Taking LEI1101? Improve Your Speaking with AI at CILL

Taking AI as a Tool for Language Learning (LEI 1101 / LEI 1102)? Need to use AI tools to improve your speaking? Visit CILL (Room A305) and try our premium accounts of Yoodli and Talkpal. ELC premium accounts for Yoodli and Talkpal can be found on the MoCoWs in the open area of CILL, as well as in the SAP and WAP rooms when they are not being used for teaching. These accounts provide unlimited access, so you can practise and experiment as much as you like. Create your speaking log and learning plan with ease using the tools in CILL. Yoodli and Talkpal are also great for international language test practice, including IELTS, helping you build confidence and improve your spoken responses. 📍 Location: CILL, Room A305 🕘 Opening hours: Monday - Friday, 09:30–18:30 Drop by and make the most of AI‑supported speaking practice in CILL!

Celebrating Global Impact: ELC Hosts Service-Learning Photo Exhibit at CILL

This September, the English Language Centre (ELC) invites all PolyU students and staff to visit the "Snapshots of ELC Service" Photo Exhibit and Competition, hosted in the Centre for Independent Language Learning (CILL, Room A305) from 2-25 September 2026. This interactive exhibit celebrates the dedication, creativity, and real-world impact of PolyU students enrolled in ELC service-learning subjects across local communities and international destinations. Visitors can explore powerful imagery captured during student service projects and vote for their favorite photographs. Service Areas & Global Destinations The photos on display showcase field activities, workshops, and storytelling initiatives undertaken across two flagship ELC service-learning courses: 1. Educational Empowerment through Language Teaching Subject Focus (ELC2S02): Serving the Community through Teaching English Where We Serve: Hong Kong: Local primary schools and community centers. Chinese Mainland: Rural school outreach in Dabu, Guangdong. Regional & Overseas: Elementary and youth workshops in Taiwan, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Service Impact: Student teams co-create tailored English teaching kits, lesson plans, and interactive speaking activities. Working directly with local and non-local school children, PolyU tutors help boost learners' English fluency, confidence, and pronunciation. More Information 2. Digital Advocacy for Small Charities Subject Focus (ELC2S03): Persuasive Digital Storytelling: Small Charities Big Impacts Where We Serve: Chinese Mainland: Tengchong (Yunnan, China). Overseas & Non-Local: Community NGO partnerships in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and Tanzania. Regional Partners: Historical and active collaborations across Taiwan and Hong Kong. Service Impact: Students collaborate directly with small non-governmental organizations to highlight non-profit missions, ranging from early childhood education and youth shelter care to cultural arts preservation. Student teams conduct field interviews, craft persuasive narratives, and edit short-form documentary films to help these organizations raise international awareness and fundraising support. More information Cast Your Vote & Win Prizes All PolyU students and staff are encouraged to stop by CILL, appreciate the students' visual stories, and cast a vote using the pull-up poster QR codes inside the center: Student Voting: Scan the designated student QR code on-site. Staff Voting: Scan the designated staff QR code on-site. Every voter will be entered into a Lucky Draw for a chance to win prizes. Voting closes on September 26, with winners announced at the end of the month. Come support our student volunteers, discover their journeys across Asia and Africa, and make your vote count!  

Paths Less Trodden: Discover Inscribe Issue 11

We’re pleased to share the latest issue of Inscribe, PolyU’s Journal of Undergraduate Writing.  Issue 11 is a curation of feature articles, short stories, and visual art that emerged over the last academic year. The theme of traveling along paths less trodden winds its way through this edition. Student creators travel to new locales - both physical and emotional - gaining personal insights into the complex faces of humanity. Along the way, these young writers and artists encounter love, adversity, and profound opportunity.  Visit Inscribe's new website to join them on the journey: Read Issue 11 

2026 PolyU 3MT Final Results

Huge congratulations to the four winners of the 2026 PolyU 3MT Competition! Their performances this year were truly outstanding and have set a new benchmark for the University’s 3MT competition. Our Champion is YANG Shihui, Yvette (CEE) [Download photo]. Congratulations also to SHEK Tsz Ching, Phoebe (LST) [Download photo], our First Runner-up, and LEE Pui Kei, Peggy (FSN) [Download photo], our Second Runner-up. The People’s Choice Award goes to ZHU Lin (EEE) [Download photo]. Congratulations once again to all our winners and to all 10 finalists [Download photo]. You should be incredibly proud of yourselves — we certainly are!

