Chinese Students, Learning Cultures and Overseas Study

Chinese Students, Learning Cultures and Overseas Study

Palgrave Studies on Chinese Education in a Global Perspective Series Editors: Xiangyun Du, Confucius Institute for Learning and Development, Aalborg University, Denmark Fred Dervin, University of Helsinki, Finland Titles include : Fred Dervin ( editor ) CHINESE EDUCATIONAL MIGRATION AND STUDENT-TEACHER MOBILITIES Experiencing Otherness Anni Kajanus CHINESE STUDENT MIGRATION, GENDER AND FAMILY Palgrave Studies on Chinese Education in a Global Perspective Series Standing Order ISBN 978 1 137 40693 4 Hardback 978 1 137 40695 8 Paperback (outside North America only) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and one of the ISBNs quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England

Chinese Students, Learning Cultures and Overseas Study Lihong Wang Beijing Language and Culture University, China and George Mason University, USA

Lihong Wang 2015 Foreword Michael Byram 2015 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6 10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-55608-3 ISBN 978-1-137-49659-1 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9781137496591 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

For my daughter Biqiao, an international student and intercultural learner

Contents Foreword Michael Byram Acknowledgements viii x 1 Introduction 1 2 Chinese Inherited Beliefs about Learning 22 3 Initial Perceptions of British Learning Culture 51 4 Adjustment Resources and Initial Acculturative Methods 91 5 Changes in Learning Beliefs 126 6 Conclusions 199 Appendix 213 References 214 Index 233 vii

Foreword It is a commonplace to say that internationalization is fundamental to higher education policy, and it is a statement which is relevant to many countries whether in the north, south, east or west. Talk of internationalization of universities is, however, often superficial and focused on statistics numbers of staff and students who are mobile, numbers of agreements between universities, and so on. It is also part of that superficiality to elevate the geographical terms to designations of educational traditions, particularly in the case of East and West. A further development in the discourse then changes East into Asia and the latter into China or Confucius Heritage Cultures. It is a brief step from such designations to talk about the Chinese learner and Western Education. It is also becoming a commonplace to criticize such terminology and its implied meanings and differentiations, but this is done from a theoretical position. In this book, Dr Wang has started with the experiences of learners from China studying in a university in Western Europe. Whether and to what extent the labels of Chinese learners and the West are relevant is not a matter of theory but of their own way of describing and conceptualizing their experience. Theoretical arguments only become relevant when the personal theories of those involved have been identified, and at that point the empirical work may support the theorists, or send them away to try again. But, it might be said, the theories of the learners themselves are elicited in conversation, and how they present themselves and their ideas will depend on to whom and in which language they are talking. Here Dr Wang has an advantage in her native ethnography since she too is a learner from China in the same university and can ensure that what she hears is the talk of learners to each other. Their ideas and discussions about what is happening to them and how they are not simply passively responding but actively shaping their experience are articulated in talk and in the language which researcher and participants share as their first language. Dr Wang has taken huge advantage of her position as native ethnographer to tease out key words and concepts in their contemporary and historical meanings, and she has managed to make this accessible to readers who do not understand Chinese. She is the ethnographer as mediator and translator. viii

Foreword ix The findings of her research shall not be anticipated here, but readers will, I am sure, find themselves drawn into the lives of these students and their discovery in part through their participation in the project of how they were combining the old with the new, the different with the similar. The findings are rich in implications since a better understanding of how students from one tradition of teaching and learning draw upon their previous experience and develop new ways of learning in another tradition is crucial in the full and proper internationalization of education, whether it is Chinese students in British universities or the children of immigrants from Africa in French universities, or European students in Japanese universities, or any of the multitude of combinations now being realized through international movements of large numbers of people. Although I have up to this point referred to the author of this book as Dr Wang, I know her better as Lihong, originally one of my supervisees, now a valued colleague and friend. She will doubtless remember my saying to her, as to all my students, that We all write theses (and books) about ourselves. In her case this is more evident than in others, but it is always important to recognize that the writing, even in what appears to be an academic and objective style, is a personal and subjective experience shared with others. Readers will, I know, enjoy sharing both this subjective experience and the objective academic findings which are of significance in East and West, irrespective of whether those terms have genuine application or not. It is therefore also relevant to the story this book tells that, to my great delight, Lihong herself changed through her study in a different tradition, acquired the skills, knowledge and curiosities of a researcher, and became, too, an educational administrator of great skill. All this whilst remaining devoted to her family. This book is then the outcome of a complex process which is of significance for Lihong, and on which she is to be congratulated. It is, however, above all a major contribution to the study of academic cultures, the mobility of students in the 21st century and a correction to some of the commonplaces and stereotypes which threaten to undermine the quality of international learning. Michael Byram Professor Emeritus in the School of Education Durham University, UK

Acknowledgements In the course of this research, I received unfailing help from many people. First and foremost, I would like to thank all the students who participated in my research for their great friendship and their trust in me to share their thoughts and feelings. Without their unreserved contribution, this book would not have come into being. To a certain extent, they co-authored this book. My heartfelt gratitude goes to Professor Mike Byram and Dr Anwei Feng, for their insightful academic advice and constructive critiques. Their well-reasoned judgement and reassuring wisdom kept me progressing constantly and confidently on this project. I also appreciate the valuable comments and critiques of the editors of this book series and the thoughtful editing of the dedicated copy-editor. Special thanks are extended to the staff of the School of Education of Durham University for building a most facilitating and welcoming environment, which made me feel like a valued member of the community rather than a sojourning stranger. I will cherish all those fond memories and great friendships forever. x