Sept 2024 Entry
2 years
A minimum of 66 academic credits plus 3 training credits
- The curriculum of this programme, including the credit requirements, is subject to review. Students not meeting the equivalent standard of the Undergraduate Degree Language Communication Requirement (LCR) will be required to take the default LCR replacement subjects.
Medium of Instruction of the programme: English and Chinese (Putonghua and Cantonese)
English is the medium of instruction for most subjects. However, for certain subjects with a dominant Chinese content, Putonghua and/or Cantonese may be used as the medium of instruction, such as Structure of Modern Chinese (CBS3403) and Varieties of Written Chinese (CBS4940). There is also an elective subject named Analysis of Cantonese (CBS4941) which deals with Cantonese and consequently Cantonese will also be used as the medium of instruction.
Online Admission Talk of BA (Hons) in Language and Speech Sciences (BALSS)
Date and time: 22 Feb 2022, 2pm
Video link: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/cbs/latest-news/video-gallery/20220222_-balss-admission-talk/
Programme Aims
BA (Hons) in Language and Speech Sciences (BALSS) is a government-funded, interdisciplinary, two-year full-time honours top-up programme that admits Senior Year students holding an Associate Degree or Higher Diploma qualification.
The programme aims to equip graduates with (1) good foundation knowledge to understand human communication and its disorders, including (a) linguistic knowledge, (b) cognitive theories and (c) biological basis; (2) knowledge and basic skills in analysing human communication disorders; (3) good communication skills to interact with people from various social and cultural backgrounds as well as individuals with communication disorders; and (4) functional work-related skills nurtures students as all-round individuals who are ready to work and to be an ethical leader in numerous allied health and/or education settings, research fields and other business and industry sectors.
Characteristics
The programme provides students with solid training in areas related to language and speech sciences, including linguistics, biology, cognition and communication disorders. With a balanced curriculum of both skills-based and knowledge-based courses, the programme produces graduates who can pursue a variety of careers, including positions related to allied health, education, research fields and other business and industry sectors.
The career prospects of graduates from this programme depend on how they select their study pathways. Students have the option of focusing on areas related to communication disorders, and they will be able to serve in junior positions in different allied health sectors such as speech therapy departments under the Hospital Authority, NGOs and other private healthcare sectors. They will also be able to work in research labs in cognitive and/or communication sciences. Graduates who opt for postgraduate studies via the Master of Speech Therapy programme or education will further expand their career prospects to speech therapy and special education. Besides these study pathways, students can plan their studies by focusing on broader areas in language and communication. With solid training in multilingual communication and problem solving skills, graduates are expected to be capable of pursuing careers in business and industry sectors.
The curriculum of this programme, including the credit requirements, is subject to review:
Total credits requirement for BALSS is 66 credits# + 3 training credits (WIE):
Students are required to take at least 30 credits of Level-4 subjects
1. General University Requirement (GUR)
a. Cluster Areas Requirement (CAR) (6 credits)
- 3 credits from CAR (M) “Chinese History and Culture”
- 3 credits from a specially-designed CAR (A) “Human Nature, Relations and Development” – English language with English Reading and Writing Requirements (ER/EW)
- Students are required to fulfil the English and Chinese Reading & Writing Requirements (ER/EW & CR/CW). Students are suggested taking a CAR M subject with CR/CW.
b. Service-Learning (3 credits)
- CBS3S01 Service Learning through Helping Primary Students with Specific Reading Difficulties; OR
- Students can register any service learning subjects offered by CBS or other departments of the University.
c. General Education (GE) [Non-credit-bearing]
- 4 Essential Components of General Education (GE) E-modules:
- Academic Integrity (AI)
- Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics (AIDA)
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IE)
- National Education (NE)
2. Work-Integrated Education (WIE)
a. CBS4946 Work-Integrated Education (3 training credits)
3. Discipline-Specific Requirement (DSR)
a. Capstone project (6 credits): CBS4999 Project in Language and Speech Sciences
b. BALSS discipline-specific subjects (51 credits)
BALSS discipline-specific subjects (51 credits)
Compulsory Subjects* (30 credits)
| Subject title |
Credits |
Year of study |
| Linguistic Knowledge Foundation | ||
| Structure of Modern Chinese |
3 |
1 |
| Language, Cognition and Brain |
3 |
1 |
| Language Acquisition |
3 |
1 |
| Sounds of Language |
3 |
1 |
| Contrastive Analysis of Chinese and English |
3 |
2 |
| Foundation Knowledge of Communication Disorder | ||
| Analysis of Language Samples: Clinical Implications |
3 |
2 |
| Child Communication Disorders and Special Eduation Needs (DSLR English) |
3 |
1 |
| Communication Disorders Across the Life Span |
3 |
2 |
| Language and Speech Production: Anatomical and Physiological Perspectives |
3 |
1 |
| Language Skills | ||
| Chinese Academic Writing in Language and Speech Sciences (DSLR Chinese) |
3 |
1 |
Elective Subjects (21 credits)
Students are required to take at least two subjects under "Professional Skills".
