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DCU celebrates European Day of Languages

DCU's School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies (SALIS) is celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the European Day of Languages, 26th September 2011, by encouraging everyone on campus to speak a new language or think about learning a new language. All staff and students will be invited to take part in a survey asking them what languages they know, what new languages they would like to learn - and whether they would be interested in joining other like minded language lovers in informal conversation classes and gatherings to practise and perfect their language skills.

Dr. Aileen Pearson-Evans, Head of SALIS, said "We are an immensely intercultural campus with over 120 nationalities represented- staff and students. But we rarely hear anything spoken but English! DCU has so many people on campus who can communicate in a foreign language to varying extent. We need to create a culture and atmosphere that makes it easy for people to speak in a foreign language - no matter how basic their knowledge may be. We need to come up with new ideas and new channels that allow people to learn a new language or immerse themselves in a new culture -with confidence. Finding out what staff and students already know is an important first step in developing a dynamic and multicultural environment here in DCU."

The SALIS language survey will be issued to all staff and students today - European Day of Languages.

さよなら! Ciao! Slán! Tschüss! 再見! Adiós! Au Revoir! See you!