ELC2011 Feature Article Competition Results!

The ELC2011 Feature Article Poster competition finished on Friday 14 March with the award ceremony taking place on Tuesday 18 March. Hundreds of students took part in the competition by visiting CILL in Room A305, reading the articles, and voting on the one that they found most engaging. Comments about the articles from students included, “very engaging and interesting”, “really attractive”, “good observation for society” and “the topic is captivating”. The winning entry was from Nashita Nur for her article Lost in Translation: Language Barriers Reshaping Social Identities. One student commented that the article “reveals the current situation which every non-local student was facing” and another mentioned that “the writer detailed their personal experience extensively [and] really draws in the reader in terms of emotion and sympathy”. You can read the full article below.     All the winning entries can be found on this padlet. Thanks to all the students for their great work in creating these articles, and all the students who participated in the competition. Current and future students of ELC2011 will find these sample feature articles very useful as they write their own articles.

Wordfinder for fashion and textiles vocabulary

Wordfinder - an ELC website to help students find the right word in fashion and textiles. With hand drawn images to give you a clear understanding. Audio recordings and IPA to help you with a perfect pronunciation. And short descriptions which are tailored for the need of fashion students. Go here to find out more: https://elc.polyu.edu.hk/sft-wordfinder/

ELC2011 Poster Competition

We are pleased to announce the start of the ELC2011 poster competition. Come to Room A305 to view the posters and articles and take part in the competition. Dates: Monday 24 February until Friday 14 March Venue: Room A305 (CILL) ELC2011, Advanced Reading and Writing, is one of the ELC’s LCR Electives. The second assessment in the subject involves writing a multimodal feature article on a topic that the student is personally connected to. ELC teachers have selected six or the best articles from 2024/25 semester 1 and converted them into posters for the competition. QR codes on each poster point to the full article. Come to Room A305 to view the posters, read the full articles, and vote for the one that you find most engaging.  All students are welcome! Staff can also vote by using their ‘connect’ account. Competition winners will include the student authors and a special lucky draw prize for all those who participate in the contest. Great prizes are available. Be sure to come and join this event.

Visit by Shantou University English Language Center

Visit by Shantou University English Language Center The Director and senior staff members of the English language Center, Shantou University, visited the ELC on Monday 17 February. They were given a tour of the ELC’s Centre for Independent Language Learning (CILL) where colleagues tried out the VR Space and also learned about different initiatives in CILL such as the Chat Corner, Workshops, the use of AI speaking tools, and the Reading Club. The group then met ELC colleagues including Interim Director Dr Jane Robbins, Associate Director Anna Ho and Assistant Dean (FH) Adam Forrester. The Editor-in-Chief of Inscribe, John Lawrence, gave a brief introduction and Sannie Tang gave more input about different articles in the latest issue. Video highlights of the 2024 English Drama Club performance were then shown before the delegation from Shantou university gave a brief overview of their language center. A very fruitful discussion and exchange of views followed as it became evident that both centres shared common issues related to manpower and motivation of students. Overall, it was an excellent visit and the ELC are more than happy to continue with such knowledge transfer activities to fellow language centres in the region and further afield. 

Join EES - Excel in Your English

Join the Excel@English Scheme (EES) this semester and excel in your English! Vacancies now available in small groups with an expert English teacher to guide you through your learning journey. More details: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/en/elc/independent-learning/ees/ Join: https://elc.polyu.edu.hk/booking/main.php Sign-up deadline is 23:59, Sunday 26 January 2025.

Join the ELC CILL Workshops!

