Seachtain na Gaeilge 2024

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Imeachtaí-Events – Bhí clár iontach againn i mbliana, chun Seachtain na Gaeilge a cheiliúradh…a mhaireann 17 lá, Márta 1ú-17ú!

We had a great programme of events this year, to celebrate Seachtain na Gaeilge (Irish Language Week)…which actually lasts for 17 days, March 1st-17th!

An Mháirt 5 Márta/Tuesday 5th March – Seachtain na Gaeilge 2024 got up and running with our Tráth na gCeist/Quiz. The teams were made up from QUB students, staff and guests who enjoyed our Eolas Ginearálta/General Knowledge Quiz! Maith sibh a chairde! Well done everyone!

An Chéadaoin 6 Márta/Wednesday 6th March – Lá ag an phictiúrlann/Day at the cinema, hosted in the wonderful surroundings of the QFT, saw close to one hundred pupils from the local Gaelscoil (Irish-Medium School), Scoil an Droichid, visit us to watch Puffin Rock Agus Na Cairde Nua.

Tarrac, kept the audience captivated for the afternoon in the QFT, as QUB students, staff, and members of the public came together to watch the acclaimed Irish Language film on the big screen.

An Déardaoin 7 Márta/Thursday 7th March – In Oidhreacht Ghaelach Bhéal Feirste (Belfast’s Gaelic Heritage), Dr. Fionntán de Brún guided us bilingually around campus, with an informative and enjoyable ‘walk and talk’. Dr. de Brún explored the linguistic origins of our local place names and the crucial role that the Irish language plays in their meanings.

An Mháirt 12 Márta/Tuesday 12th March – Nuala Ní Scolláin, owner of Ióga le Nuala, guided us through a relaxing and energising Yoga session, as gaeilge (in Irish)! Go raibh míle maith agat, a Nuala! (Thanks very much, Nuala!)

An Chéadaoin 13 Márta/Wednesday 13th March – Rith/Siúil Spraoi (Fun Run/Walk) gave Irish language enthusiasts a chance to get their steps in, and also use their Irish with other gaeilgeoirí (Irish speakers).

An Déardaoin 14 Márta/Thursday 14th March – Chuir muid deireadh le Seachtain na Gaeilge 2024 le Comhrá-thon! (We brought Seachtain na Gaeilge to a close with a Comhrá-thon!)

From early morning to late afternoon, the conversation – as well as the tae agus caife (tea & coffee) – was flowing, ending in a céilí (music session) agus cóisir (party)!

Beatha teanga í a labhairt! (The life of a language is in the speaking of it!)

Happy Holi

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Holi, or the festival of colours, is a religious occasion considered the second biggest Hindu festival after Diwali, generally celebrated by people from the north of India. It marks the beginning of spring after a long winter and signifies the triumph of good over evil. To those who celebrate, may your Holi be full of colour, love and happiness!

While we would like to hear how the celebration is to take place in Queen’s community this year, we want to invite you to read the post from Ying, on her last year’s experience of joining this celebration with her Indian friends at Queen’s.

Holi: A Festival of Colours and Joy
Celebrating Holi at Queen’s

Seachtain na Gaeilge 2024

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Irish Language and Cultural Celebrations @Queen’s
Ceiliúradh Teanga agus Cultúrtha @Ollscoil na Ríona

The Language Centre team are delighted to invite you to join us in celebrating SEACHTAIN NA GAEILGE 2024.  All events below are open to all QUB students and staff and are free to attend.  If you would like to attend any of these events, please do register so that we can monitor registration numbers.

Tuesday 5th March: 12.30pm-1.30pm

Our Tráth na gCeist/Quiz gets Seachtain na Gaeilge underway here at Queen’s. Questions will be General Knowledge and will be asked as Gaeilge/in Irish. Teams will be provided with an Irish speaker, if required. Places are limited, so please book early.

Registration

Wednesday 6th March: 10.00am
Scoil an Droichid will celebrate Seachtain na Gaeilge with us, as they visit the QFT to enjoy the Irish Language version of ‘Puffin Rock And The New Friends’.

