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What's FFLS?

As a clear indication of the educational ideals of Kansai University, namely the cultivation of an international spirit and the placing of importance on foreign language learning, the Faculty of Foreign Language Studies was inaugurated as the eleventh faculty of the University in April 2009, aiming at nurturing prospective leaders who can deal with the times and society in a global community through their expertise in foreign languages.

At the Faculty of Foreign Language Studies, students select either English or Chinese as their major subject of study when they first enrol, and their skills in the use of the language are extended thoroughly in small classes. In addition, they learn another language as a minor, and are trained to acquire a high level of skills in the use of their minor language.

The Study Abroad Program enables all students to spend the entire second academic year at one of Kansai University’s affiliated overseas universities, selected according to the language they major in. They not only acquire language skills and expert knowledge, but also learn the country’s culture, history, viewpoints, and lifestyle habits, through staying at dormitories or with local families. The credits earned in this Study Abroad Program are included in the number of credits required for graduation, enabling students to graduate in four years.

During their third and fourth years of study, students aim to become foreign-language professionals, drawing on their specialized knowledge and direct exposure to different cultures experienced during their second year, by participating in one of five programs: the Language/Communication Education Program, the Language Analysis Program, the Area Studies Program, the Intercultural Communication Program, and the Interpretation and Translation Program. As university students, they can participate in a wide range of social science classes, such as international relations, international cooperation, and tourism policy. Credits received for these supporting classes can be included in the number of credits required for graduation.

Goals and Objectives

The objective of the Faculty of Foreign Language Studies is to train foreign-language professionals who have a high level of ability in foreign language communication and who can make an active contribution in society, based on a global perspective. To realize this objective, the students of this Faculty major in either English or Chinese and are trained to acquire a high level of ability in using their major language. The Faculty also emphasizes the acquisition of another language as a minor, which can be selected from among German, French, Spanish, Russian and Korean. The Faculty offers five specialized programs: the Language/Communication Education Program, the Language Analysis Program, the Area Studies Program, the Intercultural Communication Program, and the Interpretation and Translation Program. These programs aim to provide students with a deep understanding of matters such as the cultural regions where each language is spoken, and contact and communication between different cultures, while also providing them with in-depth knowledge and understanding of the mechanisms of language and language acquisition, and the theories and methods of interpreting and translation. The Faculty curriculum is also designed to allow students to enhance their knowledge and skills in international negotiation and computer literacy.

By obtaining designated course credits in the teacher training program, graduates will be granted the Japanese Ministry–accredited Grade 1 Junior High School Teacher’s License and Grade 1 Senior High School Teacher’s License (English or Chinese). Part of the credits earned in the teacher training program will be included in the number of credits required for graduation from the Faculty. In addition to the conventional English and Chinese teacher training programs, the 2013 curriculum offers a newly introduced Japanese Language Teacher Training Program, through which the Faculty aims to train teachers of Japanese as a foreign language.

Teaching Staff

The academic staff members of this Faculty have extensive experience in teaching and research, and are top-class leaders in their fields both within and outside of Japan. Their specialties are widely varied and include English language education, English language studies, English and American literature, studies of classroom practices in teaching English, children’s literature, philosophy and semantics, cognitive linguistics, Japanese and English contrastive linguistics, theories of interpreting and translation, phonetics, education technology, cross-cultural communication studies, language and information sciences, corpus linguistics, sociolinguistics, Chinese language studies, Korean language studies, German literature, German culture, Spanish and Latin American literature, French language studies, Spanish literature, Russian literature, Japanese language studies, Japanese language education, Japanese cultural studies, international cooperation, and narratology.

Major and Minor Language Courses

The Faculty offers English and Chinese courses as majors. Students also learn an additional language selected from among German, French, Spanish, Russian, and Korean.

Study Abroad Program

In order to nurture prospective leaders who can deal with the times and society in a global community through their expertise in foreign languages, the educational program of the Faculty of Foreign Language Studies includes a compulsory Study Abroad Program. Every Faculty undergraduate spends their second academic year in one of our twelve affiliated universities located in seven countries. During their time at these universities, students take courses that are appropriate to the level of their ability and that meet the Faculty’s educational goals and characteristics. Courses include language classes and may include the regular classes of undergraduate programs of those universities. In addition to such academic aims, further purposes of this program are to provide students with cross-cultural experience through communication with local students and students from other countries, and to improve their capabilities in coping with foreign cultures, and problem solving in general. The credits earned in this Study Abroad Program are included in the number of credits required for graduation, enabling students to graduate from the Faculty in four years.

Five Major Programs

Program Description

During the third and fourth years, students study in one of the following five programs, making good use of the expertise they have gained in the foreign language they are majoring in (English or Chinese) and the skills learned in a second foreign language that they have learned as a minor subject.