Preparing Students for a Quality College/University Education

By Dr. Robert DiYanni and Dr. Theresa Chang-Whei Jen(注1)
The College Board

ABSTRACT

We will consider ways students can be prepared for a quality college and university education in China or the US. These include understanding cultural differences and clarifying what is expected of US students attending a university in China or Chinese students attending college in the US. We will consider four areas of preparation: (1) language proficiency; (2) social and cultural awareness; (3) styles of teaching and learning; (4) expectations for university-level article reading and writing. Professor Jen will provide examples to illustrate for the first two topics; Professor DiYanni will do the same for topics (3) and (4). We will also consider how Chinese and American educators and educational officials can cooperate in this preparation.

INTRODUCTION

Students who plan to study abroad, particularly those who expect to do a university degree (or even part of a university degree) in another country are faced with a number of significant challenges. Among these are (1) language proficiency; (2) social and cultural differences; (3) differences in styles of teaching and learning; (4) expectations for critical reading and writing. These four general areas, moreover, are not discrete and distinct; rather, they overlap and intersect, so that, for example, styles of teaching and learning are also aspects of cultural difference, with one culture and country putting more emphasis on respectful listening to a lecturing professor and another encouraging active student participation in discussion, even to the point of disagreeing with the professor.

Language Proficiency

It should go without saying that preparation for study in another country begins with a solid knowledge of the language of instruction. The goal for students should be to become proficient enough to function satisfactorily in a university environment. This includes being able to read and write in the language of instruction as well as to converse and communicate in various academic contexts. It also includes the ability to follow a lecture, with or without digressions, even when the lecturer is not well organized, or if he or she speaks quickly or softly. It also includes an ability to follow classroom cross talk, quick exchanges of question and answer, and to do so with enough confidence to jump in and participate.

If this level of proficiency, for the sake of argument, is accepted as a baseline requirement for successful attendance of a university in another country and language, the question then becomes how best to prepare students to achieve this kind of proficiency. What kinds of language study should be followed, how intensively, and for how long? What kinds of assessments should be used to measure second language learning and development? When andswheresand how should these language tests be taken, and how, if at all, should they be "prepared for"? These and other questions are central to any consideration of what is necessary for a student to develop the requisite language proficiency necessary for experiencing successfully a quality university education abroad.

In general, the following proficiency are additional essential language competences for any international students studying in a foreign country:
· The ability to identify and formulate problems, as well as the ability to propose and evaluate ways to solve them.
· The ability to recognize and use inductive and deductive reasoning, and to recognize fallacies in reasoning.
· The ability to draw conclusions and to share with peers information found in various sources, whether written, spoken, or displayed in tables and graphs.

The language proficiency for any international student are the broad intellectual skills essential to effective work in all fields of college or graduate school study. They provide a link across the disciplines of knowledge although they might not be specific to any particular discipline. So the language proficiency is in fact a set of abilities that constitute the key abilities in learning how to learn. In conclusion, successful learning skills or effective language proficiency are necessary and efficient for achieving the desired outcomes especially in studying in a foreign country.

Social and Cultural Awareness

But language proficiency, however defined and measured, is not enough. Students planning on university study abroad must also be provided with information and experiences to help them understand the social and cultural differences they can expect to find. There are at least two challenges in this regard: (1) identifying for students what the most important social and cultural differences are; (2) creating opportunities for students to apprehend those differences experientially and not just to comprehend them intellectually (though that would at least be a good first step).

In addition to academic works, the significance of challenge and extend human
experience in various forms need to be emphasized and addressed. Social and cultural awareness are identified through means of expression that go beyond ordinary speaking and writing. They can express intimate thoughts and feelings. They are unique record of diverse cultures and how these cultures have developed over time. They provide distinctive ways of understanding human beings and nature. The different forms of arts-visual arts, theater, music, and dance, or works of performing art that are embedded in culture often involve subtle meanings and complex systems of expression. Fully appreciating such works requires the careful reasoning and sustained study that lead to informed insight. Also, the actual practice of social and cultural awareness can engage the imagination, foster flexible ways of thinking, develop disciplined effort, and build self-confidence. Appreciation of the different culture is integral to the understanding of other societies sought in the study of all disciplines.

Preparation of social and cultural awareness will also enable international students to engage in and profit from the total emersion of a foreign country; it will permanently enhance the quality of their lives.

Styles of Teaching and Learning

One of the specific types of cultural differences students need to be apprised of is a difference in the style of teaching and learning that is predominant in American as compared with Chinese universities. More and more American colleges and universities today have shifted from a lecture mode to a style of teaching that involves considerable class discussion. The emphasis is less on professors delivering information and content and more on explaining concepts and involving students in active learning. Students coming to study in US colleges and universities should be prepared for active participation in class discussion and not simply to sit back and take notes.

One form of the more active learning mode in evidence today is the use of team andsgroupsprojects. Students coming to US universities should expect to work not only individually, but also as part of a team, at least for projects in some of their courses.

Typically,sgroupsassignments and team projects with associatedsgroupspresentations form only part of the work of a college course. Along with active learning, class discussion, and other forms of participation,sgroupswork is complemented by more traditional forms of teaching and learning, including lectures, notetaking, and sitting for mid-term and final exams.
Students coming from a culture in which lecturing is the norm, and perhaps from an educational culture that discourages class participation, including asking questions, will be in for culture shock upon arriving in many US university classrooms. Along with the expectations regarding active participation, there is also the assumption that students should think for themselves, and not merely accept the opinions and views expressed by their instructors. In an increasing number of American university classrooms, students are expected to think critically, to question and challenge views expressed by their classmates, their teachers, and the authors of their textbooks.

