Celebrating World Arabic Language Day

Posted on 18 December 2023 by Liang Wang

Happy World Arabic Language Day!

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.

Happy UN French Language Day

Posted on 20 March 2023 by Liang Wang

Bonjour! Did you know today, the 20th March, is the UN French Language Day? Joyeuse journée de la langue Française !

On this special day, Manon Merle, a French student doing Politics at Queen’s School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, shared with us her experience of coming to study at Queen’s with her language exchange needs.

I am Manon, a French native speaker studying at Queen’s as an Erasmus student. And there are quite a few Erasmus students from France like me studying on campus! We are very eager to get to know you!
In my home university in France I study political science and am going to apply for a master in the ecological transition. I have decided to study abroad in Belfast mostly to improve my skills in English, to discover new people, a new city, a new culture and a new educational system. Many other French students have the same idea as I have, and we hope to contribute to Queen’s as a vibrant French-speaking community. As I hope this experience here to help me with my English, I recently signed up for the Tandem Language Exchange programme. So, I’ll be happy to promote my native language as well as to learn other languages from you!

To learn French (or the other languages) with us Language Centre, visit www.qub.ac.uk/lc (or scan the QR code) and sign up for the classes which will commence week beginning Monday 24 April 2023.

To find a language partner for language exchange, visit Tandem Language Exchange (TLE) programme. The coming TLE session is scheduled on Wed 22 March between 11:00 and 12:00 at the Training Room 2, McClay Library.

Have a great start

Posted on 13 January 2023 by Liang Wang

Happy return and new start!

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.

Tandem Language Exchange at Queen’s
Tandem Language Exchange at Queen’s
SU Welcome event at The Graduate School

And, happy weekend to you all!

International Day of Sign Languages

Posted on 23 September 2022 by Liang Wang

Did you know that there are approximately 72 million deaf people in the global population? These people collectively use over 300 different sign languages! Alongside all the national languages, there is a shared international sign language used by the deaf community to communicate socially, on trips abroad, and in international business settings.

This International Day of Sign Languages, celebrated on 23rd September each year, to coincide with the creation of the World Federation of the Deaf in 1951, sits within International Week of Deaf People (19th-25th September 2022). The theme for this year is Building Inclusive Communities for All. Learning basic communication in sign language, whether national or international, can really help to make the global community of deaf people feel more included in society. As actress Rose Ayling-Ellis so aptly puts it, “There’s nothing wrong with being deaf – it’s society that’s the problem”.

The Language Centre offers British Sign Language courses in Levels 1 and 2 and registration for these is open now, via our website: www.qub.ac.uk/lc

2022 LC Course Autumn Programme

Posted on 31 August 2022 by Liang Wang

Happy September!

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.

Multiple cultural celebrations and Easter break

Posted on 14 April 2022 by Liang Wang

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.

Cultural Diversity at QUB Survey

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 21^st April at 5pm. Visit Language Centre April Enrolment page and do not miss out!

LC Course April Enrolment Open

Posted on 4 March 2022 by Liang Wang

Registration for our third semester language courses, which are across a range of languages and levels, is now open.

Don’t miss out, and sign up now! www.qub.ac.uk/lc

LANGUAGE COURSE ENROLMENT OPEN NOW

Posted on 1 September 2021 by Liang Wang

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.

Free Language Courses

Posted on 14 December 2020 by Liang Wang

Calling QUB students’ attention —

The Global Opportunities Team at Queen’s are supporting 50 students to take a Language Centre course for free in semester 2! Successful applicants for this initiative will also be invited to attend supplementary Cultural Awareness training and a Global Opportunities Information session.

Click below for information on how to apply. Applications should be submitted before 12 noon on Friday 15 January 2021.

Application for Free Language Courses

The Language Centre at Queen’s

Let languages take you places

Tag Archives: Language Courses