Kobe University of Foreign Languages

The University of Foreign Languages ​​of Kobe was founded in 1946 as a municipal college with the study of foreign languages ​​(English, Russian and Chinese) ^[2] . In 1949, he received university status. In 1986, the campus was moved to the "academic campus" in the city of Kobe, where several universities are concentrated. The training strategy is aimed at training personnel whose activities open up broad international prospects for the city and the prefecture. Kobe University is the only linguistic university in Japan that is under municipal administration.

University history

• 1946 - founded as a municipal college with the study of foreign languages ​​(Jap. Kobessi-ritsu gaiji-senmon-gakko , "municipal college of foreign affairs")
• 1949 - received the status of the university and renamed the "University of Foreign Languages ​​of Kobe." Initially, the college was located in the building of the Second Kobe Women's School, then in 1949 the university moved to the territory that was previously occupied by the Kusugaok Higher School (after moving to another place, it was renamed the Suma City Higher School).
• 1950 - short two-year courses are opened at the university on the basis of the former college. The college itself officially ceased to exist in 1953.
• 1953 - a university evening department is organized at the English Language Department
• 1955 - Short two-year courses closed.
• 1962 - Department of Spanish is founded
• 1967 - the magistracy of the faculty of foreign languages ​​is founded
• 1986 - the university moved from Rocco Island to a new campus located in the “academic campus” of Kobe (Jap. Kobe Kenkyu-Hakuen-Toshi ). The territory of the former campus was sold to the Xinwa Gakuen Training Corporation.
• 1987 - founded the Department of International Relations .
• 1996 - a postgraduate study was opened at the faculty of foreign languages, including a magistracy and a doctorate .
• 2007 - the university becomes part of the system of municipal universities.
• 2009 - introduced a new educational direction "International Communication Course" (eng. International Communication Course, ICC)
• 2015 - a change in the system of awarding a master's degree, the introduction of two types of degrees: "master-researcher" and "master-specialist" (except for the direction "pedagogy of the English language")
• 2016 is the 70th anniversary of the founding of the university. The second academic building has been built, the Student Commons University Student Center has been established

The university consists of one faculty, namely the faculty of foreign languages, in which there are two forms of study - full-time and evening. The full-time department combines the departments of English, Russian, Chinese and Spanish, as well as the department of international relations. At the evening department there is only one department - the department of English. The teaching of foreign languages ​​is carried out in small groups. Training takes place on a broad curriculum, in which culture , politics , economics and other disciplines are taught and researched. More than 1,720 students are enrolled in the full-time department, about 450 students in the evening, and more than 120 graduate students in graduate school (as of May 1, 2016). The staff of the faculty is 89 people (as of April 1, 2015).

University structure

Day and evening department of the Faculty of Foreign Languages

Day department

• Department of English
• Department of Russian language
• Department of Chinese
• pulpit of spanish language
• Department of International Relations

Evening department

• Department of English

Learning Direction System

Students studying English, Russian, Chinese and Spanish, from the third year of study, are trained in the following areas: philology and literature ; law , and economics; cultural studies ; international communication. In the direction of "international communication", where many courses are taught in English, there is a system for selecting candidates. Thus, not all students manage to get to the desired direction. Students of the department of international relations except the main discipline can be trained only in the direction of the ICC, but the selection system applies to them.

