French

Courses offered in 2020-2021

The French language shares many linguistic and lexical features with other major European languages, such as Italian, German, Portuguese, Spanish and of course, English, the world language today. The study of French helps us to better understand and perform in other languages.
 

French culture, the history of France have inspired many intellectuals, artists and scholars worldwide. Today, the position of France as a key cultural, political and economic state remains strong and influential.
 

French is spoken in several European countries and in various parts of the world. It is the official language in major world organizations. French is taught at school as first or second foreign language in many countries. There is a growing and thought-provoking French-speaking literature originating from the Francophone world.

France plays a leading role in the ongoing construction process of Europe, an increasingly significant partner for Asia. As French is widely spoken across the continent, traveling or studying there is greatly facilitated.

A good knowledge of the French language and culture enhances our profile and prospects in terms of professional career and further studies abroad, notably in France and Europe. Versatile communicators are also in demand in the corporate sector worldwide.
 

A good command of French makes the experience of a trip to France definitely more rewarding. French people in France are highly appreciative of visitors who take the trouble of communicating with them in French.
 

Studying French, however challenging it may be, allows us to look at this country beyond the traditional image of France as a romanticized place and a leading provider of fine fashion and cosmetics.

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A collection of resources created by the French programme team at HKU: 

https://www.french.hku.hk/resources

German

Courses offered in 2020-2021

Germany is at the heart of Europe; with 80 million people, it has the largest population of all the countries in the European Union.

The Country of Poets and Thinkers

German is often referred to an the “country of poets and thinkers” (Land der Dichter und Denker), since musicians, writers and scientists from German-speaking countries are known throughout the world: Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach, Mozart, Clara Schumann, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, Bertolt Brecht, Heinrich Böll, Christa Wolf, Elfriede Jelinek, Herta Müller, Günther Grass, Martin Luther, Johann Gottfried Herder, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Karl Jaspers, Jürgen Habermas, Peter Sloterdijk, Sigmund Freud, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, Max Planck, Albert Einstein, etc. Germany also has a rich history of ideas and innovations. There are numerous examples for German inventions and discoveries that enabled the modern world. Among many others, the automobile, television, x-ray technology, MP3-format and airbag are all German inventions! There is much diversity and depth in German culture. Germany nowadays is a modern, advanced society, shaped by a plurality of lifestyles and regional identities.

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Where is German Spoken?

German is the official language or one of the official languages in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. There are also German-speaking minorities in France, Belgium, Denmark, Poland, Russia and other countries. It is the first language of around 100 million people; 22 million people speak it as their second language. German is the second most commonly used scientific language and about one in ten books is published in German.

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Useful links for learning German: https://german.hku.hk/links.html

Japanese

Courses offered in 2020-2021

Japanese is a relatively easy language to master particularly for people with knowledge of the Chinese system of ideographs, as part of the Japanese writing uses Chinese characters or KANJI. 

Also, Japanese grammar is relatively simple as the nouns have no genders, plural forms or accompanying articles to learn.  It has only two verb tenses, present, and past and has very few irregular verbs.  It is also relatively easy to pronounce. In short, the language is simple to master in quite a short period of time.

With Japan being the 3rd largest economy in the world, and Japan being the number one travel destination particularly for people from Hong Kong and the rest of the world, a knowledge of the language will definitely enhance your experience of travel to the country and bring business opportunities to you in the near future.

The University of Hong Kong has a long tradition of teaching languages, and the teaching of the Japanese language is in the forefront. The teaching staff are friendly and diligent, encouraging you at all times. We welcome you to our midst!

Korean

Courses offered in 2020-2021

Korean is the official language of both South and North Korea, which have a total combined population of around 73 million (50 million in the South and 23 million in the North). Korean is also spoken in large ethnic Korean communities in China, Japan, Central Asia, and in the United States where 1.7 million Korean Americans live. 

Korea has a long history and rich cultural traditions, which makes it a fascinating place to study. It has played a vital role in East Asian history—notably through interactions with China and Japan—such that a better understanding of Korea is necessary to fully understand East Asia.

