Towards a multicultural campus
A total of 529 top students from 20 provinces in China arrived at Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUM) last week.
This is its largest intake of foreign students in Malaysia since its inception in February 2016. It recruited 440 students from 14 provinces in China last year.
XMUM president Prof Wang Ruifang said: “Compared to last year, the scores that our students achieved in China’s National Higher Education Entrance Examination (Gaokao) are higher this year.”
This, he added, shows an improvement in the student quality and also indicates an increase in the popularity of XMUM.
“XMUM is committed to building a multicultural campus. Even though we are a young university locally, we place emphasis on attracting quality international students and making our contribution to building Malaysia into a regional education hub,” said Prof Wang.
To date, in addition to 969 students from mainland China, XMUM has 57 students from South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Myanmar, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sudan and Egypt.
With 529 Chinese students, 289 Malaysians and 28 from other countries joining the university this September, the total number at XMUM has increased to 2,622.
“We hope to attract more students from the local Malay and Indian communities. We are offering special grants and scholarships to bumiputra and Indian students.”
To help this new batch of inter- national students adapt to university life in Malaysia, XMUM’s English Language Education division has designed a two-week pre-sessional English programme. This is to enhance their English communication skills and provide an interactive social experience.
This will be followed by free English enhancement courses for all students throughout their academic journey at the university.
English language education division head Jenny Maganran Goh said: “Before the academic semester, students take a short Intensive English Programme to prepare themselves for their studies.”
“They will also be equipped with various skills. Through a blended approach that incorporates multimedia resources, drama and fun activities, the students are oriented to adapt quickly and confidently to the Malaysian environment.
“For many of these students, it is a new learning environment where English is the medium of instruction. This can be intimidat- ing for many who have grown up speaking only Mandarin,” she said
XMUM’s English language division has initiated the English Lounge, an innovative one-stop language hub to provide an informal platform where students can consult, communicate and connect freely in a cosy ambience.
“The hub’s self-assessed digital English language portal serves as an extension to language learning. The idea is to get them immersed in the language so that they begin to use English in their daily interactions,” she said.
Zhang Xinlu, 19, a journalism major, said: “English teaching by experienced lecturers here at XMUM will help me to improve my communication skills.”
For Chen Lihao, 19. it is about honing English language skills.
“At XMUM, I want to be good at conversational English. I know I cannot learn English overnight, but over time, I am confident I will be fluent in English,” said the student.