World Language Awareness Day Exposes Students to Cultural Diversity

Mesa, AZ - Students celebrated cultural diversity at the World Languages Awareness Day event on Wednesday for Mesa Community College’s International Education week.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Clock Tower lawn at MCC’s Southern and Dobson campus students were able to learn about a wide range of international languages and cultures. The event was set up with a stage, where predominantly Latin American dancers performed, and around noon there was also a dance instruction session for students who wanted to learn different dances. Behind the stage, there were tables set up for each language for students to learn more about including: Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Russian, German, Portuguese and even Sign language to name a few.  World Language Day “passports” were given to students to get “stamps” for the different countries/language tables they visited.

“It was pretty cool,” said Fiorella Arce, a student at MCC looking to get her Associate’s degree and major in political science. “Every counter has different fun events and games to get stamps on the passport.”  It was Arce’s first time attending this annual event, and she said a lot of the instructors offered extra credit to students to go and learn more about different languages. “I didn’t actually know we had so much diversity in Arizona,” Arce said. Arce also commented that the most interesting table she visited was the International Education table because it had “a little bit of everything.”

While International Education Week is a nationwide event, “World Language Awareness Day is an event unique to Mesa Community College in Arizona,” said Director Steve Budge, Chairman of the World Languages Department. Budge felt this event was important for students to be exposed to more diversity and placed emphasis on the importance of learning another language.

“It’s obvious with all the current events for students to learn more about global awareness,” said Budge. “It helps students function in a global society and allows them to be more marketable in the workforce.” Budge also said that the passports at the event were provided to give students “a little taste of each culture.”

Budge is a Communications Major and received his Master’s degree in Spanish Literature from Arizona State University. He believes that business schools such as the W.P. Carey School of Business should require students to learn a language to better prepare them for international business and marketing.

The World Languages Department and Office of International Education collaborate on this event every year to promote languages and learning. For more information on languages classes or study abroad opportunities contact the International Education office at www.mc.maricopa.edu/internation/studyabroad or (480) 461-7870.

Guest article contributed by Anais G. Durney
Student, Arizona State University

Technorati Tags: Mesa Arizona, Mesa Community College