(25 June 2013 – Hong Kong) As a world class city English literacy is an important component of Hong Kong society, serving as a tool to broaden horizons and reach out to the world. Tung Wah College (TWC) has been looking beyond geographical borders, striving to develop close connections with leading universities overseas in order to provide more learning opportunities to students. The college is focusing on enhancing student’s English proficiency and is now working in collaboration with the British Council to this end. The British Council, a world leader in cultural relations, provides a wide range of services catering to the needs of different learners of English and designed to enhance the English standard of Hong Kong citizens and their competitiveness in the international arena.The British Council and TWC are proud to announce their collaboration on a new “English Smart” Project today. The programme has a span of five years. Under the programme, the British Council will share their English teaching experience with TWC’s teaching staff, and provide English training to TWC students, aiming at strengthening students’ English language skills. In addition, the British Council will provide sponsorship of HK$400,000 to TWC in support of the programme. This collaboration will mark the first time the British Council has developed such a long and close working relationship with a local tertiary institution for English Learning.
The collaboration agreement was signed at the British Council Hong Kong today by Mr. Robert Ness, Director of British Council Hong Kong and Professor Thomas Wong, President of Tung Wah College. The ceremony was witnessed by the Rt Hon Hugo Swire, British Foreign Office Minister and Ms. Michelle Li, JP, Deputy Secretary for Education, Education Bureau.
Ms. Caroline Wilson, British Consul-General, said, “English has established itself as language the world uses for business, diplomacy, the arts, science, and, of course, education. In many ways it is now regarded as essentially a core skill, rather than a ‘foreign’ language. The British Council, in addition to its work connecting people through educational exchange and the arts, provides English teaching to millions of learners every year through its global network of teaching centres. It is my pleasure to attend the signing ceremony today and witness this important moment for both the British Council and Tung Wah College.”
Mr. Robert Ness, Director of British Council Hong Kong, added, “We are honoured to be developing this long-term partnership with Tung Wah College in this innovative English teaching and learning module. British Council teachers are fully qualified professionals with extensive teaching experience. That means we are able to assure that students have an enjoyable and positive learning experience. Through this collaboration with Tung Wah College we aim to enhance the English proficiency of tertiary students, increase their career opportunities, and strengthen the contribution they can make as future leaders of society.”
Professor Thomas Wong, in acknowledging the support of the British Council, said, “We are very pleased to work with the British Council, an experienced teaching organisation, to co-develop and teach the English courses for our students which will certainly help enhance their English proficiency. We are committed to broaden our students' global perspectives, reaching consensus with outstanding overseas universities including The University of Sydney, St. George's University, etc. This programme will further enhance opportunities for our student to reach out, such as overseas exchange, research, and studying all kinds of postgraduate programmes. I believe that our students should feel like a duck in water when they go overseas once they have completed our English enrichment programme.”
Under the collaboration arrangement, the British Council will send highly qualified and experienced teaching staff to form a team with TWC’s English teachers. The team will develop the English course syllabuses and prepare relevant course materials. Students may select different suitable enrichment courses depending on their English score on HKDSE. The students will have the opportunities to improve their English listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in various teaching modules. Before the students graduate, they may enter the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) preparation course in order to prepare them for the IELTS test.
To facilitate the programme development, the British Council will set up an English Resource Centre at Mong Kok Campus, Tung Wah College. The Centre will provide English workshops and lectures for students and also the public to promote and enhance their English language skills. The British Council also agreed to join TWC’s Co-op partner programme to provide the Bachelor’s degree students with one year full-time paid job opportunities to gain valuable experience in the workplace.
About the British Council The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We work in over 100 countries worldwide. Established in Hong Kong in 1948, the British Council strives to connect the UK with the rest of the world through education, arts, science, governance and much more. In 2011-12, we delivered 227 Arts, Education and Science events and provided extensive English language support with online learning, excellent English teaching and examination services; 46,653 students took exams with the Council; and 22,309 learners were engaged in English learning services. For more information, please visit www.britishcouncil.org.hk
About Tung Wah College Established in 2010, Tung Wah College is a self-financing tertiary institution incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs). Taking advantage of the acknowledged strengths and expertise of TWGHs in health services and related disciplines, the goal of Tung Wah College is to become a renowned private tertiary educational institution which provides secondary school leavers with high quality programmes focusing on practical application for both for-profit and non-profit organisations.
For media enquiries:
| Ms. Chloe Chau Assistant Manager Corporate Communications British Council Hong Kong Phone: 2913-5130 Email: [email protected] |
Mr. Chris Ha Manager Community Relations and Partnership Development Office Tung Wah College Phone: 2926-5519 Email: [email protected] |