Academic Year 2024 Second Foreign Language Registration In addition to English, PEARL students will learn German, French, Chinese, Spanish, or Japanese as a foreign language. Carefully read the instructions below, and list your language preferences by filling out the designated section on the online enrollment system. Please note that we offer foreign language courses at the beginner’s level only, so choose a language that you have never studied before. For native Japanese speakers: - If your mother tongue is Japanese, please select three from the other languages and prioritize them from your first to third choice. Please note that you are not guaranteed to get your first choice. If the demand exceeds places available for your choices, you may be enrolled in your second or third choice. For students whose first language is not Japanese: - If you are a beginner of Japanese language, you must take Japanese. Choices are ‘Japanese (regular)’ and ‘Japanese (intensive)’. Select one as your first choice and the other as your second choice. - If you already have some knowledge of Japanese, you cannot take ‘Japanese (regular)’. You are advised to choose from other languages which you have not studied before. However, you may also include ‘Japanese (intensive)’ as one of your choices. NOTE: The ‘intensive’ class consists of six 90-minute sessions per week, while the ‘regular’ class consists of three 90-minute sessions per week. Language Course Code German 1 French 2 Chinese 3 Spanish 4 Japanese (regular) 5 Japanese (intensive) 6 Please read the following descriptions for further information. German When the United Kingdom officially withdrew from the European Union in January 2020, the geopolitical structure of the EU shifted eastward as the economic center of “Europe” now belonged to the continental mainland. As a result, a number of Japanese corporations also relocated their head offices from London, England to either France or Germany. A brief examination of history reveals that the EU was created as a system centered around Germany and France in order to prevent a repetition of the conflicts which eventually erupted into World War II. In recent years however, this system, and the role that Germany and France play in world politics and economics, is once again attracting attention from scholars and laymen around the world. Germany’s precision manufacturing complex and electronics factories support a core automobile industry that has made impressive inroads to Japan with well-known brands ranging from Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Porsche, and more. Likewise, Germany’s chemical and pharmaceutical prowess extends back to the end of the Edo Period when the Siemens corporation donated a telegraph system to Japan’s shogunate government. This remarkable legacy of innovation remains to this day in Germany’s modern corporations, including BioNTech, a company key to the development of the Pfizer vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Germany’s expertise also includes achievements in the field of Economics with historical figures such as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publishing Capital: Critique of Political Economy in the 19th century and Reinhard Selten, the University of Bonn professor, winning the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his Game Theory treatise as recently as 1994. The German-speaking world has given life to incredible creative minds in philosophy (Leibniz, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Habermas, etc.), literature (Das Nibelungenlied, Goethe, Schiller, Kafka, Thomas Mann, Ende, etc.) music (Classical Music: Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart, Schumann, Brahms, Bruckner, Wagner, Schönberg as well as Kraftwerk’s electronic music, Rammstein’s contributions to rock, and Heino’s performances of Schlager), art (Dürer,Grünewald, Riemenschneider, Cranach, Beuys, Kiefer, Richter, etc.) and a variety of other enterprises. Athletically, Germany boasts world-class athletes in sports with roots in medieval chivalry such as fencing and equestrian events in addition to a phenomenal national soccer team. In the 1970s and 1980s, the forests of West Germany, especially Schwarzwald, the Black Forest, were severely damaged by acid rain, leading to increased awareness of environmental protection and preservation. This desire to protect the environment has developed in recent years into global initiatives such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), policies for renewable energy, and other measures related to reducing climate change. Japan’s recent “eco-bag” movement also drew inspiration from Germany. It would not be an exaggeration to say that studying Germany and its cultural currents can provide hints on how people can confront the diverse challenges facing our world today. Keio University has multiple outbound study abroad programs available throughout the Germany-speaking world. This includes universities in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland with the Keio Faculty of Economics home to its very own exchange programs with the University of Cologne, Frankfurt University, Leipzig University, University of Mannheim, the Vienna University of Economics and Business, and the University of St. Gallen. While German as a language is often portrayed as difficult to learn, it is actually quite similar to English. This is incredibly advantageous to students because it allows them to import their understanding of English grammatical constructions into their German studies. If you see the sentence, “Mein Name ist Fukuzawa Yukichi,” even if you have never read German in your life, the similarity to English makes the analogous meaning clear. We hope that all of our students at the Faculty of Economics are able to broaden their horizons and experience the spirit of life in Europe by learning more about Germany and its language. French French is an international language. Currently, the number of French speakers has exceeded 220 million, and by 2050, it is expected to reach nearly 800 million, 85% of whom will live in Africa (International Organization of La Francophonie 2019). Along with English, French is the only language spoken and taught across all five continents, and it has the second largest number of learners. It is also the second most-used language in diplomacy and the third most-used language in business. Many international conferences and international organizations use French as an official language. French also helps us to understand the