Day courses

Language Chairs

• philology and literature
• law and economics
• cultural studies
• international communication

Department of International Relations

• international relationships
• international communication

Evening department study directions

• English
• law and economics
• Cultural Studies and English Literature

Graduate School

Master Specialty

• English philology
• Russian Studies
• Sinology
• Hispanics
• international relationships
• Oriental studies (Japanese studies and the study of Asian countries)
• pedagogy of english language
  • Teaching English in middle and high schools
  • Teaching English for preschoolers and younger students

Doctoral specialization

• philology
• cultural studies
• international sociology

University centers and institutes

• Institute of Foreign Languages ​​and Cultures
• Scientific Information Center (on the basis of the university library)

(this section uses the European spelling of names: first name, last name)

• Nobuo Asai is a former professor of international relations, a political scientist.
• Masadzi Ie - Honorary Professor of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, an expert in international law and political science.
• Eiichi Kimura - former professor of the Spanish language department, thirteenth rector , translator of several dozen works, including Latin American authors.
• Tatsuo Kondo is a former associate professor in the department of foreign languages, then a professor at Osaka University of Foreign Languages. The author of the books: “Japanese as a foreign language”, “Vowels in English” and others.
• Tomositi Konishi - former professor of the English language department, editor-compiler of the Genius English-Japanese dictionary .
• Hidehito Nigasitani - former professor of the Spanish language department, twelfth rector, translator, author of many literary translations .
• Toshio Simao - writer, associate professor at the Kobe Municipal College of Foreign Affairs (in the period before becoming university).
• Yoshinobu Obama is an honorary professor at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, a philosopher. Former chairman of the Japanese Association for the Study of Neoplatonism , a member of the Association of Medieval Philosophy ( Kyoto University ), researcher of the works of Shuzo Kuki .
• Orest Pletner - linguist , Japanese expert. In 1916-1917, a translator at the embassy of the Russian Empire in Tokyo .
• Kensei Sagayama is a former Professor of the English Language Department, Professor of the Faculty of Philology at Kyoto University, a specially appointed professor at Ryukoku University.
• Haruhiko Sato is a specially appointed professor of the Chinese language department. Director of the Japanese Scientific Society of the Chinese Language, Chairman of the Scientific Society of Modern Chinese. Member of the Japanese Association of Sinology and the Scientific Society for the Study of Oriental Cultures.
• Nibuya Takashi - Professor of the Department of International Relations, literary critic .
• Noritaka Fukushima is a former professor in the Spanish language department. The host of the NHK broadcasts "Talk in Spanish", "Spanish on TV".
• Masaru Yamada - Professor of the English Language Department.
• Hiroshi Yasui is an honorary professor at the Faculty of Foreign Languages ​​in the fields of jurisprudence , economics and trade. Economist. In the past, the head of the Institute of Foreign Languages ​​and Cultures. One of the authors of the monographs " Inflation in Japan", " Interest Rate : in the World and in Japan" and others.

Researchers and Scientists

(this section uses the European spelling of names: first name, last name)

• Syuhei Kadot is a linguist, a professor at Kansai Gakuin University.
• Noriyoshi Miyamoto - Americanist, specialist in English philology, honorary professor at Bunkyo University. Chairman of the Japanese Association of ESP (English for special purposes)
• Shoji Nishijima is an economist and professor at Kobe University.
• Yuji Nishiyama - philosopher, associate professor at Tokyo Metropolitan University .
• Toyo Sakai is a literary scholar , a specialist in modern Chinese literature, the rector of Kyoto Sangyo University.
• Osamu Takeuchi - philologist, specialist in the field of English linguodidactics , professor at Kansai University.
• Masaharu Ura is a literary scholar, a specialist in Russian literature , a professor at the graduate school of Tokyo University , and a faculty of cultural studies.
• Hiroyuki Hut - lawyer, rector of Kinki University.
• Katsumasa Yagi - philologist, specialist in English, professor at Kansai Gakuin University, editor-in-chief of the English-Japanese dictionary for Youth progressive.
• Yoshitaka Yamashita is a linguist, a professor at Hokkaido University .
• Tomoko Yashima - Applied Linguist , Professor at Kansai University.

