Image Credit: Tracey Lan
by Shi Jiannan 石剑南
Read the Faculty Introduction.
Globalization brings connectivity to the world, which influences higher education in making its student body international. In this context, international students are becoming an indispensable part of modern universities. Among the international students studying in the U.S., students from China constitute nearly 33% of the total number, ranking first among students from all other countries (Institution of International Education). However, even for the largest population among international students, living and studying abroad might not be easy. Research has shown that due to a huge difference between Chinese culture and American culture, students from China face considerably more difficulties both academically and socially compared to students from other countries (Leong 459). Such a large student population should not be ignored, but the current assistance for this population merely addresses the issue from the linguistic perspective. Focusing on this largest international population, universities in the U.S. should offer their Chinese students cultural assistance. Through this assistance, Chinese students can get help in both academic and non-academic settings, and universities can also benefit from increasing their diversity.
In academic settings, linguistic assistance is essential if universities want to offer help in improving the livelihood of those whose first language is not English, including Chinese students. In fact, universities in the U.S. have already paid attention to international students concerning potential linguistic deficiency, as is shown not only in the admissions process but also in curriculum design. According to the admissions policy adopted by the vast majority of U.S. universities, international students are supposed to get a certain score in English language evaluations, like TOEFL, before they go into the application pool. With standardized language tests as the threshold, most of the Chinese students living on American campuses should have the basic ability to understand English in the academic context. Some universities also offer courses like “English for Academic Purposes” to hone students’ academic English skills. In fact, research has found that non-native English-speaking students do feel confident about their academic language proficiency (Myles and Cheng 252). English, then, should not be the biggest focus when universities are trying to provide assistance.
However, if you are a Chinese student, you still might not be confident about your English skills in this scenario: in a lecture, an English-speaking professor asks you repeatedly to rephrase your answer, and sometimes even rewrite your essays. These experiences may make you feel that your English is not good enough. However, are the constant “redo” requests really caused by a lack of proficiency? Not necessarily. Cultural barriers may cause linguistic problems as well. Linguist James Paul Gee in his book Social Linguistics and Literacies: Ideology in Discourses argues, “How one ‘reads the word’ and how one ‘reads the world’ are heavily dependent on each other” (62). The difference in cultural background causes a difference in people’s literacy, which implies that when second-language (L2) English speakers make speeches, they may be speaking from a different perspective than first-language (L1) English speakers, using different underlying beliefs to justify their ideas. Take the difference in argumentation between Chinese and American students, for example. For native English speakers, the Aristotelian argumentation method is the convention when writing, but it is not conventional for Chinese students, who have been deeply influenced by Confucian and Taoist philosophical traditions and argumentation (Hikel 372). Researcher Eli Hikel mentions that Chinese philosophical traditions lead Chinese students to create harmony between the writer and the reader instead of making explicit statements of an argument (354). However, the urge to make explanations on statements, which is tacit in the Western style of argumentation, is not the case in the Chinese style. When Chinese students write essays using their second language, English, it makes sense that the professor might not understand Chinese logic, even if Chinese students are proficient in English. It explains why professors whose native language is English may not understand international students’ answers. It could be that the professors don’t understand the students’ culture, or it could also be that Chinese students do not share the same background as the professor and do not understand the host culture.
Therefore, it may be cultural barriers that pose an obstacle to Chinese students. Given that Chinese students must have reached the required English level upon entering the university, cultural rather than linguistic assistance should be provided for Chinese students to better acculturate themselves in the U.S. context. If professors understand that Aristotelian argumentation is not the only way to organize an argumentative essay, they would also understand from a cultural perspective why their Chinese students fail to write strong essays. If there were institutionally-supported platforms as cultural assistance for improving multicultural understanding between both professors and students, both students and professors may benefit.