In more recent times, there has been growing world interest in Korean popular culture—the so-called “Hallyu,” or Korean Wave. Going beyond love of television-dramas, movies, and K-Pop, the Korean Wave reflects a desire to fully appreciate Korean popular culture and lifestyle through popular media. To some degree, Korean lifestyle and culture are becoming part of our own culture. By learning Korean, we expand our awareness of a vibrant culture that is both modern and traditional.

South Korea’s high-tech, service-based economy is the world’s 11th largest economy, sixth-largest exporter, and the United States’ sixth-largest trading partner. While already impressively positioned in the global economy, Korea is projected to be the world’s seventh-biggest economy by 2030​.

Malay

Courses offered in 2020-2021

Malay is the national language of Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia and it is one of four official languages of Singapore. It is spoken by 270 million people (both native and second language speakers). Standard Malay has various official names. In Singapore and Brunei, it is called Bahasa Melayu (Malay language); in Malaysia, Bahasa Malaysia (Malaysian language); in Indonesia (Indonesian language) and is designated the Bahasa Persatuan/Permersatu (“unifying language”/lingua franca). Singapore’s national anthem remains in Malay despite the heavy dominance of English in everyday conversations. Malay is also spoken widely in the Cocos Island, Christmas Island, parts of Thailand (specifically Southern Thailand), as well as Palawan Islands in the Philippines and at smaller scale in Madagascar.

Malay is one of the easiest language to pronounce as it has simple phonetic (unlike English and French). It has no tonal distinction to make the same word has different meanings depending on the tone used in pronouncing unlike Cantonese and Mandarin. Malay has no conjugations, no plurals, no gender and no verb tenses. Moreover, the word order in Malay is similar to word order in English sentence, thus making Malay very easy to learn.

Spanish

Courses offered in 2020-2021

Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world together with English, Hindi and Chinese, and is the second language with more native speakers in the world (more than 477 million). It is also one of the official languages in major international organizations such as the United Nations, and the third most used language on the internet.

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Being the official language of 21 countries and one of the main languages used in the USA, Spanish language serves to connect a great variety of cultures through music, literature, youtube videos, television series, politics and research. However, despite being so extended, Spanish is one of the most uniform languages in the world due to the proximity of Latin American countries to each other and their close relationship to Spain. 

Business Spanish is also increasingly necessary for speakers of other languages around the world, particularly for Chinese speakers, due to the intensification of relations between China and Latin America in the 21st century. 

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Learning resources for students: https://spanish.hku.hk/?page_id=77

Arabic

Courses offered in 2020-2021

Arabic language is a poetic language, with special internal music making it unique. Arabic is the richest language on earth with massive contributions to other languages’ vocabulary, and you will be surprised by the number of Arabic words you say in your everyday life.

Arabic is one of the 6 official languages of the United Nations. It is spoken by over 400 million people in 25 countries in the Middle East and North Africa as an official language, and in 6 countries as a national or minority language. Arabic also is spoken as a second language by about 1.5 billion Muslims around the world. Modern Standard Arabic is the official language throughout the Arab world. Its written form is relatively consistent across national boundaries.

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Many of the 25 Arab countries where Arabic is spoken are fast-growing markets containing huge financial and economic potentials and opportunities. And with the “Belt and Road” initiative, Arabic language will be in high demand in the coming few years as many Arabic countries are involved in the initiative.

Russian

Courses offered in 2020-2021

Introduction of Russian

Russian literature is recognized worldwide. Learning Russian will give you the ability to read the Russian classics in their original.

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Traveling Russia is an incredible experience which can’t be lived anywhere else. Extreme cold temperatures, dog sledding and Northern Lights in Murmansk, snowy mountains and warm Black sea of Sochi, Saint Petersburg which is known as a museum under the open sky.

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Russian language spoken in more than 10 countries is one of the UN languages. Around 200 million people in the world speak Russian. One of the biggest opportunities that Russian language has no dialects and once learned can be used everywhere in Russia and former Soviet Union states.

Thai

Courses offered in 2020-2021

If you are a frequent traveler to Thailand or even planning to live there, why not learn the language to at least a basic level of understanding?

Thai is spoken by nearly 70 million people in Thailand, neighboring countries and in Thai communities world-wide. Learning Thai can really improve your quality of life. Thai language will open the country up to you in new ways.

