Education

Universities talk up 'small' languages

By Wang Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-30 08:13

High school graduates and their parents seek advice while applying for foreign language majors other than English. Cao Xiaoyu / for China Daily

Urdu and Swahili are among the minority languages that are hot majors

"Which countries speak Urdu?" That's a common question people ask Fan Ying, who majored in the language.

The graduate of Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) didn't want to go through the trouble of explaining that Urdu is Pakistan's official language again and again, so she just tells people her major was Spanish and that she can speak Urdu.

"People cast envious eyes upon me whenever they hear this," Fan said. "I think studying a minority language has brought me many benefits. I have met people from different cultures and I can find a job that is relevant to my major."

Right after her graduation in 2008, she got a job at ZTE Corp, which does business in Pakistan. She was sent to Pakistan a few months after taking the job.

In April, Beijing's top three language universities will begin interviewing local applicants for instruction in minority languages. Competition to get in will be fierce because some majors won't enroll new students this year and the total number of students will decline.

Xu Ye, admissions director for BFSU, told METRO that the university will teach 14 minority languages this year, five fewer than last year. Some majors only enroll students once every two years and other majors only once every four years.

BFSU programs in languages such as Burmese, Hausa and Urdu won't enroll new students at all this year, he said.

Therefore, only 82 students will be admitted this year, 28 fewer than last year.

BFSU, the Beijing Language and Culture University and Beijing International Studies University will enroll 207 Beijing students in their departments of foreign minority languages. The universities estimate that more than 2,500 students will apply.

Minority languages have long been popular majors because they increase the chances to go abroad to experience different cultures and meet people with different backgrounds. It's relatively easy to find a job, too.

Xu said the employment prospects for students studying minority languages are normally good, but it also depends on China's foreign relations with the country in which the particular language is spoken.

"If China has sound foreign relations with a country, it is easier for students who study that country's language to find a job," he said.

Xu said the students in the Sinhalese program who will graduate in July have all landed a job. The university recruits new students for that major every four years. Sinhalese is the official language of Sri Lanka, which has stable and close economic and cultural exchanges with China.

All of the students majoring in Burmese have also found jobs, according to Xu.

He said institutions and enterprises that embrace students majoring in minority languages include government ministries, foreign joint ventures and the media.

Lin Fang, director of admissions for the Beijing Language and Culture University, said in an interview with the Beijing Times that 95 percent of graduates who studied minority languages could easily find jobs. Many students who study European languages choose to go to Europe to continue their postgraduate studies.

However, Xu said studying foreign minority languages is not easy.

Universities talk up 'small' languages

"Most of the students started to learn the subject systematically when they entered university," he said. "Many minority languages' grammar is very different from Chinese. So students may have hard times learning it." He urged students to speak and read a lot to better grasp any language. He also suggested students should also learn English well because it is a universal language and will be very helpful in the job market.

Xu told METRO that the BFSU entrance exam is divided into three parts: Reading a short article in English and answering the interviewer's questions; creating a brief composition and telling it to interviewers in Chinese; and imitating the pronunciation of the minority language the prospect is seeking to pursue as a major.

He also suggested that applicants should have extroverted personalities, be interested in a new language and be willing to open their mouths to speak it all the time. BFSU launched six new foreign minority languages this year: Latvian, Lithuanian, Slovenian, Estonian and Maltese and Hibernian.

Xu said the European Union wants China to teach all languages from EU countries, so the Ministry of Education authorized BFSU to start the six majors.

Many educators believe the language skills students in those programs will acquire will open new doors.

Fan Ying quit her job in Pakistan last year because of the unstable political situation. She is now a civil servant in the culture department of the Jilin provincial government.

"Even though I am not in Pakistan anymore, Urdu is an essential part of my work and life," Fan said.

Universities talk up 'small' languages