News

At Walailak University (WU), students now have the opportunity to improve their English proficiency outside the classroom in a fun and engaging way. The School of Languages and General Education (SOLGEN) has organized the Play & Learn PlearnEnglish event, which combines entertainment and education to offer students a dynamic way to enhance their English skills. The event takes place every Friday from 11 AM to 1 PM at the ST building throughout the year.

Today marked the debut of the event, with Associate Professor Dr. Surin Maisrikrod, Vice President of WU and Dean of SOLGEN, presiding over the opening. Dr. Surin shared that, “This is what we call an edutainment event, which promotes learning English outside of the classroom. We call it Play and Learn PlearnEnglish, or in other words, learning that’s fun.”

“In the classroom, of course, it’s quite a serious environment. But outside the classroom, people can play games, chit-chat in English informally, and participate in activities happening on the stage. This provides students with a great opportunity to get involved. And hopefully, they’ll take advantage of this event to get their English proficiency up,” he said.

The event features a variety of activities, including ice-breaking games, crossword puzzles, English debates, academic English competitions, Jenga (a puzzle game where blocks are stacked to create a tower), a photo booth, and prize giveaways - all designed to offer students a fun and engaging way to enhance their language skills.

One student who participated in the event shared, “This event is a great way for people to get together, especially for Thai students, to practice their English. Some of them find English a bit difficult because it’s a new language, and I felt the same way at first. But this event really pushes you to take that step forward and step out of your comfort zone. It provides a fun and supportive environment where you can practice without the pressure of a traditional classroom and I’ve had a lot of fun doing it.”

Enhancing students' English proficiency is one of the university’s main missions, especially in communicative English. Walailak University offers up to 270 hours of basic English courses for first and second-year students - the highest number among Thai institutions - to ensure students receive comprehensive language instruction and are able to communicate effectively. Additionally, English learning is conducted in small Smart classrooms, with no more than 25 students per class, and is taught by native and near-native lecturers who are certified by Advanced HE based on the United Kingdom Professional Standards Framework.

 

 

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