At the same time, the difference in cultural literacy can cause problems in evaluating students’ academic performance. Chinese students may be upset if they perceive that their grades are marked down because of cultural misunderstandings. Implementing cultural assistance may alleviate this problem. When evaluating one’s academic performance, professors should first consider how to examine the students’ perception, comprehension, absorption, and critical thinking on the knowledge that they have been taught. However, in reality, exam questions are often designed in such a way that they make better sense to students familiar with an English culture than to those from elsewhere. In his article, “Why we need to stop talking about ‘foreign’ students,” James Cardwell mentions a case from his recent research project on experiences of UK and non-UK students in university assessments. A student from Southeast Asia studying in the UK said that non-native speakers find it difficult to answer questions that assume some “general knowledge.” According to that student, a question in a law exam assumed that participants knew that whiskey was a traditional Scottish product, which was not clear for all the other non-UK students. Gee also points out that literacy does not equal intelligence (55). In such exams, some students might not be able to finish answering some questions because they do not possess the presumed literacy. This literacy gap may hinder these students from improving their grades. Providing necessary cultural assistance for students may help to alleviate this problem. If professors can design courses and exams that make sense across cultures to examine intellectual performance, excluding potential errors caused by different cultural literacies, Chinese students may achieve greater academic satisfaction, and even show a greater passion for learning.
By “providing cultural assistance,” I do not mean that universities should assimilate all Chinese students into an American culture. Even if Chinese students compose their essays based on Chinese philosophical mindsets, the argumentation style itself should not diminish their academic performance, and professors should not blame them for not conforming to an American way of writing. Ha Jin, a Chinese-American writer who often sets his stories and novels in China but writes in English, argues in the article “In defense of foreignness” that English is glorious partially because it “has a body of literature created by writers to whom English is not a given but an acquisition” (461). The identity shown through lexical usage and ways of organizing language is unique and needs to be cherished (Jin 468). In this sense, Chinese students are able to contribute to English literature by utilizing their cultural heritage.
Although the form of cultural assistance may vary, it should aim at familiarizing different groups of people, and creating mutual respect. Providing cultural assistance does not mean that Chinese students should always follow typical Chinese tradition and refuse to learn about the American way of argumentation everywhere in their academic life, because doing so may only cause misunderstanding among the students. Cultural assistance is only meant to help students better understand each other. Therefore, such assistance should ask Chinese students to understand how native speakers organize their speeches and to understand what to say, what to write, and how to respond during exams so that others may understand them better.
As a college student, focusing only on academics, of course, is not enough. I also believe that for Chinese students, getting a degree in a university in the U.S. is not their sole purpose for studying there; they also want to communicate with domestic students and build connections with them. The lives of Chinese students may not be easy in non-academic settings either: they may suffer from psychological burdens and problems with socializing. A 2013 research by Han et al. states that at Yale University, 45% of Chinese international students claimed that they have the symptoms of depression, and 29% of them reported symptoms of anxiety (5). Compared with a depression and anxiety rate of 12.8% and 13% respectively in the general population in American universities, 45% and 29% are startling (Han et al. 5). Although this data does not reflect the whole picture of what the living conditions are like for Chinese students, it implies that Chinese students suffer from psychological burdens. For Chinese students, living in a campus far away from their homeland means living in a brand-new, or even strange, cultural environment. Research shows that cultural distance and psychosocial distress are positively correlated (Yan 23). So, it may be the case that the huge cultural distance between China and the U.S. results in the psychological problems found among Chinese students.
Besides psychological burdens, students might also encounter problems when socializing, and Chinese students’ cultural background may prevent them from adapting to American society. On the one hand, Chinese students face challenges as a result of cultural difference. Research has shown that international students, especially Chinese students, may experience disorientation regarding food, roommate situations, friendship formation, and dating; East Asian students have an especially difficult time when adjusting to social life given the cultural barrier (Leong 464, 466-470, 472). If Chinese students are well-adapted to an unfamiliar environment by adjusting themselves, they will face fewer challenges in their non-academic life. On the other hand, the reality is that some students’ cultural backgrounds may prevent them from adapting to the host culture. Research also uncovers that Chinese culture may be an actor in diminishing students’ agency when confronting problems. From the perspective of Confucianism, to endure is the best way to solve problems (Yan 27). Meanwhile, the Taoist philosophy may lead Chinese students to think that if things happen, let them happen, which diminishes students’ willingness to accustom themselves to the host culture (Yan 27). These two thoughts affect Chinese students’ attitudes towards life and may compound their already disadvantaged position when integrating themselves into the host culture.
