As part of the SciArt Osijek 2026 programme, the Days of Science and Art organised by Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, the interactive workshop “Emotions in Language” was held at the Faculty of Agrobiotechnical Sciences Osijek. The workshop was led by Asst. Prof. Ana Werkmann Horvat, PhD, and Prof. Tanja Gradečak, PhD, with the assistance of undergraduate students of English studies, who took turns leading individual tasks and working with the children throughout the activities.
The aim of the workshop was to introduce participants to the way language shapes and conveys emotions. The starting point of the workshop was 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 speech. Children and young people took part in several creative activities. In one part of the workshop, pupils identified emotions through different expressions and metaphors in various languages, trying to determine which feeling was hidden behind particular linguistic formulations. In this way, they explored how language can reflect complex emotional experiences.
In the second part of the workshop, participants drew specific emotions, showing how they imagined feelings such as happiness, sadness or anger. Through this task, they connected visual expression with the understanding of emotions and language. A particularly interesting activity was also mapping emotions on the body. Participants were asked to place emoji symbols on the silhouette of a human body and indicate where in the body they feel certain emotions – for example happiness, nervousness or excitement. This activity encouraged discussion about how emotional experiences often manifest themselves through bodily reactions as well.
The workshop sparked great interest among visitors, and the pupils participated very actively and enthusiastically in tasks that connected linguistics, psychology and creative expression, while also having fun and learning something new!
Text: Roman Šimunović
Photographs: Karla Bulum