Rubicon Podcast - PolyU Dating - Love without Borders

We’re pleased to share a new episode from Rubicon, the ELC’s student-led podcast, exploring the realities of modern dating through honest, student-driven discussion. Featuring candid testimonials alongside practical insights, the video unpacks everything from defining your “ideal type” to navigating rejection, mixed signals, and everyday dilemmas. It also looks at first impressions, highlighting what matters, from presentation to authenticity, before guiding viewers through key green flags to seek out and red flags to avoid. Whether you’re new to dating or simply reflecting on your experiences, this episode offers thoughtful, relatable advice grounded in real student perspectives. Watch the podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKg6UegMVKw

ELC Colleagues Receive AHKLC Best Paper Award 2026

We are delighted to announce that ELC colleagues have been recognised with the AHKLC Best Paper Award 2026 (Journal Article), a prestigious honour awarded by the Association of Hong Kong Language Centres (AHKLC). The award-winning article was authored by five ELC colleagues and one from EEE: Jim Lo, Christy Wong, Agnes Ng, Pinna Wong, Denise Cheung, and Pauli Lai (EEE). This award recognises outstanding scholarly contributions to language education, celebrating work that demonstrates innovation, impact, and strong engagement with teaching and learning. The award-winning paper, Stretching AI's reach: Assessing an AI-driven feedback system for extended academic writing, showcases important contributions to the field of language education, offering valuable insights for both research and classroom practice. The work highlights the ongoing commitment of ELC colleagues to advancing pedagogical innovation and scholarship in language teaching. This achievement reflects not only the quality of the research, but also the growing leadership of our colleagues in areas such as AI-enhanced language education and AI grading and feedback. The award ceremony was at the AHKLC Annual Symposium held at HKU from 2-3 June. The conference was well attended by many ELC colleagues, some of who presented on AI and teaching related topics. 👏 Congratulations to the authors on this well-deserved recognition! We encourage colleagues to read the full article and learn more about their work: 👉 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2025.100511

3MT Workshop 4: Designing and Leveraging an Effective Static 3MT Slide

Come to our workshop and learn how to design a winning 3MT slide!

3MT Workshop 3: Engaging Your Audience

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Co‑Presenting, Co‑Researching, Co‑Creating: Exploring AI Pedagogy with Students

An ELC professional development session brought teachers and students together as genuine partners in exploring the role of AI in academic presentation teaching. Grounded in Participatory Action Research (PAR), the session showcased how collaboration with students as co‑researchers can generate richer insights into how AI tools are actually used, understood and experienced in the classroom. Presenters shared practical, classroom‑tested strategies for integrating tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot and AI‑supported speaking platforms across different stages of presentation learning: from planning and visual design to delivery and feedback. Importantly, the session went beyond tools, prompting critical reflection on learner agency, ethical use, workflow design and the balance between human judgement and AI support. By foregrounding student voices and real teaching contexts, this PD session highlighted how AI‑enhanced pedagogy can be both innovative and responsible, supporting communication skills while reinforcing the central role of teachers in guiding, scaffolding and humanising learning.

Farm to Table Pizza Experience!

🌱🍕 Farm to Table Pizza Experience! On 8 May English Instructor Kristel O'Sullivan, with the generous support of ELC, organised a hands-on field trip to an organic farm in rural Hong Kong owned by a local Australian-trained farmer. 25 ELC students representing 6 countries spent 5 immersive hours learning firsthand about farm life, harvesting fresh seasonal vegetables, and creating and baking their very own pizzas from scratch. Surrounded by clean air and natural beauty, students collaborated, acquired new skills and truly connected with each other. From the farm and straight to the table - every pizza slice was earned! 🧑‍🌾