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Download There are more job opportunities for students of less-commonly taught languages than for those who major in English, the president of China's leading foreign language university said. "Students majoring in those less-commonly used languages, such as Spanish and Portuguese, almost all have found jobs this year," said Han Zhen, president of Beijing Foreign Studies University. "This year, often described as 'the hardest year to find a job', more than 90 percent of our students have jobs, and students in those two majors have all been given work. It's not only because of the popularity of Spain and Portugal, but of Latin America and Africa." According to statistics from BFSU, as of July 1, 93 percent of graduates from the university had landed jobs. Students majoring in French, Polish, Hungarian and Japanese are also attracting employers. Founded in Yan'an in 1941, BFSU was China's first institution specializing in foreign languages. Dubbed "diplomat's cradle," the university has seen more than 400 graduates become ambassadors. There are 58 languages taught at the university, with four just approved by the Ministry of Education. "So far, the languages taught in BFSU have covered all the official languages in Europe and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations," Han said. "This year, we are preparing to start courses in Amharic, Pushtu, Sanskrit, Pali and Kirghiz. Our next goal is to cover all the languages in Asia and Africa." | 
