Social Learning Space: Redefining Academia within a University Setting

‘Internationalization’ represents an important strategic focus of many universities around the world. To pursue this goal, many universities in Hong Kong have been committed to developing students’ crosscultural skills and bringing diverse global perspectives to the campus to inform and enrich students’ worldview. Although many local Hong Kong students are enthusiastic about enhancing their English speaking skills and cultural competence, and international students are striving to integrate into the local community, there are limited social integration opportunities available on campus to bring the two groups together in everyday contexts. To this end, a Social Learning Space (SLS) has been established in a Hong Kong university, aiming to provide organic learning opportunities by enabling students to exercise their agency as they interact with each other through language learning and cultural exchange activities and discussion groups conducted by a Communication Advisor along with a team of local and international Student Ambassadors. This paper offers an account of trialling social language learning and cultural exchange activities in the SLS. Questionnaire results collected from 136 participants and feedback of committed service users collected from semi-structured interviews will be presented. Suggestions on ways to enhance the effectiveness of the SLS activities and increase student engagement in language learning will be explored.