The Department of German Language and Literature at the School of Foreign Languages, Soochow University was founded in 2009. Though the Department has a short history of around ten years, it has been embracing new concepts and advanced ideas. Through constant reform, restructuring, and expanding, it has grown into a team of professional recognition and enormous potential.
There are about 100 undergraduates in the entire Department, for whom about 20 courses have been offered. The Department fully implements the humanistic ideal of education, determined to cultivate students with moral ethos, spirit of exploration, professional expertise, creative thinking, and problem-solving skills. During the 4 years of undergraduate studies, all students can pass the Test for German Majors Grade 4 and Grade 8, which lays a solid foundation for their future employment and studies. Recently, the Department has made great achievements in the cultivation of talents – every year, quite a few students pursue postgraduate studies in prestigious universities in China, which has won a good reputation for the Department. In the meanwhile, also on the rise is the number of students who pass the domestic postgraduate qualifying examination for another major or further the studies in prestigious universities abroad. In 2019, our debating team won the third prize in the 12th National Debate Competition for German Students (Nationaler Debattierwettbewerb Für Germanistikstudierende) hosted by the German Subcommittee under the National Advisory Committee on the Major of Foreign Languages and Literatures in Higher Education at the Ministry of Education. Moreover, our students have also made brilliant achievements at other national contests. At present, the Department is committed to facilitating students to study and exchange at German-speaking countries.
The Department of German Language and Literature is a young but professional team consisted by seven teachers, among whom three have got the doctoral degree while four are on their way towards it. All the teachers have completed their undergraduate studies in 985 Project universities and studied or exchanged in Germany. Some have won the first or second prize in teaching competitions at a provincial or national level. The teachers not only shoulder the responsibility for teaching and educating students, but also are dedicated to academic research. On the one hand, they continuously accumulate experience and improve the teaching abilities through daily practice. On the other hand, they perfect themselves through participating in teacher development activities and overseas studies as students or visiting scholars. In terms of professional ethics, the staff have done an excellent job in maintaining a harmonious teacher-student relationship. The entire Department fosters a positive atmosphere for studying, teaching, and interpersonal communications.
