This year, as every year, the Lithuanian language winter course, which will take place at the Faculty of Philology of Vilnius University from 6 to 17 January, will attract almost 40 Lithuanian studies enthusiasts from all over the world: Hong Kong, Germany, China, Belarus, Ireland, the Netherlands, Argentina, Lithuania, Italy, the USA, Canada, South Korea, France, Finland, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine.
For the third time this year, Bradley Woodworth, a professor at Yale University, is coming to learn Lithuanian. He has wanted to learn Lithuanian since he first came to Lithuania in 1990, but he started two years ago.
"I began studying Lithuanian in the spring of 2023 with a private teacher at the Boston Lithuanian School. I continued in the fall with another private teacher – these were both over Zoom. I came first to the Lithuanian Language winter course (Lietuvių kalbos žiemos kursai) in the Faculty of Philology of Vilnius University last January, when I studied for just a week. Then in the summer of 2024 I came back to the summer course – vasaros kursai. Now I’m coming back in January 2025."
The professor says he has no Lithuanian roots, but has always been interested in other languages and cultures.
"I just happened to spend time as a student in Finland and then Estonia and learned these languages. Then I learned Russian and became a historian of the multiethnic Russian Empire. The Baltic region is small but their peoples are giving the world wonderful examples of how to navigate the choppy waters of this 21st century and create societies that significantly contribute to justice and stability throughout Europe.
I am having wonderful experiences at Vilnius University. The university has a full four-year Lithuanian Studies program, and I encourage any of you who would like to get to know better Lithuania, the Lithuanian language, the history and literature of Lithuania to consider enrolling in this program."
The Department of Lithuanian Studies of the Faculty of Philology at Vilnius University has been organising winter and summer courses in Lithuanian Studies twice a year for more than thirty years. People of all ages and professions, who do not yet know the language but are very interested in it, or who have been improving their knowledge of Lithuanian for years, come from all over the world to participate in these courses. Students are divided into different groups according to their level of Lithuanian. They study Lithuanian for 4 or 6 academic hours every morning, and in the afternoon they learn about Lithuanian culture, history, language, crafts, communication and go on excursions.
For more information about the Lithuanian Studies programme, please visit the Vilnius University website.