Chinese students #2

Most Chinese students come from a single child family as outlined by the one child per family law in China.  So from the very vulnerable age of 14 or 15 students move to regional high schools to live in austere dormitory accommodations where their best friends become their fiercest competitors for that coveted high school, university or post graduate enrollment spot.

Chinese education is most definitely teacher/professor lecture to large classes.  English is required at all levels but never taught by a native speaker until post graduate levels when habits are set in concrete and difficult to overcome. Testing is the vehicle that propels student performance and teacher evaluation.  When a student graduates from high school the university they will attend is decided by their test scores and the major area of study, also decided by test scores.  Student choices and personal interests are never a consideration.  Students are so happy to have the privilege to continue their education they never ask or question what their major will be. Students may or may not receive a scholarship or financial aid depending upon; you guessed it, test scores.  Parents may be responsible to finance the entire education bill not all that different from student financing in the U.S.

My largest concern is the emptiness I sense in students.  The core values seem to be absent.  They are happy, easy to get along with, compliant with requests but there is an emptiness.  Being a mother I have to say they are missing a cohesive confidence that being part of a family or having someone care for you regardless of what happens.  It is that unconditional love piece that seems hollow.  We discussed international cuisine in class last week.  I asked students if they cooked any Chinese dishes, no were the answers.  I asked if they had any favorite Chinese dishes that their mother cooked, most students had a favorite.  I asked it they ever cooked or watched their mother cook dishes that they could make for friends or guests.  They all left home so early they only watched their mother as young children.  Only one or two students felt confident they could cook a dish from their region or family.

Students have difficulty with critical thinking.  They have been taught never to question teachers or elders.  They never wonder if there is another way to do something, they merely do what they are taught unassumingly.  As a result, education has become listen to professors, take notes, read, memorize regurgitate information on tests, papers and presentations. It is not uncommon to see students outside buildings memorizing information mostly in Chinese, but sometimes in English. 

The most difficult question I ask my students is “What is your opinion?” They have been taught to only quote what they have been taught, not have an opinion.  I can almost see the wheels turn when students stand to respond to that question. Part and parcel of that syndrome is plagiarism.  The Chinese philosophy is copy the experts, follow the masters of your field.  Chinese students have difficulty with why plagiarism is a problem at all.  Why wouldn’t you want to use the information of those who are expert in your research field?   Eighteen years of educational format is very difficult to overcome. On a positive note, that would be the reason that the knock off market thrives, the Chinese are able to copy everything!

When all is said and done we hope to be able to support our students in their quest to be successful in the Chinese system, not to change the system but to participate in student success the Chinese way.  Even though there are vast differences in philosophy and values, I want to provide English learning opportunities for Chinese students.  Being a teacher is indeed a noble profession, more so now than ever before.