News

When you hear the sentence “Golf is a sport played between the ears”? What do you think it means? When you hear the political slogan: “Let June be the end of May” in a British news story, which writing technique has been employed?

Philip Yeung on English writing

The Division of Humanities and Social Sciences (DHSS) held a lecture series featuring guest speaker Philip Yeung, a freelance columnist for the South China Morning Post and currently professional writer at UIC’s English Language Centre (ELC). He shared his ideas as a non-native writer on the art and science of English writing with more than 140 UIC students and staff members in attendance.

Mr Yeung began with his worries about the damage and dysfunctional learning in China that is almost totally exam-driven. Instead of lighting a fire, Chinese students have been busy “filling the bucket of IELTS and Gaokao”. Mr Yeung, by contrast, shared his experience and thoughts on the joys and rewards of reading and writing.

“Most of the students I have seen learn things that are useless outside examination halls,” Mr Yeung said, feeling sorry that the journey to English education in China has gone backwards. “Content, passion, reader in mind, style, writing with meaning and feeling – all the things that are important are missing from most students’ assignments, and yet these are necessary if you want to write English like a native speaker or better.”

The attentive audience listens to the lecture

During the engaging one-hour lecture, Mr Yeung took the audience through his rich repertoire of witticisms, idioms, and punch lines from everyday English, such as news and advertisement slogans, while talking about a life in writing. Mr Yeung believed the lack of progress in English writing is due to the lack of methods. How to personalise the written subject, trigger passive vocabulary into an active one, and avoid rare and big words are all challenges for Chinese students in English writing. Throughout his adult life, Mr Yeung told the audience he often sleeps with his books, leaving the lights on at night.

“Language is power. Never lose the curiosity of learning English,” Mr Yeung said.

The audience taking notes

Year 3 International Journalism student, Xu Shi, showed her interest in English and thought it was an excellent lecture that sparked the interest of those present. “The lecture encouraged me to read more and think more in English in the future.”

At the end of the lively lecture, Associate Vice President Prof Lillian Kwan also shared her thoughts and suggestions that students could start from building up their vocabulary and reading an editorial every day: “If you can dream in English, you know your English is good.”

Prof Lillian Kwan shares her input

Director of ELC Dr Viola Wong's introduction to the lecture

The lecture was videotaped and will be available for UIC students and staff on the LRC website.