I. General information
Collegeof Foreign Languages, whose predecessor was Teaching Group of English set up in 1977 in charge of college English teaching of the whole university for non-English majors, is one of the colleges under the leadership of Guizhou Minzu University. In 1990 the first batch two-year college students were admitted, and the following year Department of Foreign Languages was founded. In 1995 the first batch undergraduates for BA majoring in English language and literature were enrolled. In 1997 Department of College English Teaching for Non-English Majors was founded, and separated from Department of Foreign Languages. In 2004 the first batch undergraduates for BA majoring in Japanese language and literature were enrolled. In the same year the university decided to adjust the collegiate and disciplinary systems, and following the decision Department of Foreign Languages and Department of College English Teaching for Non-English Majors were combined, and College of Foreign Languages was set up, consisting of Teaching Group of English Major, Teaching Group of Japanese Major, and Department of College English Teaching for Non-English Majors, in charge of teaching to English major, Japanese major and non-English majors respectively. In 2012 the university’s name was changed from Guizhou Institute for Nationalities to Guizhou Minzu University. According to the leadership’s decision, College of Foreign Languages changed its composition. It now consists of three parts—Department of English, Department of Japanese, and Department of College English Teaching for Non-English Majors. In 2013 the college applied to Ministry of Education for the major of business English, and it was approved. In 2014 the major of business English started to enroll undergraduates for BA. Since 2012 quite a few professors and associate professors of the college have taken part and become supervisors in the cultivation of MA students in “linguistics and applied linguistics” and “comparative literature and world literature” affiliated to the superior MA program—“Chinese language and literature”. In 2014 the college applied to the Degrees Commission of the State Council for the MA program of “cross-cultural communication and translation” affiliated to “Chinese language and literature” and it was approved; in 2015 this new MA program is to enroll students.
II. Objectives
Collegeof Foreign Languages bases its education in Guizhou and targets at its objectives nationwide. It aims at cultivating a solid linguistic foundation, strong human qualities and comprehensive application skills, expanding knowledge in width and depth, providing advanced research resources in translation, linguistics, literature, teaching and cross-cultural communication, developing an international academic and cultural vision, facilitating the satisfaction of domestic and international demands for university graduates, and training practical abilities in using foreign languages for the purposes of teaching, trade, tourism and international exchange. In this way, high-level practical talents are expected to come into being.
III. Faculty
Collegeof Foreign Languageshas a team of teachers with strong responsibilities, high qualities and rich experiences. There are now 71 teachers and workers in the college, of whom there are 63 full-time teachers and 8 workers for teaching management and assistance. Of the teachers, there are 4 full professors, 35 associate professors, and 24 lecturers. Most of the teachers once studied abroad and some even in more than one country. Of the teachers, some have attained academic or teaching honors, or both—1 province-level academic expert, 1 province-level teaching expert, 3 university-level teaching experts, 4 university-level teaching models, 1 university-level academic disciplinary leader, 2 university-level research leaders, and 1 research model. The college has 6 foreign teachers—4 for English teaching and 2 for Japanese teaching. More than half of the teachers have obtained high-level degrees, including 5 doctors, and 43 masters (of whom 2 teachers are doctorate candidates). Besides, the college has 7 prestigious guest professors from Beijing University, Xiamen University, City University of Hong Kong and Central China Normal University.
IV. Academic disciplinary development and research
Collegeof Foreign Languagesabides to the CPC’s (Communist Party of China) educational guidelines, the instructional principle of “teaching for academic and personality cultivation”, and the talent cultivation model of “wide caliber, solid foundation, strong practicality, and multiple abilities”. It attaches much importance to the improvement of teaching and research levels, and has developed the distinctive qualities of “focus on educational quality, academic research, local features and social services”. It strives to excel in undergraduate education while making initiatives in promoting master degree programs so that its foreign language graduates are qualified for teaching, translation, management and research. Over the past years much progress has been made and the college has become a famous high-level cultivation base for foreign language talents in Guizhou.
V. Students’ affairs
There are over 500 students in College of Foreign Languages. The college pays much attention to students’ ethics and personality integrity through political instructions in accordance with the CPC’s requirements. It has won honors in CPC development and advanced grassroots CPC organization construction. The teachers and students are active in singing, speaking and debating competitions, academic practice and sports. The students enjoy learning and are exposed to a benign atmosphere of learning advocated by the college-level leadership; each year they attend a variety of compulsory and elective courses so that their academic vision is broadened and their creativity is fostered. In recent years, they have been funded in over 20 research projects above the university level. The college is practice-conscious. It has opened extracurricular settings for students such as “English Corner” and “Japanese Corner”; it keeps encouraging the students to visit rural areas for surveys. Over the past years efforts have been made in international exchange. Each year quite a number of students go to Jordan, South Africa, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and other countries for employment, further study and exchange programs. Thanks to the graduates’ strong competitiveness the employment rate over the past three years has been more than 95%. Many graduates are popular in their workplaces because of their strong grasp of knowledge, practical abilities and comprehensive qualities; some even act as leaders in foreign language teaching, commerce, tourism and international exchange.
Contact: Dean: Tangjin Xiao
Tel: 86-851-83610968
