Potential Solutions for the Hard Transition without Delay

张娜 朱家臻

【Abstract】International students sometimes face many problems when they start to study in a foreign country. The reasons for the difficult transition could be connected to different pedagogies， various cultural backgrounds， different test cultures and English motivation. There is no reason to delay finding some solutions to make the transition become smoother as a result those reasons could help answer the question about difficult transition and provide some potential solutions to aid in the transition between these classroom environments.

【Key words】transition； pedagogy； cultural background； English motivation； solution

【摘要】一些学生在开始他们的国外求学时往往会遇到一些问题。导致这些为的原因往往与国内外不同的教育模式、文化背景、考试文化以及学习动力有关。解决这些问题对于留学生是刻不容缓的，而了解分析这些因素将会提供一些有效的方法去克服这种艰难的过渡。

【关键词】过渡 教育法 文化背景 学习动机 解决方法

When communication between domestic and overseas became easier， the number of students who wanted to take part in international degree programs and pursue advanced study increased. However， as a large number of students from all over the world participate in international degree programs， additional concerns about the transition has risen. Those concerns show that these students have the money to study abroad， but they do not have strong enough practical abilities to survive in the different environments. Foreign cooperative education has become a popular way for Chinese students to study at American universities because of the hard transition， and it can also serve as preparation for their studies at universities overseas. However， students in the Management School at Tianjin Polytechnic University are also troubled by the transition between American and Chinese classroom. Their teacher is from Bowling Green State University and has sometimes allowed them to express their thoughts or problems about the contents of the class， but they were often quiet and had nothing to say. Although these students and the teacher is a part of a dual degrees program and have tried their best to close the gap between the Chinese and American classroom， it is difficult for them to improve this situation because of many differences. The reasons for the difficult transition could be connected to different pedagogies， various cultural backgrounds， different test cultures and English motivation.

There is no reason to delay finding some solutions to make the transition become smoother as a result those reasons could help answer the question about difficult transition and provide some potential solutions to aid in the transition between these classroom environments.

Most second language learners have common concerns when they study in a foreign land. When Chinese students study in American classrooms， they will face many problems which will differ from their studies back home. They will find American teachers use almost completely different pedagogies to teach them and that they might not be able to grasp the information as easily. They will find themselves are troubled with some students behaviors in American classrooms and will not participate in class discussion because of the various cultural differences. They will find they potentially lack the English-language skills necessary to be a part of the classroom culture. In the article “Many Chinese Students Could Pay U.S College Costs but Lack the Language Skills， Survey Finds”， there is a survey which says “students from China with limited English proficiency” and some of them “with subpar English often smuggle with classroom discussions” （Karin）. Before studying in American classroom， Chinese students have studied English in a different method for a long time， they pay more attention on preparing their tests， so it is hard for them to adapt the new environment with their English skill. In article “For Many Chinese Hoping to Study in the U.S， Language May Be a Problem”， the author states that “poor English is actually a function of the greater emphasis in China on preparation for English examinations” which will lead Chinese students study something they do “not necessarily

[…] need in the classroom” （Karin）. There is no doubt that some of the problems have been brought on by the different test systems， but that does not mean the Chinese education system is poor； rather it means that Chinese study “style” does not provide enough preparation for students who want to go abroad for further study. People should pay more attention on the hard transition and provide some potential solutions to narrow the gap between Chinese and American classroom environments.

China and the West have entirely different pedagogies which lead the international students feeling stressed when faced with the transition. The western pedagogy treats children as the center of attention and gives them enough freedom； in contrast， China has different attitudes towards childrens freedom and the teacher control. In the article “Adapting Western Pedagogies for Chinese Literacy Instruction： Case Studies of Hong Kong， Shenzhen， and Singapore Preschools”， the authors sum up the ides that the Western pedagogy is the “child-centered” and state that it “focus on [the] importance of childrens individual interests and their freedom to create their own learning through choosing from various classroom activities”（Li， Rao， Tse 604）. The authors statement shows that children who study under Western pedagogy have their own space， they do not need to care about parents or teachers desired teaching objectives and are often free to study their own interests. However， in Chinese classrooms， the pedagogy is “teacher-directed” and “places more stress on the teachers control over childrens exploration of learning” which means Chinese students have had to study under the teachers guidelines and the students hardly do what they are real interested in （Li， Rao， Tse 604）. More support can be found in “The Challenges of Academic Listening in English： Reports by Chinese Students，” where the author also points to the “teacher-directed” that “Chinese teachers usually summarize the main idea of a lecture at the end of it， but American teachers failed to summarize the lecture at the end of it” which can be concluded that Chinese students would be confused in American classroom because American teachers would not summary the lecture like Chinese teachers（Huang）. Chinese students have been accustomed to teachers summarizing the topic， so they will feel confused about how to grasp the main ideas in a western classroom on their own. Under the completely different pedagogies， the transition between Chinese universities and American universities appears to be more difficult to get smoother.

