Director’s Welcome

Welcome to the Language Centre.

Every conversation, writing and exchange is a small act of shaping the future. It is how ideas travel, how trust is built, and how people who see the world differently and find common ground. At the Language Centre, we help HKBU students do this well, with confidence, care and creativity, in whichever language the moment calls for.

We see language learning as something students do, not only something they study. Our courses in English, Chinese, Putonghua/Mandarin and Foreign Languages build academic, professional, intercultural and digital communication, helping students communicate within and beyond their disciplines. Much of this growth also happens beyond our classrooms in language enhancement activities: cultural and global exchanges, competitions and so on.

Our language educators are committed to excellence in teaching, service and research, and we aim to be at the forefront of AI in language education. Our work sits where language meets technology, and we pursue it in partnership with other experts across disciplines and institutions. As AI changes how we read, listen, write and speak, we believe that the more AI advances, the more human agency matters. This means the judgement to know what is worth saying and the voice to say it well, the empathy to understand what others mean, and the cultural insight to connect across differences.

For us, being at the forefront means showing what human-centred AI in language learning looks like in practice. We are designing courses, platforms, projects and resources that bring AI into teaching with purpose. We are researching how it shapes the way students learn, and we share what we find with schools, universities and partners in Hong Kong and beyond. Students, we believe, can use AI with good judgement and integrity to become more capable communicators, while keeping the voice, nuance and cultural understanding that only they can bring.

Our students come from Hong Kong, the Mainland and around the world, bringing with them many languages, cultures and ways of seeing. We value that diversity as one of our greatest strengths. True to HKBU’s caring, creative and global culture, the Language Centre is a place where every learner belongs, every voice is heard, and students learn as much from one another as they do from us.

Whether you are a student, colleague or a visitor, we invite you to explore what we offer and to get in touch. AI will keep changing how we learn languages. What will not change is our belief that language is, above all, about people.

Dr. Nora Hussin
Director, Language Centre