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

learning and study skills, research skills, time management skills, and communication
skills apart from acquiring subject specific knowledge. But some participants expressed
the view that it would have been more helpful and would have made their adjustment
process less stressful if specific support provision had been in place upon their arrival and
they had been informed what is expected for learning in higher education in UK.
The emphasis of approaches to learning is distinct between UK and China – a deep
approach versus a surface approach. As identified in Chapter 3, a deep approach to
learning is associated with interaction with learning materials, and identification of main
ideas and underlying principles while a surface approach overlooks correlation of
knowledge and concentrates on the completion of the tasks (Marton & Saljo, 1997;
Entwistle et al., 2001). The teaching methods adopted in UK universities tend to
encourage and develop students‘ deep approach to learning – they are encouraged to read
texts, and analyse issues critically. Memorizing texts promoted in education in China is
often linked with a surface approach to learning, especially taking into consideration the
examination-oriented education system in China. One participant recalled:
In China, we have an exam-oriented learning and teaching system with standard
answers. Teachers emphasised the memorisation of textbooks. In UK, however,
there is more presence of subjective questions in the exams/tests with no right or
wrong answers, which encourage personal thinking and require personal judgement
on things. (Ellie, interview)
However, it is important to differentiate memorizing from rote learning. Unlike Western
presumption of memorizing in Chinese education, Chinese perceives memorisation as a
means leading to understanding and comprehension, as reported in a number of previous
studies (Biggs, 1996; Kember, 2000; Marton et al., 1999; Watkins, 1996).
Differences were identified by the participant in terms of methods of assessment. Three major
themes surfaced in relation to assessment. Firstly, in the UK, assessment takes the forms of
coursework, examinations, in-class tests, presentations, and group projects, which are
different from assessment methods in China where a formal examination is the main
assessment method. Unlike various assessment components for one module in the UK, an
end-of-term examination is often the only assessment component for one course in China.
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