The challenge of academic writing for Chinese students within ...

On the contrary, what they experienced in the UK was not what they had expected.
According to the participants, at the beginning they found it quite difficult to adjust to the
teacher-student relationship in the UK. They were surprised to find out that surgery or office
hours were set up and students were only allowed to see the tutors during the set hours, and
that an appointment was required to see a tutor. In China, the participants remembered they
could ask for help from a teacher at anytime as they wished and needed. Some participants
were discouraged from seeking help from their tutor since the difficulties of arranging a
suitable time and the limited time allocated to them. They experienced less close teacherstudent
relationships in the UK than they did in China. They found it difficult and had no
opportunities to form a close relationship with their tutors in the UK, as some participants
recalled:
In China we have a principal tutor in one class who you can seek help from
when having problems. In China our principal tutor teaches us the core module,
which has about 8 hours of teaching per week. We get to meet the tutor very
often. But here one module only has two hours teaching, and two hours seminar
but sometimes the seminar is cancelled. (Andy, interview)
The participants reported the relationship they had with their tutors was kept very
professional: tutors provided help only with academic issues; they had no contact with
their tutors outside of the classroom and surgery hours, and virtually no opportunities
to form a friendship with their tutors.
Nonetheless, some participants perceived the help and support they received from tutors
positively, and acknowledged that some tutors were very approachable and even provided
them with additional support with their study, as some recalled:
I learned a lot from my tutors. They helped with our assignments and proofread
them. They always gave us great advice and took more responsibility than they
should have. (Li, interview)
Chinese students tended to go back to those tutor who showed understanding of
international students‘ experience of challenging academic adaptations. Students very
much appreciated the UK tutors who provided them with additional help and support.
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