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

Figure 8.10: Vincent‘s perception of his own learning experience in the UK between September 2007 and April
2009
I am from the City of Foshan, Guangdong, China. My hometown is situated in the heart of
the Pearl Delta, one of the most prosperous areas of the country that has nurtured the
prosperity of Hong Kong. Born at the time of the opening and revolution of China and in a
place that took the lead, I am very lucky to benefit from the rapid change of the society and
booming economy. My father was among the first who left a state-owned company and
started his own business. He made his fortune from the early 1990s, a base on which he could
afford to send me to the best primary school of the region. I started to learn English in the
first year there. Since then, I have had a lengthy contact with English.
Deep in my mind when I was a little boy, I understood that English is very important for the
future. Such a concept just went into one‘s mind unconsciously in response to the rapidly
changing environment. But I didn‘t make English as my priority until I entered university. In
China, we have great pressure to study throughout junior and senior high schools and
English is only one of the many subjects we have to deal with. English education in China at
that stage lays more emphasis on the foundation of grammar as well as the ability to read.
Due to the lack of language environment, listening and speaking skills usually lagged behind.
But even after I entered university, the situation has not changed much.
My major in university was Business Communication. But throughout the first two years,
most of the courses were centred on English skills, divided in terms of reading, writing,
listening and speaking. There were not many business courses at all. During the second year,
there came a chance for the students in my school to take an exchange program with a
university in Liverpool, UK. But the partnering university is not a famous one. Thus, not
many students showed interest in the program. But I was one. There were quite a few good
reasons for me to take the bet. First of all, having studied English for more than 10 years, I
was not so satisfied with only taking English courses while as a matter of fact, I still couldn‘t
communicate fluently in the language. Studying in UK would be a good chance for me to get
higher proficiency. Second, I believed that it would be more challenging living in a new
environment and studying under a completely different education system. I always aspire to
be more independent and adaptable. Thus I love this challenge. Third, as this was an
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