News and Kudos

Officials of Education Bureau visit the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies

Led by Deputy Secretary for Education Ms. Louise SO, seven officials from the Professional Development and Special Education Branch of Education Bureau (EDB) visited the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies (CBS) on 14 February 2023 to understand how technologies are utilized in applied language sciences research, and their application values in the education sector.   The EDB guests include: Ms. Louise SO, Deputy Secretary for Education 4 Ms. Mandy HO, Principal Assistant Secretary (Special Education) Mrs. Gloria LI, Principal Education Officer (Special Education)1 Ms. Joyce YIP, Principal Education Officer (Special Education)2 Ms. Louise HUI, Senior Specialist (Speech Therapy Service) Dr. Dorothy LI, Senior Specialist (Education Psychology Service / NTW) Ms. Bianca WONG, Senior Education Officer (Special Education Support 1)   After the opening remarks by Prof. Ping LI, Dean of Faculty of Humanities and Dr. Cindy NGAI, Associate Head of CBS, CBS researchers introduced the equipment in the Speech and Language Sciences Laboratory to the guests, including a social robot for speech training for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) system for speech and language intervention, and an electroencephalography (EEG) system to address issues in second language acquisition. The guests then visited three more facilities at PolyU, namely the Brain, Language, and Computation Lab, the Speech Therapy Unit (STU), and the University Research Facility in Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience (UBSN). We look forward to further collaborations with the Professional Development and Special Education Branch of EDB on the educational and clinical applications of the research findings in the future.

CBS Postgraduate Scholarships 2023/24 中文及雙語學系碩士生奬學金 2023/24

(The Chinese version is available after the English version.)   In order to recruit high-calibre students who are determined to pursue academic research, the MA Scheme in Chinese, Linguistics and Translation is launching two scholarships in the 2023/24 academic year.   CBS Postgraduate Scholarship is an entry scholarship, which offers a 50% tuition waiver to applicants with outstanding intellectual potential to complete an MA thesis and have achieved excellent academic results in the qualifications already obtained.   CBS Distinguished Postgraduate Scholarship is a graduation scholarship, which worth 50% of the tuition fee for graduates who have completed their MA thesis and graduated with excellent academic achievements.   Distinguished students may receive both scholarships, which will be awarded full tuition fee in total.   No separate application is required for the scholarships. Applicants who have submitted their application by 31 March 2023 will be automatically considered for the Entry Scholarship through the admission interview process.   為鼓勵成績優異並立志從事學術研究的學生就讀中文、語言學與翻譯文學碩士組合課程，本課程將於 2023/24 學年推出兩項奬學金計劃 。   “中文及雙語學系碩士生獎學金” 是一項半免學費入學奬學金，將頒予數名入學成績優異，並具備學術潛質完成碩士論文的申請人。   “中文及雙語學系優異碩士生獎學金”則為半免學費畢業奬學金，將頒予數名在學成績優異，並撰寫了學術論文的畢業生。   成績優秀同學可同時獲取以上兩項奬學金，奬學金金額可達整個課程學費之全數。   奬學金不須要額外遞交申請表格，只要在 2023年 3 月 31 日 前遞交入學申請的申請人，就會自動被考慮。奬學金甄選將會在入學面試同時進行。

CBS undergraduate student wins the Outstanding Service Awards for Tertiary Students

Miss Kitty LAW Lai Ping, Year 4 student in BA (Hons) in Chinese and Bilingual Studies (BACBS), has been awarded the Outstanding Service Awards for Tertiary Students 2021/22 in recognition of her outstanding leadership and significant contribution to the community. Only two of the 20 awardees come from PolyU this year. The selection of this annual award was co-organized by the Hong Kong Student Services Association and the Hong Kong Outstanding Tertiary Students’ Services Association (HKOTSSA). Being one of the leaders of several teams under Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong, Kitty stood out with her active participation in community services – she organized nine activities during 2021-2022 to raise the public awareness of various social issues such as environmental protection, ethnic minorities and stray animals. Congratulations!

CBS PhD graduate wins the 2022 LSHK Outstanding Thesis Award

Dr. FENG Yan, the PhD graduate of CBS in 2022, has been awarded the 2022 LSHK Outstanding Thesis Award under the category of PhD thesis. The award was offered by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) to encourage young scholars at local tertiary education institutions to conduct linguistics research.   The LSHK Outstanding Thesis Award recognizes the outstanding theses which contribute to any area in linguistics, including MA thesis, MPhil thesis, PhD thesis and Doctorate thesis. Entitled “Categorical Speech Perception Across the Lifespan”, Dr. Feng’s thesis presents a comprehensive research work on the categorical perception of Mandarin Chinese speech sounds for native speakers at different ages from toddlers, teenagers, young adults, to elderlies with normal cognitive function and mild cognitive impairment. Dr. Feng will give a presentation of her thesis at the 2022 Annual Research Forum of LSHK on 3 December 2022.

CBS Joined the Gerontech and Innovation Expo cum Summit 2022 (GIES 2022)

Following the success last year, the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies (CBS) was invited to participate in the Gerontech and Innovation Expo cum Summit (GIES), the largest gerontechnology public education event in Hong Kong, again on 2-5 November 2022. During the 4-day exhibition, the Speech Therapy team illustrated the application of the ultrasound imaging technology in the assessment and treatment of dysphagia to policymakers, stakeholders of rehabilitation service sector and the general public. A total of 23,000 visits was recorded in GIES this year.

