Rising Enrolment for Japanese Studies
By Cynthia Chan


The number of students applying for the Japanese Studies program in the University of Macau (UM) has increased since the program started in 2003.

The Japanese language is the second most popular language course taken by students in UM. In reviewing the demand, the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSH) launched the Japanese Studies Program in 2003.

Before 2003, FSH had cooperated with the Faculty of Business Administration (FBA) to hold a program called the Japanese Studies and Business Management since 1992. In 2003, FBA decided to re-organize the program with a wider focus on International Business. After FBA's curriculum change, FSH proposed to launch a new program dedicated to the field of Japanese language study.

Kazuyoshi Noguchi, director of the Centre for Japanese Studies who has been working in UM since 1992, said that the program started with 27 students at the beginning. In the academic year 2004, 39 students enrolled in this program, a more than 40 percent increase in the enrolment.

Noguchi said that when designing the program, they were aware that if students know only the Japanese language after graduation, they would be less competitive than graduates of some universities in mainland China such as the Shanghai Foreign Language University, which has a very good Japanese studies program. For this reason, they offer the program with a very flexible credit arrangement. Noguchi said that out of the 144 credits that a student needs for graduation, 90 credits are on Japanese studies courses while 36 credits are free elective courses. Students are expected to take at least 24 credits on another subject they are interested in from FSH or FBA such as English studies, management, communication, etc.

"This way, students will know not only the Japanese language after graduation, but also have some concentration in another field and they will be more competitive in terms of knowledge," said Noguchi. "Similar programs in some universities in mainland China mainly concentrate on the language and students know only one language after graduation," he said, adding that this is the "selling point" of the Japanese Studies program in UM.

Although more students are getting into this program, "to survive" in this program is not easy. Noguchi said that three students dropped out of the program due to the grade last year.

"You can't study a language just before examinations," said Noguchi. "We want students to study constantly every day and prepare for classes."

Despite the challenges, the most attractive part of this program is the chance to go to Japan. There are short-term and long-term exchange programs. For the short-term program, 45 students can go to Japan this year in the summer for 10 days to two weeks for home stay in Kagoshima and Nagoya or studying Japanese courses in the Kagoshima Asia-Pacific Cultural Village.

The long-term program allows students to study in Japan for one year. The universities involved are: Akita International University, Keio University, Soka University, Shigakukan University and Okinawa International University. Some 12 students will join the one-year exchange program this year.

Aside from the exchange programs, student activities such as parties, camping, etc. also help to forge a very good relationship between students and teachers. There are currently five teachers and three interns working in the Japanese Studies program.

"We want our students to enjoy their campus life and that is the most important thing besides studying," said Noguchi with a smile.

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