What is LinguaFest?
A typical mini-course during the IJK LingvoFestivalo
in Strasbourg, France, 2001
Mini-Foreign Language Courses
LinguaFest, or the Festival of Languages, is a weekend event in which
foreign languages are presented in the form of mini-courses.
It is an educational fun activity for the whole family, allowing
everyone the chance to get acquainted with the rudiments of one or more
foreign languages. New introductory lessons of 40 minutes duration
are offered every hour during the event. A typical large festival may have more
than 50 languages and more than 200 introductory mini-lessons in those
languages. Small festivals with only ten languages can also be
successful.
All Foreign Languages Invited
Any and every language is invited to participate in LinguaFest..
From Spanish to German, from Arabic to Zulu, a typical LinguaFest may
also include Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Swahili, Portuguese, Ancient and
Modern Greek, French, Hebrew, Hindi and many regional languages from
India, Tibetan, Japanese, Zulu, Swedish, Italian, Esperanto, and even
mini-lessons in Sign Language, Braille, and sometimes Hieroglypics and
Cuneiform. Plus many, many others.
Cultural Diversity and Language Learning
Language Festivals have become a major activity in many European and
Asian countries for several reasons. First, they help motivate
students of all ages to study a foreign language. Also, they help
to make the public aware of the great linguistic and cultural diversity
in the world. Language Festivals also help to increase cultural
understanding in the cities in which they are held as entire communities
can take part, presenting and teaching their language and customs.
Started in France and Europe in 1995
The idea of teaching languages using sample, mini-lessons was originally
launched on March 11, 1995 in Tours, France by the American Dennis
Keefe. The first festival had 32 languages presented in 96
mini-courses, to some 789 students from the general public. By
the third festival, there were 85 languages, 254 mini-courses, and more
than 3600 students from 5 to 95 years of age. Alexandr Blinov of
Russia, and Matthi Lathinen of Finland set up the first festivals
outside of France.
Now in More than 20 Countries and Spreading
The Langauge Festival rapidly spread with currently more than 21
countries and 35 cities that have held such festivals. Local press
coverage has been very high, with the third LinguaFest of France being
reported in numerous periodicals, as well as both local and national
radio and television. LinguaFest is a royalty-free event
that anyone may organize. To learn about how your city or
organization can set up a Langauge Festival, you may contact Dennis
Keefe
Click to see a typical schedule of a somewhat large Language Festival.
Click to see photographs of the Festival in Strasbourg, France.
Wikipedia also has a number of articles written about LinguaFest in numerous languages.
Click to see a sample national TV news report TF1 Claire Chazal about LinguaFest.