New Language Centre Beefs Up Students’ Language Training

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Bienvenue! 
ようこそ! 
Willkommen!

Apart from “Welcome!”, the website of CityU’s Chan Feng Men-ling Chan Shuk-lin Language Centre greets visitors in various other languages after a major change in mid-2020. Besides the high-quality English language teaching and learning services it delivers, the Centre has taken over training in Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Putonghua and Cantonese, all previously offered by various departments at the University. 

The brand new Language Centre, which is under the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, comes into full operation from 1 July 2020. By housing all language courses under one roof, it endeavours to consolidate existing language teaching and facilitate further development of language and culture-related courses. 

Its mission is to equip students with language skills in preparation for their participation in an increasingly globalised, fast-changing society. Not only does it offer courses in fundamental academic literacy skills, but it also provides specialised courses which focus on the communication needs of students pursuing degrees in various disciplines. It also aims to enrich students’ learning of academic English and various Asian and European languages.

In addition to the training conducted by seasoned language teachers, the Language Centre renders a wide range of English language support services, like out-of-class workshops, IELTS preparation classes, and one-to-one language advising. It also runs the English Language Self-Access Centre, which has a vast collection of reference books, worksheets, DVDs, and online resources that supports independent learning of English. 

To bring students an all-round language learning experience and a taste of the culture of the people who speak the languages they are learning, the Language Centre organises cultural activities such as learning about the kimono, and ikebana, or Japanese floral arrangement. Every year, it also awards three Language Centre scholarships to students attending a four-week summer exchange programme in London where they immerse themselves in an English-speaking environment.