UMSL freshman Jackson Clutts (center) oversees the chopsticks table during the World Languages Day celebration at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center on Sept. 27. Local high School students competed to move as many dried beans as possible from one cup to another in one minute with chopsticks. It was one of many activities available in the “Lingolympics.” (Photos by Derik Holtmann)

On Sept. 27, Jackson Clutts strolled into the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center ready to begin his shift volunteering at the University of Missouri–St. Louis World Languages Day celebration.

Clutts, an UMSL freshman majoring in Japanese, was no stranger to the event. Two years ago, he attended the annual celebration of culture and language as a French student at Marquette High School. He recalled taking in a Japanese poetry reading and speaking with Associate Teaching Professor Hiroko Yoshii, his future Japanese instructor.

“Looking back on it, it was an important day,” Clutts said. “For one thing, it showed me UMSL.”

Clutts knew he wanted to attend college in Missouri, and when he compared language programs across the state, UMSL was the clear winner.

“I was like, ‘Honestly, this place has the best language courses. Hey, I think I’ll come here,’” he said. “And I knew the campus from coming to UMSL that day, so it wasn’t like some alien place.”

Audrey Stuvland, an UMSL freshman majoring in French, had a similarly affecting experience. Stuvland attended last year’s World Languages Day event as a Ritenour High School student. She fondly remembered the entertaining digital skit competition and learning how to write her name in Mandarin.

“It was really fun,” she said. “Not only was I excited to get out of high school, but it was really nice being around people who also liked language and wanted to go to college. I really liked learning about different cultures.”

It was instrumental in Stuvland’s decision to enroll at UMSL, and like Clutts, she was on hand that Friday afternoon to volunteer and interact with the next potential class of Triton language students.

The Department of Language and Cultural Studies organized the event for the fifth year in a row, with more than 500 high school students from across the St. Louis region participating in the festivities.

Local high school students work to complete their scavenger hunt checklist during the festivities.

“The goal is to get them not only using the language that they’re studying in their respective high schools but also to expose them to other languages and cultures,” said Sandra Trapani, teaching professor of French and chair of the Department of Language and Cultural Studies. “We really want to get them engaged, to have some confidence in building their skills and to learn something new, too.”

She added that the event also lets the high school students know that studying a language in college is a possibility and that it can be highly beneficial to their future career prospects.

“They’re really setting themselves up to prepare for the global market,” Trapani said. “They need to keep going, keep studying language, keep building their cultural competence to be ready to face that.”

The day kicked off with an opening ceremony in the Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall. UMSL students Maggie Schopp, Olivia Scales and Long Lam introduced themselves in the languages they’re studying – Spanish, French and Japanese – and spoke about their experiences in the program. Afterward, Trapani delivered an address to the high school students and then turned the stage over to UMSL music students Rita Shien and Daniel Pollien for vocal performances in French and Spanish, respectively. They were accompanied on piano by Pam Grooms.

Following the performances, Trapani unleashed the students to compete in the “Lingolympics.” The friendly competition included a scavenger hunt in students’ target languages that took them on an adventure across campus. In the Touhill lobby, they had opportunities to try their hands at games and activities.

They could demonstrate their dexterity and skill with chopsticks at one table, competing to move as many dried beans as possible from one cup to another in one minute, test their language skills in games such as “Where Am I From?” and prove their knowledge at a trivia challenge.

At conversation tables on the upper level of the venue, students sharpened their speaking skills. Representatives from UMSL Global and the Pierre Laclede Honors College informed them about study abroad programs and academic opportunities. At the end of the day, everyone regrouped in the performance hall for digital skit and poster competitions and an awards ceremony.

Beth Landers, a French teacher at Ritenour High School, brought about 40 students studying French and Spanish to the event.

UMSL freshman Audrey Stuvland teaches a card game to high school students during World Languages Day.

“I think it’s very affirming for the language students to come here and see that there are hundreds of other students studying French and Spanish,” she said. “They can also learn about Japanese, which we don’t have at our high school, and I think it just opens their vision to the world and what they can do. We’re also happy that they get to a college campus.”

It was also fulfilling for Landers to see Stuvland, her former student, volunteering at the event and continuing to study French.

“It’s extremely gratifying and exciting because teaching is about the future and sending students on to use their French in the world,” she said. “So, knowing that Audrey is continuing, and that she’s thriving and building her language skills is gratifying. That’s what you hope as a teacher.”

Emily Thompson, a French teacher at Marquette High School, chaperoned about 70 students in her French III classes, many of whom are earning college credit through UMSL’s Advance Credit Program. Like Landers, she was also excited to see a former student, Clutts, pursuing a passion for language.

“I think that’s every teacher’s dream,” she said. “That means I have shared my love of languages with somebody else, and they’re using it. As a teacher, I get goosebumps thinking about it.”

Clutts volunteered to give back to the language community, while Stuvland was motivated to reconnect with Landers, her favorite high school teacher. Stuvland said it was exciting to be on the other side of World Language Day, and Clutts described it as a full-circle moment.

He had one piece of advice for the attendees thinking about continuing their language education.

“Definitely pursue that,” he said. “Not a lot of people pursue language, and I feel like if you have that passion, go for it. And if you are, go to UMSL. They give so many scholarships, and they want you to come here. They also have such good study abroad programs, which is perfect for language learning. Be passionate about it. Keep going, and definitely come to UMSL.”