English and Foreign Languages University - EFLU Hyderabad Campus

About English and Foreign Languages University - EFLU Hyderabad Campus

The English and Foreign Languages University is a Central University, dedicated to the study of English and foreign languages, and is the only one of its kind in South Asia. It has been specially set up to conduct advanced research and training in English and foreign languages in the areas of Teacher Education, Literature, Linguistics, Interdisciplinary and Intercultural. The institution is just a few years old as the EFL University, but it is actually fifty years old as CIEFL (as it was formerly known). You will notice that the new name, EFL-U (pronounced “ii-fl”), is contained in the old name CIEFL (pronounced “sii-fl”), even as the new institution has emerged from the old, with a renewed commitment to academic excellence. Besides Hyderabad, the EFL University has two other campuses, one in Lucknow, and the other in Shillong, to cater for the needs of students of the Northern and North-eastern regions respectively. The main offices are at the Hyderabad campus, but the regional campuses run their own programmes and courses of study. They also have their own libraries and hostel facilities. The University has 11 Schools and 38 Departments.

The Central Institute of English (CIE) was established in 1958 to improve the standards of teaching English in the country. The Institute was the brainchild of the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1973, Shillong (Regional Centre) campus wass established. In 1974, Centre for Distance Education was set up. By 2006 CIEFL had become a Central University and in 2007 CIEFL becomes The English and Foreign Languages University.

Location - The English and Foreign Languages University (EFL-U) is located in Hyderabad

Departments - Schools and Respective Departments of the University

1.   School of English Language Education

• English as a Second Language (ESL) Studies
• Materials Development
• Testing and Evaluation Training, Development and Education

2.  School of Language Sciences

• Phonetics and Spoken English
• Linguistics and Contemporary English
• Computational Linguistics

3.   School of English Literary Studies

• English Literature
• English Literature of Common-wealth Countries
• American and Caribbean Literatures
• Literary Theory and Criticism

4.  School of Distance Education

• English Language Teaching, Linguistics and Phonetics
• Literatures in English
• Distance Education in Foreign Languages and Literatures

5.  School of Communication Studies

• Media and Communication
• Journalism and Mass Communication
• Film Studies and Visual Communication

6.  School of Interdisciplinary Studies

• Arts, Aesthetics and Comparative Philosophy
• Comparative Literature
• Cultural Studies
• Social Exclusion Studies
• Hindi and India Studies
• Translation Studies

7.  School of Middle-East and African Studies

• Arabic Language and Linguistics
• Arabic Literature

8.  School of Asian Studies

• Chinese, Japanese and Korean Studies
• Persian Studies
• Turkish Studies

9.  School of Germanic Studies

• German Language and Linguistics
• German Literature
• Germanic Languages and Literatures
• Austrian and Swiss-German Literatures

10.  School of Romance Studies

• French Studies
• Francophone Studies
• Hispanic Studies
• Portuguese Studies
• Italian Studies

11.  School of Russian Studies

• Russian Language and Linguistics
• Russian Literature

Facilities

RCSG - Research And Creative Sources Generation - Owing to the language barrier, valuable research sources in foreign languages, in the form of published books, papers etc., cannot be accessed by our scholars. The University plans to set up a Centre to translate such resources into English and Indian languages and make them available to researchers.

Hostels - The University has four hostels meant for regular students (Men and Women). Rooms are allotted a room on a sharing basis if and only if you are an outstation participant registered for a ‘full time’ programme on campus. Resident participants have to vacate their rooms during the vacation period to accommodate short-term guests of the university or participants of the Distance mode coming for contact programmes. Participants may also be asked to vacate rooms during construction/repair work. The university does not promise accommodation to every participant admitted.

International Students - The University offers not only excellent research resources and high quality education leading to internationally recognized qualifications, but also outstanding welfare and social facilities.The University provides three levels of programmes for international students undergraduate degree (B.A. Honours), a postgraduate degree (M.A.), or a research degree (M.Phil./Ph.D.).

International guest House/Hostel - The University has a well-furnished air-conditioned International Guest house meant for the participants of the International Training Programme

Electronic Reading Centre For Students With Special Needs - The University has established an Electronic Reading Centre for students with special needs. This was done under the aegis of the Indian Association for the Visually Handicapped, AP Chapter. There are five high-configuration computers attached to scanners gifted by Microsoft India. The software-supported reader can translate printed texts in English, German and Spanish into sound for the benefit of the visually challenged participants. The software also allows participants to adjust the speed of reading, to keep bookmarks and to select texts. This facility is available to visually challenged students across the country.

Computer Lab - To facilitate the learning and teaching of languages at the university, a wide range of computer facilities are available to students who we refer to as ‘participants’.The university has a computer Lab with 30 PCs with LAN for computing and word processing. It also has 29 Sun micro systems exclusively for browsing purposes. The Internet services are offered free to the staff and the participants of the university. This computer lab is open 24 hours except on the public holidays on which the university is closed.

Multimedia Digital Language Laboratory - The University has a Multimedia Digital Language Laboratory for the participants with 51 computers and state-of-the-art language learning software.

Language Laboratories - The University has four Language Laboratories, three in Hyderabad and one in Shillong. Language laboratory materials produced at the university are in the form of audio cassettes accompanied by print manuals. The lessons provide practice in word accent, rhythm and intonation as well as the correct pronunciation of the vowels and consonants of English and foreign languages. These lessons will soon be available on CDs as well.

