Transitioning from the American to the Chinese Classroom

About Me American lawyer and ESL teacher 2 years - Korean middle school 1 year - Korean university (students from Korea, China and Mongolia) Current teaching at Missouri University of S&T (students from China, Korea and Saudi Arabia) Secondary Sources: NAFSA Association of International Educators Center for Teaching & Learning Resources

American Culture Rights of the individual Freedom of choice, religion, speech and thought Principles of Democracy and Deism Self-reliance (“The Self-Made Man”) Control over your own destiny Independent thinking Value personal space, needs & privacy “Melting Pot” = Cultural, racial, linguistic, and religious diversity & tolerance

The American Student & Classroom Value personal opinions and debate Independent direction and reliance Flexible, individually-tailored education Student input, choice and direction Informality Creative thinking Value of non-academic activities (art, music, theatre, sports) After school academy (ex. “Sylvan Learning Centers”) only if student has a particular weakness

Chinese Culture Regional diversity but one dominant culture, race and language (Han Chinese). Cultural identity in the family name Principles of Taoism, Confucianism and strong, centralized government Values: Family, honor, morality, self- restraint, hard work, achievement Family > individual Society > individual Class > individual student Government-sanctioned religion, speech & expression are privileges rather than rights

The Chinese Student & Classroom Focus on achievement + honor = competitive atmosphere Strict rules and formality between teacher and students Teacher = absolute authority Uniformity > individual Focus on memorization + memorization-based tests Emphasis on entrance exams Anything that is not on the exam is not important Participation Respect for the teacher Fear of shame and dishonor Focus on the “correct” rather than the “creative” Correct from teacher can be interpreted as personal criticism or attack Private academy education

Real-life Situations with Chinese Students Situation 1: during a lesson, you provide your students with an example. When you ask them to provide another example, they repeat/copy the one you already gave them. What does this tell us about Chinese culture? Answer: there is one “correct answer” + the teacher is always right Culture clash: American individual thought vs. Chinese honor and authority What can we do to encourage creative and independent thinking?

Real-life Situations with Chinese Students Situation 2: After correcting a student, you find that they resist participation. What does this tell us about Chinese culture? Answer: fear of shame/dishonor. Personal correction can be interpreted as personal criticism or attack Culture clash: American individual thought vs. Chinese honor What can we do to encourage student participation?

Real-life Situations with Chinese Students Situation 3: you have a student who scores high on assignments/tests, but struggles and resists casual, impromptu conversation What does this tell us about Chinese- culture? The “high-score, low-ability student” Cultural Clash: American flexibility in education vs. Chinese exam-focused education What can we do to get students out of exam-mode and practice everyday English?

Real-life Situations with Chinese Students Situation 4: you notice that your student is plagiarizing or copying everything from their textbook. What does this tell us about Chinese- culture? The text is always right Honoring the expert Cultural Clash: American individual thought vs. Chinese authority What can we do to get students to come up with their own answers?

Real-life Situations with Chinese Students Situation 5: I had a student who started missing class, assignments and failing quizzes. He never came to talk to me to fix the problem or get help. Instead, he brought me a gift on the last day of class. What does this tell us about Chinese- culture? Reservation with disclosing individual needs/problems Fear of embarrassment/shame Gift-oriented culture Cultural clash: relationship between student and teacher What can we do to get students to talk to us when they need help?

Thank you!