Introduction to the Institute
What is the Foreign Language Education Institute?
The Institute oversees foreign language education at Kurume University with the cooperation of each faculty. It is also our mission to contribute to improving and developing foreign language education.
What languages are taught?
English, German, French, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese (for international students studying in faculties).
How many staff are there and what they do?
With the cooperation of approximately 70 part-time lecturers, 9 full-time faculty members oversee and teach various foreign language subjects, and conduct research on foreign language education, languages, cultures, etc*. Research results are presented at academic conferences and published in journals related to each specialized field. The Institute also publishes the "Bulletin of the Institute of Foreign Language Education."
*(e.g., corpus linguistics, language testing, curriculum development, multicultural education)
When was the Institute established?
It was established in April, 1993.
What is the basic philosophy of the Institute?
It is "to develop students' global competence in a multilingual and multicultural world through language education in order for them to become able to contribute to sustainable regional development." In addition, the Institute upholds the following educational objectives:
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Develop students' foreign language skills as a communication tool so that they can play an active role as an independent member in today’s mutually connected societies.
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Foster students' attitudes towards understanding and respecting other cultures while raising their interest in the local culture
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Support students to build a foundation for achieving self-development and self-realization in cooperation with others throughout their lives.
In order to realize the above objectives, staff members at the Institute continue to study the dynamics of language, culture and language education and always keep in mind the need to continually respond to global trends. With the Institute’s philosophy as a baseline, we utilize the Institute’s educational and research output to cooperate with and make contributions to meet society's needs, liaising with local organizations, administrations and enterprises.
What are the policies on structuring and implementing curricula?
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The subjects are systematically arranged from the basics to more real-life language use, in forms that match the learner’s proficiency and needs.
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Attention to language use with various communication methods.
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Development of multiple perspectives in students adopting cultural comparisons.
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Subjects in which students engage in collaborative learning activities to prepare them for future group work
Global Competence
Global Competence is a multidimensional construct that requires a combination of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that can be successfully applied to global issues or intercultural situations. Global issues refer to those that affect all people, and they have deep implications for current and future generations. Intercultural situations refer to face-to-face, virtual, or mediated encounters with people who are perceived to be from a different cultural background.