These are some of the best reasons we can give on why you should learn the Thai language.

1. Having more fun travelling to Thailand

The greatest reason anyone learns Thai is to travel around this amazing country and to meet the warm, friendly people who live here. Travel will become much easier as street signs and directions start to make sense. Restaurant menus in many of the local places will be much more accessible as you’ll be able to understand the menu, specify what you want and ask questions.  Bargaining and shopping will be challenging.

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2. Settling  in Thailand will be much easier

Learning basic Thai can also help you understand the basic aspects of their culture, minor things that make a big difference and it will be easier for you to integrate into Thai community which will make your life much easier and more comfortable. Among the Thais.

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3. Thai People encourage you to learn Thai

Whether you are “good with languages” or not, whether learning Thai is difficult or not the good thing is Thai people appreciate any effort you take in learning their language and will always take some time to help you learn new words or sentences.

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4. Better opportunity for jobs in Thailand

Being able to demonstrate some knowledge of the language shows commitment and dedication. Those fluent in Thai certainly have the most opportunities.

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5. Open and welcoming economy

Thailand is ranked as the 21st easiest place for doing business in the entire world as per World Bank's 2020 ranking The Thai business community always loves to welcome foreign investments and companies who have a desire to establish companies in this country. You will be much more confident and comfortable to be able to speak the native language.

Whatever your reason is, Learning Thai is a lot easier than most people think. Give yourself an opportunity to try! Learning THAI in a fun way in HKU.

Bahasa Indonesia

Courses offered in 2020-2021

Bahasa Indonesia is the national language of Indonesia that unites the country. As an archipelago nation, Indonesia consists of more than 17.000 Islands and various ethnical groups who speak more than 500 dialects or languages. Learning Bahasa Indonesia will help to increase the knowledge about Indonesia that is rich in natural resources and blessed with various cultures and customs. Bahasa Indonesia is useful in South East Asia. Bahasa Indonesia is spoken by more than 200 million people. Bahasa Indonesia that is rooted and evolved from Malay and influenced by other languages such as Sanskrit is useful in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, East Timor and Brunei Darussalam. Anyone who is able to communicate in Bahasa Indonesia will find it valuable in the countries mentioned above. Besides, we can also find many similar words between Bahasa Indonesian and Tagalog or other dialects spoken in the Philippines.

Bahasa Indonesia is also easy to learn. Bahasa Indonesia uses the Latin alphabet. Unlike Chinese, Korean or Japan that has its own characters, Bahasa Indonesia uses the Latin alphabet that is common to many people. Besides, Bahasa Indonesia has simple grammatical rules. In comparison to English or Spanish, Bahasa Indonesia does not have tenses and gender. It has rather simple grammatical rules. Knowing Bahasa Indonesia will ease one travelling and exploration in Indonesia. 

Bahasa Indonesia is growing in popularity. For example, in Australia, Bahasa Indonesia has been included as one of the languages to study in its education system. In Vietnam, Bahasa Indonesia is considered as important as French and English.  Besides those two countries, Bahasa Indonesia is also taught in many other places. This growing popularity is due to Indonesia’s economic, political, social and demographic factors.

Level I (Part 1 and 2)

100 Hours

This 100-hour course is designed for those who have no prior knowledge of the language. For French, German and Spanish, the focus is on listening and speaking skills, through regular practice and using real-life situations. In the case of Japanese, the focus is on providing students with a basic understanding of the Japanese writing system. Students are exposed to the fundamentals of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and sentence structure, thereby providing them with a sound foundation in the language and enhancing their communicative abilities. This course also provides an introduction to the countries where these languages are spoken – their societies and cultures – to encourage students to develop their own understanding of cultural diversity.

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Successful completion of this course enables students to enroll in Level II of the programme.

Expected Outcomes

Spoken

Students will be able to use the language at a level of elementary proficiency, using everyday expressions and basic phrases, on topics including greetings, introducing oneself, giving directions, and talking about school and leisure activities.

Grammar

Students will be able to compose simple and coordinated sentences using the present tense, and conjugate most of the regular verbs as well as some irregular verbs. They will be able to formulate straightforward questions and answers, use prepositions as well as definite and indefinite articles.