Pedagogies have strong influence on how students adapt for the new environment. It is a widely known fact that China and the West try to use different teaching strategies and teaching philosophies for reaching the desired teaching objectives. When Chinese students start to study at American universities， they find that the totally different pedagogies create a wall between Chinese students and American classrooms. Chinese teachers prefer to “put the important and difficult points on the blackboard” （Huang）. This action will let students know clearly what they should take notes， grasp in the class and review after class. While at American universities， “teachers […] do not write much on the board，” because they expect their students to have the ability to figure out the main points and reach their own conclusions about the course material （Huang）. However， American teachers expectation of summarizing lectures by students themselves has created some problems， and as “one Chinese student [...] said that she felt frustrated because she was not always sure what exactly the teacher wanted her to know” （Huang）. The evidence shows that international students cannot study efficiently， they cannot summary the lecture to get some key things by themselves. Some problems are also rose in class discussions. In American classrooms， teachers also prefer students to have classroom discussions as a part of their teaching method， but there are fewer class discussions in Chinese classrooms， so when students study in American classrooms they appear to “struggle with the classroom discussions” （Karin）. The different pedagogies between the West and China could potentially cause the gap between Chinese universities and American universities to become more difficult to close.

Chinese and American students learn under different cultural backgrounds which have lead some problems for international students when study in American classrooms. In China， people study Confucian philosophy since a young age. According to an article entitled “Cultural Factors Affecting Chinese ESL Students Academic Learning，” the author mentions that “Confucian philosophy has a strong impact on the Chinese [students] viewpoint， way of thinking and behaviors” and that tradition culture has a deep influence on students （Huang 644）. In Confucian philosophy， “he taught his students to respect and obey authorities” which means students should only accept the knowledge from their teachers without any questions （Huang 644）. Although Chinese students start to study in a foreign country， they would also think something in Confucian philosophy firstly. Chinese students may skip some questions because they are fear to stand opposite， and only obey the authorities， although there no authorities in American classrooms. American people study under Socrates philosophy framework. In this framework， Huang mentions that “Socratic-oriented learning involves overt and private questioning， expression of personal hypotheses， and a desire for self-directed tasks” （Huang）. The differences between Confucian philosophy and Socrates philosophy can easily show the different directions students go when studying under these frameworks. Confucian philosophy points out that students should obey the authorities， but Socrates philosophy states that students should bring up their own strengths. The transition between Chinese universities and American universities appears to be more difficult to get smoother. The different cultural backgrounds will make international students do not know what they should do in study.

International students face many problems because of the various cultural backgrounds which make it difficult for them to adapt a new one. Culture has a strong impact on students viewpoints， ways of thinking， and behaviors. Different cultural backgrounds will lead to students having difference performances and reactions during the class. As a result of these differences between tradition cultures， a student have said that “we are from Chinese culture and have limited knowledge about American culture. Therefore， my classroom learning was very challenging， especially in the first year” （Huang 3）. The clash between these different cultural contexts has become a challenge. Chinese students cannot adapt for the changing environment to study well and they will often feel uncomfortable. In Chinese culture， students are the receivers of knowledge from teachers but American students can challenge the authority. In an American classroom， when a student “interrupt[s] their professors at any time and ask them questions， which makes Chinese students feel that students do not show any respect for their professors”（Huang）. Chinese students feel uncomfortable because the Confucius philosophy has taught them respect and obey authorities. They also care what teachers and other students think of them and will feel embarrassed if they were to express incorrect thoughts. Because of the different cultural contexts， Chinese students with these worrying and misgivings are limited out of the American classrooms and they cannot take part in classes anymore， so it is important to understand the problem with transitioning.

