Faculty of Foreign Studies
How Can Students Learn at University?
Learning a foreign language is the core ingredient to gaining a global vision.
All of the students from the first year, learn English, Chinese, or Spanish as their primary foreign language.
In addition, students may also earn credits in English, Chinese, Spanish, Indonesian, French, and Korean as a second foreign language.
From the second year, students focus their study on the Division of English Language, the Division of Chinese Language, the Division of Spanish Language, or the Division of Liberal Studies.
From the third year, students choose their course of study depending on their interests or future career plan and take part in specialized seminars for a small number of students.
Some reasons for choosing Department of Foreign Studies at Setsunan
- Small seminar classes allowing individual attention
- Different language levels are recognized and catered to
- Practical English, Chinese, and Spanish ability stressed
- English, Chinese, and Spanish classes tailored to suit students' abilities
- Outside qualifications (TOEIC & Chinese Kentei Test & Spanish Kentei Test) undertaken to improve future employment possibilities
- Study abroad programs organized by and greatly encouraged bythe university
- Opportunities to learn about global issues
- Information provided by the university on qualifications needed for jobs in the mass media, international organizations, travel, teaching and the arts
Tutorial & Seminar Classes
- Small classes
- Focused lessons encouraging positive learning
- Students study how to collect, analyze, research, process and present information
1st year
Basic Seminar I
University research skills are taught including note-taking and information collection to enable positive participation in university classes.
Basic Seminar II
Presentation skills are developed in English, Chinese, and Spanish and students can enjoy learning the language and culture background.
2nd year
Pre-Seminar I, II
Students develop their own research interest guided by their seminar teacher. Various research articles, books and fields are examined in class to assist students in finding their own field of interest.
3ed year
Seminar Class
Students work with a teacher whose research is of interest to them, and carry out their field work and study, analyzing and reading, and finally present their data in written form.
4th year
Graduation Seminar Class
Students work closely with their teacher to research their field of interest in more depth and develop their own ideas to produce a graduation thesis.
International exchange activities which are part of the study abroad system
Students are encouraged to study abroad from their second year. The schools at which students can take part in long-term study programs include Washington University and University of Alabama in the US; Sheridan College in Canada; Southern Cross University and Flinders University in Australia; Beijing Jiaotong University and Tongji university in China; and University of London in England. We are planning to launch a partnership with Universidad de Guanajuato in Mexico for Spanish majors beginning 2007.
Other Projects
Lectures and Speech & Vocabulary Contests
In addition to regular classes, various international events are held each year to raise students' global awareness. Every year there is a lecture series which features international speakers who discuss various historical and cultural topics. There are also speech contests for students in several languages. Setsunan students have done especially well in recent nation-wide Chinese speech contests. Vocabulary contests in English are also open to all of the students.
English party & Rokko English camp
An English party is held mainly for freshmen to get acquainted with friends and teachers in English. The Rokko English camp is a two-night and three-day camp among interested students and teachers where English is the only communication language during the camp for using English on everyday level.
On-site cultural experience & knowledge
Students are given chances to visit museums, historical sites and other cultural points of interests to gain practical experience and knowledge.
Internships
Students extend the resources of the department through partnerships with community agencies and organizations to develop and improve knowledge and skills with a career interest.