The Hanoitimes - European Language Days will be held at the Goethe Institute Hanoi by cultural institutes and embassies of a number of European countries on October 14 and 15.
At the event, European countries will present their respective languages and discuss the pros and cons of linguistic diversity in Europe and its role in the international context.
On the first day of the festival there will be 30-minute presentations by selected speakers, followed by discussion.
On the second day participants will run courses in German, English, French, Spanish, Hungarian, and Italian in the classrooms and library of the Goethe Institute. Visitors will have the chances to learn the first words in a new language and get to know linguistic and cultural diversity in Europe .
The event is also aimed at showing the importance of multilingualism, especially in relations with present-day Europe
This European Union of National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) event is organized by several European cultural institutes and embassies. Goethe-Institut, British Council, Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie, Institute Cervantes and the Representation of Wallonie-Bruxelles together with the Embassies of Spain, Italy and Hungary introduce their national languages and address the theme of the pros and cons of Europe ’s linguistic diversity and its role in international contexts.
October 14: Conference “Multilingualism – Challenge and chance for a global world”
The program on the first day is primarily aimed at a linguistic audience. In the morning four speakers will give short thirty-minute presentations followed by discussion. Professor Hung Nguyen from Vietnam will talk about The Foreign Languages 2020 Project in Vietnam, Prof. Jürgen Quetz of the J.W. Goethe University in Frankfurt will speak on Plurilingual Syllabuses for Schools in a Multilingual World, Mr. O'Rourke, representative of the British Council, will present a short lecture on Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) in Education and Ms. Nguyen Van Dung from Vietnam National University - Hanoi will discuss the language learning process of Vietnamese students learning French.
In the afternoon, there will be a panel discussion: Prof. Quetz, the Belgian linguist and semiologist Prof. Jean-Marie Klinkenberg and Dang Hoang Giang as a moderator will talk about language diversity, its importance in the cultural wealth of Europe and the role of multilingualism in strengthening international bonds. Both the morning lectures and the panel discussion will be simultaneously translated into Vietnamese.
October 15: Festival of European Languages
The second day of European Languages Day focuses on practice. Here, representatives of the participating institutions will present their languages in the classrooms and the library of the Goethe-Institute: several 30-minute mini-courses in German, English, French, Spanish, Hungarian and Italian will be offered at multiple morning and afternoon appointments. Instructional materials such as posters, picture books, short films are available for viewing, and will whet your appetite to learn more about the different countries. Visitors thus have the opportunity to get a sample of several language courses, to learn their first words in a new language and to gain an impression of the linguistic and cultural diversity of Europe .
The event not only intends to represent diversity but also aims to demonstrate the importance of multilingualism, particularly for relations with Europe today. Those who, in addition to their mother tongue, speak not only English but also another European language, can also benefit from this advantage in economic and business relations with Europeans. This can be an important factor, especially for an exporting nation like Vietnam . All lectures will be simultaneously translated into Vietnamese.