On September 13, 2014, 76 undergraduates of the School of Foreign Languages, majoring in English, Japanese, Russian and German, went to Shanxi Museum for study and practice. Several teachers, including German language teacher Ren Zhaoyi, Russian language teacher Chang Jie and two foreign teachers who teach English, attended this activity. Counselor Wang Xiaobing also joined the team.
At about 9 a.m., students and teachers arrived at the museum by bus, and the museum staff warmly welcomed them. There were two guides leading the students who were separated into two groups. One guide spoke Chinese while the other spoke English. Following the guides, students began a tour of seven halls in the museum, during whichthey watched cultural relics while listening to the introduction of development history of Shanxi Province. The foreign teachers and the guide communicated with one another in English from time to time. As a result, all of the students learned some historical knowledge during the tour; moreover, they grasped some English expressions related to the historical knowledge. Some students asked the guide questions at times and others inquired more about the historical background knowledge related to the relics.
When hearing that the English version of the written materials in the museum was completed by teachers from SFL, every student took great pride in it, thus feeling more motivated in learning language.
Through the visit, all of the students gained further understanding of Shanxi culture and had their historical attainment improved. In the meantime, the English interpretation made by the guide also deepened students’ awareness of language learning and helped them obtain a clear picture of how to apply their knowledge into practice.
All students appreciated the opportunity of social practice created by the university. The experience gave them a deeper and clearer understanding of language knowledge, improved their comprehensive qualities and practice abilities, and accelerated the process of combining their knowledge with social practice. Students from four majors wrote four internship reports after the tour. The activity was of great significance and practical effect.
（2013MTIFL）