Content Language Integrated Learning Centre under European Union’s Erasmus+ programme inaugurated at Chitkara University

We are truly honoured to announce the inauguration of a unique and innovative Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) – Language Research and Training Centre: “Language Talkies – the native way” under the CLIL@India initiative of Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, at Chitkara University Punjab Campus. This language centre focusing on the higher cognitive development, was inaugurated on 10th November 2017, by honourable Dr. Madhu Chitkara, Vice Chancellor, Chitkara University, in the gracious presence of Prof. Gisella Lange, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Education, University Research, Italy along with Prof. Giovanni Lamartino, Professor, Department of Foreign Languages and Literature, University of Milan, Italy and Dr. Luciana Pedrazzini, Assistant Professor, Department of Foreign Languages and Literature, University of Milan, Italy and Dr. Sumanpreet Virk Head of the Department of Linguistics & Punjabi Lexicography, Punjabi University, Patiala.

Dr. Sandhya Singh, Professor Department of Languages, NCERT, presided over as the Chief Guest on this wonderful occasion. Dr. Sangeeta Pant, Coordinator CLIL@India project, explained that this language centre would play a crucial role in improving and building students’ proficiency in two languages with vital emphasis on the mother tongue. Highlights of the language centre included a Bhasha Translation Zone to translate anything into any language, a telephone booth for improving telephonic/communication skills, a name art canvas, a phonetic console for practising English, a play zone with five different activities – Musical Expressway, Doodle out your thoughts, Braille your name, write a research paper and gaming station to play word search Game. Workstations of the language centre offered various softwares related to vocabulary building, phonetics, learning various languages and translator.

CLIL language centre at Chitkara University will focus on English and European Languages – French, Spanish, German along with Punjabi and Hindi languages. The objective of the centre is to promote innovative teaching practices, innovative learning practices, mother-tongue-based education and multilingual pedagogy. The centre will also tie up and liaise with local teacher education colleges and schools to help teachers and students learn better.

On this occasion the special issue of our Journal ‘Issues and Ideas in Education’ on Content and Language integrated Learning was also released.