The School of Foreign Languages (SFL) of Shanxi University grew out of the English Department of the Imperial University of Shanxi, which was founded in 1919. After more than ninety years’ development, the School now has six undergraduate specialties, namely English Language and Literature, Japanese Language and Literature, French Language and Literature, Russian Language and Literature, German Language and Literature, and Translation and Interpretation. In 1984, the School set up the first secondary discipline master’s program of English Language and Literature and then founded in succession another three master’s programs of Foreign Languages and Applied Linguistics, Japanese Language and Literature, and French Language and Literature. Of these programs, Foreign Languages and Applied Linguistics is the key discipline of Shanxi Province. In 2010, examined by the Academic Commission of Shanxi Province and approved by the Academic Commission of the State Council, the School got the first-grade discipline master’s program of Foreign Languages and Literature. In the same year, the MTI (Master of Translation and Interpretation) program was added. In 2011, the School was successfully granted with the qualification to offer the second-grade discipline doctoral degree conferring program in verbal interaction (not included in the discipline catalogue of the Ministry of Education). In 2012, the major of the Translation and Interpretation for undergraduates was established after the examination by the Education Department of Shanxi Province and approval by the Ministry of Education.
SFL has two research institutes and five research offices. The two research institutes are the secondary Research Institute of Foreign Languages and Applied Linguistics and the Research Institute of Foreign Languages of Shanxi University. The five research offices are the Office of Foreign Languages and Applied Linguistics, the Office of British and American Literature, the Office of Translation and Interpretation, the Office of the Comparison Between Chinese and Foreign Languages and Culture, and the Office of Teaching Foreign Languages for Non-majors.
Besides, the School has the Center for Foreign Language Test and Training and the Training Department for Candidates for Overseas Study of Shanxi Province. Additionally, it is in charge of various tests including TOEFL, GRE, BEC, WSK, BFT, HSK, CATTI (interpretation) and the Proficiency Test of Japanese.
In recent years, the SFL staff has made great achievements in their respective fields of study. They have published about 271 theses on the famous academic journals both at home and abroad as well as 34 monographs and course books, of which 21 have won prizes at provincial or ministerial levels. They have also undertaken 68 projects at provincial or ministerial levels and 5 projects funded by the National Social Science Foundation and the Youth Foundation for the Research in Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education.
SFL has two teaching buildings with a floor space of 4,246 square meters. They are well equipped with advanced teaching facilities like computer rooms, multimedia network classrooms, language laboratories, laboratories for simultaneous interpretation and translation as well as digital laboratories for language teaching. With an advanced satellite receiving system, students in SFL can watch television programs in different languages. The resource center has over 50,000 books in its collection, along with 90 kinds of academic journals, magazines and newspapers for teachers and students to read. Meanwhile, the campus network offers quick and easy access to more sources of information.
At present, the number of staff in SFL is about 138, among whom 34 are professors and associate professors and 16 have obtained doctor’s degree. Some prestigious translators and theorists in translation including Chang Feng, Nie Chongxin, Peng Fumin, Gao Jian and Yang Deyou used to teach in the school for a long time. Their excellence in teaching and researching has continued right up until the present day. Ji Chaozhu, former secretary of UN and senior diplomat, was invited as the honorary president of the School. It also has appointed over ten famous domestic scholars as guest or part-time professors, including Gu Yueguo, Xu Shenghuan, He Ziran and so on. For majors of different languages, the School has employed foreign teachers.
In addition, SFL pays great attention to strengthening the academic exchanges. At home, SFL has carried out a number of academic exchanges with many famous universities, like Beijing Foreign Languages University, Shanghai Foreign Languages University, etc; meanwhile, SFL has established academic exchange mechanism with Pfeiffer University (North Carolina, USA), Aston University (UK), Rikkyo University (Japan), Tokyo International University (Japan), Yokohama National University (Japan), University of Technology, Sydney (Australia) and Yerevan State Linguistic University after V. "Brusov" of Armenia, etc.
Since its establishment, SFL has cultivated over 8,000 undergraduates and postgraduates, many of whom have been awarded the honorary titles at the provincial level. The average employment rates of undergraduates and graduates reached 85% and 90% respectively. Besides, 20% of undergraduates and 10% of postgraduates are enrolled to the key universities and colleges in China for their further study, such as Peking University, Beijing Normal University, Nanjing University, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Fudan University, Shanghai International Studies University and Guangdong Foreign Studies University. To the School’s pride, Zang Youfu (secretary of Commission for Discipline Inspection of Tianjin Municipality and alumnus from class of 1972), Yang Shihua (chief operating officer from the headquarters of Bank of China and alumnus from class of 1975) and Jia Gaojian (director of the Compilation and Translation Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and alumnus from class of 1977) are outstanding representatives of SFL graduates. After the development of over 90 years, SFL, by virtue of its solid strength, has become a training base for high-quality inter-disciplinary talent in Shanxi Province, featuring foreign language teaching, scientific research, training and social service. It has been playing an increasingly important role in the cause of being open to the outside and economic construction of Shanxi Province.