Abstract

The Interactive Lounge is a three-year student-centred project funded by TDLEG, which was launchedby ELTU in 2016 at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The project aims to provide additionalsupport and informal English learning experiences to undergraduates and postgraduates outside of thecore curriculum. This is achieved by (1) providing a series of interactive workshops of different topics;and (2) offering peer-tutoring services, both online and face-to-face.To this end, theme-based interactive workshops were designed and peer tutors with varied linguistic andcultural backgrounds were identified and trained. While the former exposes students to a wider use ofthe target language in authentic situations, the latter creates a positive and supportive platform fortrained peer tutors to share knowledge and experience in effective language use with their fellowstudents.Currently in its third year of implementation, this project has been providing students with qualitylanguage support, which has boosted their motivation and confidence in using English for moreeffective communication in various occasions, be that social or academic.This presentation will report the design, implementation, and effectiveness of this student-centeredproject. The monitoring strategies adopted for quality assurance (QA) and quality enhancement (QE)will be shared together with the initial outcomes drawn from various surveys, reflection forms andinterviews. Among others, the voices of the peer tutors and peer tutees will be highlighted.