From all over the world， academic educators have created tests as a way to judge students performance in their various fields of study， however， Chinese and American educators use different methods as the criteria to determine entrance into a university. In America， educators use the “ American Scholastic Aptitude Test ” which is called “SAT.” This exam is an “aptitude driven and attempts to tap into students general abilities more so than a mastery of school subjects” （Xu and Rod 69）. American pays more attention to the strength of students abilities， and looks for ways give their more chances to express themselves instead of only accepting knowledge from teachers. On the other hand， China uses “the National College Entrance Exam” which is also called “Gaokao” as the only criteria to “determine acceptance into a university” （Hejna 55）. In China， the National College Entrance Exam causes students high pressure because it is the only way to enter a good university. Under the high pressure， Chinese students cannot express their thoughts and only accept the knowledge from their teacher so that they can get high grade to enter a good universities. All of the information reminds that the different test cultures can cause the transition between Chinese universities and American universities appears to be more difficult to get smoother.

The different test cultures have caused a the different concentration on English Study. Chinese students will find they lack the English-language skill because Chinese English studies only focus on what was been asked for tests. The gaokao has

“ been criticized on the basis that it rewards memorization [...] over critical thinking skills” unlike American educational standards in critical thinking and reasoning （Hejna 58）. During Chinese students experience of studying， Chinese teachers sometimes asked their students to memorize some exercise problems which students may meet in tests. Although memorization can help students to get a good grade， it cannot solve others questions which differs from the memorization. Chinese students do not really grasp the knowledge and skills because of the emphasis on memorization， they just repeat what they teacher says. In spite of over emphasis on testing and memorization， international students from China are “always serious and focus on lecturing，” but American teachers stress that “students facilitators of learning but not their authorities of knowledge，” which has caused students to be limited in the American classrooms （Huang）. If Chinese educators do not attempt to adapt some of their thoughts about English， those students will be limited from the classrooms they would not strength themselves easily.

Having high motivation is also helpful for people to accomplish various educational goals， including English fluency. With English becoming a global language， English teachers and learners in China have put more concentration on English language education， although the focus of teaching and learning is still focused on the examination. In fact “the majority of English language learners in China are school-aged children”， especially “high school students” （Xu and Rod 68）. This fact can easily show that English is the main requirement for Chinese students to enter a good university， so most students are eager to master it with high motivation. It also seems that their motivation come to an end when they enter universities， because some students will not study English once accepted to a university. Although high school students “face the pressures of college entrance exams and bring strong instrumental motivations， but [they] have very little integrative motivation to their learning” their motivations cannot be continued in the long term because their purpose for studying English is only to enter a good university （Xu and Rod 78）. Chinese students are lacking of motivation because some of them have no interest in English and they are limited in their use of English. As for the international students， they may lose the English motivation because of the difficulty of learning English words and texts in American classrooms.

Negative emotions can reduce students language learning capacity， but having the “right” motivation is also important for international students to study in foreign classrooms. The right motivation for international students especially for Chinese students is to have a clear goals in English study. If not， students will lose the interests on English studying and would refuse to pay their attention on English study. In the article “For Many Chinese Hoping to Study in the U.S， Language May be a problem”， Karin mentions that “nearly two-thirds of them do not speak English well enough to participate in an American classroom discussion”， the result can be concluded that Chinese students did not make full use of their English study （Karin）. The erratic performance in American classroom can indicate that students motivation and linguistic skill are have both diminished and increased in the difficulty with the transition between domestic classrooms and overseas classrooms. An extension of this idea can be found in“Motivation in Chinese University EFL Learners in Varying Learning Contexts” where the author argues that “ it is imperative to conduct motivation studies in different FL learning contexts in order to highlight motivation patterns and the role of motivation in FL learning” （Liu 19）. International students losing their English motivation will create a bad influence on their studies， so it is important to understand the problem with transitioning.

