Growing IU interest in foreign languages

In the wake of Sept. 11, there has been a sharp increase in the number of students taking interest in the languages of Central Asia and Eastern Europe. \nThe summer workshop in Slavic, East European and Central Asian languages is providing 140 students with the opportunity for intensive study in language and culture. The workshop currently offers the East European languages of Russian, Polish, Czech, Serbian/Croatian, Hungarian, Romanian and Slovene, which, with the exception of Russian are all taught at the first-year level. Also offered are the Central Asian languages of Azeri, Kazak, Turkmen and Uzbek, which are taught at the first and second year levels. In order to encourage students to join the workshop all students in the program, regardless of residency, pay in-state tuition. \nJerzy Kolodziej, associate professor of Slavic Languages and Literature, said enrollment for Central Asian languages has more than doubled this summer and Russian has experienced a 40 percent increase in enrollment. Kolodziej attributed the increase to post-Sept.11 attention to Afghanistan and surrounding countries and increasing interest in the arts and sciences. \n"I think part of the reason is that the national media has focused its attention on that area of the world," Kolodziej said. "Whenever a focus is put on a particular part of the world an increase in interest in the language and culture of that area follows. Also, I think a partial reason for the increase in Russian and Central Asian languages is the national trend of putting attention on the humanities. I believe that in the past many people were moving into business, but in the past three or four years there has been a tendency for increased enrollment in the humanities."\nKolodziej hopes the increased enrollment will cultivate a deeper understanding and tolerance of the people and cultures of Central Asia. \n"By learning the language and culture of a particular area, human beings are able to transcend the cliches," Kolodziej said. "When your knowledge increases, your understanding of that culture deepens as well."\nRecently, IU was selected to receive a grant worth $1.5 million from the Department of Education Language Resource Centers Program, in order to procure materials for teaching five Central Asian languages: Pashto (Afghanistan), Tajik (Tajikistan), Turkmen (Turkmenistan), Uyghur (an autonomous region of Xiangjian province in northwestern China) and Uzbek (Uzbekistan). \n"The government is interested in producing fluent speakers in those languages and IU has been chosen to provide the teaching materials," Kolodziej said. \nKolodziej said these new languages will be offered for next summer's workshop. \nThis Saturday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, the workshop will be celebrating its tenth annual Central Eurasian concert and art exhibit. The event will feature music and dance from artists from Afghanistan, Azerbijan, China, Iran, Kazakstan, Tajikstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan among several other countries. \n"It's an attempt to bring awareness of the culture to the University and public," Kolodziej said. "For the first time the concert will be held at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in order to involve people outside the University. The concert will promote the beauty of the music and culture, expanding the public's consciousness of that part of the world"