Centre for Language and Communication Studies (CLCS)
Centre for Language and Communication Studies
The Centre for Language and Communication Studies (CLCS) of St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata aims to focus on language proficiency among students. The linguistic diversity of our nation necessitates linguistic diversity in institutions of higher learning. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 stresses the importance of language learning among young adults. In today’s globalised world the knowledge of languages is inevitable as it guarantees greater acceptability and acknowledgement.
The Centre envisions a future where our students would be amply equipped with knowledge of not only their individual disciplines but also adequate skills to communicate effectively. Keeping this in mind, the Centre plans to offer several Indian and foreign language courses, wherefrom the students would be free to choose their language of choice.
The Centre wishes to expand its ambit and include not only a variety of Modern Indian Languages (MIL) but also foreign languages in future. As per the requirements of the NEP 2020, the Centre currently offers language-related courses to the undergraduate students of semesters three and four. The undergraduate students of the university are required to study any one of these subjects on offer. The duration to study the subject is two semesters. The subjects currently offered by the Centre are Bengali and Hindi.
Contact Details:
Professor-in-Charge: Bidisha Kantha
Email ID: centre.language@sxuk.edu.in
Contact: 033 6624 9842
The Centre for Language and Communication Studies strives to follow the St. Xavier's University, Kolkata’s vision to promote a global society based on love, freedom, liberty, justice, equality and fraternity, rooted in and inspired by the Ignatian charism of forming men and women for others.
The Centre for Language and Communication Studies is set to establish the significance of learning indigenous languages of our country while introducing languages from across the world to our students; thereby providing exposure to our students which will be a transforming experience intellectually, culturally, socially and personally. The Centre is on its path to carve a special niche for the students of St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata who by their multilingual abilities would be better equipped to greet the opportunities that are on offer globally and themselves be focal points for cultural amalgamation.
The Centre for Language and Communication Studies will be responsible for undertaking various activities such as:
- To introduce various Modern Indian Languages and introduce the students to the plethora of cultures within our country.
- To introduce various foreign language courses for students and facilitate them to be proficient in communication.
- To engage in academic partnerships with other organizations that would facilitate linguistic exchange.
- To explore possibilities of potential collaborations regarding language and communication related courses.
- To act as the nodal point of the various language courses that would be offered by the Centre.
- To create synergy of research between departments and faculty members and to develop language/ communication based collaborative research projects with other institutions.
- To be a single point contact of students for issues in relation to language course related inquiries.
- To organize and facilitate Seminars/ Workshops/ Symposium/ Conferences.
- To explore possibilities of Courses/ Online Degree/ Diploma Programmes.
- To collaborate with the Centre for Global Network and Initiatives.
- To consider any other relevant function that would be enriching for the students.
Dr. Bidisha Kantha
Prof-in-Charge
Centre for Language and Communication Studies
Rev. Dr. John Felix Raj
Vice-Chancellor
St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata
Centre for Language and Communication Studies
June 2024- June 2025
|
Name |
Designation |
Details |
|
Rev. Dr. John Felix Raj, S. J. |
Vice Chancellor |
Chairperson |
|
Dr. Bidisha Kantha |
Prof-in-Charge, Centre for Language and Communication Studies |
Convener |
|
Dr. Antara Ghatak |
Assistant Professor, Department of English |
Member |
|
Dr. Tapas Saha |
Assistant Professor in Bengali, St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata |
External Expert |
|
Prof. Kiran Singh |
Assistant Professor in Bengali, St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata |
External Expert |
Commencement of Hindi and Bengali Courses
The Centre for Language and Communication Studies, St. Xavier’s University Kolkata, commenced the Hindi and Bengali courses for its undergraduate students July 2024 onwards. These courses are taught to the students of semesters III and IV across the School of Social Studies and the Department of Commerce and Management Studies. Experienced faculty members with an aptitude of research are engaged in the training and education of students in the respective subjects. Committed to contribution towards the enrichment of proficiency in the Indian languages, the Centre is offering these two languages at present. The Centre aims to augment the choices available for various Indian languages soon.
