Chinese Students Join Two Online Summer Schools!
Bangor University’s Confucius Institute (BUCI) and China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) co-hosted Online Summer schools on critical thinking outside the box and on the English language and culture. During the first three weeks in July, the students learned academic and life skills, explored Bangor's culture and social life, practised English pronunciation, and discussed interesting facts about British Law.
The Summer Schools were designed and delivered by Anthony Brooks between 3-21st July! Anthony commented:
'Observing this summer's students and their increase in confidence in speaking - which for many of them was the first time with a native English speaker - was particularly gratifying. During the longer ten-part course, 'Critical Thinking Out of the Box', the participant's awareness of how to engage actively with any subject grew session by session. They came to instinctively respond to instances of bias, assumption, and rhetoric, as well as balance, relevance, and fair-minded analysis. One student perceptively remarked that those sessions felt like a "journey", which is precisely what they were designed to be. Finally, in the last sessions of both courses, students were encouraged and responded well to the opportunity to ask discerning and probing questions.'
The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with over 96% of the students grading the summer school as excellent. One of the students commented:
"I was so fortunate to GRAB the chance to participate as the quotas for the course were full about one minute after our teacher sent the information. Anthony, the teacher of the course, was kind and professional. He guided students according to their abilities. He even allowed me to show my talents and encouraged me, making me more confident. He combined my short presentation with his lecture, which was excellent. What's more, his course's content is rich and interesting. I see my apparent progress in oral English and critical thinking. It was my fortune to meet Anthony; I'm so grateful!'
Lina Davitt, Director of the Confucius Institute, remarked, "As we embark on the third year of our Summer Schools, we're delighted to see how students continue to derive value and enjoyment from these sessions. A special note of appreciation goes to Anthony Brooks of the English Language Centre for Overseas Students (ELCOS) at Bangor University for his remarkable dedication to delivering captivating, interactive sessions despite the considerable class sizes. We eagerly anticipate the possibility of students from our partner university, CUPL, participating in next year's summer school in person. This will provide them with a firsthand, practical English language experience within an academic context."