Access the World with World Languages and Cultures

     

 "Much more motivated to learn a language in the WLCP class rather than on an APP, met some wonderful students in class, and had a wonderful teacher." 

UW Staff: Research & Economic Development

 "WLCP impacted my professional life as I took my skills in French and used them in my workplace." 

UW Student: UW Sociology

     

 "I strongly recommend the UW World Language and Culture Program for those who are interested in learning a new language, especially one of the lesser known languages. I have participated for several years in the Uzbek language classes taught by Dilnoza Khasilova, and I have really enjoyed her teaching style. The participants in the class range from those who know no Uzbek to students who can speak and read Uzbek at an intermediate level, and Dilnoza manages to accommodate everyone. She is very enthusiastic about teaching Uzbek, and she often invites interesting speakers, some of whom are well-known Uzbek entertainers, journalists, or experts on the history of the Uzbek language." 

UW Faculty: College of Business, University of Wyoming

     

 As a self-study learner of the Uzbek language, it was a pleasure to come across your Uzbek language summer course especially since it's incredibly difficult to find a native tutor or a program of this sort in the United States for such a rarely learned language. It was also nice to interact with other students of the language from across the United States and abroad. The short program was a very helpful introduction to the language and I wish this program can be extended to have more sessions beyond summer to help learners of this language like me in the US. Thank you for your effort. Sizni yana ko'rishga umid qilaman! 

Syed, Community Learner: Harvard University

     

 I think it's a great program to help students get started on a language and to promote less commonly taught languages, especially free of charge. Free language education is a great thing for students who are seeking to learn more about languages. Did WLCP camp or your language sessions impact your personal life? If yes, how? * Yes, it helped me discover what I want to do as a career and it has helped me prepare for a career. Taking classes has also helped me learn so much about culture and language, so I have been able to apply this to my field. What impact do you believe WLCP will have on campus, state, across the county, and globe? * I think it'll be a great one. With the languages that are offered, it can make a huge impact and inspire others to share their culture and language. 

Naomi, Community Learner: Kansas State University

    

 It is very fast paced and a good start to learning a language. If i was brand new to the language, it would be overwhelming, but a good start to the learning process. What impact do you believe WLCP will have on campus, state, across the county, and globe? * It will serve as a great way to get people involved in other languages and cultures. It is not highly committal, so I believe many people will be more willing to start learning. 

UW Staff & Student, Alumna; German Language Learner: University of Wyoming

    

 This is a great opportunity for people interested in other languages and cultures to get direct contact with native speakers. I think it is a valuable experience especially in a place like Wyoming where the international community can be small. Opportunities like this help introduce people to different ways of thinking and living that will expand how they view the world. 

UW Staff & Alumna: Advising, Career, and Exploratory Studies Center (ACES) at UW

     

 I loved all of it and it’s helped me a great deal! Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity. What impact do you believe WLCP will have on campus, state, across the county, and globe? * Helping with the diversity in work settings, travel and in school. Helping with the communication barrier while on the job and just in general. I think it’ll help in a lot of ways to know another language. Did WLCP camp or your language sessions impact your personal life? If yes, how? * Yes, it’s helped me understand the language more and hopefully helps in my work setting to understand more customers/co workers 

Community Member: Culinary Arts / Medical Assistant Student at Central Wyoming College

     

 I love that this is an option for people around the world. What impact do you believe WLCP will have on campus, state, across the county, and globe? * Facilitating language and crossing cultural barriers with language teaching 

UW Staff, Turkish Language Learner: University of Wyoming Art Museum

     

 I heard about it from a friend and it sounded intimidating, but fun. I have been interested in German for a while and had done some of the Doulingo classes on it, but it was difficult to stay on top of and the lessons were difficult to invest in. This kind of class seemed like a good way to jump in and get some tools regarding learning the language in the future. I really enjoyed the group conversations we did for the last half hour of each class. It was sometimes difficult to follow since I am so new to the language, but it was really engaging to talk with Dr. Irina and the other students there. What impact do you believe WLCP will have on campus, state, across the county, and globe? * The program is good, especially the short camp series since that is a little less intimidating than signing up for an official course of an all immersive training right away. I think it is a good introduction to this style of teaching and may encourage others to try it. 

