HKU SPACE Community College Conference on English and Communication 2015

In an effort to exchange ideas about English and communication among academics, students and the general public, every year HKU SPACE Community College hosts an academic conference that invites scholars and prominent members of society to deliver keynote presentations and participate in roundtable discussions.

Over the years, it is with our pleasure that a former HKU vice-chancellor and the executive director of an NGO, etc. have spoken at the conference. This year Professor David Nunan, Professor Emeritus of Applied Linguistics at HKU, and Dr. Leo Hoye, an Associate Professor at Centennial College, will address the conference.

The details of HKU SPACE Community College Conference on English and Communication 2015 are as follows:

Date:	Thursday, 30 April 2015
Time:	6:30PM – 9:00PM
Venue:	College Theatre, 1/F Kowloon East Campus, HKU SPACE Community College 28 Wang Hoi Road, Kowloon Bay

Please click HERE for the House Programme.

*Souvenirs will be distributed to audience members and a dinner buffet served upon the conference.

For more information or reserving seats, please contact Mr. Tommy Lui (tt.lui@hkuspace.hku.hk by email).

Thank you very much and will see you there!

Keynote presentation topic: "Revisiting the learner-centred curriculum"

Abstract:
The concept of learner-centredness has had a major impact on my teaching since I first stepped into the classroom. In a learner-centred classroom, decisions about what to teach, how to teach and how to assess are made with reference to information by and from learners. In the classroom, learners are taught how to take responsibility for their own learning. While language content goals are important, learning process goals are also crucial. In this presentation, I will share some principles and techniques for activating a learner-centred classroom.

Prof. David Nunan

David Nunan is President Emeritus at Anaheim University, California; Professor Emeritus of Applied Linguistics at the University of Hong Kong; and Professor in Education at the University of NSW. He held significant posts and was visiting professor for prestigious academic institutions in Asia, Australia, US and Europe. He is Hong Kong International Literary Festival’s current Co-Chair.

His over 100 published scholarly books and articles on teacher education, curriculum development, classroom-based research and the teaching of grammar in the communicative classroom include the major Go For TEFL textbook series that impacted globally with a record-breaking over three-billion copies sold.

His two-term service with TESOL Board of Directors, (as Member-at-Large and as President, the first ever for a non-North American) was followed by a nominated, continuing membership (via Executive Committee) of the Board of Trustees of The International Research Foundation for Language Education involvement since 2007.

His honors and awards cover: English language education service (US Congress citation, 2002); Heinle TESOL Lifetime Achievement Award (2003); lauded among 50 most influential Australians internationally (2005) and 100 most influential Australians in the business, educational and media fields (by Australian Prime Minister, 2006); dedicated a global research institute, David Nunan Institute for Language Education (Anaheim University, 2008) and James Alatis Award for Service to the TESOL Profession (2015).

Keynote presentation topic: "Whose English? ‘The English Effect’ in a Global World and a Global Market."

Abstract:
This presentation looks at the impact of English, rather ‘Englishes’, in a global perspective. In the foreword to a report entitled The English Effect: The impact of English, what it’s worth to the UK and why it matters to the world (2013), Mark Robson, Director of the British Council, writes:

    The English language is perhaps the United Kingdom’s greatest and yet least-recognized international asset. It is a cornerstone of our identity and it keeps us in the mind of hundreds of millions of people around the world, even when they are not talking to us.

The focus on the commercial benefits of arguably the UKs most prized commodity and cultural achievement is understandable. Yet, it does prompt the questions: Who has ‘ownership’ of English? Whose standards apply? Whose identities does Global English embrace? Who, if anyone, can be the Guardians of English? Where do the ‘rights’ and ‘privileges’ lie of those who would lay claim to ownership of English and hence their proprietary rights to oversee it? This talk airs such contentious issues which will, it is hoped, give rise to lively discussion and debate.

Dr. Leo Francis Hoye

Before joining Centennial College, Leo was an Associate Professor in The Faculty of Education (English Language Education), HKU, moving later to The Faculty of Arts, School of Humanities (Linguistics), as Honorary Associate Professor. He teaches and researches in English Language, Communication, Multimodality, and Pragmatics. He has published widely on language and is now working on Pragmatics: The Basics (Routledge). Leo has worked with government and education agencies in France, Italy, Denmark, Romania, Czech Republic, Poland, and Chile. His early claim to fame was as model for the 1966 World Cup Mascot, ‘World Cup Willie’!