Wednesday 6th March: 2.30pm
Acclaimed Irish Language film, Tarrac, comes to the QFT as part of Seachtain na Gaeilge 2024. This film is subtitled in English and is Rated 15. Seating is limited, so please book early.

Registration

Thursday 7th March: 12.30pm-1.45pm
Dr. Fionntán de Brún, Professor of Modern Irish in Maynooth University and Award-winning Creative Writer, guides us on a bilingual walk & talk around Queen’s and the surrounding area, exploring the history behind our local place names.

Registration

Tuesday 12th March: 12.30pm-1.30pm
Yoga Instructor, Nuala Ní Scolláin, guides us through a Yoga class…in Irish! Suitable for all levels of Yoga and Irish! Very limited spaces.

Registration

Wednesday 13th March: 1.00pm-2.00pm
We are teaming up with Queen’s Campus Run during University Wellbeing Week for a Run/Walk…in Irish! Get your steps and your ‘cúpla focal’ in one go! Choose your own distance…and pace!

Registration

Thursday 14th March: All day (9.00am-4.00pm) ‘Comhrá-thon’ is a day-long conversation…in Irish! We invite you to join us as we keep the conversation flowing throughout the day @Junction Café.

‘Comhrá-thon’ will conclude with our ‘Ciorcal Comhrá’, where we invite everyone for refreshments, music, and chat as Gaeilge/in Irish!

Email mark.harte@qub.ac.uk with your preferred 30-minute slot and the names of those taking part.

Registration

Happy International Mother Language Day

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This annual observance, which takes place on 21st February every year, is a celebration of cultural and linguistic diversity.

This afternoon, our Language Centre team joined the celebration of multilingualism at the launch of a new Staff Network for Promoting Linguistic Diversity & Minority Languages. This well-attended event is a wonderful celebration of a belief in the power of language to connect people. Preserving, respecting and learning languages is so important for building tolerance and empathy in our divided world.

Language – A Bridge; Not a Barrier!

Don’t forget that registration opens for our Spring term courses on 1st March, via our Language Centre Website.

Welcome back to Winter Term

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Welcome back to Language Classes and TLE!

The Language Centre 2nd semester classes kick off today Monday 15th and wish all the learners a great start!

Tandem Language Exchange activities restart from this Wednesday 17th January. All Queen’s students and staff members are welcome to attend TLE events throughout the academic year, whether they sign up for the language courses or not.

For those who sign up for both, it can be complementary way to develop your language skills with a potential language partner, with whom you can work with a buddy from another culture for mutual support. For those who are unable to attend a language class, perhaps joining our TLE will be a viable option for you to keep your flame of enthusiasm burn.

Welcome back and enjoy your learning!

Celebrating World Arabic Language Day

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Happy World Arabic Language Day!

As the world commemorates World Arabic Language Day on December 18th, we are pleased to have Wejdan, a PhD student who speaks Arabic as her native language, to reflect on the richness of the Arabic language.

My name is Wejdan, and as a proud Saudi, the Arabic language is a source of identity, which serves as a foundation of Saudi culture and heritage. Arabic is poetic and has been cherished for centuries, with a rich literature, science, philosophy, and religion history. It is a language that exhibits diversity in dialects and accents across Arab countries. Saudi Arabia is home to several dialects, reflecting the country’s diverse geography and cultural heritage, making Saudi Arabia so vibrant and captivating.

You will notice a palm-shaped bookmark in the photo. This palm is a symbol deeply rooted in my culture, representing generosity and hospitality. It serves as a reminder of the values we hold dear as Saudis and the warm welcome we extend to others.

In my pursuit of embracing cultural diversity and expanding my language skills, I have recently joined the Language Center activities. I am excited to start this journey, exploring other languages like Japanese. The book in the photo above is an Arabic handbook to learning the Japanese language, exemplifying the bridge between cultures and the pursuit of knowledge.

Let us appreciate the power and beauty of the Arabic language together. World Arabic Language Day is such a chance to promote cross-cultural exchange and understanding.

Learn Arabic, attend cultural events, discover traditional arts and crafts, and interact with Arab people.

Sign up for a Language Centre course

Click here to visit the Language Centre website for more course information and registration.

