• French-speaking: Geneva, Lausanne.
• Bilingual: Fribourg.
• German-speaking: Berne, Lucerne, Zurich.
• Italian-speaking (if possible): Bellinzona, Lugano.

Dates
Assessment
Research project / Academic Activities
Costs
Important notes
Timetable

The 2011-12 summer fieldtrip to Switzerland is tentatively scheduled to take place from 27 May – 8 June 2012, including flight dates; the total of nights spent in Switzerland will be 10. Possibilities for students to stay in Europe longer will be taken in consideration as well.

There will be 6 obligatory pre-trip sessions scheduled to be held in March and April. The pre-trip sessions serve to introduce students to the geography, history and culture of Switzerland, as well as to discuss and prepare the relevant academic activities, and meet people of interest.

In order to earn full credit for this course, students will have to:

• attend all preliminary meetings to be held in March and April 2012 (10%)
• participate actively in all activities during the field trip (30%)
• collect data for a research project and write a written report upon completion of the field trip, as well as conduct their own personal diary recording linguistic/communicational experiences (60%)

Research project:

All participants are required to work in small groups and empirically investigate either of the two topics mentioned below (students will be prepared for that project assignment as part of the preparatory meetings):

1. ‘Urban signs in the Swiss linguistic landscapes: urban multilingualism in cities of different linguistic backgrounds’
2. ‘How lay people talk about multilingual Switzerland, use of English, and Swiss linguistic practices’

Academic Exchange:

It is planned that the lecturer from HKU will be holding lectures at the host universities of Lausanne and Fribourg.

In addition to that, students are expected to do group presentations in Lausanne and Fribourg regarding aspects of HK life pertinent to ‘language and communication’.

There will also be presentations or workshops organized by the staff/students of the Universities of Lausanne and Fribourg, which will require active involvement on the part of HK students/staff.

1. Attendance is compulsory – ALL students registered in the course will be required to attend the field trip.
2. A minimum number of participants will be required for the trip to take place.

Students registered in the course will be required to attend a briefing session scheduled for mid-November 2011 during which the lecturer will guide you through crucial issues such as the detailed budget of the trip, a provisional programme with the activities planned, assessment, etc.

Students are expected to pay a non-refundable deposit of approximately HK$5,000 in early December 2011 to secure a more attractive group rate for airfare, accommodation and railway pass.

For students who will be on exchange in Sem 2 but who wish to enrol in LCOM2006:
Students who will be on exchange in Sem 2 will officially be on leave from HKU that semester and thus will not have any enrolment records for that semester, which means that enrolling for LCOM2006 is a problem, since, although it runs n the summer semester, it is listed as a Sem 2 course, and also since part of the course takes place in Sem 2. Fortunately, the Faculty Office will allow for the course to be reflected in your enrolment records in the first semester of the following year. Essentially, the School office will enrol you in LCOM2006 in the semester following the summer (i.e. Sem 1, 2012/13) once you have completed the course/trip. (Note that the credits and grades gained from LCOM2006 will be counted towards the study load and GPA of the 2012/13 first semester.) Students who need this special consideration should as soon as possible email Dr Lisa Lim (lisalim@hku.hk) and Mr Tamix Wong (tamix@hku.hk) for further detailed instructions for how to go about applying for this.