What an overwhelming September with all new and returning students and staff on campus for a bustling start of their new academic year! We are also enthused to see a warm response of taking our language courses alongside their study programme and work plan. For those who are keen to sign up for a course but not able to do so yet, please remember to do it via our website before 5 pm, Thursday 3rd October.
If you are not able to register for a course but would like to be involved in informal language learning and practice, you are welcome to consider signing up for the Tandem Language Exchange (TLE) programme. The TLE platform is an ongoing service that enables one to swap their native languages with each other in order to find language partners on a mutual support basis. It suits those who have signed up for a language course, in particular.
For more details and registration information, please read the TLE page.
The Language Centre 2nd semester classes kick off today Monday 15th and wish all the learners a great start!
Tandem Language Exchange activities restart from this Wednesday 17th January. All Queen’s students and staff members are welcome to attend TLE events throughout the academic year, whether they sign up for the language courses or not.
For those who sign up for both, it can be complementary way to develop your language skills with a potential language partner, with whom you can work with a buddy from another culture for mutual support. For those who are unable to attend a language class, perhaps joining our TLE will be a viable option for you to keep your flame of enthusiasm burn.
As the world commemorates World Arabic Language Day on December 18th, we are pleased to have Wejdan, a PhD student who speaks Arabic as her native language, to reflect on the richness of the Arabic language.
My name is Wejdan, and as a proud Saudi, the Arabic language is a source of identity, which serves as a foundation of Saudi culture and heritage. Arabic is poetic and has been cherished for centuries, with a rich literature, science, philosophy, and religion history. It is a language that exhibits diversity in dialects and accents across Arab countries. Saudi Arabia is home to several dialects, reflecting the country’s diverse geography and cultural heritage, making Saudi Arabia so vibrant and captivating.
You will notice a palm-shaped bookmark in the photo. This palm is a symbol deeply rooted in my culture, representing generosity and hospitality. It serves as a reminder of the values we hold dear as Saudis and the warm welcome we extend to others.
In my pursuit of embracing cultural diversity and expanding my language skills, I have recently joined the Language Center activities. I am excited to start this journey, exploring other languages like Japanese. The book in the photo above is an Arabic handbook to learning the Japanese language, exemplifying the bridge between cultures and the pursuit of knowledge.
Let us appreciate the power and beauty of the Arabic language together. World Arabic Language Day is such a chance to promote cross-cultural exchange and understanding.
Learn Arabic, attend cultural events, discover traditional arts and crafts, and interact with Arab people.
Sign up for a Language Centre course
Click here to visit the Language Centre website for more course information and registration.
Registration will close on Thursday 11 January at 5pm and classes will commence week beginning Monday 15 January. We recommend that you register early to avoid disappointment.
“The International Day of Friendship was proclaimed in 2011 by the UN General Assembly with the idea that friendship between peoples, countries, cultures and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities.
The resolution places emphasis on involving young people, as future leaders, in community activities that include different cultures and promote international understanding and respect for diversity.”
At Queen’s, we have seen friendship developing in many ways, one of which is through joining our Tandem Language Exchange (TLE) programme. As Luisa, a German student in exchange of her language for Mandarin Chinese with Lingzhu, said, “What started off as a language partnership soon turned into a real friendship and apart from learning German and Chinese we also go running together and spend time as friends.”
While it is quiet on campus during the summer break, those who are keen to develop their language skills through TLE can still maintain their language partnership onsite or online. The new round of TLE events will begin after the new academic year starts, so enjoy your summer time (and with old friends) and be prepared to look for new language partners starting from October 2023.
Happy March! We are pleased to announce that the Language Centre spring course enrolment starts from Wednesday 1st March, for the classes to commence week beginning Monday 24th April 2023.
Online registration will be closed on Thursday 20th April and we welcome all to make an early registration to avoid disappointment. Class schedule and registration links are accessible via Language Centre website.
We are pleased to have met quite a number of our international students, including the new cohort of Erasmus/Study Abroad students today at the Tandem Language Exchange event and the SU Welcome event at the Graduate School Social Space today! All seemed very keen and enthusiastic about starting their journey of language learning and intercultural exchange at Queen’s and elsewhere.
We look forward to the language course and academic programme start from the next week onward and welcome more students, as well as staff members, to join us in the coming round of enrolment and related events.
With the approaching of the new semester we are pleased to announce that the Language Centre course enrolment starts at 00:30 on Thursday 1st September. We offer over 80 classes in 14 different languages that have both online and in person teaching. All classes will commence week beginning Monday 10 Oct 2022.
Online registration will be closed on Thursday 6 Oct and we welcome all to make an early registration as courses are extremely popular and fill up quickly. Class schedule and registration links are accessible via Language Centre website.
April is a busy month with many important days and festivals to reflect cultural diversity at Queen’s. While we wish all those who celebrate Ramadan well on their fasting during the month, we would like to invite you to join us in sharing our greetings and best wishes to the communities at Queen’s and elsewhere who celebrate their traditional New Year on and around today 14/04:
Bengali / Cambodian / Hindu / Lao / Myanmar / Nepali / Tamil / Thai
Happy New Year! We’d be pleased to if you are happy to share your photos/videos of celebrations with us in your posts and use hash tag #CulturalDiversity #LoveQUB.
Calling QUB international staff and students –
Tell us what cultural festivals and days you celebrate by filling in the form below and we will do our best to help with circulation and celebration at Queen’s.
We also wish you all a happy and healthy Easter Break. While our office will be closed during the holidays, our course enrolment remains open until Thursday 21st April at 5pm. VisitLanguage Centre April Enrolment page and do not miss out!
As we look forward to the beginning of the new academic year, we are pleased to announce that online registration is now open, until Thursday 7th October at 17:00, for classes starting week beginning Monday 11th October. You can view the course schedule and registration links via www.qub.ac.uk/lc
Classes are expected to be extremely popular and fill up quickly, so early registration is strongly recommended.