Political circles

• Masaru Okada is the personal secretary of the Japanese ambassador to China, the leading Japanese translator of Chinese at the highest level. After graduating from the Chinese department of the University of Foreign Languages, Kobe began to work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a translator at the highest level, including at meetings of heads of state. Since 2009, he has been teaching at the University of Foreign Languages ​​in Kobe.
• Kazumi Hara - Vice-Chairman of the Central Committee of the New Socialist Party of Japan , Chairman of the Prefectural Committee of the same party headquarters in Hyogo Prefecture , organizer of civil society opposing revision of the ninth and twenty-fifth paragraphs of the constitution , delegate of the Hyogo Prefectural Organization for Peace and Human Rights , ex-deputy of the municipal assembly of Kobe

Financial circles

• Takuya Avata - President of TORIDOLL Holding
• Yukari Konishi is a member of the board of directors of Panasonic , a member of the governing board of Kyoto State University.
• Toshihiro Makita - President of the transport company Hanshin Hankyu Business Travel
• Hiroyuki Nishihara - Former Managing Director, OPTEX FA
• Katsuyoshi Nozaki is the former president of the baseball team Hanshin Tigers, managing the affairs of the baseball federation.
• Hiroshi Suzuki - President of Mitsubosi Trading Company

Mass Media

• Kaori Kawayi - documentary writer
• Mayumi Komurasaki - freelance broadcaster, TV presenter
• Tosinori Masuno - Chairman of the Editorial Board of the Kobe Shimbun newspaper.
• Akiko Mizuno - Mainiti TV announcer
• Ohara Shuzo - broadcaster Tyukyo
• Takahiro Hirao is Managing Director of Bungei Shunju Publishing House (former Editor-in-Chief of Bungei Shunju Magazine, Sukang Bunsyun Weekly and other publications).
• Mika Tsukamoto is a journalist with the ROMEO-NEWS JAPAN agency; in the past, she worked as deputy editor-in-chief of the Josui weekly .

Annual Theater Festival

As part of the linguistic theatrical festival (Jap. Gokeki-sai ) student groups of all the language departments show their own dramas of drama from the studied language. This traditional annual event is held at the Kobe University of Foreign Languages ​​in December. The performances can be of different genres: comedy , psychological drama , tragedy , etc. For the performances are used ready-made plays in languages ​​of different countries. These performances are interesting not only for university students, but also for the general public.

Before starting work on the performance, teachers help students choose a play , and in the process of work, they make pronunciation . Thus, the university also takes feasible participation in this student event. According to students, participation in a theater festival and work on staging in a foreign language help them in learning languages. They see in the festival an important part of the educational program.

Australia

• Southern Cross University
• Deakin University
• Monash University
• University of New South Wales

Austria

• Austro-American Institute

UK

• Lancaster University
• Lida University
• Northumbria University
• Newcastle University
• York University of St. John

Germany

• University of Duisburg-Essen
• Munich university

Spain

• University of Santiago de Compostela
• University of Alcala
• International Education Center Ortega y Gasset
• University of La Rioja
• University of Salamanca
• Madrid Autonomous University
• University of Zaragoza
• National University of Distance Education of the City of Segovia

Italy

• University of Rome La Sapienza

Canada

• Medicine Hat College
• University of Regina

China

• Fudan University
• Tianjin University of Foreign Languages
• Beijing University of Languages ​​and Cultures
• Northeastern Pedagogical University
• Shanghai Normal University

Poland

• Jagiellonian University

Russia

• Ural Federal University
• Kuban State University
• Institute of Russian Language and Culture, Moscow State University
• Pacific State University
• Pushkin State Russian Language Institute

United States

• Eastern Washington University
• College of Augustana
• Elmira College
• University of California, Los Angeles

1. ↑ L.M. Ermakova. "News about Yapan-Ostrov in ancient Russia and others." - Moscow: Languages ​​of Slavic culture, 2005. - P. 216. - ISBN 5-9551-0054-7 .
2. ↑ Information booklet of the University of Foreign Languages ​​of Kobe (Neopr.) . Kobe University of Foreign Languages (2016).

University site (eng.)

University Information