The ELC runs workshops in CILL, Room A305, every day during the semester time. Workshops include ones on Research & Postgraduate Skills, AI for University Language Support, IELTS, Getting a Job with AI, Academic English, and Speaking Skills. Improve your English through the ELC CILL Workshops! Book sessions here: https://elc.polyu.edu.hk/booking/main.php

AHKLC Annual Symposium 2025

AHKLC Annual Symposium 2025 The ELC is pleased to announce the first Call for Abstracts for this year’s AHKLC Annual Symposium. The symposium is being co-organised by the ELC, CLC and the AHKLC and will be held from 22-23 May 2025 at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The focus of the Symposium is Repositioning Language Education in the Age of AI. We are happy to announce that we will include not only traditional talks, but also the opportunity to offer a workshop or interactive demonstrations. This will, for example, enable participants to experience how the presenter leverages technology through teaching and through your course and/or lesson materials. Please do consider submitting proposals for the AHKLC Annual Symposium 2025. More information: https://events.polyu.edu.hk/ahklc2025/ Call for Abstracts: https://events.polyu.edu.hk/ahklc2025/call_for_abstracts

ELC Colleagues at the EAC2024 Conference

Many ELC teaching staff presented and participated at the 4th international Conference on English Across the Curriculum held in early December. The conference had a wide range of presentation topics including these with an AI focus from the ELC: “AI for language learning workshop”, “Teaching and assessing GenAI assisted writing processes”, “A Trial of an AI Powered Automated Writing Evaluation Platform: Affordances and Limitations”, “Forming Partnership: GenAI tools and EFL doctorate students”, and “AI Speech Assistants: will they replace humans?” ELC colleagues in the photos include Dr Linda Lin, Dr Grace Lim, Dr Marshall Yin, and Dr Jane Robbins. The ELC will be co-hosting a symposium on “Repositioning Language Education in the Age of AI” from 22-23 May 2025. More details coming soon. 

Workshop on Designing AI-Engaged Assignments to Teach Disciplinary Knowledge

The ELC hosted a workshop on Designing AI-Engaged Assignments to Teach Disciplinary Knowledge on Monday 2 December 2024. The workshop was facilitated by Dr Christopher Basgier, Director of University Writing at Auburn University. Dr. Basgier introduced ways to adapt the pedagogies of writing-to-learn and writing-to-engage in the age of generative artificial intelligence (AI). He led participants through a structured process of identifying disciplinary concepts that students struggle to learn, and creating AI-engaged activities that can help students deepen their understanding of those concepts. Participants left with a plan for integrating an AI-engaged activity into a course to aid students' learning. Over 40 participants from various departments and universities attended the workshop.  At the beginning of the session, Dr. Basgier was presented with gifts from Professor Kwok-yin Wong, Vice President Education at PolyU, and Dr Esther Tong, Principal Lecturer and Head of the Division of Languages and Communication at the College of Professional and Continuing Education, PolyU. Participants mentioned that the workshop was both interactive and illuminating. Photos of the event show Dr. Basgier being presented with gifts, as well as participants engaging with Dr Bagier and having some hands-on practice during the workshop. Resources from the workshop can be found here: https://aub.ie/HKPUai

Designing AI-Engaged Assignments to Teach Disciplinary Knowledge

In this workshop, Dr. Basgier will introduce ways to adapt the pedagogies of writing-to-learn and writing-to-engage in the age of generative artificial intelligence (AI). He will lead participants through a structured process of identifying disciplinary concepts that students struggle to learn, and creating AI-engaged activities that can help students deepen their understanding of those concepts. Participants will leave with a plan for integrating an AI-engaged activity into a course to aid students' learning. Registration Bio Christopher Basgier is Director of University Writing at Auburn University. An expert in writing across the curriculum, he has extensive experience working with faculty on teaching with writing, and he has consulted with departments about integrating writing throughout undergraduate and graduate curricula. His research, which spans writing across the curriculum, genre, threshold concepts, digital rhetoric, and artificial intelligence, has appeared in venues like Across the Disciplines, The WAC Journal, Composition Forum, The Writing Center Journal, and Studies in Higher Education. His current project is a co-edited volume, Bad Ideas about AI and Writing: Towards Generative Practices for Teaching, Learning, and Communication, which aims to counteract problematic ideas about the capabilities of generative AI and its impact on writing and teaching by introducing evidence-based, theoretically sound, and critically literate ideas about writing in the new technological landscape. Basgier is also active in national organizations like the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum, the Conference on College Composition and Communication, and the WAC Clearinghouse.