Registration will close on Thursday 11 January at 5pm and classes will commence week beginning Monday 15 January. We recommend that you register early to avoid disappointment.

International Volunteer Day

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Happy International Volunteer Day!

On Monday 4th December, one day before the International Volunteer Day (5th December), The Language Centre invited students and staff members to join in the celebration of the day, with a particular information session on the Queen’s Chinese New Year Celebration programme for 2024.

Students and staff members, international and domestic, are all welcome to join us and be more engaged in the preparation for the development and delivery of events and activities that can bring together to enrich our proposed programme. The CNY Celebration Programme, as part of the overall Celebrating Cultural Diversity at Queen’s scheme, currently contains a number of events in collaboration with the iRISE (BAME and International Staff Network), The Graduate School, The Student Experience Team, and the Chinese Student Society at Queen’s.

We are pleased to make it inclusive as such and extend our welcomes to new partners and contributors. In particular, we are pleased that Chinese Student Society has made tremendous effort to bring the branded CNY Gala back to the stage (Saturday 3rd February), and that the Student Experience Team and the Graduate School are joining forces in facilitating the student-led CNY Fair (Thursday 8th February). Please mark the dates in your calendar and keep an eye on our further updates in the future.

We particularly welcome students and staff members to volunteer at our events, in a variety of forms including being an assistant, a performer, a host, a speaker, etc. Two student volunteers, Xinxin WANG and Tianpeng YAO, were also invited to share their experience of volunteering both at Queen’s, including serving last year’s CNY celebrations, and else where. They encouraged all new comers to embrace such a brilliant opportunity to not only enrich their life experience but also enhance their soft skills such as team work and coordinating ability, apart from their academic study and literacy.

How to join us?

For those who are interested in being part of our programme preparation team, please sign up via scanning the QR code or clicking the button below. We aim to discuss with you regarding your proposed ideas and plans of contribution to the Programme.

Volunteering

We really look forward to the many spectacular events to bring to Queen’s another festive atmosphere after the Christmas-New Year break.

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TLE & Int’l Students Day

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Happy International Students Day (17/11)!

To celebrate the coming International Students Day, we, The Language Centre and Queen’s International Student Society (QISS), would like to host a special Tandem Language Exchange event and welcome all international and home students to join the celebration. Staff members are also welcome!

Date: Friday 17/11/2023
Time: 13:00-15:00
Venue: Auditorium, The McClay Library

On the day participants will be able to attend information sessions on the TLE programme and QISS activities, greeting and meeting key members from QISS and Student Experience Team, as well as networking with each other for language partnership and friendship development.

Feel free to bring along your QUB colleagues and friends. Tea and coffee with light refreshments will be served.

For more information and registration, scan the QR code above, or visit TLE page. To view other language and cultural events, please visit Cultural Diversity at Queen’s.

Tandem Language Exchange Live

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Calling all students and staff members who are keen to boost language exchanges!

Following the initial Tandem Language Exchange (TLE) meeting last Friday (13/10), the second TLE meeting is set for this Friday (20/10) from 1 pm to 3 pm, at the Auditorium, McClay Library.

All welcome and bring your friends/colleagues along! If you have not registered for the TLE programme yet, please remember to sign up for it before coming to attend, which will facilitate your access onsite.

For more information, click here.

Happy International Friendship Day

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“The International Day of Friendship was proclaimed in 2011 by the UN General Assembly with the idea that friendship between peoples, countries, cultures and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities.

The resolution places emphasis on involving young people, as future leaders, in community activities that include different cultures and promote international understanding and respect for diversity.”

– UN

At Queen’s, we have seen friendship developing in many ways, one of which is through joining our Tandem Language Exchange (TLE) programme. As Luisa, a German student in exchange of her language for Mandarin Chinese with Lingzhu, said, “What started off as a language partnership soon turned into a real friendship and apart from learning German and Chinese we also go running together and spend time as friends.”

While it is quiet on campus during the summer break, those who are keen to develop their language skills through TLE can still maintain their language partnership onsite or online. The new round of TLE events will begin after the new academic year starts, so enjoy your summer time (and with old friends) and be prepared to look for new language partners starting from October 2023.

To register for TLE, sign up via go.qub.ac.uk/tandemlanguage