理大開辦香港首個「全國翻譯專業資格（水平）考試」PolyU hosts the first China Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters (CATTI) in Hong Kong

(The English version is available after the Chinese version.)   在中文及雙語學系(本系)推動下，香港理工大學(理大)於2022年9月7日與中國外文局全國翻譯專業資格（水平）考試（CATTI）項目管理中心簽訂合作協議，成為香港首個獲官方認可的CATTI考點，並由本系負責考場設置及考務管理等事宜。 CATTI於2003年推出，是唯一納入中國國家職業資格制度的語言類考試，合格者可獲國家認證的「中華人民共和國翻譯專業資格（水平）證書」。CATTI的翻譯專業資格認證備受全國廣泛認可，去年全年累計報考人數逾35萬，是對參試人員口譯或筆譯雙語互譯能力和水準的評價與認定。 本系自1988年成立以來，一直致力提升本港中英文專業翻譯的水平。除提供與翻譯相關的本科及碩士課程外，本系翻譯研究中心亦為CATTI的指定培訓中心，為考生提供中英文的筆譯及口譯訓練。隨著理大成為本港首個CATTI考點，本系將繼續積極培育本地語言及翻譯人才，促進翻譯專業在本地及國內的發展。 首場在本港舉行的中英文筆譯及口譯考試將於2022年11月5至6日舉行，並於即日起至10月10日接受考生報名。詳情請瀏覽https://www.polyu.edu.hk/cbs/cts/hk/catti/。   相關新聞︰理大新聞稿、大公網     The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) signed a cooperation agreement with the China Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters (CATTI) Management Center of the China International Communications Group (CICG) on 7 September 2022. Facilitated by the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies (CBS), the agreement marks PolyU as the first official CATTI test center in Hong Kong, and CBS is responsible for the management and organization of the test. Launched in 2003, CATTI is the only language test incorporated into China’s national vocational qualification system. Candidates who pass the test will obtain a Qualification Certificate of Proficiency issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) and CICG. The test is designed to access the proficiency and competence of candidate translators and interpreters, and it is widely recognised by employers throughout the country. Last year, over 350,000 candidates took the test. Since 1988, CBS has been committed to uplifting the professional standard of Chinese-English translation in Hong Kong. We offer undergraduate and postgraduate courses of translation, and our Centre for Translation Studies is designated to provide training for the English-Chinese translation and interpreting test in CATTI. With PolyU organising the CATTI test in Hong Kong, we will continue to cultivate talents in languages and translation, and promote the development of the translation industry in Hong Kong and the Mainland. The first English-Chinese translation and interpreting test in Hong Kong will be held during 5-6 November 2022. Applications are welcome until 10 October 2022. For details, please visit https://www.polyu.edu.hk/cbs/cts/en/catti/.   Media coverage: PolyU Press Release, Ta Kung Pao (in Chinese only)

Secretary for Education visits CBS Speech and Language Sciences Laboratory

Accompanied by PolyU’s President Prof. TENG Jin-Guang, Dr. the Hon. Christine CHOI Yuk-lin, Secretary for Education, visited CBS Speech and Language Sciences Laboratory on 5 September. The visit was also joined by Ms. Michelle LI Mei-sheung (Permanent Secretary for Education), Mr. Jeff SZE Chun-fai (Under Secretary for Education), Dr. YAO Yao (Acting Dean, Faculty of Humanities), Dr. ZHANG Caicai (Associate Professor, Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies) and Dr. CHEN Si (Assistant Professor, Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies). During the visit, the CBS researchers present introduced the lab equipment that supports research in speech and language sciences, including a social robot to assist in the speech training for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), an electroencephalography (EEG) system to measure electrophysiological activities in the brain, and an eye tracker to capture eye movements of a participant during language processing. We also shared with Dr. Choi our research initiatives in language, cognition and neuroscience, and how the research findings would inform and be conducive to education development and clinical applications.

CBS Chair Professor has been elected a Fellow of the Linguistic Society of America

Congratulations to our Prof. William S-Y. WANG, Chair Professor of Language and Cognitive Sciences, for being elected as 2023 Fellow of the Linguistic Society of America (LSA). LSA Fellow is a prestigious recognition of a member's contributions to the discipline, and up to eight members of the Society may be named Fellows each year.   Founded in 1924, LSA aims at advancing the scientific study of language and its applications. It plays a critical role in supporting and disseminating linguistic scholarship both to professional linguists and to the general public.   For details: https://www.linguisticsociety.org/news/2022/08/12/lsa-announces-2023-class-fellows  

PolyU-trained students achieve brilliant results in the 19th International Linguistics Olympiad

Trained by the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies (CBS) and the Department of English and Communication (ENGL), the Hong Kong student representatives have achieved excellent results in the Nineteenth International Linguistics Olympiad (19th IOL), held at Isle of Man on 25-29 July 2022. Competing with 184 contestants from 50 teams, the four-member team has won one silver medal and one bronze medal in the individual contest, and an Honorary Mention in the team contest. In addition, the Hong Kong team has captured two best solution awards (out of the total of 10 awards) and is the only team that won multiple best solution awards in the competition. Congratulations! The IOL, held since 2003, is one of the 13 officially recognized International Science Olympiads for secondary school students. The four team members this year are from Diocesan Boys’ School (2), La Salle College and Pui Ching Middle School, selected based on Hong Kong participants' performances at the Asia Pacific Linguistics Olympiad (APLO) and the Hong Kong Linguistics Olympiad held earlier. A team of experts in Hong Kong, led by CBS and ENGL of PolyU, provides regular training sessions on linguistics olympiads for gifted talents in language and communication.   Full results of 19th IOL: https://ioling.org/results/2022

CBS student wins the HSBC Hong Kong Scholarship

Ms. MAN Cheuk Lam, Year 1 student of BA (Hons) in Linguistics and Translation (BALT), was awarded the prestigious HSBC Hong Kong Scholarship (HK$50,000) in recognition of her outstanding academic performance and active contribution in community services in Hong Kong. Congratulations!