French:

French is spoken in more than 50 countries across the world and thus offers numerous career opportunities in different fields around the globe. It was first introduced in Pune in Wadia College in the year 1932 and got introduced in the University of Pune curriculum with the establishment of the Department of Foreign Languages in 1954.

Today the French Section offers M.A., M. Phil., Ph.D. and 6 different part time language courses. We have a highly qualified teaching faculty for higher courses as well as trained teachers working as contributory or visiting faculty. A high demand for foreign language professionals ensures job placements for most of our students.

The French embassy offers continuous support and at the moment we have a native teacher who teaches and also helps in organizing extra-curricular activities. The embassy offers the possibility of teaching English in French schools to all students with a Masters level qualification in the language.

In the past we have had a 7 year collaboration with the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Many students and teachers have benefited through this collaboration through which the Masters students who were selected to go on a scholarship also got a transfer of credits. A text book for teaching French (2 levels) was published by us under the aegis of this program.

Since 2013, we have been collaborating with CEGEP de Sherbrooke in Quebec. Many professors from this university have been coming as guest lecturers, as well as our professors have been going to conduct lectures in CEGEP de Sherbrooke. The exchange program between the two universities that was conducted in 2014 was a huge success.

Here are a few glimpses:

All the participants during the second leg of the exchange in January, 2015 at the department

Only one of the many beautiful murals that are spread all over the wonderful town of Sherbrooke.

The magazine of the French section “French Nagar” has been a great encouragement for our learners to write in French on different themes and topics.

Russian:

Russian language is being taught in the University of Pune since 1964. In the year 2014 the Russian Section celebrated its Golden Jubilee. The Russian Section offers part time as well as post graduate courses including M. Phi. And Ph.D. Till today the Russian Section has produced 4 Ph.D. and 2 M.Phil degrees. The Russian Section has also successfully completed TWO UGC Major Research Projects; first in the period 2002-2005 and the second 2007-2010. Both the Projects were completed in time and the proceeds of the research were published in the form of two dictionaries - A Russian-Marathi Dictionary and A Marathi-Russian-German Trilingual Dictionary, probably a first of its kind. A M.A. student of Russian Section, WamanParakhi successfully cleared UPSC examination with Russian as a Major Subject in 1989. Many of our alumni are working in translation and localizing areas. Some are working in BPOs while some are working as teachers of Russian Language.

Japanese:

Nowadays, the study of Japanese language in India, which has been continuing enthusiastically, since its inception in the 1970s, is in its golden phase. In this age of globalization and intensification of the Indo-Japanese relations, a lot of opportunities for both students and scholars pursuing Japanese as both a career option and as a skill to reinforce their credentials, have proven to be encouragement enough for Japanese in becoming a popular foreign language to learn among Indians, irrespective of age, profession and educational background.

The Oxford of the East, Pune, has also become a major hub for Japanese Language Education in India. Since the establishment of a course in Japanese Language in 1977 by the University of Pune, the language has enjoyed increasing popularity. Pune, being a city that has its own Information Technology base, is very well suited for Japanese language education, as the ties of the IT industry and Japanese bilinguals are very deep. Thus, the Japanese Section of the Department of Foreign Languages, Savitribai Phule Pune University is proud to show an intake of more than 350 fresh students every year. It has an excellent faculty that helps students not only learn the language but also enjoy it.

In the years to come, the Japanese Section of the Savitribai Phule University of Pune endeavors to carry out the work of promoting Japanese in Pune with zeal. We intend to provide to our students all of the facilities which will further nurture the study of Japanese language and open newer doors of opportunities for them.

Youkoso! All are welcome! Come, study with us!

Spanish:

The Spanish Section was started in 1996 with strength of 10 and today it has grown to more than 300. This enormous growth is in part due to the growing relevance of Spanish in the world. It is the official language in almost the entire Latin America along with Spain, and, is the most widely spoken language after English in the United States, along with being the second most widely spoken language after Mandarin. The official language in more than 23 countries with a wide global reach, it is fast becoming a preferred business language to learn.

We teach the language following the communicative method, i.e. writing, listening, reading and speaking, following the European Common Framework (Marco Común Europeo de Referencia) for the various levels. The culture, history, literature and art form a very important part of the studies and the students are encouraged to learn about its various aspects in depth, apart from the obligatory class room learning.

We have a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain and we continue receiving its support for the Section. We are one of the few DELE (Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera) examination centers in India. This officially certified Spanish accreditation exam is conducted in the department in November and every year students from Pune, Mumbai and all over India appear for it. The DELE is managed by the Instituto Cervantes, on behalf of the Ministry of Education of Spain.

In addition,under this program, we have a native Spanish lecturer, appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain, who directs and assists us in conducting the various cultural and educational programs as well as the DELE exams in Pune.