Encountering the Chinese by Hu Wenzhong Section 8 Education and Training among the Chinese Molly Maxbauer Gretchen Enninga

Teaching and Training the Chinese Today Students present themselves as an attentive, respectful, and above all passive audience. They are reluctant to speak in front of the class but will speak afterwards with presenters and instructors. Do not believe, as Americans do, that audience participation has intrinsic value.

Tendencies of Chinese Classrooms 1.Transmission of knowledge is theory based and thinking is deductive. 2.Emphasis is placed on details and factual information (memorization). 3.Facts and theories are rarely analyzed. 4.Books are sources of authority. 5.Verbatim, meticulous note taking from information-packed lectures are considered good instruction. 6.Tests are viewed as the absolute determinant of a student’s future.

Other Classroom Considerations… Chinese students dislike long reading assignments because most of what they read they commit to memory. Laughter in the classroom is sometimes used to cover uncomfortable situations or student anxieties. Plagiarism is a difficult concept for American teachers to address because of the Chinese value of memorization.

Student Life and Relationships in the PRC Students live in rather barren conditions on campus. Students associate mostly with roommates and classmates. Competition can arise over scarce resources like books and other print materials.

The Special Role of Chinese Teachers Laoshi is the Chinese word for teacher and signifies respect and deference. Chinese teachers are expected to take a long term interest in their students as whole persons (their role becomes somewhat paternal).

The Traditions of American and Chinese Education The Chinese educational emphasis is for students to fit harmoniously into the overall scheme of human relations. The American educational emphasis undermine community mindedness and cooperation but do promote self-reliance, self-motivation, individual expression and personal achievement.