Gifted Education Fund: Off-school Advanced Learning Programmes Programme No. 2020-13 (For secondary students)
Title of Programme Linguistic Training and Internship for Gifted Students
Programme Provider Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
(Supporting organisation: Department of English, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)
Theme Humanities and Social Science Research Programme
Maximum No. of Participants and Class Level in the 2020/21 School Year
20 students (Secondary 2-5)
Pre-requisite Applicants should have a good command of the English Language.
Programme Duration About 13 months
Medium of Instruction Course Material: English
Class teaching/ Discussion: English
Objectives To enhance the knowledge of gifted students in areas of language sciences;
To develop the students’ analytic skills and research methods, and enable them to conduct a research project of their interest under mentorship;
To improve their interpersonal skills, including communication skills, problem solving skills and teamwork skills through their engagement with peers and mentors in an interdisciplinary, multi-cultural environment; and
To nurture positive values and attitudes among the students such as ethical issues in research, respect for different cultures, empathy, social responsibility, etc.
Programme Outline* This programme aims to enhance the gifted students’ knowledge of language sciences, strengthen their analytic skills as well as improve their research ability through a guided research with internship. The students will also develop positive values and attitudes useful for personal growth and future development. The programme consists of four phases.
Phase I: General Introduction to Linguistics
• 12 face-to-face lectures (weekly; 3-4 hours each)
• Introduction to the theories and concepts of linguistics, e.g.
phonetics, semantics and sociolinguistics.
Phase II
(a) Research in practice & Internship
• 2-5 hours on a weekly basis in one semester or 2-4 weeks in an intensive manner over the summer/ winter vacation
• Students will carry out a mini research project under the supervision and guidance of academics/ educators. Some may have the chance to interact with young researchers in other relevant linguistic projects administered by the programme provider.
(b) Advanced Topics in Linguistics
• 20 weekly face-to-face sessions (3-4 hours each) with a focus on the practical and ethical issues in conducting linguistics research.
• Research methodology, academic writing and presentation skills, problem solving skills, etc. related to linguistics will be covered.
Phase III: Student Conference
• Students will meet their mentors in individual consultation sessions in preparation for a one-day student conference to be held in March 2022. Students will present their research results and answer enquiries from participants in the conference.
Phase IV: Linguistics Olympiad Problem Creation Workshop
• 6 face-to-face sessions (3-4 hours each) on design and solving linguistic problems that may appear in international linguistic competitions.
• Students will learn how linguistics problems are created, the main principles and constraints associated with linguistics problems as well as the skills to solve linguistic problems.
• Students will work in groups and create a linguistic problem for other groups to solve as a challenge.
* In view of the COVID-19 epidemic, some sessions of the programme may be conducted online.
Admission Fee Free of charge
Application Method Application form can be downloaded from the following webpage:
Please complete the application form and send it by post on or before 15 April 2021 (now extended to 30 April) to the following address:
CF701
Tang Ping Yuan Building
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 11 Yuk Choi Road, Hung Hom, Kowloon (Attn: Ms Tracy LUO Xin)
https://www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-developme nt/curriculum-area/gifted/ge_fund/gef/osalp.html
Documents to be Submitted along with the Application
• Application form (please complete part IV student’s self-introduction in no more than 500 words in English);
• Curriculum Vitae consisting of a summary of relevant qualifications, activities and achievements;
• Certificate(s) in selection and/or participation in olympiad or other relevant local and international competitions; and
• Certificate(s) of any participation/completion of gifted talent programme.
• Please also email the programme provider (tracyxin.luo@polyu.edu.hk) the following information:
a short self-introduction extracted from part IV of the application form; and
a list of documents that have been sent by post along with the application form.Enquiry Ms Tracy LUO Xin (Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)
Tel No.: 3400 3823
Email: tracyxin.luo@polyu.edu.hk
Date of
Announcement of Result
By May 2021 (tentative)
