East Islip High School celebrated World Languages Week this March. People may come across World Languages Week and ask, what is this week about? What is its significance? A general definition would be: World Languages Week is a week to discuss the joys of learning a new language and to bring awareness to the importance of studying foreign languages.

Dr. Costa, the school’s Italian teacher and World Language Honor Society club advisor would define it as a week not only about languages but also an opportunity for students and even teachers to get an understanding of who they are, explore different cultures and to also be aware of the difference in cultural practices around the world.

World Language Week normally encompasses four languages across four days. Monday is designated for American Sign Language, Tuesday for French, Wednesday for Italian, and Thursday for Spanish. Each day students from the club engage in cultural activities relative to the language, have discussions, and even watch films.

This year a new language was incorporated into the week and designated for Friday! Native American Languages were chosen as the additional languages to be highlighted during the week, especially since this school has Native American history surrounding it. This year a teacher from our very own school was able to come and share a few words about a native language and why it’s important to be aware of the history behind the native culture. To further students’ understanding, a movie called Conscience Point about Native Americans was shown. This movie gained great feedback and also brought forth a lot of questions from curious minds.

The addition of the Native Language to the World Languages Week was a success and the advisors of the society not only plan to continue forth with this addition, but also intend on making the day better by possibly getting members from the Shinnecock tribe to visit the school and tell students participating in the week a few stories and possibly answer a few questions. 

This goes to say that World Language Week is much more than getting a peek around the globe; it’s about learning new things about other people’s languages and cultures, seeing the importance of these unique languages, and also being aware of what’s happening in other communities.

Through this week and beyond we must also be more accepting of people who speak a different language from us and also use our cultural differences to unite. Next year is sure to be even better.