More students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will be able to study a foreign language thanks to recent changes in general education requirements.
That’s because foreign language credits will soon be an option for completing the 40-41 hours of fundamental coursework students must complete, whatever their major, before graduating.
“It’s a gamechanger for us,” said Joshua Davies, head of the UTC Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures and associate classics professor. “Studying languages and the cultures that are alive in these languages is what we contribute to campus, and this allows us to expand our mission and reach more students.”
Before the revamp to gen ed at UTC, foreign language courses were only incorporated into bachelor’s of arts degrees and a few other programs.
“Now a language, as an option, will tick a box for all students and will count toward credits they have to take anyhow. Students can even just try a semester of language to see how they like it,” Davies said.
The languages department is the first at UTC to bring back its study abroad program since the pandemic, which allows students to earn credits while outside the country.
“Our goal is that students not only find it exciting but valuable as part of their degree program,” he said.
The gen ed revamp, designed to provide a more robust experience for students, doesn’t take effect until fall 2023—which gives faculty members and department heads like Davies time to adjust programs and make the transition as seamless as possible.
“It comes down to making sure our courses meet the new learning outcomes and align with the new requirements,” he said, “and it also lets us think about what new courses we will want to offer with a potentially larger audience.”
Starting this fall, Davies’ department is bringing back Japanese by popular demand. Summer has barely begun and the class is already full.
Why?
The American appetite for Japanese culture is booming.
“It’s the No. 2 most-requested language that we don’t currently offer – German being first,” Davies said.
Go to any popular streaming service and search “anime” (short for animated movies and TV shows), and you’ll find tons of Japanese cartoons. So many, in fact, that anime is often sub-categorized into popular genres like suspense, romance and supernatural.
A literal appetite for sushi, one of Japan’s most famous modern cultural exports, has grown so much over the past 30 years that it’s practically become standard fare in the U.S. You can even buy sushi on the UTC campus.
The University has offered Japanese in the past, but it was always challenging to keep instructors, Davies said.
Enter Takeo Suzuki, executive director of the UTC Center for Global Education. Originally from Kobe, Japan, Suzuki has brought Japanese and other international students to UTC to study English since first arriving at the University in 2015.
Suzuki will teach the class, starting with one section this fall.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the classroom and I get more connected with students and interact with more students,” Suzuki said.
The courses will focus on basic grammar and cultural touchstones like anime and manga, a style of Japanese comic books and graphic novels that—like anime—has become increasingly appealing to American children, teens and adults.
“A lot of young people really love anime and manga these days,” Suzuki said. “It’s popular, and they want to know more about Japanese culture, so this class will be the perfect jumping-off point for them.”
Tokyo is the biggest and most well-known city in Japan, but Suzuki will be teaching his native Kansai dialect vs. the Tokyo dialect.
The Kansai region, which includes Kyoto, Kobe and Osaka, is considered the comedy capital of Japan. Osaka, the country’s third-largest city, has long been home to traditional Japanese entertainment such as rakugo comic storytelling, manzai comedic duo acts and naniwa-bushi, a form of musical storytelling
“It’s more fun and it’s got cultural significance, too,” Suzuki explained.
He said students will study the basic pillars of the language—Katakana, Kanji and Hiragana—and “there will be a lot of studying required.”
“I’ll be teaching them the basics, but with a big emphasis on the culture,” Suzuki said. “When you have a genuine interest in a culture, studying the language is more engaging.”