Syllabus for Bengali Course Syllabus for Hindi Course
French Course for Beginners
St. Xavier’s University Kolkata in collaboration with Alliance Française Du Bengale is offering French Course for Beginners A1, conducted over 120 hours. The course is divided into two halves, each half is of 60 hours.
If a student successfully completes first 60 hours he/ she will receive certificate for A1.1 after successful completion of the second 60 hours students will be awarded A1 certificate.
The Details of the course are as follows:
- Total Number of classes: 120
- Venue of the course: St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata campus.
- Tentative Timings of the course: 10.00 a.m. - 11.00 a.m. for the Day batch and 11.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. for the Morning batch. Additional timing slots may be arranged depending on feasibility.
- Frequency of classes: Classes are expected to be conducted thrice a week.
- Enrolment to the course: The applicant must be a student of St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata.
- Attendance Requirement: The students enrolled for the course will be permitted to appear for the final evaluation of the course on having 75% attendance.
- Evaluation of the course:Evaluation of the course shall span across reading, listening, writing and comprehension skills by experts from Alliance Française.
- Award of certificate: The course has a limited number of seats which will be available to students on a first come first serve basis.
- Seats: The course has a limited number of seats which will be available to students on a first come first serve basis.
- Course fees: Rs.12000/-** for 60 hours. **Non-Refundable
Posted : September 2, 2025
AI Workshop
“Engaging with AI: A Technical Introduction to AI based Applications for Professional Assistance” (A 7 Days Communication through AI Workshop) was conducted online by the Centre for Language and Communication Studies (CLCS), St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata from 1st September 2025 to 7th September 2025. The Inaugural Ceremony of the workshop conducted on 1st September 2025 was graced by Dr. Chinmay Chakraborty, (Associate Professor, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India)
The workshop witnessed engaging sessions by distinguished faculty members and professionals, spanning areas across technological domains. The workshop was committed towards the introduction of the participants with AI based apps, which would be beneficial for usage in the professionals fields with respect to communication.
Dr. Bidisha Kantha
Professor-in-charge, CLCS
Click on the picture to zoom
Posted : June 22, 2025
Father Jeyaraj Xavier felicitating the Chief Guest of the ceremony Dr. Chandrakala Pandey
CLCS conducts week-long workshop
Centre for Language and Communication Studies (CLCS) of St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata (SXUK) conducted a 7-day workshop from June 16 to 22, 2025 at the university campus. The theme of the workshop was “Decoding Words: Emerging Trends in Understanding Translation Studies.”
The workshop was conducted in hybrid mode. The inaugural address was delivered by Rev. Dr. Jeyaraj Xavier, S.J., Registrar of SXUK and was graced by Dr. Chandrakala Pandey, a former Professor of the Department of Hindi, University of Calcutta and also a former Member of Parliament.
The workshop witnessed six engaging sessions by distinguished faculty members and professionals, spanning areas across literary translations, translations for administrative purposes and machine translations. A total of 33 participants attended the workshop. Each session was followed by an evaluative assignment at the end.
Dr. Bidisha Kantha
Professor-in-charge
Centre for Language and Communication Studies
Click on the picture to zoom
Posted : February 25, 2025
SXUK hosts fireside chat
Centre for Language and Communication Studies of St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata (SXUK) hosted a fireside chat on February 25, 2025 in the university campus for the postgraduate students of the Department of English. The topic was Passport to the Mind and World: How Foreign Languages Unlock Cognitive Potential and Global Opportunities.
The guest speaker was Prof. Indranil Dutta, School of Languages and Linguistics of Jadavpur University, Kolkata. Prof. Ashok Mahapatra of the Department of English of SXUK conducted the hour-long discussion.
Prof. Dutta discussed the relevance of language learning in a world where Artificial Intelligence is progressing at a fast pace. He mentioned the cognitive advantages of learning multiple languages. Prof. Mahapatra’s skilful conduction of the discussion threw light on the differences between languages and the ongoing research in the field of language studies.
The event concluded with an interactive session with the students.
Dr. Bidisha Kantha
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