Did you know that multilingual employees are in high demand across the workforce? The students you work with on campus probably do—and if not, they ought to take it into consideration as they prepare applications for summer and post-graduation jobs. Today, language learning is an essential part of being a global citizen, and it’s something you can help foster on campus even outside of the foreign language department.
Today, we’re taking a look at some of the ways your library can help promote language learning on campus outside of class. Read on for our thoughts.
Prepare students for study abroad
Hold cultural events
We all know what college students really like: free food. Use this to your advantage and hold fun cultural events at your library! Consider promoting your collection of Soviet film with a screening of Dziga Vertov’s Man With a Movie Camera and traditional Russian delicacies like kholodets, pierozhki and varenyi. Encourage students to take the fun outside of the library and learn more about the Russian language and culture through books, more movies, more food and definitely language learning software like Mango. You’ll be promoting your library offerings, immersing students in a foreign culture and helping to foster a sense of campus community all at once.
Make it into a contest
College students like to compete almost as much as they like to eat. Indulge students’ competitive streaks by holding a language learning contest or digital badge program to get them learning. Offer rewards, whether it’s a badge for their LinkedIn profile or forgiveness on some pesky overdue fines, and promote the winners on social media. You never know: some students may take up competitive Pashto learning and forego former loves like football and basketball. Don’t worry, we won’t tell the coaches what you’re up to.
If you’re interested in learning more ways to promote language learning on your campus, take a look at the case study we did with the University of Arkansas. They created a digital badge program for Mango, boosting students’ engagement with the product and helping foster language learning outside of class. Download the case study here!
