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CI-CD Centre for Inter-cultural Development
CI-CD Primer Course for Chinese
Students
What is this primer for?
Most
Chinese students favour post-graduate study abroad after completing their
under-graduate courses in
Research
carried out at many UK universities on the outcomes of study for Chinese
post-graduate students - as compared with UK-born students and other groups of
international students - shows that many Chinese students experience great
difficulties in adapting their learning style to the English way of higher
education. This is not only when they arrive with insufficient fluency in
spoken and written English. Many are under-prepared in their expectations about
the nature of student life in
The
CI-CD Primer Course is designed for
newly arrived Chinese students in
Given
time constraints, most Western tutors cannot give the individual attention
Chinese students are likely to be expecting; and many assume ‘students should
know how to study’, not realising the difficulties for Chinese students in
adapting their culturally determined learning style. This course therefore includes
exercises around developing relationships with lecturers/other students;
explanation of learning style differences; explanation of Western teaching
methods; adapting to Western modes of learning such as group seminars and
‘autonomous study’; developing competence in applying critique and analytical
techniques; tackling issues of ‘plagiarism’ in essays and project work; and
accessing student support services/pastoral care.
The
CI-CD Primer has been developed in
E-Learning format by John Twitchin, Director of UK’s Centre for Intercultural
Development, for use in
The Primer Modules
1. In
Presentations + Q&A for potential post-graduate students
together with their parents; print support materials distributed.
2. In
On-screen
documentary case-study interviews with successful Chinese students (eg,
Bedfordshire, Leicester, Bournemouth,
(a)
What have those students learned through experience is necessary for success in
(b)
What difficulties did they encounter?
(c)
How did they tackle these and adapt to Western-style graduate study?
(d)
What is their constructive advice for student self-preparation?
(e)
Analysis of survey findings concerning Culture Shock; Language Shock; Study Shock.
3. ‘Culture
Shock’ and the role of Pastoral Care
staff
(a) Symptoms of
‘culture shock’ and their causes: how to minimise these
(b) Initial Induction/Orientation by universities
to assist with ‘Culture Shock’
(c) Ancillary/administrative
staff’s role re housing, grants, medical needs, etc
(d)
Interacting with ‘pastoral care’ staff of International Student Centres
(e)
Counselling services’ role in
(f) Handling
problems, emergencies & crises
4. Participating in
Student union clubs & building social relationships
(a) Remaining in Chinese-only clusters vs. proven
benefits of integrating
(b)
Pro-actively building relationships with other international students
(c) ‘Integrating’
with British students – ie, building relationships though group activities with
(d) Benefits of adopting an ‘ethnographic’
approach with
5. Handling Guanxi
and Mianzi when studying in
(a) Controlling finances under ‘guanxi’
felt-obligations/peer pressures in
(b) Carrying family face when working with
Chinese peers in assignments
(c) Acceptable study collaboration: Knowledge share/Student study groups
(d) Reviewing concept ‘relationship’ in
university culture/micro-culture
(e) Integrating &
participating/communication styles in group seminars
6. Language Shock
(a) English
verbal usage versus written forms
(b) Reality of
level of English needed for following a course in
(c) Resources
for acquiring ‘English for Academic Purposes’
(d) How to
seek help in ways to develop fluency in spoken English
(e) Literal vs. figurative talk in English
7. Learning styles
(a) Key differences between Chinese and
(b) What is expected of a ‘Good Student’ in the West?
(c)
‘Autonomous learning’ – what this means in practice
(d) Attitudes/approaches to researching
assignments
(e) Inductive/deductive precedents, and using
facts to argue a case
(f) ‘Originality’ and developing Western
‘critical analysis’ techniques.
(g) Solutions for learning effectiveness in
Western context
8. Study Shock: contrasts of Academic Study
styles
(a) Presentation of work
(b) Conducting research; using library sources
(c) Writing style differences: essay structures,
paraphrasing; synthesizing
(d) Areas of problems and challenges
- Western academic papers and project report
formats
- ‘plagiarism’- the problem; its cross-cultural
sources; its solutions
- participating in group seminars: the issue of
‘face’
- structuring examination answers
9. The role of the tutor
(a) Relationship between tutors/lecturers
& students in
(b) Differing expected roles of a ‘Good tutor’ + ‘Good student’ in
(c) Academic staff: status & behavioural
profile/hierarchy
(d) Teaching and Communication contrasts,
UK/China
(e) Academic staff: student access to and
channel/appropriate methods
(f) Reporting and
accounting to academic staff
10. Communicating in spoken
English across cultures: generic
Analysis
of common misunderstandings/difficulties with other speakers of English as a learned
foreign language
11. Communicating in spoken English across cultures: HE specific
Review
of EAP and analysis of Chinese students’ common misunderstandings with
native-English speakers in
12. Face-to-face post-study
Briefing Meetings at North Media Centre,
Parent
orientation and Q&A. (Parents are key ‘stakeholders’ in students’ success.)
Reference resources
Recommended
advance background reading for studying the commonest subjects taken by Chinese
students. (This is the most recurrently requested information by Chinese
students on UK courses; preparation not needed by UK potential students but
desperately sought by Chinese students and parents unfamiliar with the cultural
environment of UK.)
How are the 12 Module topics
delivered?
In
Students
can follow the modules at their own pace through interactive analysis of
illustrative case-studies; through self-examining questionnaires, from
‘multiple choice’ answers.
In
The
documentary DVD
Each
Module is built around 15 minutes of DVD documentary material, subdivided into
thematic sections, with a ‘menu’ at the front, for each student to use at
convenient times, at their own pace, according to their own needs. This can be
generic, or created in customised form for a particular university.
The
on-screen case-studies provide powerfully credible illustration for Chinese
students (and their parents) of what study in the West is actually like.
§
They meet on the screen Chinese
students like themselves who describe their initial ‘culture shock’ and
‘study shock’ difficulties and what they have learned through experience about
need to adapt to Western styles of study.
§
They see for themselves the
reality of the different study methods of the West.
§
They see (empathetic) Western
tutors explaining their role.
§
They hear how written
presentations are assessed and marked in the West.
§
They see what is involved in participating in group seminars.
§
They hear advice from Chinese
academics on the staff of British universities.
§
They gain a clear idea of how student clubs (interest groups) and other social groupings work in
§
They gain reassurance from seeing how illness, depression or
stress can be resolved confidentially via pastoral
support staff.
§
They see how Chinese students tackle difficulties of intercultural communication, and benefit
for careers in a global economy by relating successfully to both
The
documentary film is not presented passively, but in interactive format, with
self-awareness questionnaires for testing comprehension of the on-screen
analysis, as first step to adopting practical advice and practising new skills
needed for successful study in the
The
accompanying manual
§
sets out ways of using the DVD interactively to maximum
benefit
§
carries initial self-awareness questionnaires (before seeing
the DVD material)
§
offers checklists for self-testing comprehension of the
evidence and analysis seen on-screen
§
provides background information on the interactions shown
on-screen
§
supplies exercises that explain and give direct practice in
Western study skills
§
provides closer analysis of the inter-cultural communication
difficulties that commonly occur in
§
supplies bibliography and resources on studying in
§
gives ideas of advance background reading necessary for
studying each of the commonest subjects taken by Chinese students
© CI-CD
and John Twitchin, 2008
à CI-CD:
Attracting Chinese students