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SCMP Reporter

EDWARD CHAN Five business students at Hong Kong Polytechnic University got the chance to practise their language skills while learning about business practices in other countries.

 They were third year students in the Languages with Business programme. Students study either French, German or Japanese with business and management courses and get to study abroad.

  The students said there was a growing need for young graduates with trilingual skills to work in multinational corporations.

  'We can communicate effectively in a third language, and the business electives have enhanced our knowledge,' Phoebe Tong Yin said.

  Ms Tong and classmate Choy Ling-ling spent a year in Germany. They said they had communication problems when they first arrived in the country.

  'I didn't understand a single word of German when I talked to people at the airport. It took us a few months to catch up,' Ms Choy said.

  They first took a language course at the University of Applied Sciences in Konstanz. Ms Tong worked at the customer relations office of a cleansing product company in Winnenden while Ms Choy worked at the international business office of Bosch Telecom in Munich.

 'I was impressed by the Germans' efficiency and positive work attitude. They were always willing to help no matter how busy they were,' Ms Choy said.

  Natalie Kong Bing-ling and Vincent Wong Kai-yuen took business and language courses in France.

  The two students said the high cost of living and high unemployment had made job placements in France difficult.

  They said the use of information technology was not popular among their French classmates. 'They were not very good at using the computer or Internet,' Mr Wong said.

 Apart from business knowledge, the students said they also learned to appreciate the French lifestyle and food. 'Wines, cheese and pastries are an important part of their culture,' Ms Kong said.

  Bunnie Ma, studying Japanese, was selected as the teaching assistant in her language class because of good spoken English.

  She studied business, English and Japanese at Beppu University.

  Ms Ma taught Cantonese classes and worked as an interpreter for a Hong Kong magazine about Japanese food. She also worked as a radio presenter offering the latest entertainment, shopping and travel tips.

  'I met and talked to different people and it boosted my confidence,' she said.

  The Languages with Business programme is designed for students who are interested in studying languages and in communicating with others in the business world through those languages.

  It aims to combine language competence with an education in the organisation, management and functioning of business in the international context of Hong Kong.

  Students also have to study translation, interpreting, marketing, computing, business research, international and China business, accounting, business law, human resources and administration.

  During the summer of their second year of studies, students spend three months in Japan, France or Germany.

  The programme will be integrated with the Contemporary English Language course to become the Language Studies with Business bachelor's programme in the next academic year.

PolyU programme offers students chance to practise skills while working overseas 



Course mixes business with languages