Level II (Part 1 and 2)

100 Hours

This 100-hour course is a continuation of Level I. The intention of Level II is to build on the fundamentals already acquired in Level I and to introduce students to more formal aspects of the language through the extensive use of written, audio and video materials. Students are provided with the means to explore and communicate about the world around them in the target language.

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Successful completion of this course enables students to enroll in Level III of the programme.

Expected Outcomes

Spoken

Students will be able to use more complicated sentence structures to discuss topics that include talking about one’s family, food, fashion, travel and expressing simple needs and opinions.

Grammar

Students will be able to use all regular verbs and a larger number of irregular verbs in the present tense. The past tense will be introduced to allow students to write, formulate statements, describe and understand specific situations at a more complex level.

Level III (Part 1 and 2)

100 Hours

This 100-hour course is a continuation of Level II. The intention of Level III is to build on the foundations laid in the two previous levels and study more complex aspects while consolidating students’ knowledge of the language.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will have acquired the knowledge and skills to enroll in “Preparation for IGCSE”.

Expected Outcomes

Spoken

Students will be able to use the language to convey their opinions, make comparisons, and discuss topics at a more abstract level, including issues related to the media, health, employment, and relationships with friends and family.

Grammar

Students will be familiarized with more past tenses (imperfect, pluperfect) as well as other tenses (conditional, future) and the subjunctive so as to enhance their ability to convey time – past, present, and future – in the target language.

Preparation for IGCSE

100 Hours

This 100-hour course is a continuation of Level III. The aim of this module is to build on the foundations laid in the three previous levels while consolidating students’ competences with regard to listening, speaking, reading and writing for the IGCSE examination.

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Upon successful completion of this course, students will have acquired the adequate preparation to sit for the IGCSE examination.

Expected Outcomes

•  Acquire IGCSE examination skills and strategies

•  Pass past papers

•  Train speaking and listening for the IGCSE examination

•  Train reading and writing for the IGCSE examination

Preparation for AS Level I and Level II

200 Hours

This 200-hour course is the preparation for the AS-Level examination. It is divided into two modules of 100 hours each spread over two years of study. The aim of these modules is to build on the foundations laid in the Preparation of IGCSE level while consolidating students’ competences with regard to listening, speaking, reading and writing for the AS-Level examination.

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Upon successful completion of this course, students will have acquired the adequate preparation to sit for the AS-Level examination.

Expected Outcomes

•  Acquire AS-Level examination skills and strategies

•  Pass past papers

•  Train speaking and listening for the AS-Level examination

•  Train reading and writing for the AS-Level examination

Preparation for AS Level I and Level II

200 Hours

This 200-hour course is the preparation for the AS-Level examination. It is divided into two modules of 100 hours each spread over two years of study. The aim of these modules is to build on the foundations laid in the Preparation of IGCSE level while consolidating students’ competences with regard to listening, speaking, reading and writing for the AS-Level examination.

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Upon successful completion of this course, students will have acquired the adequate preparation to sit for the AS-Level examination.

Expected Outcomes

•  Acquire AS-Level examination skills and strategies

•  Pass past papers

•  Train speaking and listening for the AS-Level examination

•  Train reading and writing for the AS-Level examination

Language Courses for Local Primary Schools

The School of Modern Languages and Cultures at the University of Hong Kong offers language courses to local primary schools in:

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Each course consists in 30 hours of tuition. No prior knowledge of the language is required. The main focus is on developing listening and speaking skills, with some simple reading and writing tasks, along with an introduction to basic grammar and vocabulary, and pronunciation practice.

These 30-hour courses are designed to introduce some basic aspects of the language in a relaxed and fun-filled atmosphere. Students will be able to take their first steps confidently in the target language and use it to communicate in simple real-life situation.

Expected Outcomes

•  Greet someone, ask how he/ she is

•  Use basic polite social expressions

•  Introduce themselves

•  Show understanding and misunderstanding

•  Follow general instructions in the classroom

•  Ask and answer simple questions

•  Respond to simple instructions

•  Express likes and dislikes

•  Describe actions in the present tense

•  Tell the time

•  Develop good oral comprehension