News & Events | Concordia Language Villages News & Events Blog

Vote for the 2013 International Day Song!

By clvadmin | Published: May 9, 2013

Iday Music The 2013 International Day theme is “Passport to the Future.” Now, we are ready to start the song contest!

The International Day song is a long-standing tradition at the Language Villages. Each summer, we choose a new song and dance that all staff and villagers participating in International Day will learn.

Help us choose the song for Summer 2013! Listen to each of the songs below and vote for your favorite on Facebook. Voting concludes at 11:59 P.M. (CST) May 19, 2013.

Haven’t signed up? It’s not too late to register for Summer 2013.

1. Waipeipegu by Tim & We Ce Ca

2. Tusuy Kusun by Damaris

3. Inspirasi Sahabat by Kotak

4. Betra Lif by Páll Óskar

5. Somo Shampioni by Elitsa Todorova, Stoyan Yankulov

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Bill Gates at Concordia

By clvadmin | Published: April 25, 2013

Bill Gates will be the featured speaker at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn., April 27, 2013, as part of dedication festivities for the newly renovated Grant Center, home of the Offutt School of Business. Anyone wishing to view the live stream of the event should go to www.ConcordiaCollege.edu/live beginning at 10:30 am on Saturday, April 27.

Gates is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He co-founded Microsoft in 1975, and left his full-time role with the organization in 2008 to focus on the foundation. Bill and Melinda Gates collaborate with grantee and partners to assist people around the world. In developing countries, the foundation focuses on improving people’s health by giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life.

Gates, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, will discuss social entrepreneurship, an important element in the Offutt School of Business curriculum. “The imagination and philanthropic spirit that define the achievement and generosity of Bill Gates make him a splendid person to inaugurate the new home of Concordia’s Offutt School of Business, which expresses the innovative character of the College and its commitment to educating leaders dedicated to the common good,” says Concordia President William Craft.

The Offutt School of Business is an undergraduate business program grounded in the liberal arts and focused on four critical skills: global understanding, entrepreneurship, ethics and leadership. Built on a strong tradition that prepared leaders in the fields of healthcare management, accounting and economics, the Offutt School of Business offers majors in business, international business and accounting with concentrations in economics, finance, healthcare administration, marketing and organizational leadership.

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My Education – A Personal Journey

By clvadmin | Published: April 24, 2013

Eric Falt is the Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Public Information at UNESCO.

(Editor’s Note – The following was written by Eric Falt, a former staff member at Lac du Bois and the current Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Public Information for UNESCO.)

My early ideas about education, and who is lucky enough to receive it, were formed by my French childhood, and then by the five summers I spent on the counseling staff of Concordia Language Villages, from 1984 to 1989.

My opportunity to work in the US, first as a teaching assistant in California, Washington and Idaho, and then as a counselor (eventually as senior staff) in the Concordia Language Villages, brought many surprises and rewards regarding education, language learning, and cross-cultural understanding. Until I reached the US, I had no reason to think that other educational programs would be much different from those in France.

As I grappled with English as a second language, I began to see in the vocabulary and idioms a whole set of cultural beliefs very different from my European background. In civic life, U.S. political terms and campaigns were structured on different ideologies. The idealism of young Americans, those I studied with and those I counseled, was politically and culturally different from my own. My new friends and acquaintances were eager to travel to other countries with a backpack, or to sign up for this or that cause to rectify social injustices all too omnipresent in our world. My own embarrassing stereotypes were left in the dust. I was becoming a different person, profoundly shaped by cross-cultural learning. Read More »

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Call for Entries in our International Dance Day Celebration!

By clvadmin | Published: April 11, 2013

In 1982, The International Theatre Institute introduced International Dance Day as a way to celebrate dance as an artistic expression that can cross geographic and political boundaries. Celebrated on April 29th to commemorate the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre, creator of modern ballet, International Dance Day is a chance to bring people of the world together through dance.

This year, we want help from teachers and classrooms in celebrating this event. Upload a video of your language class exploring another culture through dance on YouTube and share it with us. On April 29th, we will share the videos with the world, and one lucky classroom will even win scholarships for a Village Weekend program of their choice.

Teachers interested in participating in the celebration are encouraged to review the rules on our video submission form. Any questions can be directed to clv@cord.edu (Subject Line – International Dance Day) or (800) 222-4750.

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Intercultural Skills in the Workplace

By clvadmin | Published: April 11, 2013

Recently, The British Council, the United Kingdom’s international organization for cultural relations and educational opportunities, in association with market research company Ipsos and strategy and technology consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, released a report citing the importance of intercultural skills in the workplace.

The research compiled for the report was collected between October and December of 2012 from large public, private, and non-government organization/charity sector employers in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Jordan, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States by Ipsos. The participants were selected for their role in strategic decision-making, recruitment, and talent-management within their respective organizations.

The study was conducted in response to questions regarding the skills employers are looking for in employees as the modern workplace becomes increasingly globalized and competitive. According to the study, employers consistently look for the ability to understand different cultural contexts and viewpoints, demonstrate respect for others, and knowledge of a foreign language in employees as those employees demonstrate the ability to bring in new clients, work with diverse teams, and support a good brand and reputation for their organization. They also find that employees lacking intercultural skills pose a risk to business through miscommunication and team conflict.

The entirety of the report can be downloaded on The British Council’s website. Companies interested in what intercultural professional development options are available to their teams should explore the opportunities available through our Global Outlook Programs.

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