A Brief View of Language Center

A Brief View of Language Center

Liya Tseng（曾孟誼）

Due to globalization, English has become so important that it has had an impact on everyone’s daily life worldwide. It influences not only our culture, but also our educational system. For instance, as we walk down the street, we often come to find English signs shining on the streets. When reading Chinese magazines, we often see English words colorfully written on many pages. In the educational system, students ranging from seven to eleven years old in elementary schools have already begun learning English, some have even started earlier.

However, being pressured hard into studying English, most students become somber in their enthusiasm in English and eventually cease to enjoy learning it any more. Moreover, some may eventually turn their dislike of English into hatred, which is the last thing the teachers want to see. To make English one of the students’ favorites, our school, Feng Chia University (FCU), has provided all students with a joyful atmosphere and easily accessible opportunities to help improve their English proficiency. In addition, most of the activities are free, and that’s why students wouldn’t see English learning on campus as a big strain.

The Language Center (LC) at Information & Electronic Engineering (IEE) Building is the place where students can make the best use of their every visit to better their English. In LC, if students want to sharpen their academic skills, they are free to enroll in various English programs, such as short-term courses. What’s more, there are Tutorial Hours with different tutors every hour waiting for students to chat with them in English. Therefore, if students are determined to strengthen their speaking ability, they may join and start a happy conversation with the teachers.

When talking about EZ café, we may immediately think of a cup of nice coffee or the tasty cuisine. What makes it so special is that students there are supposed to speak English, which is a big chance to better their real-life English speaking skills. They may also get all the information about the Activity Nights. Sometimes as we just walk a little closer to the IEE Building at night, we often see the lights still on and hear the sound of discussion. That is where the various activities of Activity Nights such as movie night and game night are held according to the schedule. Competitions are also available, and students may enroll for them at the Café. Besides, all students are welcome to take part in the English contests, including singing, reading, speaking and so forth.

Last of all, if Feng Chia students are longing for the chance to go abroad to study, all they have to do is to apply for the Hanhai scholarship and compete with all other applicants. For those who are lucky enough to win the scholarship, they will be granted the opportunity to go abroad for a month, taking courses and learning the culture there, which surely will be an unforgettable experience.

To sum up, there are lots of activities and courses available at FCU to help better the students’ English. With the resources provided, if the students make good use of them, they will be greatly profited.


EZ Café

Amy Peng（彭淑媄）

I think having good English abilities is important no matter what your major is. And I think the EZ Café is a good place for Feng Chia University students to learn English.

You might ask, “What is the EZ Café?” EZ means English Zone (=place). So, the EZ Café is a place where you can take a seat, order some drinks and delicious food such as sandwiches, bagels, and hand-made cookies. It is not just a place where you can do your homework or discuss school work with your classmates－the most important characteristic of this café is that you have to speak English there all the time. Furthermore, I think the various activities held at the EZ Café are very appealing.

Every semester, many activities take place at the EZ Café. You can join movie nights, party nights, singing contests and food making activities. In addition, if you win the first prize in the singing contest, you can get NT$5,000! And if you join the movie night, you will find it quite interesting because you do not only watch a movie but also join a question answering session. after the movie. The teacher will ask you questions about the movie, and if your answer is correct, you will get a present! By joining these activities, you will have a lot of fun and learn English at the same time.

The tutorial hours are also a good opportunity for students to learn English. Actually, in the beginning, I was afraid of going to the tutorial hours. I wondered, “What should I talk about?” or “My English is poor, how can I chat with an English teacher?” However, after I tried it, I started to love this place because all the teachers there were very friendly. During the tutorial hours, you can talk about your school work, or share things with the teacher. Besides, some teachers may have prepared some topics, and you can try your best to express your own ideas on these topics. Do not worry too much about your speaking ability because the teachers will be waiting patiently until you finish. That is why I think that joining tutorial hours is a good way for students to improve their English.

Finally, it is a place where you can meet foreign students from many different countries. You can practice your English with them or help them with their Chinese (because they can speak Chinese at the EZ Café). At the same time, you can learn a lot of their cultures and share your own with them.

Thus, I think the EZ Café is really an excellent place for students to learn English because it offers so many choices. I believe that if you can go to the EZ Café once, you will realize how good it is, and you will find that learning English can be a great fun!