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Shares in a rising China have garnered attention from around the world. Businesses everywhere are focused on how big a success they can achieve in the Chinese market.
China is now playing host to a seemingly endless procession of large-scale events, from the summer Olympics held in Beijing in 2008, to the World's Fair scheduled to take place in Shanghai in 2010. Riding the wave of this economic expansion, China is making rapid strides in transforming itself from the world's factory to the world's marketplace. These changes are bolstered by the fact that one of the keys of the business strategies of the world's top firms is a quest to make inroads into the Chinese market and try to make as big a success as possible there. As if to highlight this shift, in 2006 China surpassed the United States to become the biggest trading partner of Japan. As China increases its presence on the world stage, Japan is faced with the task of redoubling her efforts to engage China and learn more about it. The Department of Chinese Studies educates future bridge-builders between Japanese and Chinese culture, deepening students' understanding of China while also fostering a practical knowledge of Chinese, now so in demand in society.
Providing real-time linguistic prowess capable of being used at listed corporations, while also nurturing an international sensibility
Mastery of pronunciation is the most important part of learning Chinese. The meanings of syllables change depending upon the pitch with which they are spoken, while further expression is possible through a complex interplay of mouth and tongue to make subtle changes in timbre, as well as the force of the breath upon exhalation. Only those who have thoroughly grasped these nuances can truly be said to be masters of conversation. This is why native Chinese instructors work diligently throughout the first and second years in order to allow students to come to a complete understanding of the pronunciation of the language. From the second year onwards, students participate in PUT (Power Up Tutorial) classes with very small numbers of other students in an attempt to speak Chinese even more properly and fluently. It goes without saying, of course, that attention is also paid to reading and writing skills, as well. Educational materials in use include Chinese websites, newspaper articles, advertisements, movies, novels and other original sources. These materials allow the student to get a feel for the real consumer lifestyle, sense of values and aesthetic sensibilities of the Chinese, which also leads to a more profound understanding of the country itself. In the third and fourth years of the program, students practice conversational ability, reading comprehension and writing ability, none of which can be achieved through the mere study of a language alone. The proof of our success in educating the best is in the number of students who, year after year, win top prizes in speech contests while studying abroad in China, and who achieve superior results in the HSK, the Chinese language proficiency exam.
Also, as students strive to get a better view of the China upon which the world has focused its attention, they find that they desire to study English and IT skills, as well. This is why we have devised a curriculum which is also heavily invested in giving students the education they need to be able to proudly proclaim, "Not only can I speak Chinese, but I can speak English, too, and can also prepare needed documents on any PC."
The final manifestation of the success of our department's educational system lies in the jobs which students secure after graduation. Our graduates go on to work in a wide range of careers-while many seek employment at listed corporations, many others also work in trading firms, at manufacturing companies, and in the travel and service industries.
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