Thitipong Lawphongpanich

Could you tell me a little bit about yourself and what you do at UW-Madison?

I am an international student from Thailand. I am a senior studying computer engineering. I would say that language involves in almost all part of my works and studies. This is because communication is the most important skill that we need to have in order to succeed in work and study.

If you are a student, are you enrolled in language classes? Why or why not?

No, I have not enrolled in language class. To be honest, I would like to because it will allow me to explore more languages and their cultures. However, due to the requirement of engineering student, I have a lot of coursework so my schedule does not allow me to enroll in language class.

How do you believe that your language contributes to your professional and personal identity?

In my opinion, my language contributes to my personal identity because the languages are rooted with the culture and if you learn one language, you will also learn its culture. Therefore, as a Thai student in the United States, my personal identity is the combination of Thai culture and US culture.

How do you feel your language(s) contribute(s) or add value to your work or studies? 

I would say that exploring more languages give me lots of aspect to explore. Therefore, this will add value to my work and study. Also, I am willing to work with people who know different languages which add different perspective to the group.

To what extent do you feel others on the campus value your languages and the context of your work or studies.

Yes, lots of people also ask me about what is my native language, which is Thai. Moreover, some people ask me to teach some Thai words to them. I am very impressed.

In what ways do you believe that the campus community can better recognize the value that linguistic diversity brings to the community?

I am thinking about adding international week that will allow international students to demonstrate their language knowledge and spread their word. This might allow student to explore more languages.