Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2001

•Teachin g and Research i n theHumanities Training of Young Linguists I n the early 90s, Prof. C h a ng S o n g - h i ng of the D e p a r t me nt of Chines e L a n g u a ge a n d Literature launched a projec t on the Comparative Study of South-eastern Dialects i n China jointly w i t h Prof. L i R u l o n g of Fujian N o r m a l Un i v e r s i ty a nd Prof. Shoji H i r a ta o f K y o t o University. Un d e r the project, y o u ng linguist s have been encouraged to submi t papers to seminars organized regularly under the sponsorship of the C U H K Institute of Chinese Studies. M a n y of these papers have subsequently been p u b l i s h ed a nd some of the p a r t i c i p a n ts are n o w a u t h o r i t i es o n linguistics o n the ma i n l a n d. Prof. L i Ru l o n g, for example, is n o w a member of the linguisti c g r o u p of the A c a d em ic Degree s C omm i t t ee u n d er the State Council. Others hav e become h e a ds of l i n g u i s t ic a n d l a n g u a ge research i n s t i t u t e s, m a n a g i n g e d i t o rs of a c a d em ic j o u r n a ls o n language teachin g a n d research, and heads of departments of Chinese. The seventh academic conference was held in Fujian in March 2000. Seared from right (facing) are Prof, Chang Song-hing, Dr. Li Lan of th e Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Prof. Li Rulong of Xiamen University, Prof. Christine Lamarre of Tokyo University , and Prof. Yu Aiqin of the University of Washington. Promoting English Teaching I n 1984 the D e p a r t me nt of E n g l i sh o r g a n i z ed a conference o n campus that p r o v ed to have far-reaching effects o n the de v e l opment of a p p l i ed linguistics i n China. Entitled ' A p p l i e d Linguistics i n the Chinese Co n t e x t ', the seminar was a t t ended b y over 60 expert s a n d s c h o l a r s, 17 of w h o m w e r e f amo us l i n g u i s t s f r o m t he ma i n l a nd such as Prof. X u Gu o z h a ng and Prof. G u i Sichun. The event triggered experts i n c l u d i ng Prof. G u i Sichun to organize a n o t h er large-scale conference o n a p p l i ed l i n g u i s t i cs a n d l a n g u a ge t e a c h i ng at t he G u a n g z h ou I n s t i t u te of F o r e i gn Languages i n 1985, w h i c h was deemed b y ma ny as the beginning of the d e v e l o pme nt of a p p l i ed linguistics i n ma i n l a nd China. In 1992, Prof. Jospeh H u n g of the Department of English organized an English Cam p project o n his o w n initiative, w h i c h was an intensive 10-day emersion p r o g r amm e at the Beijing Institute of Foreign Studies for secondary a nd tertiary En g l i sh teachers f r om different provinces . The camp has subsequently been adopted by the English Department of the Beijing Institut e of Foreign Studies as their annual pre-programme c u r r i c u l um for n ew students. Prof. H u n g has organized s i m i l a r activities f or N a n j i ng U n i v e r s i t y, Be i j i ng N o r m a l U n i v e r s i t y, a nd H a i n a n N o r m a l U n i v e r s i t y, w i t h p a r t i c i p a t i on f r o m g r a d u a te s t u d e n ts a n d y o u n g teachers o f the C U H K De p a r t me n t of English. ！ ！