Challenging the Western stereotype: do Chinese international foundation students learn by rote?

Abstract

Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. Abstract:The dissonance between Eastern and Western learning approaches is regarded as an obstacle for Chinese students to adjust in Western education environments, and one of the reasons is the lack of an understanding of Chinese learning approaches, i.e., Chinese learners are uncritically perceived as rote learners. This paper investigates Chinese international foundation students' learning approaches when they were in China and here in the UK. Their experiences indicate that, similar to UK students, Chinese students learn with the intention of understanding, they use memorisation only when they fail to understand or have examination pressure. Consequently, Chinese students adjust well to Western teaching styles. Some difficulties they experienced in classrooms

Pushing too Little, Praising too Much? Intercultural Misunderstandings between a Chinese Doctoral Student and a Dutch Supervisor

“…We opted for a self-study methodology because (1) self-study not only informs the participants in the study but also makes the tacit knowledge available to others (Loughran, 2007); (2) it can most effectively reveal the misunderstandings involved in actual supervision encounters (Hamilton, 2005), which are often subtle and easily go unnoticed when rooted in core cultural and educational differences (Hofstede et al, 2010); and (3) it adds an alternative, individualized, and in-depth form of understanding to current intercultural education literature, which to date has relied mainly on surveys and interviews (Campbell & Li, 2008;Chen & Bennett, 2012;Cross & Hitchcock, 2007;Curtin et al, 2013;Egan, Stockley, Brouwer, Tripp, & Stechyson, 2009;Mathias et al, 2013). Furthermore, Curtin et al (2013) note that a qualitative approach could increase understanding of the origins and consequences of specific misunderstandings.…”

“…For example, Western perceptions of the degree of teacher/student regulation of learning might result in Asian students bitterly concluding that the teachers do not teach and professors becoming frustrated that the Asian students are dependent and passive learners (Chen & Bennett, 2012;Cross & Hitchcock, 2007;Mathias et al, 2013;McClure, 2005;Vermunt & Verloop, 1999). Whether these claims are valid is not a point of discussion here, but it is clear that both students and teachers experience frictions, likely originating from their cultural and educational differences (Hu & Smith, 2011;Lee, 2011).…”

“…Average study time lasts 8-12 h each day, five to six days a week, especially in the last three years of secondary education (cf. Mathias et al, 2013). Therefore, students aim to or have been urged to become as highly qualified as possible and to sacrifice a great deal of their leisure time (cf.…”

“…However, it is possible that Asian learners, similar to their Western counterparts, approach learning with the intention of understanding meaning rather than simple memorization (e.g. grimshaw, 2007;Mathias, Bruce, & newton, 2013). The educational orientations and teaching ideas in Asian countries may create particular expectations about learning goals, behaviors, and desirable learning approaches, which could have important impacts on what students aspire to learn and the way they pursue those learning goals when they come to study in the West (Campbell & Li, 2008;Curtin et al, 2013;Lovitts, 2008).…”

The purposes and processes of master's thesis supervision: a comparison of Chinese and Dutch supervisors

“…Though such inaccurate even stereotyped representations have been challenged by scholars with intimate knowledge of Chinese learners (e.g., Singh & Huang, 2013;Wu, 2002), these preconceptions continue to prevail and can prevent Western supervisors to from adequately recognizing the skilled performance of their international students (e.g., Mathias, Bruce, & Newton, 2013;Ryan, 2011). In addition, the inherent belief in Western superiority renders it highly challenging for Western supervisors to recognize or value the prior cultural knowledge and educational ideas Chinese students might bring into their studies (Manathunga, 2011;Ryan, 2011).…”