Moreover, American students going abroad to study, particularly those heading for a Chinese university, need to be apprised of the expectations for teaching and learning in China. Since respect accorded education in China has an ancient and venerable history, and since educators, particularly professors, are held in high esteem, it is important that American students understand both their position in the educational hierarchy and appropriate forms of classroom etiquette.

Critical Reading and Writing

Styles of teaching and learning look back to cultural differences and forward to other expectations about the kinds of critical reading and writing required in American universities. American students studying in a Chinese university must be prepared not only with an adequate reading knowledge of Chinese, but also with an ability to write in a style and manner acceptable in Chinese university circles.
Chinese visitors studying in American universities can expect to find a high level of expectation regarding critical reading and writing, even in the first-year university course. Virtually every US university has a writing requirement in which students are also expected to do a significant amount of reading. Typically, students in a first-year university writing course are expected to write anywhere from 4 to 7 essays of 750 to 1,000 words. In addition, they may also be required to do a short research paper of 5-8 pages, 1,250 to 2,000 words, a paper that includes a set number of secondary sources appropriately documented.

The readings in the required university writing course range widely in content and quantity. Students can be expected to read and analyze everything from short newspaper editorials and advertisements to full-length books of nonfiction. Many such courses uses textbooks that include essays as a main course, with occasional poems and stories as appetizers and desserts. The important thing is that the standard, required first-year American university writing course requires a substantial amount of both reading and writing. Moreover, it is typically taught in a way that requires active participation by all students and often considerable interaction not only between students and instructor but among the students themselves as well.

In general, the different styles of teaching and learning do present a significant challenge to all international educators and students. Only when we clearly identify or to outline the appropriate study skills will we enable them to take constructive and decisive steps to eventually achieve their goals. The set of reasonable studying skills are set forth for reference:
· The ability to set study goals and priorities consistent with stated course objectives and one's own progress, to establish surroundings and habits conducive to elearning independently or with others, and habits conducive to learning independently or with others, and to follow a schedule that accounts for both short- and long-term projects.
· The ability to locate and use resources external to the classroom, and to incorporate knowledge from such sourcessintosthe learning process.
· The ability to develop and use general and specialized vocabularies, and to use them for reading, writing, speaking, listening, computing, and studying.
· The ability to understand and to follow customary instructions for academic work insgroupsto recall, comprehend, analyze, summarize, and report the main ideas from reading, lectures, and other academic experiences; and to synthesize knowledge and apply it to new situations.
· The ability to prepare for various types of examinations and to devise strategies for pacing, attempting or omitting questions, thinking, writing, and editing according to the type of examination; to satisfy other assessments of learning in meeting course objectives such as laboratory performance, class participation, simulation, and students' evaluations.
· The ability to accept constructive criticism and learn from it.

Strategies for Critical Reading and Writing

Students coming to US universities should develop the skill of critical reading as a foundation for academic success in their humanities and social science courses. Among the strategies they can use to develop their ability to read critically are these:
· Make observations and identify connections between and among their observations
· Make inferences and draw provisional conclusions based upon those inferences.
· Distinguish between fact and opinion, and between opinion and judgment.
· Identify assumptions and logical fallacies in arguments
· Analyze evidence used to support a claim in an argument
· Ask questions of and respond to the text

These basic critical reading strategies should be coupled with writing, initially in the form of annotations and queries jotted in the margins of a text. Other forms of writing useful for developing skill in critical reading include freewriting focused on the topic and argument of a text and journal writing in a double-column notebook in which the student summarizes the text on one side of a page and responds to and comments on it on the other side. The dialogue created between the student reader's summary notes and his or her thoughts and queries stimulates critical thinking about what is being read and actively engages the reader with text.

In addition to using some of these strategies in reading and writing exercises, students should develop the habit of reading and writing in response to that reading. Students should try to set aside time every day for reading a variety of texts-newspaper and magazine articles as well as books. Since reading in a foreign language frequently results in a student's encountering numerous unfamiliar words and phrases, a dictionary is an essential tool for improving reading skills. Students should be discouraged from using a dictionary while they are reading. Rather, they should jot down or mark the unfamiliar words, attempting to determine their meaning through context. Later, they can look up the words in a dictionary and reread the passage in which the unfamiliar words occur.

As with reading, students should try to set aside time each day for writing in the new language. It is important that students actively use the language not only for everyday communication, but also for expressing their thoughts in writing. The extra effort this writing requires will help students improve their ability to think in the language. Students should also have someone familiar with the language read their writing and offer corrections and suggestions for improvement.

These are just a few practical suggestions that should help students prepare themselves for success in a foreign university. Adjusting to differences in language and culture takes time and requires a willingness to learn. It goes without saying that adapting to differences of language and culture also require respect for the other language and culture along with a strong desire to become acclimated to it. And like all skills, those of critical reading and writing flourish best in a nurturing environment, in which students are expected to make mistakes as they try to stretch themselves intellectually. Persistence, practice, and perseverance, along with a determined resolve are also a great boon to success.

Preparing for success in a foreign university is certainly not easy. But the rewards for undergoing that preparation and achieving that success are immeasurable and enduring.

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