What kind of language program do you want to have? We may have the advantages as a leader in language learning market. However, achieving that level will require a lot of work. I think that we can start from something different.
First, as we all know, Thunderbird is well-known in its multicultural environment. Besides, we have so many different regional or cultural clubs. Learning a language is not only about its grammar or vocabularies, but also about its culture. We can associate with those clubs to let students be familiar with the cultures. For example, my university used to have several different festivals, such as Oktoberfest in Germany. Those students majoring in German had to host the event with local Germans and their embassy. Through the process, students had better understanding about the culture and became really interested in German instead of the language itself. These languages are the tools in our daily life. To speak the language is not enough, and to interact with the people is the key to make it practical. We T-birds have great deal of advantages on this field. Why do we want to waste it?
Second, we need to add some more value-added requirements. There is a training institute, called “International Trade Institute (ITI)”, in Taiwan. The institute is managed by Taiwan External Trade development Council. The program started since 1987. The institute provides different language tracks and business classes. The most important part is that the students have to do internships in the country speaking the language of their tracks for 6-12 months before they get the diplomas. A Spanish track student has to go to Spain or Latin America. Those focusing on French need to work in France or other French speaking countries. This requirement enables students to use what they learn and to enhance what they know about the local cultures. Furthermore, many of those graduates keep their service with the companies providing the internships. This program attracts a lot of young professionals who consider equivalent to a MBA degree. This system also increases the reputation of the programs. Employers want to hire more people with the ITI’s diploma. Our language program can use the same methodology, but the internships may not be the requirement. Students who take our language program have to go to different countries for 6 months or so. Let’s take Chinese as an example. There is no way a student can speak it well without living in Chinese speaking countries for a while. By living in the environment is a perfect classroom. You have to use the language in your daily life.
Last, a respectable language program can be equivalent to TOFEL or other language test. The graduate school of HR Management of National Sun Yat-Sen University requires every student take TOFEL and other certified second language tests before they graduate. If any of graduates don’t achieve the certain level of the tests, they can’t receive the degree unless they do so. They have to retake the test until they meet the scores. Why can’t we take the tests upon taking those language classes? The score itself is a good way for other prospective students to measure. The school may get a group discount from those institutes hosting the tests. The certain scores will be the minimum requirement to end the language programs.
After all, our language program is part of important features in Thunderbird. A truly global institute needs to coordinate and develop a good curriculum attaching to its brand. The language part has certain degree in the framework. We still have a long way to go before everyone recognizes us a number one truly global MBA school. So many things need to be done. We can start from the language program by utilizing T-birds’ multinational environment, training students overseas, and establishing the reputation through third-party tests.
