As part of the SciArt Osijek 2026 programme, the Days of Science and Art organised by Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, an interactive workshop entitled “Emotions in Language” was held at the Faculty of Agrobiotechnical Sciences Osijek. The workshop was led by Assistant Professor Ana Werkmann Horvat and Professor Tanja Gradečak, with the assistance of undergraduate English Language and Literature students, who took turns leading individual activities and working with the children.
The aim of the workshop was to introduce participants to the ways in which language shapes and conveys emotions. The workshop was based on the idea that people often use metaphors to describe their own feelings because metaphorical expressions can sometimes convey abstract emotional experiences more precisely than literal language. Children and young people participated in several creative activities. In one part of the workshop, pupils identified emotions based on various expressions and metaphors in different languages, trying to determine which feeling was conveyed by each linguistic formulation. In this way, they explored how language can reflect complex emotional experiences.
In the second part of the workshop, participants drew specific emotions, illustrating how they imagined feelings such as happiness, sadness or anger. Through this task, they connected artistic expression with their understanding of emotions and language. Another particularly interesting activity involved mapping emotions onto the body. Participants were asked to place emoji symbols on a silhouette of the human body and indicate where in the body they felt certain emotions, such as happiness, nervousness or excitement. This activity encouraged discussion about how emotional experiences are often reflected in physical reactions as well.
The workshop attracted great interest among visitors, and the pupils participated very actively and enthusiastically in activities that combined linguistics, psychology and creative expression, while also having fun and learning something new!
Text: Roman Šimunović
Photographs: Karla Bulum