Different pedagogies， various cultural backgrounds， different test cultures and English motivation have caused the transition between Chinese classrooms and American classrooms become harder. Some solutions can come on to smooth the transition， however some of these difficulties cannot be avoid because cultural backgrounds and test cultures is not easy to change. Confucian philosophy has a long history in China and the “Gaokao” is according to some government policy. According to the above factors， it is easy to change classroom pedagogies and develop a high English motivation. In the article“An Exploration of Chinese EFL Students Emotional Intelligence and Foreign Language Anxiety”， the authors state that “Success in language learning is largely connected with how teachers take care of students emotional needs” （Shao， Ji and Yu 919）. English teachers need to use suitable methods to teach students and focus on importance of childrens individual interests so that can develop students own general abilities more so than a mastery of school subjects in Chinese classrooms. In addition to changing some of the methodology， “Another way to achieve a low-anxiety classroom atmosphere through teachers active cultivation of a sense of humor and a friendly and cooperative environment that can encourage students to take risks in speaking the language” （Shao， Ji and Yu 925）. Teachers should also create a classroom atmosphere without anxiety to encourage students speak English and express their thoughts. They can provide more chances to set some classroom discussions and students can feel free to express their thoughts. Once English teachers in Chinese classrooms change the atmosphere and lower the pressures connected to testing， students will be able to study in a comfortable environment and will perhaps have more interest in maintain their English skills. These solutions could lead to some international students becoming more confident and able to accomplish their own goals in the future.

With different pedagogies， various cultural backgrounds， different test cultures and English motivation， international students will continue to still struggle with the difficulties transitions. The variety of cultures from all over the world cannot be perfectly unified， but universities should take some action to help students adapt for the changing environment. Universities should help students overcome the difficulties under the hard transition instead of ignoring the problems， and provide a potential chance to help the international students accomplish their own dreams in the future.

References：

[1]Huang，Jinyan.“The Challenges of Academic Listening in English：Reports by Chinese Students.”College Student Journal.Vol.39.3.September 2005.Academic Search Complete.27 March2016.Web.

[2]Huang，Jinyan and Brown Kathleen.“Cultural Factors Affecting Chinese ESL Students Academic Learning.” Education Vol.129 No.4.Academic Search Complete.643-653.11 February 2016.Web.

[3]Hejna，Dennis.“Mamahuhu” The Long March to Defeat Chinglish.Publishing：United States of America.2016 print.

[4]Huang，Jinyan.“What Happens When Two Cultures Meet in the Classroom？” Journal of Instructional Psychology.Vol.36 Issue 4，p335-342.Dec.2009.Academic Search Complete.27 March2016.Web.

[5]Fischer，Karin.“For Many Chinese Hoping to Study in the U.S，Language May be a problem.” The Chronicle of Higher Education.Academic Search Complete.27 March 2016.Web.

[6]Fischer，Karin.“Many Chinese Students Could Pay U.S College Costs but Lack the Language Skills，Survey Finds.” The Chronicle of Higher Education.21.November 2011.Academic Search Complete.27 March2016.Web.

[7]Kaiqi Shao，Zhongmin Ji and Weihua Yu.“An Exploration of Chinese EFL Students Emotional Intelligence and Foreign Language Anxiety.” The Modern Language Journal.Vol.97.2013.917-929.Academic Search Complete.15 May2016.Web.

[8]Li，Hui，Rao，Nirmala，Tse，Shek Kam.“Adapting Western Pedagogies for Chinese Literacy Instruction：Case Studies of Hong Kong，Shenzhen，and Singapore Preschools.” Early Education and Development.Vol.23.Academic Search Complete.603-621.11 February 2016.Web.

[9]Meihua Liu.“Motivation in Chinese University EFL Learners in Varying Learning Contexts.” TESL Reporter，45，（2），17-39.Academic Search Complete.27 March2016.Web.

[10]Wei Xu and Rod E.Case.“Age-related differences in motivation in learning English among Mainland Chinese students.” International Journal of Applied Linguistics Vol.25 No.1.Academic Search Complete.27 March2016.Web.

作者简介：

张娜（1971-），女，安徽宿州人，安徽警官职业学院信息管理系应用英语教研室主任，副教授，硕士，研究方向：英语翻译，物流英语。

朱家臻（1996-），女，安徽合肥人，天津工业大学管理学院本科在校生，研究方向：国际金融与数据分析。