Reedsburg Public Library’s Multilingual Mondays bring the world to you

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Reedsburg Public Library’s Youth Services Department brings the world to you in a series of short language videos for all ages presented each Monday on Facebook.

Multilingual Mondays began on Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. and will continue at the same time most weeks of the fall session through Nov. 20. Each video will feature language and cultures from people in our community. Sessions include American Sign Language, Spanish and more.

According to Youth Services Librarian Jess McCarlson, “The main point of the program is to provide a more relaxed way to learn about languages and the cultures often associated with these languages.”

In each session, the presenter picks a few words or language concepts to highlight during a fun activity or surrounding a specific theme.

During the first session on Spanish, presenter Andrea Jaquish of Language Services Del Norte taught sounds of the Spanish alphabet while also explaining the popular Mexican game Loteria. Laura Geffert, in her presentation on American Sign Language, taught signs for colors while demonstrating a technique for making Playdough. Most recently, Hannah Feller introduced German while creating a delicious pfannkuchen!

In November, Holland native and library staff member Miss Tanja will present an introduction to Dutch. It should be noted that community members who are fluent in a language other than those previously listed and who would be interested in contributing to the series should contact Miss Jess at the Library.

These 20- to 30-minute sessions are meant to be brief and entertaining introductions to foreign language.

Those who wish to delve deeper may take advantage of Reedsburg Public Library’s subscription to the Transparent Language database. Simply go to Reedsburg Public Library’s homepage (reedsburglibrary.org) and find Transparent Languages listed under the Research Resources tab. Enter the site with your library card number and create a username and password to find online lessons on 110 languages. Additionally, Reedsburg Public Library owns several books and audio materials for learning Spanish, French, German and American Sign Language. More are available through the South Central Library System.

Multilingual Mondays can be found on Facebook on Mondays at 6 p.m. but can also be accessed without a Facebook account. To find the online link to these videos, go to the library’s homepage and find Multilingual Mondays on the library calendar. If you have any questions about Multilingual Mondays, call the Library at 768-READ (7323) or email info@reedsburglibrary.org.