University of Guyana (UG) students are set to benefit from a fully-equipped Modern Language Laboratory, compliments of a G$4.6M grant from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China.
The laboratory, which is expected to be functional by the next academic year, will better equip students to learn several foreign languages. These include Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, Mandarin and French.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) towards this effort was signed by UG Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Planning and International Engagement Barbara Reynolds and Chinese Embassy Counsellor and Deputy of Chief of Mission Chen Xilai on Tuesday at the Office of the Vice-Chancellery, Turkeyen Campus.
The grant will be used to fund the acquisition of furniture, computers and headsets while the university has already identified a building which will accommodate the laboratory.
In brief remarks, Chen said the embassy is committed to working with UG to increase opportunities for Guyanese and to foster better China-Guyana relations.
“To invest in education is to invest in the future. The University of Guyana is the cradle of Guyanese talents. Many talents have received education here and we could see more in the future.
“So, for the embassy, we are very glad to contribute to the creation of a new language lab so as to provide more opportunities for the students of Guyana to be more involved in international affairs,” he said.
Meanwhile, Reynolds said Guyana as the only English-speaking country in South America, must be able to prepare its citizens to be multilingual.
“A lot of our business is conducted in languages other than English. We want to interact with our neighbours, we want to welcome tourists to Guyana; we want to welcome investors to Guyana.
“For us to be able to do so effectively, we have to be able to have a high level of proficiency in another language to be able to represent Guyana well, to be able to negotiate effectively[and] to be able to negotiate with others,” she said.
The registrar of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) had said the body will looking to introduce Dutch into its curriculum, a move Guyana welcomes and will now prepare for, said Reynolds.
The language laboratory will also assist practitioners in the health sector to better communicate with patients from Latin America and further afield.
The university also intends to make it mandatory that all graduating students are conversant in at least one foreign language.
