Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1998

N o n - f o r m a l L a n g u a ge En h a n c eme nt A c t i v i t i es T he major components o f the college's language enhancement programm e are the S u mm er S t u d y A b r o a d P r o g r amme, L a n g u a ge Tables, L a n g u a g e Seminars, and Language Nocturnes. The S ummer S t u d y A b r o a d P r o g r amme, l a u n c h ed i n 1996, send s its participants to institutions such as the University of Washington i n the US, the University of Waterloo in Canada, the Oxford English Centre i n the UK, and Beijing N o r mal University, to attend language courses for one to t w o months. Apart from scheduled classes, excursions and visits are arranged to enable the students to understand the local culture and enhance their fluency i n the languages through interaction w i t h local people. One h u n d r ed and seven students participated i n the programme this past summer. The very popular English and Putonghua Tables are organized once a week d u r i ng the term. Students are encouraged to attend and chat about specific topics w i t h native speakers w h o ma y be exchange students or staff of the University. The language tables i n 1997-98 attracted some 3,096 participants, representin g a 60 per cent increase f r om 1,897 in 1996-97. Language Seminars and Language Nocturnes are arranged twice a mo n th unde r a variety of topics such as communication skills, poetry , lyrics, and literature. I n collaboration w i t h the Departmen t of Chinese Language and Literature, guest speakers of different professions an d backgrounds, e.g., editor and columnist Tso Chit, university professor Chan W i n g M i n g, lecturer Wo n g L e u n g Wo and w r i t er D u n g K a i Cheung, are invited to share their views w i t h the students on language usage. O f a l l the l a n g u a g e e n h a n c eme n t a c t i v i t i es organized by the college, the Putonghua Tables are the most enthusiastically received, enjoying an ever increasing number of participants. The p r o g r amme comprises l u n ch tables a n d dinner tables held on a weekly basis. While there are no specified themes for the lunch tables, guest speakers are i n v i t ed to speak on different topic s at the dinner tables, wh i ch have subsequently been renamed Putonghua Culture Workshops. Speakers at the workshops are usually visiting scholars from mainland China and Taiwan, and graduate students f r om the mainland studying at the University. The nature of the topics ma y be academic, cultural, or social, suc h as the floods on the mainland, the mu t u a l influence between H o ng Kong a n d Beijing, H o n g K o n g literature, a nd Beijing f o o d culture. A language assistant is arranged for each table to guide the conversation w h e n necessary. T h r o u gh the h a n d i ng out of print-outs, lively i n t r o d u c t i o n s , a n d discussions after the talks, students are able to expand their general knowledge wh i le learning putonghua i n a casual atmosphere. Chinese University Bulletin Autumn • Winter 1998 6