English is commonly accepted as the international language of business. With globalisation comes a growing need for people across the world to use the language professionally in the workplace. City University's department of English offers a master of arts in English for specific purposes to train qualified and proficient users of the language.
The programme caters for those who wish to pursue a career in English teaching or professional communication in fields such as business, translation, public relations and legal.
According to Vijay Bhatia, professor in the department of English at City University, job prospects for graduates are extremely good because there is a huge demand for English teachers in the tertiary education and business sectors in Hong Kong. Many graduates teach English at universities and tertiary institutions, and some teach workplace English training courses at organisations. 'Most Hong Kong students in tertiary education are required to study English. Not only do universities and local tertiary institutions require English teachers, there is demand from a growing number of primary and secondary schools. Moreover, big organisations in banking and aviation, and the government require professional use of English on a daily basis. Our graduates are qualified to teach English in these organisations,' Bhatia says.
Graduates who are not aiming to teach will benefit from the programme in further developing their careers in other professions.
'We have students working for the government coming to study to improve their speech and writing skills. There are public relations people and businessmen who study the course to become professional communicators. There are so many jobs that require good English and the course trains students to be proficient communicators in their fields,' he says .
Applicants come from diverse backgrounds. '[This] encourages them to integrate and develop cross-disciplinary expertise in the use of English, helping the students become aware of specific language demands in their chosen areas. At the same time it also makes them sensitive to the intricacies of language use in different professional communities,' he says.