world we live in. What do you think of when you hear the name “France”? Is it fashion, premium food and wine, or the idea of “joie de vivre”, that is important to French people? Each of those things represents France, but there is more to France than just that. France is the country where Descartes, a prominent rationalist, was born, and where the French revolution championed freedom, equality, and fraternity, which had a great impact on modern democratic countries. Therefore, learning French is important in understanding our modern society and how it was shaped. France played an important role in the establishment and introduction of the Euro, helping it become a huge European market center. This history has led to strong business ties between many Japanese and French companies, and with young French people fascinated by Japanese anime and cartoons, the two countries have many economic and cultural interactions between the two countries. If you learn French under the curriculum of the Faculty of Economics, then you will be able to pass the second level of the APEF French proficiency test or DELF B1. Many Keio students participate in exchange programs and study at partner universities in French speaking countries. Of course, you can start studying French right now while you are here in Japan. Chinese China has become the world’s second largest economy in terms of GDP, and the country now occupies an important position within the world economy. China has also been promoting the construction of its own economic sphere. Furthermore, China has demonstrated tremendous progress in creating its own independent economic infrastructure, and is also making breakthroughs in financial technology (fintech). At the same time, there have been escalating trade frictions between the US and China as well as criticisms of China’s political system accompanying the country’s growing presence in various spheres around the world. Nevertheless, after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, various problems in the global economy and society have surfaced, and during a period which is likely to herald transformations in conventional systems and values, it is thought that China will maintain a constant and ongoing presence. The question of how to engage with China is set to become increasingly important for Japan, with the two countries having shared strong cultural ties since ancient times and maintaining a close relationship both economically and geographically. Learning Chinese is not confined to studying a language, but will also involve encounters with Chinese culture and society. Deepening one’s knowledge of this country’s unique set of values through studying the Chinese language can be regarded as beneficial both in terms of learning and researching the economy and economics, which will tie into a future career, and in further strengthening mutual understanding between Japan and China. Chinese is a type of “isolating” language, which is classified differently to Japanese (agglutinative) and English (inflectional). As an isolating language, Chinese has no declension or conjugation and its grammar is comparatively simple. If one can overcome the challenge of pronouncing tones, consonants, and vowels that are not used in Japanese, reading Chinese newspapers with the help of a dictionary or speaking everyday conversational Chinese will be within reach after two years of study at Hiyoshi Campus. Although at the intermediate and advanced level there is the distinct problem of contextual understanding, this is something for third- and fourth-year students to look forward to. In addition, there are various exchange programs available throughout the Chinese speaking world not only at mainland institutions such as Peking University and Fudan University (Shanghai), but also at the National Taiwan University, University of Hong Kong, and National University of Singapore. We hope that through making use of the Chinese language, everyone will not merely limit themselves to Japan but develop into persons of talent active both in Asia and across the globe, and we are committed to offering our full support to ensure this will happen. In principle, students who can speak or have studied Chinese are not permitted to register for this course. Spanish Spanish is an official language in twenty countries around the world, including Spain, Mexico, Argentina, and Cuba. Since information about these countries is not readily available in everyday life in Japan, you may not feel very familiar with the Spanish language. However, more than 400 years ago, there was a Spanish presence in Japan before our country's long policy of seclusion. The Spanish missionary Francisco Xavier arrived in 1549 in Kagoshima and stayed for two years in Japan; later on, two official missions from Japan to Spain in 1582 and 1613 helped to build a long history of interactions and friendship between these two countries. Mexico not only has a similar long relation with Japan, but also is in the transpacific region, together with other Spanish-speaking countries such as Peru and Chile. This region is expected to experience more economic exchanges and growth in the near future. Thus, the knowledge of Spanish and Hispanic culture will be very useful as Japan builds stronger partnerships with these countries. Today, the number of Spanish native speakers - about 500 million - is second only to that of Chinese. Spanish is spoken not only in Spain and Latin America, but also in Equatorial Guinea and Western Sahara in Africa, and in part of the Philippines. The United States also has approximately 40 million Spanish speakers, and Spanish is used on a daily basis in all parts of the U.S, including New York, California, Texas and Florida. Spanish is also one of the six official languages of the United Nations; therefore, it will surely be a powerful tool in international relations and business in the future. More than that, by learning a foreign language, you learn the culture and history of people who speak the language as well. The world of Spanish is multifaceted, so studying Spanish will enrich your life. You may be able to read some information about your favorite soccer team in Spanish. Or, you may become interested in learning flamenco in Spain, tango in Argentina or salsa in the Caribbean. Or perhaps you will be fascinated by an indigenous village in the heart of Mexico. Your world will open up in many ways. We welcome students who want to explore a new world. See you in September!
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