Free Language Courses Offered at UW

Registrations are now being accepted for the popular World Language and Culture Program (WLCP) at the University of Wyoming this semester. A total of 22 nonformal world language and culture sessions are available free via Zoom.

The WLCP is a volunteer and service-learning program that offers free world language and culture sessions to members of the UW community and to those interested throughout the state.

The WLCP is committed to 21st century linguistic and cultural literacy to cultivate lifelong learning, appreciation and enthusiasm for world languages and cultures. The program views language and culture as being inseparable and strives to integrate the teaching and learning of both simultaneously. The mission is to provide access to adults who want to learn world languages and gain awareness of world cultures in a nonformal setting.

Informal sessions in Arabic (Algerian, Egyptian, Iraqi and Sudanese), Armenian, French, German, Hebrew, Indonesian, Japanese, Kazakh, Korean, Philippine (Tagalog), Russian, Sinhala, Spanish (Mexican and Argentinian), Turkish, Uzbek and Vietnamese -- along with aspects of culture -- begin Wednesday, Feb. 1, and end Wednesday, May 10.

Classes will be offered virtually throughout the day and early evening, generally once a week. To view the schedule or to register for a class, go to www.uwyo.edu/wlcp/index.html. The schedule also can be found on Facebook or by going here.

Dilnoza Khasilova, a UW graduate who earned her doctoral degree in literacy studies and is a current Global Engagement Fellow in UW’s Global Engagement Office, developed the WLCP in 2013. The program was launched in 2014 with the help of both UW’s local and international communities, including UW’s graduate students, faculty, staff and undergraduate exchange students who volunteered to teach their target languages and cultures.

“We will start offering our classes via Zoom again this semester. Only three language and culture sessions in Arabic and French will be offered in person for a small group of people. We want to stay safe and healthy,” Khasilova says. “Going virtual in 2020 allowed us to be inclusive and offer our service to the entire state of Wyoming, and some learners even are joining our classes from different states and countries.”

The WLCP provides opportunities to build a lifelong learning community of learners; develop cross-cultural understandings; service learning and teaching; volunteerism; engagement; internationalization; and language and culture exposure, Khasilova says.

The volunteer WLCP facilitators include both local and international students; faculty and staff; UW members who travel overseas or speak a world language; alumni; exchange students; visiting scholars; and both local and international community members.

The Associated Students of UW, the UW Center for Student Involvement and Leadership, the College of Education, the Global Engagement Office (International Students and Scholars, Education Abroad), the International Studies Program and the Department of Modern and Classical Languages collaborate with the WLCP, assisting with scheduling classrooms, recruiting volunteers and supporting cultural events on campus to celebrate world languages and cultures.

For more information, email wlc@uwyo.edu or go to www.uwyo.edu/wlcp/index.html.