Following the footsteps of many departments which have already conducted classes in English, the Department of International Trade will initiate an English program as of school year 2003. First, they will re-group the existent 3 classes into 2 sections. Section A with 2 classes will keep the Chinese medium intact. Section B will use English as the sole means of teaching.

Another special feature of Section B is that they may administer a “Junior Abroad” program, dispatching students in Junior years to study in one of the sister schools in Australia, America or Europe.

Other than Department of International Trade, there are more than 10 courses in the departments and graduate institutes that have already implemented this so-called English program. And co-incidentally, courses offered in College of Management will be taught in English as of 2003: Accounting, Statistics, Management and Information Management.

Nothing seems to be more important than to find the best candidate to man the English program, a task that TKU has long identified and will spare no effort in accomplishing its end.

According to Dr. Lin Jyh-horng, Chair, Department of International Trade, the proposal has been passed in a Meeting of Academic Affairs held earlier this year and is destined to become effective in the school year 2003. Among the freshmen who are to be admitted in the fall term, except for the 5 courses in the core-education curriculum such as History, Literature, Art, Military Training and Physical Education which will be conducted in Chinese, the other specialty courses, even with the inclusion of 5 other core-courses, will be taught in English.

Still Another noticeable feature is, as there will be more 3-credit, single semester courses in the English program, as opposed to the usual 2-credit or 4-credit, two-semester courses usually offered in the program, students may be allowed to take lesser courses (the maximum excusable credits: 12) before graduation.

As for the Junior Abroad program, feelers have been sent out to explore the opportunity of cementing an exchange program with our sister schools. The courses planning will be largely geared at 4 categories such as 1) International Sales; 2) International Business Administration; 3) International Finance Management and 4) International Economics.

The Senior year program will be emphasizing a trendy study of Domestic Market Development. If a student is equipped with both the English potential and expertise in his/her own major, as Prof. Lin Jyh-horng assured us, he/she will certainly be a sought-after “hot-stuff” of the business world after graduation.

The English program is expected to recruit 60 students