Founded in March 2016 as a part of the university’s language education reform, the Multilingual Center is dedicated to helping more students gain proficiency in a second and even a third foreign language.
The Multilingual Center offers courses of entry, intermediate and advanced levels, for both language majors and non-language majors. The Center has developed 2 second foreign language programs (designed for English majors, including French / German), 13 language courses (for all Fudan students, including German / French / Japanese / Korean / Russian / Spanish / Portuguese / Arabic / Danish / Swedish / Modern Hebrew / Sanskrit / Latin) and 3 cultural courses (Arab-Islamic Culture / The Culture and Society of Israel / The Culture and Society of Denmark). In the near future, it will increase its course options to include Dutch, Italian, Hungarian, Persian, Turkish, Hindi and Indonesian.
These language courses are mainly taught by qualified teachers who are also the native speakers of the languages they teach. Some of them are recommended by the foreign ministries and higher education commissions of their home countries, and others teach at Fudan’s prestigious partner universities.
To encourage students to explore different cultures and improve their cross-cultural communication skills, the Center has developed “1+1” programs for certain language tracks, such as Spanish. After completing a year of basic language courses at the Center, the students will study in the language-speaking countries as exchange students, which enables students to put what they have learned into practice and immerse themselves in the language environment.
The Center has cooperated with Zhide College, one of the four Fudan Colleges, a system to strengthen general education for undergraduates, to set up “Companion of Babel”, a language learning community within Fudan. It informs students of the Center’s courses, answers students’ questions about language learning and holds language and cultural activities, playing an indispensable role in enriching the campus with global languages and cultures. The Center also provides students with online educational resources through Fudan’s own online learning system E-learning, the Center’s WeChat official account “多语言教育与多语研究” (Multilingual Education and Multilingual Research) and the Ministry of Education’s online course platform “中国大学MOOC” (icourse163.org), etc.
Multilingual Center Language Courses Offered This Semester
Arabic
Teacher: Liao Jing (廖静)
Dr. Liao graduated from Shanghai International Studies University with a PhD degree in Arabic Studies. She specializes in multilingual education, Arabic linguistics and Middle Eastern Politics. She joined Fudan in 2018 after she taught at SISU for six years.
Language of instruction: English, Arabic, Chinese
Courses: Arabic I, Arabic II, and Introduction to Arab-Islamic Culture
Arabic I focuses on basic Arabic pronunciations, grammar and spellings. The course will teach six vowels and twenty-eight consonants in Arabic, word and sentence classifications, basic grammar rules and daily conversations to improve students’ vocabulary, grammar learning, reading and writing proficiency.
Arabic II mainly teaches students Arabic daily expressions and writing norms through short texts based on common scenarios in the Arab world.
Introduction to Arab-Islamic Culture aims at improving students’ understanding of the Arab world by teaching the students its history, society, culture and philosophy as well as the connections between the Arab world, the West and China, with the aid of relevant texts and audiovisual materials in Arabic, English, French, Chinese and other languages.
Danish
Teacher: Frank Michael Hansen
Mr. Hansen graduated with a MA degree in Danish Literature from Copenhagen University. He also received a MA degree in International Studies from Joseph Korbel School at Denver University. Now he has been teaching Danish in China and Denmark for eight years. Before joining Fudan, he worked in the United States as a Danish-English software localizer and project manager, and as a senior linguist and translator for a language service provider.
Language of instruction: English, Danish
Courses: Danish I, Danish II and Danish Culture and Society
In Danish I & II, students will learn to speak, write, read and understand Danish as it is used in Denmark today and Danish literature. They will gain functional and very useful Danish language competence with the help of the textbook, the internet, audio-files, literature, TV programs, newspapers, movies, role-playing and other fun and engaging activities.
In Danish Culture and Society, students will be given a basic introduction to Denmark, its geography, people and culture through art, movies, music, web-based resources, newspapers, pictures, etc. They will be provided with useful resources and information about studying and living in Denmark.