From the perspective of the university, I argue that if the university could provide cultural assistance in helping Chinese students, it would benefit from increasing diversity. Psychologist Peter Levine writes in Educational Leadership that “by talking and listening to people different from ourselves, we learn and enlarge our understanding” (Levin, as cited in Kelly). Diversity in college can provide its students with the opportunity to work with peers who come from different social and cultural backgrounds. Conversations among students may promote their reflection and growth. Research also marks that cultural diversity is conducive to the development of students’ critical thinking, which is a skill that higher education expects its students to master (Pascarella et al. 90). When American students meet and talk to peers from different backgrounds, they make comparisons intuitively between their culture and others, so that they have a more comprehensive view towards their own culture. However, if the university wants to realize the ideal goal of diversity, Chinese students should be able to contribute their voices on campus. This condition suggests that it is not enough for the universities to enroll more international students; universities should also think about how to lead these international students to contribute their voices to campus life. As stated previously in this essay, cultural barriers are key in preventing Chinese students from expressing themselves. Therefore, to make voices in the university diverse, universities need to provide international students, including Chinese students, with cultural assistance for the sake of helping them to adapt to a new life.
As the number of Chinese students studying in U.S. universities increases, their significance regarding the student body of a university is also increasing. Meanwhile, it is becoming increasingly important for Chinese students to adapt to American society, a process that the university should offer assistance for. Chinese students will also accept assistance from the university because, at least, the university is giving them a sense of membership in the community in which they will be living, studying and socializing. By doing so, Chinese students are able to grow with care from the university, and the university itself can grow and develop.
Works Cited
Cardwell, Paul James. “Why we need to stop talking about ‘foreign’ students.” The Conversations, 15 January 2016. theconversation.com/why-we-need-to-stop-talking-about-foreign-students-53014. Accessed 11 May 2018.
Gee, James Paul. Social Linguistics and Literacies: Ideology in Discourses. Routledge, 2012.
Han, Xuesong, et al. “Report of a Mental Health Survey Among Chinese International Students at Yale University.” Journal of American College Health: J of ACH, vol. 61, 2013, pp. 1–8.
Hinkel, Eli “Native and Nonnative Speakers’ Pragmatic Interpretations of English Texts.” TESOL Quarterly, vol. 28, no. 2, Summer 1994, pp. 353–76, doi:10.2307/3587437.
Institution of International Education. “Top 25 Places of Origin of International Students, 2015/16-2016/17.” Open Doors Report on International Education Exchange. www.iie.org/Research-and-Insights/Open-Doors/Data/International-Students/Places-of-Origin. Accessed 13 May 2018.
Jin, Ha. “In defence of foreignness.” The Routledge Handbook of World Englishes, edited by Andy Kirkpatrick, Routledge, 2010, pp.461-470.
Kelly, Patrick. “The Value of Classroom Diversity.” Department of Education Homeroom Blog. 6 April 2016.blog.ed.gov/2016/04/the-value-of-classroom-diversity. Accessed 11 May 2018.
Leong, Pamela. “Coming to America: Assessing the patterns of acculturation, friendship formation, and the academic experiences of international students at a US college.” Journal of International Students, vol. 5, no. 4, 2015, pp.459-474.
Myles, Johanne, and Liying Cheng. “The Social and Cultural Life of Non-Native English Speaking International Graduate Students at a Canadian University.” Journal of English for Academic Purposes, vol. 2, no. 3, Jan. 2003, pp. 247–63. ScienceDirect, doi:10.1016/S1475-1585(03)00028-6.
Pascarella, Ernest T. & Martin, Georgianna L. & Hanson, Jana M. & Trolian, Teniell L. & Gillig, Benjamin & Blaich, Charles. “Effects of Diversity Experiences on Critical Thinking Skills Over 4 Years of College.” Journal of College Student Development, vol. 55 no. 1, 2014, pp. 86-92. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/csd.2014.0009.
Yan, Kun. “Chinese International Students in the United States: Adjustment Problems and Coping Behaviors.” Chinese International Students’ Stressors and Coping Strategies in the United States, edited by Kun Yan, Springer Singapore, 2017, pp. 19–32, doi:10.1007/978-981-10-3347-6_3.