To celebrate and promote the diversity of language, UTAR’s Centre for Foundation Studies (CFS) of Kampar Campus successfully organised a Language Week themed ‘Celebrating Language Diversity’ at its Kampar Campus from 26 February to 2 March 2018. Held in conjunction with the United Nation’s International Mother Language Day 2018, the one-week programme was designed especially to promote the importance of linguistic diversity and multilingualism among the young UTAR students.
Second from left: Tan, Prof Choong, Pakialetchumy and Gangadurai during the ribbon-cutting ceremony
Held for the very first time in Kampar Campus, the programme officially kicked started on 26 March 2018 and it was graced and launched by UTAR Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong.
A group photograph of guests and organising committee after the opening ceremony
Also present at the opening ceremony of the Language Week were Director of CFS Tan Lee Siew, Organising Chairperson-cum-CFS’s Head of Arts and Social Science Department A. Pakialetchumy, Programme Coordinator-cum-CFS lecturer G. Gangadurai, Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FAS) Head of Languages and Linguistics Department Siti Ummaizah binti Meor Musa, Deputy Director of CFS Lim Khiew Loon, CFS Heads of Departments, lecturers, UTAR staff and students.
Gangadurai welcoming the guests
Gangadurai in his speech said, “I am happy and thankful to invite all the guests and participants for this meaningful event. This is the very first language week held in Kampar and I on behalf of the organising committee would like to thank all the parties who have been working effortlessly to make this event a success. The objectives of the event are to promote the beauty and uniqueness of mother languages, to cultivate the use of mother languages and to build interest in foreign languages as well as to enhance students understanding in foreign languages.”
He added, “In recent days the use of mother languages has become less common among young students and we believe this event could create awareness among the students to speak and value the importance of mother languages. In line with that, UTAR’s education also has given a full importance on learning foreign languages, in which a total of four languages, namely Tamil, Chinese, German and Japanese are being included as part of its degree programme. I believe learning an additional language will always be an added value aspect for someone in their lives.” He concluded his speech by quoting a famous quote from Nelson Mandela, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language that goes to his heart.”
Prof Choong motivating the students on the importance of mother languages
In his opening speech, Prof Choong said, “Language is our primary source of communication and through languages, we share our ideas and thoughts confidently with others. This is indeed a great platform to promote the importance of mother languages as well as the world dominating language, English. English is one of the most dominating languages of the world which is having its impact on every field of work.” He enthused, “UTAR students are not only expected to excel academically but also in the co-curricular sphere, thus enhancing leadership skills and instilling interest and creativity, which are the goals of the overall curriculum.” Citing Huawei’s recruitment drive in UTAR as an example, Prof Choong informedUTAR students to be potential candidates as they stand out with adaptability to multicultural and multilingual environments, which helps to establish strong networks between clients and companies. He added, “Being Malaysians surrounded by a myriad of cultures, enable UTAR students to adapt easily to multicultural environments in foreign places. I hope that this event will encourage more students to learn and value the importance of language diversity and hope that a similar event will be organised again in the future.”
Adding to the highlights of the opening ceremony was the students’ poetry recital presentation in seven different languages, namely English, Malay, Chinese, Tamil, Japanese, French and German. The students were all well-prepared and successfully delivered their inspiring presentations. The speakers, Foundation in Arts student Melvin Loh Mun Chun presented an English poem titled “Darkest Dungeon”, Banking and Finance student Daniel Tan Jia Hui and Marketing student Tan Inn Yee presented an impressive Malay poem titled “Pantun Budi”, Foundation in Arts student Chan Yi Ling presented a Chinese poem titled “Face the sea with spring blossoms from Hai Zi” which basically emphasised on the value of happiness, English Education student R. Lohjana delivered a Tamil poem titled “Valzga Tamil”, Computer Engineering student Lim Jian Cheng delivered a Japanese poem titled “Strong in the Rain”, Finance student Lee Hong Lam presented a saying in French, and last but not least Construction Management student Chong Kwan Jun presented a self-introduction in German.
Prof Choong, Tan and other committee members touring the exhibition booths
Besides the students’ presentation, the week was also filled with various exciting language activities such as language booths and games, speakers’ corner, movie screenings and talks. All activities focused on areas related to the beauty of mother languages, ways to cultivate interest in mother languages and the importance of languages on students’ self-development.
The participants and judges during the speakers’ corner activity
On the third day of the event, seven short movies were screened in all the seven languages. Students and lecturers attended and enjoyed watching the short movies in different languages with English subtitles. The short movies were entertaining and thought provoking.
Students and staff having fun watching a short movie
In addition to that, on 1 March 2018, a series of talks was arranged. Invited internal and external speakers delivered their talks on specific topics in English, Malay, Tamil, Mandarin, German, French and Japanese. The talks were very informative as the audience comprising students and staff had insights into the background as well as the importance of those languages.
Talks in progress
After a successful launching ceremony, followed by a series of educational activities, the curtains were drawn on the CFS Language Week with a humble closing ceremony on 2 March 2018 at the Kampar Campus. Present at the closing ceremony were Tan, Pakialetchumy, Gangadurai, CFS lecturers, UTAR staff and students.
In her closing speech, Tan lauded the hard work and effort placed by CFS lecturers in organising a significant programme like this for UTAR staff and students. She added, “As UTAR also welcomes international students from all over the world to join us in our pursuit of knowledge and excellence, the language diversity that exists in UTAR is something that we should be proud of.”
A group photograph to mark the closing ceremony
The closing ceremony ended with a prize-giving ceremony for the winners and participants who had participated in the speakers’ corner activity. The speakers’ corner, an open-air public speaking and discussion received a great support from students and more than 30 participants participated in the activity. The students were given random topics and were assigned to discuss the topic for 30 minutes in a group of four to five. The prizes were given out to the top three teams and the winners were Foundation students Alycia Wong Lye Min, Jacelyn Kee Li Thong, Lee Qi, Lim Li Ching, Seow Sun Jun, Chiew Jin Hong, S. Sivamegen, P. S. Natashajit Kaur, M. Kusaaliny, S. David Raj, Chan Sze Wey, T. Previnna, S. Karthiyaini, Business Administration student Kenneth Tan Tze Kent and Accounting student Lee Ching Kai.
Motivating the participants, CFS lecturer Lionel Keith Vytialingam concluded, “The speakers’ corner came as an awesome surprise. We were overwhelmed by the potential our UTAR students have in spontaneous public speaking. The groups comprised four to five members and they spoke for about 30 minutes on a random topic. It was not a pre-prepared speech and the students exhibited maturity and boldness in tackling their topics. We are sure these students will achieve greater heights in future.”
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