Do you know that some teachers of Dept. of Practical Japanese lecture in English? Even a classic in Chinese Literary Criticism, Liu Hsieh’s Wen Hsin Tiao Lung can be taught in English. This semester, 23 undergraduate courses and 28 graduate courses are taught in English. Many colleges including Liberal Arts, Science, Engineering, Business, Management, Education, and Technology have this kind of courses, and some colleges like International Studies, Foreign Languages and Literature, and College of Engineering even have more than ten courses taught in English. These courses offer students not only a different learning experience, but also a chance to improve their English.

Prof. Ts’ui Ch’eng-tsong, Chair of Dept. of Chinese, teaches Wen Hsin Tiao Lung in both Chinese and English. He explains that Wen Hsin Tiao Lung was written in ancient parallel prose, and it is difficult for modern students to understand the whole text. “If we interpret the text in English, we can turn the laborious part into interesting one, and it will help students learn in a more efficient way.” But what is students’ reaction? Hsieh Ai-hua, a sophomore of Dept. of Chinese, says that some English translations are quite funny and can only be accepted as reference only.

Prof. Rie Endo, who teaches “Business English Writing” in Dept. of Practical Japanese, says that many alumni/ae have indicated the importance of improving English ability. They points out that the employees in a Japanese company still need to use English to receive international customers. However, there are polarized responses to her class, and the responses parallel to the students’ English ability.

In the Master’s Program of Dept. of Electrical Engineering, a required course, “Thesis Discussion”, Professor Chiang Jen-shiun organizes the second-year students to present theses in English, while the first-year students have to be the audience/readers. In this way, both can learn the process of thesis defense at the same time. Sung Yu-cheng, a first year MA student, says that English ability is very important not only in the thesis writing but also in the future career, if one wants to study or work abroad.

Another example is the course “Books and Newspapers Review in English”, taught by Associate Professor Kang Shang-wen, the Chair of Dept. of Mechanical and Electro-Mechanical Engineering. Professor Kang conducts midterm and final oral presentations in English. He stipulates that no Chinese is allowed in the presentations. Kang says that some students’ English may not good enough, but he thinks the learning attitude is more important than ability. “It is a good chance for everyone to learn”, he said. Some students told Professor Kang, “It is my first time to present paper in English. I feel that I take a big stride and gain a lot from it.”

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