended than today. How many centuries have these Greek minorities been in Italy? Are they some remnants of the Ancient Greek colonies since the 8th century BC or did they settle down on the other side of the sea only during the Middle Ages? Answers about their history are still controversial! What is certain is that the Griko language survives as a sparkle of what used to be the beating heart of the Italian Hellenism. This talk will guide you through the discovery of the Griko culture and identity through intergenerational poems, songs, stories, events and fascinating language facts.

Lost in Translation Story Slam

WHAT

For our Story Slam on the topic of "Lost in Translation," we want your amusing, tragic or horrific stories involving something that was lost in translation. The topic can be interpreted in any way you choose, and is not restricted to examples of failed or embarrassing language translations, although these are, of course, particularly welcome :-)

WHO

You are a student, researcher or administrator at one of our ten EUTOPIA universities.

HOW

1. Register for the event no matter whether you would like to participate as an audience member or as a storyteller

2. If you would like to present, send your name, university affiliation, and two to three lines about your story to Peter at eutopia@tu-dresden.de. We will select 2 stories per university and let you know by March 6. Stories have to be told in English.

3. Storytellers will have exactly five (5) minutes to tell their story. Afterwards, the audience will vote on their three favorite stories. The three winners will receive a gift from TU Dresden.

Tous des Oiseaux by Wajdi Mouawad, a "world-play"

Dr Elsa Caron

What can contemporary theater tell us about our identities and our languages? How does the multilingual play Tous des Oiseaux written by Wajdi Mouawad show our enemies as our friends because they are speaking the same language?

The presentation of three video extracts of the play Tous des Oiseaux will question the power of theater in our multilingual society. The presentation will be followed by a discussion.

Roundtable: Gender-Inclusive Language in French, Italian and Spanish, followed by Closing by Prof Roswitha Böhm, Vice-Rector University Culture at TU Dresden

Vanessa Bravo Feria, Michela Gargiulo, Josephine Klingebeil, Torsten König, Bettina Lindorfer, Silvia Nania, Annegret Richter, Enrico Serena, Florence Walter

10:00: Roundtable

In what forms does gender-inclusive language manifest itself in the three Romance languages of French, Spanish, and Italian? What are the societal debates about gender-inclusive language in Francophone, Hispanophone, and Italophone societies? What language policies are being pursued? What practices of gender-inclusive language are being fostered in these languages at the EUTOPIA universities? Our group will discuss these and other questions with the guests of the Round Table. The goal is to engage with students and colleagues from the EUTOPIA universities on the issue of "Gender-inclusive Language," to exchange ideas about practice and challenges, and to consider joint projects on this topic. The conversation languages in the Round Table are English, French, Spanish, and Italian.

11:30: Closing by Prof Roswitha Böhm, Vice-Rector University Culture at TU Dresden