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Susan Lyddon at (718) 482-5061 Slyddon@lagcc.cuny.edu

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Long Island City, NY—January 11, 2013—Dr. Xiwu Feng (冯锡武), a LaGuardia Community College Communication Skills professor, has been approached by the Hunan University of Science and Technology in Hunan Province, China, to share his expertise and help in the redesign of its graduate linguistics program.

“The university is launching a campaign to innovate its programs and is calling upon professors from foreign institutions to guide them in the process,” said Dr. Feng, who was given the title of 2012 Overseas Chair Professor of “Xiangjiang Scholars Program.”

Dr. Feng, who has taught Communications Skills at LaGuardia for 15 years, has been asked to work with administrators and faculty at the university’s School of Foreign Studies to transform their traditional linguistics and applied linguistics graduate programs to include a teacher training sequence. Added to the curriculum will be classes that cover Teaching English to Students of Other Languages (TESOL), second language acquisition, and theory and practice.

The plan to revamp the programs, said Dr. Feng, was to meet the needs of the society. “The university realized that graduate students in the linguistics programs were facing challenges because there were limited job prospects when they graduated,” said Dr. Feng who added that 250 graduates are enrolled in the School of Foreign Studies of the university. “Adding an educational component to the curriculum will provide graduates with teaching credentials and additional job options.”

This past December Dr. Feng visited the university where he delivered speeches to an audience of language and education professors and grad students on theories and applications in literacy education, curriculum and pedagogy, second language acquisition and TESOL methodology.

While teaching at LaGuardia, Dr. Feng will continue to lend support and advise on program design to his Chinese partner via online communication or visits during vacations.

Report on Dr. Feng’s lectures on campus.

Dr. Feng in discussion with the school’s research team.
 

LaGuardia Community College located in Long Island City, Queens, was founded in 1971 as a bold experiment in opening the doors of higher education to all, and we proudly carry forward that legacy today. LaGuardia educates students through over 50 degree, certificate and continuing education programs, providing an inspiring place for students to achieve their dreams. Upon graduation, LaGuardia students’ lives are transformed as family income increases 17%, and students transfer to four-year colleges at three times the national average. Part of the City University of New York (CUNY), LaGuardia is a nationally recognized leader among community colleges for boundary-breaking success educating underserved students. At LaGuardia we imagine new ideas, create new curriculum and pioneer programs to make our community and our country stronger. Visit www.laguardia.edu to learn more.