Language and Culture Tandem Scheme (LACTs)

The number of international students enrolled in CityU has been increasing steadily over the past decade. CityU has become one of the leading universities in HK in educating and nurturing non-local students from a wide range of countries. In the academic year 2019-20, the number of international students reached about 29000 (including about 13000 and 16000 students from mainland China and 16000 from non-Asian countries), forming a substantial sector in the student population whose needs should be well catered for.Various programmes are provided in CityU to promote cultural diversity on campus (CityU, 2023). Global Mixer (G-mixer) offered by the Global Engagement Office (GEO) intends to enrich the cultural exposure of both local and non-local students. The “ International Centre” has been developed to extend the global vibe of CityU. Seeing the burgeoning global presence in the university, the CFML CSL Language Centre (LC) endeavors to enhance multilingualism and multiculturalism at CityU. The English Language Mentoring Scheme (ELMS), launched in 2006, aims to promote students’ active engagement with language activities. Students whose native language is English are invited to lead a small group of local students in various interactive language activities every week. However, it seems only English native students are included in the scheme, and local students, taking the roles of mentees in the scheme, may play a passive role in the group activities. The present project aims to provide out-of-the classroom opportunities for local and international students to gain exposure to each other’s native language, and introduce the culture of their place of origin reciprocally.  It helps students to develop language competence in a relaxed environment and to enrich their cultural exposure in order to contribute to the ambiance of cultural diversity of the university.