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Don't shrug off lectures on culture

Many students believe university education's main purpose is to help you get a better job. They focus on practical subjects and tend to ignore courses in culture and similar subjects.

Sun Guantian, a journalism major, noticed that courses on cultural management are widely unpopular. Students regard them as 'useless' when it comes to future employment. So rather than pay attention in class, they prepare for other subjects, play games on their mobile phones, or even doze off.

'Although students attend the lectures, they behave in a very disrespectful manner to the lecturer,' Sun said.

In contrast, lectures that have more relevance for students' future job prospects are much more popular, such as management and English courses.

Liang Huang, a sophomore majoring in Business English, pays attention to lectures on translation. She thinks better translation skills will help her 'do well in my future job hunt'.

As for other lectures, she admits she seldom gets engaged.

'I think some students are unaware of the importance of lectures on culture,' said Guo Demao, a professor at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. 'Many students only pay attention to their majors and neglect to expand their general knowledge.'

Prof Guo added that listening to lectures on various subjects was a very effective way for students to enrich their knowledge. 'Lecturers share their most interesting findings in their lectures so students can gain much new knowledge in a very short time if they pay attention closely.'

Some certainly do. 'I always learn a lot from different lectures,' said Zheng Peihong, a Chinese faculty sophomore.

'I can learn things that I can not get from textbooks. I get to learn of new ideas that surprise me and come to know views that differ from mine,' Zheng added.

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