The School of Foreign Languages and Literature of Shandong University grows out of the Foreign Language Department of Shandong University. The Foreign Language Department was founded in 1930 in picturesque Qingdao. In 1994, the Department turned into the School of Foreign Languages and Literature. In 2000, the Foreign Language Department of the former Shandong University of Industry and the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Office of the former Shandong Medical University merged into the School to form the present School of Foreign Languages and Literature.Now the School has eight departments, eight research institutes (or centers), and one teaching section. The eight departments are the Department of English Language and Literature, the Department of Applied English Studies, the Department of Russian Language and Literature, the Department of Japanese Language and Literature, the Department of South Korean Language and Literature, the Department of French Language and Literature, the Department of German Language and Literature, and the Department of Translation and Interpretation. The eight research institute (or centers) include the Research Institute of Contemporary American Literature,the Research Institute of Foreign Languages and Culture, the Center for Japanese Studies, the Research Institute of Applied Foreign Language and Translation, the Research Institute of East Asian Culture, the Center for Russian Studies, the Center for Translation Studies, the Research Institute of English Teaching for Non-English Majors. The Teaching Section of English Teaching for Non-English Majors has an administrative office, a postgraduate education teaching and research office, three undergraduate education teaching and research offices and the Research Institute of English Teaching for Non-English Majors. It is responsible for the English teaching of non-English majors, including undergraduates, postgraduates, students on network education programs and students pursuing continuing education.
The School takes on the teaching and researches of English, Russian, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Esperanto, Spanish, and Italian. Now it offers PhD degree program on English Language and Literature and MA degree programs on foreign languages and literature. The staff of the School enjoys an agreeable age structure, creativity and great potential for development. Among the 289 full-time teachers in the School, 119 are professors and associate professors. 59 teachers have PhD or are PhD candidates. 90% of the teachers have had overseas experience.?? For years, the School has been inviting foreign teachers to give oral and writing courses and to guide the students’ language practice out of class. The School has established exchanges and cooperation with many universities and academic institutions both at home and abroad. Many professors in the School hold key positions in academic societies throughout the countryand are part-time or visiting professors in other universities. Meanwhile, many noted scholars and experts have been invited to be part-time or visiting professors of the School.
The School of Foreign Languages and Literature lies in the East Section ofShandong University. It has an environment of elegance and taste and possesses satisfying books, reference materials and teaching facilities. At present, the School has five sound labs, 10 multi-media classrooms and one self-study classroom, providing the students sound places and opportunities for study. The reference room of the School has over 70,000 books in diverse languages, over 100 national and international periodicals and a large amount of sound materials available to satisfy the demand of teaching and research.
The School lays equal stress on the training of the students’ basic foreign language skills and specialized theoretical knowledge as well as the cultivation of the students’ creativity and practicability. It actively develops the fostering model of foreign language+ specialized knowledge and has established the double-degree undergraduate programs of English + Law and English + International Politics in the English Major. This new model has now been extended to other foreign language majors. Every year, the School selects and dispatches students of various languages on exchange and study trips to universities both at home and abroad. Presently the School has an undergraduate population of 1228 and a postgraduate population of 463.