Chennai: Megeshwaran A, a BE civil engineering graduate from a city college, was offered a job at a Japanese company that pays ₹30 lakh per annum. He also got offers from Indian companies willing to pay ₹10 lakh a year. What attracted employers to him was that he had cleared the N3 level in Japanese while still in college.Opportunities are now in plenty for students who have mastered any one foreign language, be it Japanese, German, French, Spanish or Korean. While CBSE has put a cap on foreign languages in schools by mandating two Indian languages from Class VI, colleges in Chennai have modified their syllabi to include foreign languages to increase students’ employability.Universities and engineering colleges have made learning one foreign language mandatory from the first year; some colleges are rewarding students by allowing them to drop a course or two upon completing the certification. Some are allowing students to form foreign language clubs to improve their language skillsAcross campuses, the German language is gaining popularity as German universities offer scholarships for higher education. For example, out of 2,904 students who study foreign languages at Anna University’s four campuses, 2,023 opted for German last year.“Due to an ageing population, Japan and Germany have been providing more job opportunities for students from other countries. German universities offer higher education with scholarships to attract Indian students. So, these two languages are popular across the campuses,” said professor R Baskaran, director of the Centre for International Affairs, Anna University.The university is planning to offer Korean and Mandarin to enable students to get job offers in chip manufacturing and electronics companies. This year, more students prefer electronics and communication engineering, expecting a boom in the chip manufacturing industries.Deemed universities such as VIT Chennai teach German, French, Spanish, Korean and Japanese as mandatory two-credit courses. It also engages native teachers to teach French in collaboration with the French Embassy.“Learning a foreign language will give students an edge while seeking jobs in multinational companies. Japanese and Korean companies prefer Indian engineers with local language proficiency and pay higher salaries,” said G V Selvam, vice-president, VIT Chennai.The beginner level in the Japanese language is N5, while in German it is A1. Japanese companies prefer students who have finished the N3 level. “Students are allowed to form foreign language clubs and conduct cultural events to showcase the culture and tradition. In future, VIT Chennai has plans to introduce languages like Russian and Mandarin,” he added.King Sejong Institute has shortlisted VIT Chennai as a centre to offer Korean language to students and the public. Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science (HITS) is also offering five foreign languages for students.“It enables them to work at a global stage and increases their employability. Companies such as LG give preference to students who know the Korean language. Students’ profiles will also look more diverse if they learn a foreign language, which will help them become global citizens and get better pay packages,” said Vikas Mishra, vice-chancellor of HITS.Engineering colleges such as RMK Engineering College are planning to introduce Mandarin from this academic year (2026-27).“We expect more job offers from the VLSI-based chip manufacturing sector. So, we are in talks with Taiwanese companies and are planning to introduce Mandarin. We are also creating awareness about opportunities and culture by bringing foreign embassy officials,” said R M Kishore, vice-chairman of RMK Engineering College.SRM Easwari Engineering College are incentivising learning foreign languages. “We are teaching foreign languages as a two-credit course. Students can drop a course in their seventh semester if they complete three levels,” said P Deiva Sundari, principal of SRM Easwari Engineering College.
