The Language Department, part of the Intercultural/International Studies Division, is initiating a three-day event to celebrate and honor foreign languages and cultures.

The National Foreign Language Week will take place from today to Wednesday, March 6, in Conference Rooms A and B.

“We want to draw attention to the importance of learning [other] languages,” said Heidi Melas, German instructor at De Anza.

According to Melas, schools in most other countries require students to learn more than one language, whereas languages have traditionally been “somewhat neglected” in the United States.

Melas also said the event intends to “take students out of their cultural isolation” and foster respect and appreciation for other cultures.

Today, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., Conference Room A will feature international exhibits from different countries. Display items will include clothes, games, pictures and musical instruments.

Tomorrow, a series of videos will run in Conference Room B starting at 11 a.m. The videos are short documentaries highlighting different cultures.

For example, Germany will be represented through a documentary called “Impressions from Germany” and another video called “Grand Tour of the Alps,” which will take the audience on a pictorial tour through Germany as well as Italy, Austria and Switzerland.

Other nations that will be showcasing their cultural treasures include France, Spain, China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam among others.

According to Melas, some of the videos will run repeatedly until 9 p.m. in order to give evening students a chance to experience National World Language Week as well. This is the first time the Intercultural/International Division is organizing a multiple day celebration.

On Wednesday, March 6, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., student groups and other cultural performers will entertain with dances, theater skits, poetry and song recitals in Conference Room A.

In addition, a panel discussion will be held from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Conference Room A. Former and current De Anza students will participate in the discussion and talk about the importance of learning other languages.

Melas said that learning another language is more than creating an advantageous portfolio for the professional world or gaining marginal knowledge for traveling purposes. “When you learn a [new] language, it really allows you to get much deeper into a culture. It’s a very, very different experience because you also discover what people think, what their values are and how they see the world,” she said.

De Anza College offers courses in Arabic, Cantonese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese. In addition, the Intercultural/International Studies Division offers a variety of courses that focus on the history, art and literature of different cultures.

Division Dean Duane Kubo said he is particularly excited about the fact that the first multiple day celebration of world languages coincides with the first time a degree in global studies will be offered at De Anza College.

“We hope to put an emphasis on the global perspective,” Kubo said.

For more information on the national world language celebrations or the Intercultural/International Division, call 408-864-8769.