The Department of Foreign Languages and the English Club are hosting a reading for How the Grinch Stole Christmas from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday in the Tarble Arts Center.

The story will be read in different languages, including English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Russian, French, German, Urdu and Zapoteco.

According to www.eiu.edu/language, the foreign language department is “conscious and accepting of the crucial role language, culture and humanistic literacy play in the world (and) recognize the need to instill respect for multicultural awareness.”

Addie Bayer, a sophomore music performance major, said Eastern students will be taking turns reading portions of the story.

“There are students from all over campus,” she said. “Most of them are native speakers, and they are all going to read portions of The Grinch in their native languages.”

Bayer will be reading her portion of the story in French, and she found out about the opportunity to read by being a tutor.

“For me, (French) is not my mother language, but it is my second language,” she said. “I’m a French tutor, so I know what is normally going on in the department.”

She said there will be music from different areas of the world playing to get everyone in the spirit, and that everyone is encouraged to come enjoy the event and get cultured while also tying in with the holiday season.

“It will be good for people to realize that this is a story told around the world,” she said. “There are students on campus from around the world, and they have different cultures and traditions of their own.”

Bayer said the event will be a good way to help students de-stress from preparations for finals week coming up.

“I think (the reading) will be something different for this holiday season,” she said. “It will be a good way to relax before finals week and get in the spirit for Christmas.”

Hannah Shillo can be reached at 581-2812 or hlshillo@eiu.edu.