Applied Communication/s Courses @ FUN
For the first two years at Future University – Hakodate (FUN), students are required to take courses in Communication Studies. Four courses are run every semester. Class lectures are generally 90 minutes in length and are conducted twice a week for Communication 3 and 4 (second year students) and once a week for Communication 1 and 2 (first year students).
To some, the concept of a Communication course may mistakenly be equated with an English Language Learning Program. However, FUN does not have a department or a course titled “English”, because a second language is useful or worthwhile when it is learned not just as the language itself, but by way of everyday life activities or applied learning. In other words, Communication courses don’t teach English, rather in English.
Communication courses allow students to explore and investigate learn practical ways of communication academic knowledge by using the current international lingua franca of English, across a a wide spectrum of applied Communication areas such as:
- English for Academic Purposes:
- social transformation and communication:
- science, technology and design communication:
- e-cultures, pedagogical philosophy and communication:
- foresight communication (communication related to strategic futures thinking)
- Communication for Complex Systems:
- intercultural communication:
- Transmedia Storytelling:
- Digitally Enabled Futures Images production
Most classes are conducted with a focus on using English as an international language with the aim of creating scholars competent on the international research stage.
Communication classes at FUN are generally project-based and students are able to choose topics to work on. Each group completes a project by applying various aspects of communication theory and practice. Applied communication/s projects are usually presented before an audience from both inside and outside of campus at the end of the semester.
