After opening the doors for academic exchange of undergraduate and postgraduate teachers and students and in order to strengthen research, the Spanish language program for students of Heilongjiang University (China) is a concrete step towards internationalization and an important result of this alliance.

In August 2017, a committee of the Universidad de La Frontera, composed of Ana Moraga, the former Vice-rector for Undergraduate Affairs; Roberto Araya, the former director of Libraries and Information Resources; Pamela Leal, the director of the International Affairs Office; and Qingjun Wu, the UFRO advisor on relations with China, went to China in order to establish the bases for a cooperation agreement with Heilongjiang University and Tianjin Agricultural University.

As a result of the work and the established alliance, Lu Xiaoduan, the Spanish teacher of the Faculty of Western languages and director of the Spanish Department at Heilongjiang University, came to the Andrés Bello Campus. The purpose of her visit was to carry out an international Spanish course for students of that institution.

The Program is scheduled for the first semester of 2019 and shall be the start of Chinese students coming to our institution and of the creation of Spanish language programs that permit to learn the Spanish language skills that are necessary in order to participate in other classes. Dr. Pamela Leal, director of the International Affairs Office, commented that this program contains “intensive Spanish language classes in order to strengthen oral and written skills, thematic classes on Chilean culture in order to achieve real convergence, and field trips to learn about the Chilean identity and to get to know the touristic attractions of this region.”

The idea is that the students stay for ten months. “The first period of five months will focus on strengthening the Spanish language skills and the second semester on the possibility to choose general training electives,” Dr. Pamela Leal, who sees this initiative as part of the strategic management for internationalization of this institution, added.

GREAT OPPORTUNITY

For Lu Xiaoduan, the director of the Spanish Department at Heilongjiang University, coming to Chile has been an excellent opportunity to expand her experience regarding the language and culture. “We are highly interested. Since the Spanish language is advancing a lot in China, and since we know that it is an internationally important language, it is a great opportunity for me to support this link with the UFRO and that our students will be able to come here to learn this language,” she commented.

ACTIVITIES

In accordance with this cooperation agreement, during the week of her visit, Lu Xiaoduan carried out a series of activities that allowed her to get to know the university, its authorities and the offer of each faculty, with the objective of exploring new fields of collaboration. During her stay, she visited Pucon Campus and presented her country’s pedagogical model in education to UFRO students of the Master´s Program in Education.
“Besides, I have been developing a workshop on Chinese culture and touristic resources with undergraduate students, and two workshops on didactics for Spanish language teaching, protocol and Chinese culture with the teachers of the UFRO´s Language Coordination Center,” she explained.

For Margot Godoy, the coordinator of that unit, this rapprochement is absolutely necessary: “We managed to define the details of the program and made some adjustments regarding the needs of the future students, but we also put together a relevant training program at the Language Coordination Center, as part of the continuous improvement with an important commitment.”

Written by: Pamela Carrasco
Communications Office