A recent trade mission by the state to Korea and Japan gave Kirkland-based Northwest University a chance to promote its international studies programs.
Associate Provost of International Studies Dr. Autumn Witt accompanied Gov. Jay Inslee and others on a nine-day visit to Korea and Japan last month. As part of the trade mission during the first week of September, the delegation visited cities such as Seoul, Kobe, Nagoya, and Tokyo to promote Washington products and services, such as information technology, agriculture, and aerospace. In Seoul, Witt represented the university at official receptions at alongside NU alumni, EunYoung Shin, an intern at the US Embassy.
“I was really impressed with the structure of the entire trip, because there were so many opportunities to highlight many Washington industries and projects,” she said. “It seems like they had very active Chambers of Commerce in both places that were incredibly well-connected with the local business community. Because they were established, and because we came as a strong group, I think they were able to showcase the strength of Washington state as a whole.”
Witt also met with Korean and Japanese universities to discuss higher education opportunities and studies abroad. This summer, NU hosted 200 international students from China, Korea, Mexico and Kazakhstan.
“They all see education as a way to build relationships and ties between countries,” she said. “It really showed through these types of exchanges we can build off of our partnership and relationships.”
In particular, Witt learned that Japanese universities have stopped funding the humanities and social sciences, which offers NU an opportunity to cater to foreign students looking for study abroad programs. In order to accommodate the Japanese school system, programs would be fit into a one-three month study board.
“For their students to get that valuable education, having an international university that can provide that content is really vital,” she said. “I learned that in Japan it’s very important the studies fit within their existing school structure and not be extra. It has to take place within their school year.”
She also promoted the short-term International Business English professional development programs offered through the Center for English Language Education and the College of Business.
“I think that our strength comes through the professional development that we do,” she said. “It’s wonderful for students to study abroad and see new parts of the world and see themselves as global citizens.”
One of the fundamental aspects of international business, she said, is effective communication.
“I think that when you start doing more international business it’s important for all parties to clearly communicate and understand the business English expectations of all parties,” she said. “Some great ideas may fall by the wayside simply because they don’t have the English language skills. It’s (business English) a language specifically for business deals or deciding what is the etiquette for you to write in emails between a team.”
One of the purposes of teaching specifically business English, she said, is to help foster communication without suffering from misunderstandings due to cultural differences or differences in language structure. For example, in Korea and Japan there is an inherent hierarchy in the language in which the style of speech is impacted significantly based on social class, gender, age, and other variables.
One way to remedy this, she said, is by teaching business English students how groups can build rapport through social interactions.
“I would ask as I was networking…are your teams all from one country, or do you collaborate?” she said. “Most collaborate in developing and testing. What kind of problems come up? As I would collect these difficulties, I’d ask ‘What’s the underlying language struggle that we could help your team with?’”
While in Kobe, the trade delegation was joined by a friendship delegation led by State Sen. Karen Fraser as part of a celebration of Washington’s relationship with its sister state, Hyogo. Governor Inslee planted a tree at the Hyogo House, echoing the 50 year commemorative tree planting in Olympia Aug 19, 2013 with the Hyogo Governor Ido’s delegation.
The Intercultural Business professional development series teaches Intercultural Communication Strategies and Applied Business English.
For more information about International Studies at Northwest University, email international@northwestu.edu.
