A Collaboration between the Department of English Letters Universitas Sanata Dharma (USD) & the Department of Linguistics, Hong Kong University (HKU)
On Friday, March 3, 2023, the English Letters Department received 17 students and two (2) teaching staff of the Department of Linguistics, Hong Kong University (HKU). During their visit to Sanata Dharma (March 3 – 12, 2023), they collaborate with 23 students of the English Letters to do some linguistics research projects. This event is an initial collaboration between the English Letters Department and the Department of Linguistics at Hong Kong University (HKU). “HKU Linguistics Field Trip” is an annual agenda that, unfortunately, could not be carried out during the Covid-19 pandemic. Their last field trip was in 2019, collaborating with Universiti Malaya (UM), Malaysia. Previously they had also visited some countries such as Japan, Thailand, Nepal, Denmark, and Ethiopia. Dr Kofi Yakpo leads the current HKU Linguistics Field Trip in USD.
For USD’s English Letters Department, this activity is one of the implementations of the internationalization program, in line with the Department’s mission to be more actively involved in joint activities with international partners (international networking). Joint activities with similar departments from overseas universities are expected to open opportunities for further collaboration to increase the academic quality of the Department. From the USD’s part, Dr Dalan Mehuli Perangin-angin is responsible for this collaborative event.
The activity began on Saturday, March 4, with an official welcome by the Faculty of Letters (represented by the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Letters, Ms Anna Fitriati, M.Hum.) and an orientation for the Field Trip activities by Dr Kofi Yakpo and Dr Dalan Mehuli Perangin-angin. Ms Anna Fitriati, on that occasion, welcomed collaboration like this because she believed it would add to and broaden the horizons of students from both universities.
After visiting Prambanan (Sunday, March 5), a one-day workshop on Linguistics research was held on Monday, March 6. The workshop was attended by 19 participants from HKU, 23 students, and several English Letters Department USD lecturers. During their visit to USD, together with students of the English Letters Department, they will do various activities to collect data for the research. Besides working on linguistic research, they also plan to visit several cultural and historical sites and see art and cultural performances, such as the Sultan’s Palace, Taman Sari, Prambanan Temple, and Batik Centers. On March 7 – 9, they will make direct observations of the people who live around USD and several other locations in Yogyakarta while doing historical and cultural tours. This activity is intended to support their data collection by listening to and directly observing the use of language by native speakers (the people of Yogyakarta). They will work in groups and interact with different people separately. English Letters Department USD students will serve as research partners and escorts for HKU students. Dr Kofi Yakpo said that the direct experience of meeting native speakers of a language is a significant experience for Linguistics students and researchers.
(HW)
