THE CURRICULUM

The curriculum framework and course content of the Department of Italian Language and Literature fully reflect our original mandate and teaching objectives. We help students establish a solid foundation in Italian by keeping our class sizes small and by employing a diverse selection of teaching materials. Our department offers a rich variety of elective courses to meet the combined goals of providing students with humanistic education, professional knowledge, and the skills to be highly competitive in the job market. This introductory booklet provides details about our mandate, educational objectives, and important regulations of the Department of Italian Language and Literature. Our faculty and staff also provide students with clear guidance and instruction at all times to keep them informed of important developments.

The department maintains a high level of teaching quality by making adjustments to the curriculum and courses based on the feedback received through regular teaching evaluations as well as class-specific evaluations designed by our instructors. In addition, Fu Jen Catholic University offers a wide variety of financial incentives to boost teaching quality and our department holds activities for observational learning, inviting specialists in Italian language and culture to come on academic exchange. We also apply for funding through the MOE’s Teaching Excellence Program so that we can invite distinguished scholars from universities in Italy and select institutions from mainland China to visit FJCU to share their academic and pedagogical knowledge and experience.

Based on the feedback of our graduates, the department has designed a new selection of courses to boost the employability and job competitiveness of our students. We also host Italy Week, giving people the chance to taste traditional Italian cuisine and to participate in other activities, which serve to bring together instructors, students, alumni, students from Italy, businesspeople, members of the wider community, and anyone with an interest in Italian language and culture. Participants are divided into small groups so that they can introduce themselves, and also have the opportunity to share their language and cultural experience, attend lectures, watch Italian films, enjoy Italian cuisine, and participate in a raffle. Local students can take advantage of these unique opportunities to interact with Italian students and stay motivated to keep studying. These events are also a great way for students to connect with industry representatives to extend their options and boost their chances of future employment.

Beginning in the 2006-2007 academic year, the department began to host Italian Corner during the second semester of each academic year. It’s an opportunity for cross-cultural exchange between Italian exchange students and students from our department, and also gives the latter a chance to practice their spoken Italian outside of class. As the list of our partner institutions from Italy keeps growing, there are more and more Italian exchange students every year who enthusiastically join activities both inside and outside the classroom, creating an immersion environment almost as good as if students were actually in Italy.

Offering the only Italian program in all of Taiwan, the Department of Italian Language and Literature remains steadfast in its commitment to enthusiastic teaching and to upholding the founding principles of Fu Jen Catholic University. We continue to fulfill our original mandate by keeping class sizes small and by helping students to develop into professionals with high proficiency in Italian, a firm grasp of Italian culture, and a global perspective. The Department is constantly looking for ways to improve based on feedback from our graduates and teacher evaluations provided by current students. Dedicated faculty and staff help students to develop into competent and responsible members of society who can use their expertise in Italian in a wide array of different fields, representing Fu Jen Catholic University with distinction.

Curriculum features:

Students must earn a total of 128 credits in order to graduate (this includes 24 elective credits).

Boasting a faculty largely composed of native Italian instructors, our courses are designed to engage learners; whether it is teaching materials or teaching methods, everything has been chosen with an eye to the practical needs of students. The emphasis during first and second year is on establishing a firm foundation in listening, reading, speaking, writing, and translating. Beginning in third year, while students will take some required courses to continue honing the five abilities mentioned above, they will also be able to choose more elective courses based on their personal interests, future study plans, or career goals. There are a wide variety of electives for students to choose based on whether they want to pursue further study or enter the job market, and students have the option of following one of the two streams. The holistic education components of the curriculum serve to enhance communication skills and to broaden the international perspective of students. The Curriculum Committee also listens to advice from professionals, industry representatives, alumni, and current students when discussing plans for future development.

There are two main academic streams: the Culture and Literature Stream and the Politics, Economics, and Trade Stream. Students must complete all required courses in one of the two streams, including three fundamental courses and two electives (students may choose two out of four electives) in order to graduate. The purpose of establishing the academic streams was so that students could receive comprehensive education and professional training to increase their competitiveness when seeking future employment, thereby helping the department to meet its educational objectives of developing professionals with expertise in the Italian language.

        Students probably have a good idea of what sorts of career opportunities await them if they pursue the Politics, Economics, and Trade Stream. However, students in the Culture and Literature Stream will also be able to choose from a wide range of careers extending from media to translation. This stream shouldn’t be taken lightly; based on feedback from our graduates, the knowledge and skills gained in the Culture and Literature Stream has had a major impact on their creativity at work. Indeed, culture and literature is an incredibly important component of study for any language learner, and a strong familiarity with Italian culture and literature is part of what makes our students capable and unique. Whether in advertising, media, publishing, public relations, or travel agencies, our alumni have been successful in no small measure because of their knowledge of Italian culture and literature.

In the future, we will be providing a Translation Stream so that students can continue to sharpen their skills in listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translating. Regardless of which stream a student pursues, we strongly encourage all students to take courses from all streams to boost their professional qualifications and language abilities.

At the same time, the Department strongly encourages the pursuit of cross-disciplinary learning, whether through taking courses offered by other departments at the College of Foreign Languages, or through different programs at the university. The university emphasizes the importance of cross-disciplinary learning, and our department strongly encourages students to develop a second specialization, which can be done by pursuing a double major or a minor. Cross-disciplinary education is beneficial to realizing future career plans, boosting job competitiveness, and making students well-rounded professionals with expertise in Italian.

Undergraduate Course Information

* Courses marked with * are taught in English. Others are taught in Chinese or in Italian.

Important Links:

- Course Registration: http://www.fju.edu.tw/future.jsp?labelID=12

- Course Registration system: http://signcourse.fju.edu.tw/ (you can change the language set to English by

   pressing the icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.)

- Course Syllabus: http://140.136.251.64/outlines/student/default.aspx (only in Chinese)

- Some regulations for reference: http://www.fju.edu.tw/future.jsp?labelID=14