Lithuanian Language and Culture Course Welcomes Everyone

Have you ever thought to yourself, wouldn’t it be nice to speak a language that only a handful of people on earth know? What is it like belonging to a community whose roots date back to the 10th century? If so, you are extremely lucky, because already this winter, Lithuanian language and culture course can open the door for you to be a part of it.

Here, everyone will find something: whether you are a student craving new experiences or a person willing to learn a new language while diving deeply into the cultural context of a country’s heritage. Not to mention making countless friends around the world. At Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), we welcome everyone who does not shy away from the challenge and is passionate about learning.

The pandemic has shown that online courses can be fun and just as productive as contact courses, therefore, we strongly encourage everyone to join us on this journey.

So why us and what we offer?

  • Diversity – summer course has welcomed people from more than 30 countries across the globe. We are talking about places like: Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, Uruguay, Canada, USA, different sites around Europe, etc. We organise special cultural nights to engage and learn about the different cultures around the world. That being said, making friends has never been so easy.
  • Top of the line professors – years of experience using the most effective techniques of transmitting knowledge into our student minds. Apart from being brilliant lecturers, our teachers truly care about our students and always look for a way to explain subjects in the most comprehensive manner.
  • One of a kind programme – diverse, engaging sociocultural lectures set to remove barriers between countries, looking at the geopolitical context from Lithuanian perspective. Excursions, craft sessions, art galleries, artistic performances, movies, history classes – you name it. By the end of the course, you will possess a solid baggage of sociocultural knowledge about Lithuania.
  • Family ambiance – most of our students attend the course more than once – they always come back. Our staff cares to create a warm atmosphere where students are encouraged to communicate and help each other. Inclusive learning methods enable participation of all parties and anticipate their needs and preferences. In the end we all become one big family.

On the other hand, there are several myths about Lithuanian language and these courses that we must bust:

  • Only students can participate → That is false information as every year we welcome multiple attendees whose occupation varies significantly, although the majority of our pupils are students.
  • Lithuanian language is almost impossible to learn → This statement is untrue by its nature because we have dozens of examples when students who had no prior knowledge made remarkable progress over the course of 1 or 2 semesters. While Lithuanian language is definitely not the easiest one, it is still the one which you can definitely master.
  • Learning Lithuanian is useless → No one ever said that. Lithuanian is the most archaic among all the Indo-European languages spoken today, and as a result it is very useful, indeed, indispensable in the study of Indo-European linguistics. For instance, the word sūnus (eng. son) is like that in sanskrit sūnūs, and the word ákṣi in sanskrit is similar to lithuanian akis (eng. eye). You can not deny the fact that Lithuanian is not only very archaic but still very much alive having rich tradition not only in folklore and literature but also very successfully in all walks of modern life, including the most advanced scientific research.

We all have our ups and downs, shed sweat and tears but in the end it is all worth it as one chapter changes another. You might even meet the love of your life – yes it is true, it has happened already. We live by the courses and each of them is unique in their own way. Some might even say every year courses are getting better. And that is up to you to decide. One thing is true – you will always cherish the moments you experience here and they will never be replicated.

Lithuanian Language and Culture Winter Course will take place from 02-01-2022 to 31-01-2022.

You can apply now here.

More information.