UW Student: University of Wyoming

    

 It boosted my confidence and I can hold small conversations now. What impact do you believe WLCP will have on campus, state, across the county, and globe? * Boosting people's confidence through the knowledge of another language 

MBA Student; Spanish Language Learner: University of Wyoming, College of Business

     

 The teacher was incredible. She was so lively and engaging it didn’t feel like I was learning, but having fun. I left WLCP knowing more Korean that I ever thought I would and a new appreciation for the culture thanks to Mrs. Boa. Now, I am motivated to continue learning the language on my own. What impact do you believe WLCP will have on campus, state, across the county, and globe? * I think that it will encourage global citizens to travel, experience, and understand people and places that differ from the person or place of origin that the WLCP participant came from. 

Community Member, Korean Language Learner: Laramie High School, Wyoming

     

 It being free was what made it much more accessible to me as someone who is always hard on cash due to being a college student; I hope these free classes continue in the future because I've throughly enjoyed the class and everything I've learned! I am able to comfortably communicate much better with those in my life who speak Korean. What impact do you believe WLCP will have on campus, state, across the county, and globe? * It will show that learning languages shouldn't come at a premium because being able to communicate with others who don't speak your language is so precious; it's priceless. It's something that shouldn't be restricted due to whether you have the money or not. 

Community Member, Wyoming, Korean Language Learner: Laramie, Wyoming

 The opportunity to remain engaged with a language I am interested to learn through more intensive study in the coming months; the opportunity to see people who are also interested to learn Turkish and, in that way, to feel a sense of community. Did WLCP camp or your language sessions impact your personal life? If yes, how? * Yes! It was affirming of my own interests and helped me stay connected to priorities of my own at a time when other obligations are always demanding my attention. think it's incredible and very generous! I hope it can receive the financial support it deserves as well. I am very grateful for the opportunity to participate in this community and create time for this kind of informal learning. What impact do you believe WLCP will have on campus, state, across the county, and globe? * This is incredible work, not commodified and connective of a community of people who volunteer their presence and their expertise, and in real time (!). I would love to see this scale up and become even more robust. 

UW Faculty: Latin America (research, teaching) with a secondary interest in the Middle East (teaching)

     

 I liked that the option was available even though I do not live in Wyoming. What impact do you believe WLCP will have on campus, state, across the county, and globe? * I think it will be able to bring more people to language learning 

Student of Kansas, Arabic Language Learner: Wichita, Kansas

     

 I think it is a great program that is being extended to the community. What impact do you believe WLCP will have on campus, state, across the county, and globe? * I believe by offering free courses, it will help people to reach out and try to learn a new language and be more open to it. I think everyone should know more than one language and this will open doors for people to try to learn. 

Wyoming Community Member, Spanish Language Learner: Wyoming

     

 Thank you for this opportunity. What impact do you believe WLCP will have on campus, state, across the county, and globe? * It helps to gain knowledge about different countries, their culture and this is awesome program to make new connections 

UW Alumna, Spanish Language Learner: University of Florida

     

 Yes, it has helped me achieve my goal of being a lifelong learner. What impact do you believe WLCP will have on campus, state, across the county, and globe? * It's helping to spread language and culture education throughout Laramie and Wyoming - somewhere that isn't that diverse 

Community Member: Former UW Faculty Spouse

     

 First - it's awesome & really meaningful that you provide a free language program for the UW community. Thank you for all your hard work! The class caters to a wide variety of Russian skill levels. Today's class felt like the most diverse to date, with students from all over the country/world - ranging from novice to intermediate & advanced students looking to refresh their language skills. Oksana provided a very welcoming & supportive environment for learning Russian, considered to be a "critical language" & traditionally difficult for native English speakers. The class is small enough that everybody gets a chance to converse one-on-one with both Oksana & other students. Class activities include grammar & reading lessons, conversational practice, vocabulary building, cultural exchange, playing games (e.g. spin the wheel), & viewing Russian-language cartoons in an informal style that encourages student interaction & builds a sense of community. 

Community member

    

 This is a language I’ve been interested in learning for a long time and one place I hope to travel to in the future. It intimidated me though because of it not having Latin based characters and from being told it was a tonal language by my Thai and Korean friends from school. I was finally brave enough to try this past semester and it is a lot, but Yuki made it manageable for me. She is really patient and kind as I struggle with it! I truly looked forward to her class each week and her class helped me understand and not be so discouraged by Duolingo’s Japanese sessions. Context helps so much! 

