The sixth annual European Language Day was held at the Goethe Institute Hanoi. It provided local people with an opportunity to learn more about Europe’s linguistic and cultural diversity.
This year’s festival themed "Multilingualism in Vietnamese Schools" has been organised by European Union National Institutes for Culture members, including the British Council, the Goethe-Institute, the Cervantes Institute, the French Cultural Centre, embassies of Poland and Italy, and Wallonia-Brussels Delegation in Hanoi.
In the morning of October 29, there was fantastic opportunity for about 120 experts on teaching foreign languages, lecturers and teachers to listen to key notes delivered by Dr. Nguyen Thi Mai Huu from Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training, Prof Dr Hans-Jürgen Krumm of Vienna University, a senior expert on multilingualism, Danny Whitehead from the British Council, Pierre-Yves Turellier from the French Embassy, and Céline Mariage from the Wallonia-Brussels Delegation.
The afternoon session of the day opened to the public - including students, parents and their children - who are interested in languages and culture. Taster classes will be offered to enable participants to learn some words and communicate in English, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish. Brief and fun sessions lasting 30 minutes each are scheduled for the whole afternoon.
The diversity of European culture was featured in selected short fiction and documentary films to be screened during the event. The featured prizes of the lottery are scholarships for intensive courses. The sixth European Language Day offers a unique opportunity for teachers, lecturers and general audiences to experience a multilingual environment and enjoy a colourful day full of input and exchange. It helped Hanoi language fest to link Europhiles.
