Event

What does it feel like to be surrounded by the sounds of a language that you do not understand? This Friday, February 7th, Penn GSE’s Education Linguistics Division will present Sounding Out Language in partnership with Penn Language Center in an effort to answer this question. Part of Penn’s Year of Sound, this three-part experiential learning program aims to raise awareness of the challenges of living in a linguistically diverse world and to provide strategies for successfully living and working in such an environment.

At Sounding Out Language, participants will be challenged to navigate an unfamiliar soundscape. They will make their way through the Graduate School of Education, stopping at a series of stations to engage in “language shock” activities. Participants will then be presented with a series of questions designed to build awareness of the attitudes, skills, and strategies needed to be successful in these linguistically diverse environments. 

Upon completing the stations, master’s students in GSE's Intercultural Communications program will reflect on the activities with participants. They will also recommend effective strategies for maintaining positive and open intercultural communication. 

Penn students, faculty, and staff in business or service-oriented professions who wish to improve their intercultural interactional proficiency and communication skills are encouraged to attend. Sounding Out Language will be held from 2:00-4:00pm in the Graduate School of Education at 3700 Walnut Street. For more information, please contact Dr. Santoi Wagner at swagn@gse.upenn.edu or Dr. Anne Pomerantz at apomeran@gse.upenn.edu. For more information and events curated by Penn’s Year of Sound, click here.