“My name is Eric and I’m the man,

I teach level 3 as hard as I can

I’m from the states and that’s no jive

So when you see me, give me 5…”

With vibrant rock beats in the air, the gaping multitude in the Great Hall couldn’t help but swinging to the funky rap, which in fact was a self introduction given by Eric, one of the ELC teachers, during the Freshman Orientation 2007 by ELC of Shantou University, on September 4, 2007.

“I am swept off my feet by Eric’s fantastic rap!” said Zhou Ritian, laughing with glee, a freshman from the School of Business, “All the ELC teachers are incredibly friendly and interesting and I am struck by their zeal for teaching. It is definitely a never-to-be-forgotten night in my campus life!”

As for the other 1766 freshmen that are passionate about their transition to university, this glamorous Tuesday night could be stamped on their brains for many other reasons.

In an effort to give the freshmen an understanding of what contributes to a successful English learner at STU, ELC ran this 2-hour Freshman Orientation, as it has done in the previous years. This year’s Orientation began with a 12-minute video clip showing the whole picture of ELC. Next ensued a brilliant speech “How to become a good English user”, given by Dr. Jun Liu, the Executive Director of the ELC.

The Orientation reached its first climax with the introduction to ELC faculty by groups. Short but succinct, insightful yet inspiring, every staff’s 30-second speech rode a roar of approval resounded through the Great Hall. Then came the English learning experiences shared by Li Zhimin, a STU Semester At Sea scholarship student, and a mime play spectacle presented by 7 ELC teachers. The Orientation climaxed again with a promotion section by 3 ELC-backed student-organizations-English Lounge, English Corner and English Expression Club, which was a hit with the freshmen audiences.

Ended up with an all-out pop song “As long as you love me”, the Orientation night peppered with enthusiasm marked an auspicious start for all the STU freshmen.