<p>Bangalore University’s (BU) Department of Foreign Languages has seen a fall in the number of admissions to various courses for the academic year 2015-16.<br /><br /></p>.<p>In 2013-14, around 403 students had enrolled themselves and in 2014-15 it was 441. In 2015-16, however, the enrolment has slipped to 351. The fall in the number of students is 90 compared with the last year and 52 compared with the 2013-14 situation.<br /><br />The department faculty say the fall could be due to apprehensions over trifurcation of the university. <br /><br />Students have become uncertain where they would get the degree or diploma from – Bangalore University, Bangalore Central University or Bangalore South.<br /><br /> Students want the diploma from Bangalore University as it is widely recognised by different consulates.<br /><br />While the number of students has dipped, German language, however, has acquired the number one status this year over French, which has been the most popular course for many years. <br /><br />Faculty say the preference for German could be because of the high number of German delegations coming to Bengaluru and Delhi and the heightened interaction between German and Bengaluru-based trade bodies.<br /><br />Higher level of interaction between German and Bengaluru-based science and other academic institutions has also encouraged students to take German this year. <br /><br />As many as 105 students have enrolled for the German language course over the last three years, says senior faculty member Jyothi Venkatesh.<br /><br />French comes in second and does so in the context of high interaction between French trade and science bodies and organisations, especially in Bengaluru. The preference for French has seen a drop of 32 students from 105 to 73. Students also prefer the French language course being offered by Alliance Francaise.<br /><br />Eleven courses are on offer by the university, including German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese and Korean. Students who apply for different courses do so on the basis of job assessment.<br /><br />Driven by job market If students are convinced that they are likely to get a job which requires a particular language skill, then they pick that language. For example Chinese.<br /><br /> China now has a strong information technology connection with Bengaluru – with many techies flying into Shanghai, Chengdu, which is the IT hub, and Beijing.<br /><br />“Given this job scenario, youngsters prefer Chinese language these days. Even if they have a working knowledge, it’s enough. We have seen an increase in the number of students taking up Chinese over the last few years,” says Sreenivas R, a teacher at a private Chinese teaching school.<br /><br />Bangalore University has an MA programme in Japanese and a PhD in French. There are plans to launch MA in Spanish and German from the 2016 and 2017 academic years. <br /></p>
<p>Bangalore University’s (BU) Department of Foreign Languages has seen a fall in the number of admissions to various courses for the academic year 2015-16.<br /><br /></p>.<p>In 2013-14, around 403 students had enrolled themselves and in 2014-15 it was 441. In 2015-16, however, the enrolment has slipped to 351. The fall in the number of students is 90 compared with the last year and 52 compared with the 2013-14 situation.<br /><br />The department faculty say the fall could be due to apprehensions over trifurcation of the university. <br /><br />Students have become uncertain where they would get the degree or diploma from – Bangalore University, Bangalore Central University or Bangalore South.<br /><br /> Students want the diploma from Bangalore University as it is widely recognised by different consulates.<br /><br />While the number of students has dipped, German language, however, has acquired the number one status this year over French, which has been the most popular course for many years. <br /><br />Faculty say the preference for German could be because of the high number of German delegations coming to Bengaluru and Delhi and the heightened interaction between German and Bengaluru-based trade bodies.<br /><br />Higher level of interaction between German and Bengaluru-based science and other academic institutions has also encouraged students to take German this year. <br /><br />As many as 105 students have enrolled for the German language course over the last three years, says senior faculty member Jyothi Venkatesh.<br /><br />French comes in second and does so in the context of high interaction between French trade and science bodies and organisations, especially in Bengaluru. The preference for French has seen a drop of 32 students from 105 to 73. Students also prefer the French language course being offered by Alliance Francaise.<br /><br />Eleven courses are on offer by the university, including German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese and Korean. Students who apply for different courses do so on the basis of job assessment.<br /><br />Driven by job market If students are convinced that they are likely to get a job which requires a particular language skill, then they pick that language. For example Chinese.<br /><br /> China now has a strong information technology connection with Bengaluru – with many techies flying into Shanghai, Chengdu, which is the IT hub, and Beijing.<br /><br />“Given this job scenario, youngsters prefer Chinese language these days. Even if they have a working knowledge, it’s enough. We have seen an increase in the number of students taking up Chinese over the last few years,” says Sreenivas R, a teacher at a private Chinese teaching school.<br /><br />Bangalore University has an MA programme in Japanese and a PhD in French. There are plans to launch MA in Spanish and German from the 2016 and 2017 academic years. <br /></p>