Materials Bank - The EFL University English Language Materials Bank envisages a huge reservoir of materials, which can be used to prepare textbooks, supplemen-tary readers, and practice materials for various academic bodies in India and other ESL countries. English textbooks have already been prepared for the Board of Intermediate Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh. The Materials Bank will be bringing out reading cards to encourage the reading habit in students and thereby to improve their reading skills.

Multilingual Dictionaries Project - Building on its experience with and expertise in lexicography, linguistic semantics and language teaching, the EFL University has undertaken a broad-based programme for the production of multilingual dictionaries for English and the major Indian languages. The dictionaries are designed to be of use to learners at the secondary level, with a range of about 50,000 words.

Radio Lessons - The EFL University pioneered the use of radio for language learning in 1963, and closed circuit television in 1973. Centre for Media and Communica-tion has produced a five-year course of 75 graded programmes for learners of English at the elementary and interme-diate levels of proficiency, and a course of 25 language teaching programmes for teachers. The Centre's radio lessons are regularly broadcast by All India Radio. Video programmes for advanced learners of English are broadcast by Doordarshan on the Countrywide Classroom channel sponsored by the UGC.

Consultancy Services - The University also offers Non-formal courses in English and foreign languages to cater to the needs of the society. Included in these are Proficiency courses in English and short-duration training programmes in English Language Communication Skills for personnel at various levels in government institutions and corporate organizations. The University also undertakes translation, interpretation and editing assignments in English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Arabic and Japanese.

EMRC - The Educational Multimedia Research Centre (EMRC), set up at the University in1984, includes a full-fledged television and sound studio complex, and is equipped with the latest recording systems. The Centre has produced many TV programmes on various subjects which are regularly telecast under the UGC Countrywide Classroom programmes on the Doordarshan national network, with an estimated viewership of more than twenty million. The programmes are structured in such a way that they take the students out of the classroom and beyond the textbook.

Library - The Ramesh Mohan Library at the EFL University, Hyderabad campus, is a Resource Centre for academic and research activities in the areas of Language Teaching, Linguistics and Literatures in English and foreign languages. The Library has a good collection of audio tapes, video tapes and CDs. The Library subscribes to a large number of learned journals and periodicals in print. Online access to some of the print journals is also provided.The bibliographic details of the library collection are available on computers using NewGenLib Software. The Library users can access books they desire to consult through Online Public Access Catalogues (OPAC). The Library has automated its in-house activities like Serial Management, Acquisition and Circulation Services.

Campus Placement Cell - A large number students are placed in reputed multinational companies and government organizations. The Campus Placement Cell, which publicizes information about employment opportunities and liaises with educational institutions and corporate organizations to find suitable place for a candidate who will be graduating soon. The Cell is also in charge of organizing campus interviews at the end of each academic year

AIELTA - If you wish to find out how good your English is, at The English and Foreign Languages University, the All India English Language Testing Authority can help you establish/rate your proficiency. AIELTA develops and administers a range of English language tests to measure a language user's functional abilities. For details, contact the Coordinator, AIELTA, The EFL University, Hyderabad – 500 605.

EFL-U International - It has set up an International Training Programme (ITP), which offers the course Progress to Profi-ciency three times a year. The International Training Programme receives its impetus from the ITEC/SCAAP scholarships offered by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, to developing countries (in Africa, South Asia, South-East Asia and Central Asia). The Programme has been hugely successful and has enabled hundreds of foreign nationals of different professions (including ministers, members of parliament, secretaries, diplomats, teachers, doctors, pilots, police officers, lawyers, auditors, journalists, and government officials) from over 105 countries across the globe to attend customized courses in English at this university.

Health And Medical Facilities - The university has a Health Centre, which offers free medical consultation to the staff of the university, their dependants and resident participants. There is a small homoeopathy dispensary attached to the Health Centre. There are also a few consulting doctors and a number of medical stores in the neighborhood. The medical expenses of any student who has been hospitalized will be borne by the University.

EFL University Film Club - The University has a Film Club which organizes regular screenings of the best of world cinema in English and foreign Languages. The Club charges a nominal fee for membership and publishes a monthly newsletter with critical articles on films and information about forthcoming screenings. The EFL University Film club collaborates with other organizations in the Twin Cities like Alliance Francaise and Hyderabad Film Society and organizes theme-based retrospectives, workshops and seminars every year.

Efl University Theatre Club - The participants have their own theatre club which regularly provides a variety of entertainment programmes for its audiences. The Theatre club is a wonderful opportunity for those of you who are interested in acting in and producing plays

Achievements

NAAC - In recognition of its outstanding academic contributions and meritorious record, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), an autonomous institution of the University Grants Commission had granted a five-star accreditation for five years to the EFL University in 2000, the five stars indicating the highest grade permissible.

CELTs - The English and Foreign Languages University has been identified as the nodal agency to set up permanent Centres for English Language Training (CELTs) in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam with the objective of equipping students, civil servants, professionals and businessmen in these countries with adequate English language and communication skills. Two experts have been deputed from the EFL University, Hyderabad, to each of the Centres in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The Centre in Myanmar is expected to be set up shortly. This project is funded by Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India. In addition, there is a proposal to set up a Centre for English Language Training in Sri Lanka.