Government strives to improve English proficiency of local population
The Workplace English Campaign (WEC) will organise an exhibition this Saturday and Sunday (1 and 2 November) to promote the Campaign's Funding Scheme for Workplace English Training and the Government's Continuing Education Fund (CEF), which provide subsidies for Hong Kong people to improve their English proficiency.
Some of the institutes offering English courses that are eligible for application to the Funding Scheme and CEF will set up counters to introduce their courses.
The exhibition will be held at Exhibition Gallery 5, Hong Kong Central Library, Causeway Bay, with free admission. Opening hours are as follows:
- 1 November (Saturday), 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
- 2 November (Sunday), 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
A seminar will also be held on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. to introduce useful tips in making applications to CEF. Another seminar presented by Ms Venny Lai, Language Instructor, English Language Centre of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, will be held at 2:30 p.m. on the same day on common errors made by Hong Kong people in spoken and written English as well as ways to improve their command of the language.
Both seminars will be held at Activity Room 1, Hong Kong Central Library, and are open to the public through on-site registration on a first-come-first-served basis. For further details of the exhibition and seminars, please refer to the WEC website at http://www.english.gov.hk.
Established in 1996, the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) advises the Government on language education issues and the use of the Language Fund. WEC, under the guidance of SCOLAR, offers a Funding Scheme for Workplace English Training to subsidise employers to provide in-house workplace English training tailor-made for their employees.
CEF was established in 2002 to subsidise adults with learning aspirations to pursue continuing education and training courses so as to prepare Hong Kong's workforce for the knowledge-based economy.