UW Staff, Japanese Language Learner: UW

     

 I loved Chad’s class! It made getting up early on a Saturday worth it. I really enjoyed how he split the class up with language at the start and videos with Cuban culture at the end. I learned a lot about what differentiates Cuban’s from other Latinx communities. My hometown had many immigrants from Jalisco, Mexico so I grew up with a lot of their culture and language being shared by my classmates. It was fun for me to see the similarities and the differences between those two for me. I grew up surrounded by a lot of the Mexican Spanish language in school, took classes formally in high school, and have practiced it on and off a lot of my life. I enjoyed the refresher class before traveling to Spain this past spring. I actually spoke Spanish in Spain?!? Maybe sometime in the future I’ll be brave enough to take an intermediate or conversation level course that is offered. 

UW staff

     

 I think that the WLPC program is helpful for the community because it has created a community learning center for language and culture that is accessible. In the classes I’ve taken there have been students of all ages participating. I love this because it invites a variety of perspectives to the classes. I also believe that the more people that are willing to learn about cultures outside of the United States and even North America, the less unintentional harm happens from misunderstandings. It isn’t just the UW community, it is nation-wide because the classes are online and free. I don’t know of other programs like the WLPC where it is open to the community outside of the campus. I think that makes it unique. 

UW Staff, WLCP Language Learner: UW

     

 I joined the Turkish WLCP class in 2020 when Aylin started teaching it. I’d been taking dance classes from her for a couple years at that point and missed seeing and talking to her with the classes shutdown with covid. She announced that she was teaching this course and I was excited to join her class to learn something new; and to see her and several of my friends during the course even with it being virtual. I discovered that I enjoy learning languages when there isn’t the pressure of tests or assignments to complete and I’ve always loved learning world culture and cultural history. So, I’ve kept up with Turkish and have joined Spanish and Japanese courses when their classes are outside of work hours since. I look forward to seeing people in the classes and listening to the lectures and picking up useful phrases from the wonderful volunteer teachers. I’ve learned language basics for Turkish, Spanish, and Japanese beyond what applications like Duolingo and Memrise can teach. I am now able to read and construct basic sentences. I can understand most colors, animals, numbers, feelings, positives and negatives, yours versus mine and theirs, and talk about my family in Turkish. I am getting better at sentence structures and can sometimes understand parts of songs when I listen to Turkish music. I have so far to go but I’m enjoying the learning journey! I personally struggle with the hearing and speaking aspects of learning language due to my hearing impairment which is part of the reason the traditional academic classes are extremely stressful and challenging for me. However, because these courses don’t have those pressures I’m able to learn at my own pace and work through those challenges without a deadline and the financial investment looming. I find that the repetition of the courses each semester helps me solidify and really learn the foundational skills. This past semester I was still having moments where I knew that I’d gone over the topic before but could not recall all of words, like the months of the year or days of the week. Pairing the courses with the language apps for vocabulary and writing, I can ask questions and really understand the why’s and what’s of the language. I love and look forward to attending the courses each week. It gives me something enriching to break up my week! 

UW Staff, Turkish Language Learner: UW

     

 WLCP is a gem at the University of Wyoming. The informal teaching method and the offering of languages ( not just the romance languages) are taught not in the "normal" pathway on a college campus, which is you register and pay for credit and take exams. WLCP is free to all , inclusive and laid back. You do not need to be a student to participate. The instructors are native to their language and have connections to their countries. This allows for a cultural component to be integrated into the class. Learning about the culture and country , i.e. food , holidays, celebrations, travel tips are also attractive and a beneficial component of WLCP. Another attractive component of WLCP is the short duration, Example 10 weeks. One must understand this is not enough time and that one would be successful with fluency, but it allows for the exposure to the language and culture. I have been participating for 1 year in WLCP. I was thrilled to see Turkish, who knew that that language would be available out in Wyoming. I have always been fascinated with Turkey and want to visit. To get a basic foundation of the language and to learn history and current events of Turkey has enhanced my interest in Turkey. I know I will visit but have not done so. I have also taken Spanish(Mexico) and French through WLCP. Having had previous exposure to both in a formal setting. Taking Spanish and French was as a refresher for me , the cultural component is what made me take these 2 other languages. The Spanish class presented videos on Day of the dead celebrations/parade (very cool) and specific food for holidays , in Mexico. All of the instructors provided resources to help with the language. This came in the form of handouts, PowerPoints, YouTube videos, websites, books. WLCP at the University of Wyoming allows for exposure to languages/cultures one might not get in any other format, and it is free. 

UW Staff: UW