The award presentation ceremony for the English writing competition

In the first semester of this academic year, the MPI Student Affairs Office and the MPI-Bell Centre of English jointly organised a series of extra-curricular English activities for its undergraduates. Following the Institute’s long-standing tradition of learning foreign languages and aimed at encouraging the undergraduates to improve their English proficiency and sharpening their daily-life English skills in their leisure time, the series, entitled “Brushing Up Your English”, included an English writing competition, a Halloween English party, social English lunch gatherings, an IELTS preparation course and a course for strengthening their communicative ability in English, and all activities of the series were very well received. Some participants in those activities even took one step further and obtained the “Cambridge English Business Certificate”, an international certificate recognising their English proficiency for professional purposes.

Led by foreign English professors and America’s Fulbright English Teaching Assistants, the series of activities further enhanced the nourishing environment of learning English at MPI by a considerable extent. Mr. Lau, a sophomore majoring in E-Commerce, said that he had already achieved a certain standard of English proficiency from his study so far; now that the Institute offered the undergraduates a great variety of English activities to participate, he would certainly grasp the opportunities to build on what he had learned, put theory into action, and continue developing his English competence in an all-round manner. During those activities, he also actively engaged in social conversations with exchange students whose mother tongues are either English or other foreign languages, cultivating his networking skill and gaining valuable friendships. Mr. Wong, a final-year student majoring in Public Administration, regarded that language is an art and there is always room for continual improvement for language learners. As such, he has already set his mind to further elevating his English proficiency level even after his graduation and becoming better equipped than other graduates in the field of his profession.

The Student Affairs Office, which co-organised the “Brushing Up Your English” activities, expressed that, in line with its motto “Knowledge, Expertise and Global Vision”, the Institute highly values the professional development of its undergraduates in terms of both knowledge and skills while at the same time offering them plentiful opportunities to learn different languages and perfecting their mastery of the international language of English. This not only facilitates their acquisition of better academic experience and heightens their overall competitiveness but also immensely contributes to the development of Macao as an international centre of recreation and leisure by cultivating more suitable talents.