The Faculty of Arts had its first Faculty colloquium talk in the academic year 2014-15 on 24 October, 2014 (Friday). The talk, tilted "Teaching Chinese in Putonghua – Why and what for?", was delivered by Professor Tang Sze Wing of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature.

The Hong Kong community has a great concern about the language issue and "Teaching Chinese in Putonghua" has been a hot topic recently. Professor Tang gave a detailed account of the background and development of the issue.

He analyzed the objectives of "Teaching Chinese in Putonghua" and commented on the rationales against such a teaching method from the perspective of linguistics. He also talked about related topics including the relationship between Cantonese and Putonghua and the difference between spoken and written language.

The talk attracted many students, teachers and outsiders and ended with fruitful discussion.

The faculty colloquium aims to facilitate dialogue and collaboration across disciplines. Since February 2012, the Faculty has been holding around 30 talks which have brought scholars from various departments within the Faculty to share their research.

Professor Tang's talk was packed with teachers, students and outsiders

Professor Tang gave a detailed account of the background and objectives of "Teaching Chinese in Putonghua" as well as related topics