University offers Chinese course. Praise is offered as high expectations are met by department and students.
Xiè Xiè Nín.
These words were spoken by thousands of Americans who traveled to China for the Olympic Games. Now, they are also spoken by Auburn students.
This fall, approximately 30 students are enrolled in FLNG 1010: Elementary Chinese I.
According to Robert Weigel, chair of the Department of Foreign Languages, they are only the second batch of students to have this opportunity.
An elementary Chinese class was first offered in fall 2007. Last spring, Elementary II was available to students.
Learning Chinese will certainly be a challenge for students, said this semester’s instructor, Carolyn Fitzgerald.
“There is a lot of memorization. There are a lot of Chinese characters, and you also have to learn the pronunciation,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald said she wants her class to be more interactive. Monday’s class was just that.
Along with simply reviewing the characters and their meanings, Fitzgerald conversed with each of her students in Chinese and challenged them to a game of Bingo, using the words for Chinese numbers.
“The class is going to be hard, but it will be fun,” said Ben Flour, a sophomore in criminology and newfound Chinese student.
Shealy Williams, a junior in Spanish, said she wants to learn another language.
“The class is difficult; it’s unlike any other language I’ve ever tried to study, but it is also very interesting,” Williams said. “I like learning to write the Chinese characters.”
With this second round of students, Weigel is planning on introducing a new minor for foreign language students — Asian Studies.
“The goal for us is to be able to offer more; rather than students having to branch off and learn another language, we try to offer a minor,” Weigel said.
Weigel said a minor should work as an incentive to liberal arts majors.
The Department of Foreign Language is initializing a nationwide search for an assistant professor of Chinese and Japanese.
“Starting fall 2009, we will offer both Chinese and Japanese,” Weigel said.
For years, students have been studying abroad in China, independent of the University. The problem, according to Weigel, lies in finding an accredited instructor.
“It’s important for the department and the University to offer more than these Euro-Centric languages. But it’s difficult to come up with people who have the qualifications.” Weigel said.
Only time will tell if an Asian studies minor is in the near future. In the mean time, those students who are speaking Chinese for the first time will continue to say “Xiè Xiè Nín” to those who work to further their education: “Thank you.”
