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[Ricci]

I was wondering if anyone could answer a question for me, particularly Zero Hero.
I notice that Zero teaches Russian and German at a university in HK. As a graduate of French and Italian with subsidiary studies in German and Russian, I am looking into doing a part-time Masters course in French with some Russian, even if the Russian were only a "wild course" or "add-on." I have been browsing courses (I am looking for a taught course, preferably with some literature element) and, whilst I can find plenty of suitable courses in French, I can't find any options to study Russian. Obviously there is at least one, as Zero teaches there.

Also, should I expect these courses to be suitable for someone with a background of academic study in the languages, or are they more likely to be ab initio courses?

Thanks.

[Zero Hero]

'Ricci', I teach the languages you state, German and Russian, but they are not language courses per se. I teach, if you like, 'GAP', 'GSP', 'RAP', and 'RSP' (German for academic purposes, German for specific purposes, Russian for academic purposes, and Russian for specific purposes). I personally do not know of any universities in HK at which you could study for a degree in German or Russian, especially not the latter.

The Russian I teach, for example, is but one module in a greater language degree course, the students of which must take an extra language outside of English, Mandarin, and Cantonese. I also teach some engineering and mathematics students Russian script as at some point in their course they will need to refer to some basic Russian literature and so need to get a foothold on the written language. Also, some of my classes are taking a module in, say, European Studies or East European Business Studies, and so take a few modules in basic Russian language and history.

The German is slightly different, as that is a tad less obscure in HK, mainly, I believe, as a result of strong business links and the presence of the Goethe Institute. Nevertheless, the German I teach is again either for students who take a 'second' language (in reality this is often a third or fourth language) or is given as part of a language-support course.

For example, for many, many years, practically all literature in chemistry was published in German; German was simply the language of chemistry. At some point in their studies, namely, when they look back at previous classic work, they need to tackle and reference some sections of German-language papers. Similarly, much current mathematical Knot Theory work is published in Russian language journals, and so undergraduate students of maths, if their third year project is to be in that area must take a basic Russian course. Aside from extra-curricular clubs (I teach a German and Russian literature club), most if not all of the courses I teach are for students such as this.

Also, it must be stressed that, in both cases, of course, I only support teachers who are native speakers, and that I only got the duties as I was already employed at the university. Also, it would not have been possible to do if, at university when doing my BA, German and Russian had not been my major and minor languages (and stated as such on my academic transcript).

Good luck in your search for an appropriate course. It is a shame you do not have that Masters already as, if you did have it, you would be in with a good chance of getting a post as an assistant lecturer in French that the Baptist University are currently seeking.

[Ricci]

Zero,

Thank you for a very detailed and informative response. I will probably return to the UK to find a course to suit my requirements, but was just checking my chances here in HK first.

Many thanks