| Subject title | Credits | Year of study |
| Academic Knowledge Foundation | ||
| Psycholinguistics | 3 | 1/2 |
| Varieties of Written Chinese | 3 | 2 |
| Analysis of Cantonese | 3 | 2 |
| Language and Society | 3 | 2 |
| Professional Skills | ||
| Programming and Data Analysis for Language Studies | 3 | 1/2 |
| Therapeutic Processes of Language Intervention | 3 | 2 |
| Techniques in Language Sciences | 3 | 2 |
| Statistics for Language Studies | 3 | 2 |
| Deafness and Sign Language | 3 | 1/2 |
| Language and Communication | ||
| Symbolic Communication across Languages | 3 | 1/2 |
| Bilingual Workshop for Verbal and Non-verbal Communication | 3 | 1/2 |
| Functions of Corporate Communication | 3 | 1/2 |
| Bilingual Workshop for Internal Corporate Communication | 3 |
1/2 |
| Bilingual Workshop for External Corporate Communication | 3 | 1/2 |
| Introduction to Translation | 3 | 1/2 |
| Introduction to Interpreting | 3 | 1/2 |
| Translation for Business & Commerce | 3 | 1/2 |
| Translation for the Media | 3 | 1/2 |
| Consecutive Interpreting | 3 | 1/2 |
| Media Languages and Communication | 3 | 1/2 |
| Persuasive Communication in Greater China | 3 | 1/2 |
| Cultural Signs and Corporate Communication | 3 | 1/2 |
| Intercultural Communication | 3 | 1/2 |
| Translation Studies | 3 | 1/2 |
| Translation for Science and Technology | 3 | 1/2 |
| Translation for Legal Work | 3 | 1/2 |
| Introduction to Literary Translation | 3 | 1/2 |
| Simultaneous Interpreting | 3 | 1/2 |
| Machine Aided Translation | 3 | 1/2 |
| Corpus and Language Technology for Language Studies | 3 | 1/2 |
# The Language and Communication Requirements (LCR) is normally not required. Only those students not meeting the equivalent standard of the Undergraduate Degree LCR (based on their previous studies in AD/HD programmes and their academic performance) will be required to take LCR subjects on top of the normal curriculum requirement. CBS will refer to the guidelines provided by the Language Centres (ELC and CLC) to determine whether a new student has met the equivalent standard, with special reference to academic writing ability.
(a) ENGL2000 English for Effective Communication (3 credits)
(b) ENGL2001 English for Professional Communication (3 credits)
(c) CBS2901 Chinese for Language Professionals (3 credits)
*Under normal circumstances, there is no prerequisite for the Compulsory Subjects. However, for students who have no formal training in language sciences, "Introduction to Language (3 credits)" is required.
The above subject list is subject to revision. Offering of subjects is subject to the availability of teaching staff and viable enrolment number. The Department has the discretion on the offering semester and class quota, which is limited by classroom capacity.
A minimum of 66 academic credits plus 3 training credits
Programme Leader
Dr KWONG Yee Lan Elaine
PhD, BSc (Speech and Hearing)
A Higher Diploma or an Associate Degree from a recognised institution in relevant disciplines such as language studies, psychology, allied health care, biological sciences, social sciences or other communication related fields.
Preference will be given to applicants with good command of English and Chinese.
For academic/admission matters, please contact:
Programme Leader:
Dr KWONG Yee Lan Elaine
Email: elaine-yl.kwong@polyu.edu.hk
Deputy Programme Leader:
Dr WONG Min Ney
Email: min.wong@polyu.edu.hk
For general information, please contact:
CBS General Office
Tel: (852) 3400 3268
Email: cbs.enquiry@polyu.edu.hk
I enjoyed my study at PolyU. It provides a good environment and lots of resources for learning. The teaching staff are friendly and supportive. They gave high-quality teaching and supported us by giving advice on our studies and careers. The BALSS curriculum is well-designed. It gave me a more diverse understanding of both language structures and different kinds of communication disorders. The programme equipped me with systematic training in linguistics, communication disorders, language intervention, anatomy and physiology in language/speech production. I also gained valuable experiences from the service learning subject, as I got the chance to participate in treatments of dyslexia, which enabled me to learn in detail about the disorder and its treatment processes. It also strengthened my determination to become a speech therapist.
Required
Click here
To evaluate the potential of applicants for admission to the programme.
15 minutes
Shortlisted applicants may be invited for an interview. Conditional offers may be directly granted to applicants with excellent academic performance in their Associate Degree or Higher Diploma studies.
