School of Foreign Languages

The School of Foreign Languages was founded in 1992, based on the former Department of Foreign Languages, Guangzhou English Language Center and Center of Chinese Studies of Sun Yat-sen University. The School has a long and rigorous academic tradition. Its Department of English was established in 1924, when the University was founded. Many famous scholars such as Shen Hong, Shiqiu Liang, Liuling Dai, Zongdai Liang, Zongyan Wang, Wentong Xie, Dayin Yu, Shichun Gui, have taught in the School and exerted a tremendous influence on its development.

The School of Foreign Languages takes foreign languages and literature, applied linguistics, functional linguistics and discourse analysis, translation studies, cultural studies and international business as the main areas of teaching and research. The School is dedicated to the training of high caliber talents in foreign languages and literature, foreign affairs, foreign language education, international business, media and publishing industries as well as tourism.

The School has always been active in academic exchanges and collaborations with other prestigious universities and institutions both at home and abroad.  Each year, scholars from the School are sent to English-speaking countries or Hong Kong and Macao to give lectures, conduct research, attend conferences, or to further their studies. The School also recruits a team of foreign scholars and experts.

At present, there are 4 departments under the School: Department of English, Department of Japanese, Department of French and Department of German, as well as the Guangzhou English Language Center, which offers intensive English training programs to scholars who are to study or do research abroad. The School was among the first group of institutions in China to offer PhD and Master's degree programs in English Language and Literature in the early 1980s. The English Language and Literature program of the School has also been recognized as one of the key programs in Guangdong Province.

Research Fields
• Applied Linguistics
• English Language and Literature
• French Language and Literature
• Functional Linguistics and Discourse Analysis
• German Language and Literature
• Japanese Language and Literature
• Translation Studies

Departments
• Department of English
• Department of French
• Department of German
• Department of Japanese

Research Institutes/Centers
• Research Section of English and American Language and Literature
• Language Studies Institute
• English Poetry Studies Institute
• Functional Linguistics Institute
• Translation Studies Institute
• Australian Studies Institute
• Russian Studies Institute
• Center for Continuing Education
• Cambridge Business English Certificate (BEC) Test Center
• Public English Testing System (PETS) Test Center
• National Accreditation Examination for Translators and Interpreters (NAETI) Test Center

Exchange and Cooperation
The School has established links with many institutions in the world and is in regular contacts and research cooperation with scholars from Jean Moulin University-Lyons III, the University of Cambridge, the University of Sydney, Cardiff University, the University of Hong Kong, the City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University and the University of Macao.