MA TESOL visit to China
At the end of April, Clive Newton, a lecturer on the English Department’s Mas in TESOL, and Applied Linguistics and TESOL, was part of a delegation to China, visiting Beijing, Xian and Shanghai.
The aim of the visit was threefold:
- to raise the profile of the University’s postgraduate offer across a range of subjects – including TESOL and Applied Linguistics
- to learn more about the changes occurring within Chinese student aspirations and priorities
- to meet new postgraduate offer holders, to re-hook up with old students (alumni) and to put the alumni in contact with new offer holders. Many WeChat addresses were exchanged!
The visit had a distinctly Sino-Liverpudlian twist!
You see, not only did the delegates meet key Chinese agents and institutions and visit XJTLU, not only did they give presentations on our programmes and indeed receive presentations from the agents, BUT – they also did quizzes, handed out prizes, chatted with students – and yes, sang and performed!
As well as the more formal, conventional meetings, the delegation held, in a top-notch hotel in each city, an evening ‘event’. Each event comprised a meal with key Chinese contacts – including alumni, a Liverpool quiz - and a Liverpool performance.
The compere for each evening performance was, indeed, English’s very own Clive Newton – himself a moderate level Chinese speaker. All the chat, all the banter and the jokes, were done in Chinese. And there were some truly amazing performances, all given by Liverpool alumni – highly accomplished, and many associated with the Music Department. Each evening finished with our very own rendition of the Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’. That one was done in English – not Chinese!
Now – will the visit attract to the University more postgraduate students in the future? Well – who knows? But what is certain is that each occasion in each city impressed, forged new connections and made a lasting and exceedingly positive impression of the University on all those who attended.