Chinhoyi University of Technology Centre For Language And Communication Studies

Chinhoyi University of Technology Centre For Language And Communication Studies

Centre For Language And Communication Studies

OVERVIEW

A key arm of the Institute of Lifelong Learning and Development Studies, the Centre for Language and Communication Studies has under its ambit three constituent units namely: Communication Studies, Foreign Languages and Human Language Technology. Transcending the commonplace preoccupation with conventional descriptive and analytical research and teaching of linguistic structures and literary genres characteristic of most local universities, CUT’s Communication Studies unit taps into the novelty of emergent multi-media communication technologies in its research and academic offerings aimed at providing communication expertise in the mediation and transfer of technology in line with the empowerment and national development blue-print’s Social Services and Value Addition Clusters. The unit’s vibrant research in the area of communication and technology transfer for greater community development has seen it espousing a multi-disciplinary approach in the related areas of communication, media and development. It is the Communication Studies unit that also services all the schools of the entire university with the compulsory Communication Skills course. The latter has been specially packaged to unlock value in our students by going beyond the confines of their chosen disciplines – driven by a holistic engagement with the knowledge economy – to accentuate extensible dimensions of human capacity development realizable in the merits of adaptive intelligence, critical thinking and cutting-edge exceptionality. The Language unit has a rich cocktail of elective courses in French, Chinese, Portuguese and Spanish, which are offered to our students with the view to integrate them into the avant-garde imperatives of the global village. The candidates are thus equipped with the competitive advantage which strategically prepares them to embrace opportunities on the international front. Under the auspices of the Institute’s Community Skills Training and Development Project, the Foreign Languages unit has also gone beyond the conventional university course schedule to offer short language courses to corporate clientele across the sectors including hospitality, diplomatic offices, travel agencies, social development experts and all interested private candidates from the community at large. The Human Language Technology unit escorts CUT’s mandate and thrust by fostering technological capacitation in and through language research that develops and localises language technology applications via new media. The unit spearheads capacity building by according the community its place as a stakeholder in the knowledge creation endeavour. Because of the nature and scope of the research and learning activities under the three main units, the centre aims to develop fully-equipped language laboratories that foster world-class self-directed learning models, bridging the gap between theory and practice. The unique course offerings and multi-disciplinary research opportunities offered by the Centre make it the life-blood of the Institute, foregrounding the invaluable marriage between academic enquiry and professional acumen – a needful interface in awakening the giant in the candidates churned by our university.

Mandate

The Centre has a mandate to address four main issues namely:

1. Academic and professional communication needs for students
2. Communication-oriented researches
3. Foreign languages, national languages and area studies,
4. Human language technology, language-related laboratory work and documentation.

Vision

To be a leading Centre in local languages, foreign languages and communication research compliant with innovative technology-based entrepreneurial development.

Mission

Locating language and communication at the centre of technologically-based development initiatives.

Objectives

• Offer Communication and language course across the University
• Research into foreign languages and multicultural issues
• Provide expertise in development communication
• Provide communication expertise in the mediation and transfer of technology
• Research into and develop the national languages of Zimbabwe;
• Language planning and policy formulation
• Community-based approach to the promotion of multilingualism and national languages
• Offer a variety of language-related services to the University community and the wider Chinhoyi community
• Develop electronic learning platforms that make language learning easier
• Develop language technology applications for the syntactic and semantic disambiguation of texts

Research Activities

• Development of human language technology applications
• Research in and development of national languages of Zimbabwe spoken in Mashonaland West
• Compilation of bi or trilingual dictionaries of local languages
• Communication, Development and Technology transfer
• Communication, technology mediation and transfer
• Second language acquisition

Linkages and Partnerships

• ACADEMY OF AFRICAN LANGUAGES (ACALAN) : The official agency of the African Union Commission responsible for language
• UNESCO
• North West University (Seboka Research Unit) – Collaborative research initiatives

Courses on offer

• Communication Skills
• French
• Portuguese
• Spanish
• Chinese