1. Learning & Teaching Forum 11 th July 2013 Keith Walley

2. The Session Aim: To develop a better appreciation of the issues and to develop ideas by which we can improve our engagement with our Chinese students. The session will build on the L&T session delivered by Janette Ryan in December 2012. An innovative and welcome development with regard to this L&T session is the attendance of the Chinese students.

3. The Structure of the Session Part 1 – Will consider our knowledge and understanding of China, the Chinese people and Chinese culture in the broader context; Coffee break Part 2 – Will focus on engagement at Harper Adams and seek to develop ideas by which we may address those issues.

4. What do we know about China? 1. The Chinese boast the world’s oldest continuous civilization. How many years of recorded history does it have? a) 2,000 b) 3,000 c) 4,000 d) 5,000 Answer: d) 5,000 Source: Business-culture Briefing China, Culturewise Ltd

5. 2. When did the first “Opium War” begin? a) 1829 b) 1839 c) 1845 d) 1859 Answer: b) 1839 Source: Business-culture Briefing China, Culturewise Ltd

6. 3. When did the “People’s Republic” come into being? a) 1929 b) 1939 c) 1949 d) 1959 Answer: c) 1949 Source: Business-culture Briefing China, Culturewise Ltd

7. 4. What percentage of the Chinese population belonged to the Communist party in 2002? a) 5.2% b) 7.2% c) 10.2% d) 15.2% Answer: a) 5.2% Source: Business-culture Briefing China, Culturewise Ltd

8. 4. China has the world’s highest rate of executions. a) True b) False Answer: a) True Source: Business-culture Briefing China, Culturewise Ltd

9. 5. How many different ethnic groups are there in greater China? a) 26 b) 36 c) 46 d) 56 Answer: No answer provided Source: Business-culture Briefing China, Culturewise Ltd

10. 6. When did Confucius live? a) Between 1 st and 2 nd century AD b) Between 1 st and 2 nd century BC c) Between 3 rd and 4 th century BC d) Between 6 th and 5 th century BC Answer: d) Between 6 th and 5 th century BC Source: Business-culture Briefing China, Culturewise Ltd

11. 7. What does the term “Guanxi” signify? a) Corruption b) Wealth c) Influence d) Health Answer: c) Influence Source: Business-culture Briefing China, Culturewise Ltd

12. 8. Chinese law states that children have a legal obligation to look after aging parents. Failure to do so is punishable by law. a) True b) False Answer: a) True Source: Business-culture Briefing China, Culturewise Ltd

13. 9. How many Chinese characters are in common use in China and Hong Kong? a) 3,000 b) 4,000 c) 5,000 d) 6,000 Answer: a) 3,000 Source: Business-culture Briefing China, Culturewise Ltd

14. Core Cultural Values Western CultureChinese Culture Task, Time and its Control Punctuality, keeping schedules Human Interaction Relationships most important Personal Accountability Each person controls his or her own life Fate / Destiny Events are controlled by an external force Empowerment Success and position are earned Birth right / Inheritance Success and position are ascribed Change Focus on growth and progress Tradition Focus on heritage and precedent Future Orientation Planning, optimism and goal setting Past Orientation Past and history kept alive Individual Self and immediate family comes first Collective Share resources Competition Compete for success Cooperation Share resources Equal Opportunity Equal rights and chances for all Status Age, rank and hierarchy determine position Informality Respect demonstrated through informality Formality Respect demonstrated through formality Pragmatism / Practicality The ends justify the means Idealism Doing things the “right” way Directness Frankness Indirectness Saving face Action / Doing Focus on results Being Focus on process Facilitator Everyone can contribute Teacher Experts contribute most Source: Business-culture Briefing China, Culturewise Ltd

15. Culture in the business environment… Western Business CultureChinese Business Culture Prefer precise, explicit communication patternsRely heavily on restricted codes and contextual cues Focus on getting to the point; tune out perceived extraneous or unclear information Comfortable with inexact, implicit and indirect messages, conditional language and euphemism Facial expression is expected to match feelingMay limit facial expression or use one expression to mask another Rely on non-verbal messaging (movement, gestures, use of space) to underscore meaning and shift power in an interaction Use more subtle body language and gesturing; confine movement to smaller space Less concern with social impact than accomplishing goalsMore cautious and concerned with social correctness and saving face Uncomfortable with silenceMore tolerant of silence Motivated by praise and recognitionMotivated by avoidance of negative consequences Individual ambition is highly valuedSacrificing self for the good of the group is key to a stable society Comfortable with self-promotionStrongly value modesty and humility Appropriate challenge of authority is respected as sign of leadership and independent thinking May interpret new ideas as inappropriately challenging the status quo; may soften message and couch with compliments. Source: Business-culture Briefing China, Culturewise Ltd

16. How do we “see” the cultural differences when we work with Chinese students?

17. Coffee break

18. Working with students from China at Harper Adams 1. What are the key issues associated with working with students from China at Harper Adams? 2. What are the options for addressing these key issues?

19. Thank you for your time and making the effort to attend. Keith