On Saturday, March 30, 2019, the Department of World Languages at Worcester State University celebrated its second edition of the “World Languages Undergraduate Conference” inspired by the University’s mission to champion academic excellence, diversity, and global awareness.
Undergraduate students from Wheaton College, Clark University, College of the Holy Cross, Tufts University, Mount Holyoke College, Brandeis University, Smith College, Boston University, Bard College, and Worcester State University shared with peers, professors, and relatives their research and fresh approaches to a variety of topics. Conference sessions included work on language acquisition, aesthetic movements, national identity metaphors, material culture, deconstruction of political discourses, or international film, among other topics. Geographically, audience members had an opportunity to travel from Caribbean nations, to Venezuela, Brazil, Spain, Japan, Germany, or the Punjab.
Guest keynote speaker, Dr. Jaime Rivera Flores, from Georgian Court University, delivered to a very engaged audience his lecture titled “How to Learn a Second Language More Effectively.” During his talk, Dr. Rivera Flores touched on key theoretical principles behind language acquisition, offered tips for linguistic improvement, and shared humorous anecdotes related to language learning.
After a day filled with thought-provoking presentations and inspiring conversations, the event concluded with the award of certificates to participants and a shared feeling of accomplishment among panelist.
The department of World Languages thanks The School of Humanities and Social Sciences and its dean, Russ Pottle, for making this event possible, and Lois Wims provost and vice president of academic affairs, and Carl A. Herrin, assistant to the president/international, for their support. A special thank you to panel chairs, professors Carlos Odría, Dolores Juan-Moreno (Clark University), Francisco Vivoni, Antonio Guijarro-Donadiós, Elizabeth Osborne, Constanza Bartholomae, Jeanne Moore, Javier Zafón-Castejón, and Vicky Gruzynski for their generosity and their commitment to student advancement.
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