On the afternoon of March 14, 2005, at the invitation of the Cross-Culture Communication Research Centre at Zhejiang University , Professor Tony T.N. Hung , Head of the Language Centre at the HongKong Baptist University, successfully delivered us a lecture entitled "English As A Global Language" at Room 227, Classroom Building East 6 on Zijingang Campus of Zhejiang University.
His interesting and knowledgeable lecture was warmly welcomed by many teachers and students who are from different institutes 0and departments.
Pro. Hung's lecture is a vivid and interesting lecture , covering from comprehensive analysis of English as a global language in second half of 20th century to a pragmatic approach to the teaching of English pronunciation . It's of great help to us in learning English as a second language, especially the vowel contrasts ( in Chinese English ). With the help of those animated graphs, Pro. Hung unfolded before our eyes an unique and new vision of English as a global language. He offered some supportive evidence and illustrative examples to make his points clear and convincing: 1) English in the 21st century is no longer the exclusive property of Britain or U.S.A. or any single group of countries or speakers . It is a global language and therefore variety is its very essence. 2) English learners everywhere will always speak English with an identifiable local accent, a modern approach to the teaching of pronunciation
will need to be pragmatic rather than purist. What he pointed out interested the audience greatly and aroused their enthusiasm for pronunciation, so they took an active part in practicing those vowels.
After the lecture, Pro. Hung answered the questions which were put forward by those earnest teachers and students. His wonderful lecture was thought highly by the audience present. Professor Hung's current research involves English as a global language , phonology and the application of linguistics to language teaching (particularly the teaching of grammar and pronunciation). His work is quite fruitful and he has 8 books and more than 30 thesis published.
