News

The BLC Turns 30: A Celebration Commemorating its Legacy and Looking to its Future

May 12, 2025
The Berkeley Language Center (BLC) recently celebrated 30 years of supporting excellence in language and culture instruction and building community and belonging on campus. On April 24, a crowd of about 60 gathered in Ishi Court for speeches and a reception marking the occasion. Attendees included past BLC directors, language department staff, coordinators, instructors, graduate students and fellows. The reception was generously supported by an Arts & Humanities Community Grant. Founded in 1994 under the direction of Claire Kramsch, Professor Emerita of German, the BLC...

A Walk on the Dramatic Side: A Tradition of German Cabaret at UCB

May 6, 2025

While advanced German and the movie The Breakfast Club might not bear an obvious connection, the two are linked in senior Ella Dittmann’s mind. She is one of eight students who participated in the German Kabarett (Cabaret) course this spring, and for her the end of the semester is bittersweet. ”We have people from all over—we’ve got people from STEM, the humanities, actors and people who have never acted before,” she said. “It’s weird, I feel like I’ve never felt this in a class.”

Started by Nikolaus Euba in 2004, for some...

Language Instructors Open their Doors in Open Classroom Week

April 10, 2025

This spring brought a new initiative supported by the Berkeley Language Center. From March 10 to 14th, instructors representing 14 languages opened their classrooms to welcome more than 25 graduate students and fellow language instructors interested in expanding their pedagogical toolboxes. The brainchild of Daniel Hoffmann, a lecturer and First-Year Language Coordinator in French who received a UC Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Award in 2023, the Open Classroom Week aimed to facilitate creative exchange and community among both current and prospective language...