Challenges Cont.
The authors of the source amazingly identifies several ways and/or problems that most Chinese students have when learning to assimilate into
America’s style of learning and America’s style of English. For instance, the author points out when Chinese students study in American classrooms, they tend to apply their cultural values and beliefs from China into American context when communicating with Americans (Jinyan and Brown). An American professor observed how some of his Chinese students would state that they knew the material or understood the lesson, when in actuality, they did not. An explanation behind this can be traced back to Chinese culture where it is viewed as shameful for a
student to announce in front of his class that he/she was not able to comprehend the teacher’s instructions and/or lessons. Thus, through the application of their native cultural beliefs, Chinese students are limiting their ability to fully grasp a lesson in American classrooms. The above example is one of the disadvantages that Chinese students have when attending American classrooms. However, I have noticed that some of my Chinese friends don’t mind asking the professor to repeat the assignment instructions or ask assistance as long as they do it after class. The
author simplified the cause to only reflect that Chinese students are only comfortable with asking for the instructions again from a fellow peer, when they actually don’t mind asking their professor to repeat the assignment instructions as long as it is after class.
Another great reason the author accentuated was the difference between the two countries, America and China, typical teaching styles. American teaching style within a university classroom differs based on the professor preferable teaching method and the specific course that professor teaches (Jinyan and Brown). The author states how in a recent study, over 80% Chinese students believe that class-based discussions and a lot of student participation negatively affect their academic standing in the course and their actual understanding of the material discussed. To
expand a little more, I asked a Chinese friend of mine, Yi Pei or Bridget, about her learning experiences in China and whether or not there was any form of usage of class discussions utilized to broaden a specific topic or lesson. She responded with a “no” and explained that when she was being taught English in class, their teacher would always skip the class discussion questions in their textbooks and require the students to answer the exercise problems instead. The author points out that too much group work, failure to follow the textbook, lecture organization, lecture summary and other variables in the classroom or teaching method may influence Chinese students’ comprehension of a lesson. In addition, in Yi Pei’s narrative for project 2, she illustrates how some terminology in the English language was interpreted differently in China than the actual usage of the term in America: “playground” and “ground to play” (Bridget’s project 2). In addition, she also portrays how
certain phrases may be declared “bad” in the minds of non-native speakers by the usage of a “bad” word- “shit”. When Bridget originally heard the phrase “You guys were the shit”, she automatically assumed that it meant something bad because of the explanation of the term in her English class in China. She was befuddled after learning that the word may be perceived to be a “good” thing based on the context in which it is use. Although the current source illustrated the challenges that Chinese students faced in American classrooms, my next source shall move away from the “negative” aspects of being a bilingual student and highlight a positive aspect and a great method to aid Chinese students’ immersion into American classrooms.
Click on the button below to see and/or read the source I used for this part of my piece.
The authors of the source amazingly identifies several ways and/or problems that most Chinese students have when learning to assimilate into
America’s style of learning and America’s style of English. For instance, the author points out when Chinese students study in American classrooms, they tend to apply their cultural values and beliefs from China into American context when communicating with Americans (Jinyan and Brown). An American professor observed how some of his Chinese students would state that they knew the material or understood the lesson, when in actuality, they did not. An explanation behind this can be traced back to Chinese culture where it is viewed as shameful for a
student to announce in front of his class that he/she was not able to comprehend the teacher’s instructions and/or lessons. Thus, through the application of their native cultural beliefs, Chinese students are limiting their ability to fully grasp a lesson in American classrooms. The above example is one of the disadvantages that Chinese students have when attending American classrooms. However, I have noticed that some of my Chinese friends don’t mind asking the professor to repeat the assignment instructions or ask assistance as long as they do it after class. The
author simplified the cause to only reflect that Chinese students are only comfortable with asking for the instructions again from a fellow peer, when they actually don’t mind asking their professor to repeat the assignment instructions as long as it is after class.
Another great reason the author accentuated was the difference between the two countries, America and China, typical teaching styles. American teaching style within a university classroom differs based on the professor preferable teaching method and the specific course that professor teaches (Jinyan and Brown). The author states how in a recent study, over 80% Chinese students believe that class-based discussions and a lot of student participation negatively affect their academic standing in the course and their actual understanding of the material discussed. To
expand a little more, I asked a Chinese friend of mine, Yi Pei or Bridget, about her learning experiences in China and whether or not there was any form of usage of class discussions utilized to broaden a specific topic or lesson. She responded with a “no” and explained that when she was being taught English in class, their teacher would always skip the class discussion questions in their textbooks and require the students to answer the exercise problems instead. The author points out that too much group work, failure to follow the textbook, lecture organization, lecture summary and other variables in the classroom or teaching method may influence Chinese students’ comprehension of a lesson. In addition, in Yi Pei’s narrative for project 2, she illustrates how some terminology in the English language was interpreted differently in China than the actual usage of the term in America: “playground” and “ground to play” (Bridget’s project 2). In addition, she also portrays how
certain phrases may be declared “bad” in the minds of non-native speakers by the usage of a “bad” word- “shit”. When Bridget originally heard the phrase “You guys were the shit”, she automatically assumed that it meant something bad because of the explanation of the term in her English class in China. She was befuddled after learning that the word may be perceived to be a “good” thing based on the context in which it is use. Although the current source illustrated the challenges that Chinese students faced in American classrooms, my next source shall move away from the “negative” aspects of being a bilingual student and highlight a positive aspect and a great method to aid Chinese students’ immersion into American classrooms.
Click on the button below to see and/or read the source I used for this part of my piece.