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

Figure 8.14: Ellie‘s perception of her own learning experience in the UK between September 2007 and April
2009
Growing up in Shenzhen, a pioneer region of China‘s reform and opening-up policy, I
have witnessed the tremendous leap in the economy and social life-styles. Multinational
enterprises came in and brought with them new products, new language and a new life
style, which interested me. My contact with English started at grade 4 at primary school.
I was the student representative of English in our class, so I took an active part in
English study and maintained strong incentives. Later, I went to a secondary school
where English study was emphasised. There, I was carefully taught how to imitate
American accents, interestingly, not the British one. I think the idea is to try to sound like
native speakers with less Chinese accents. What they believe is that students will benefit
life long if they can acquire the native-like accent from the very beginning. As far as I am
concerned, language accents reveal people‘s cultural identity and it is very natural and
beneficial to maintain one‘s inherent accent. Even though I can strive to imitate a British
or American accent, I can never conceal or change my own identity as Chinese. To be
fair, I benefited a lot from my English study at the secondary school. I was offered ample
opportunities to practice my oral English and my scores in the English course remained
high. Actually, when I took part in the entrance exam to university, I received an
excellent mark in English. Thanks to English and, of course, my good marks in many
other subjects, I was admitted to a reputable university in China. Interestingly enough, I
majored in English.
In the Chinese university, I have always been enthusiastically involved in extracurricular
activities and voluntary work and thrived to be a well-rounded learner with
creativity, social skills and a kind heart. I especially enjoyed participating in oral
English competitions and English debates. But I was a bit lazy, unwilling to do grammar
exercises as part of coursework, about which I actually regret now. At the same time, I
was involved in sports activities organised by the Student Union.
Having majored in English at a Chinese university, I seized the opportunity to go on
exchange to a British university. I personally experienced the different interpersonal
communication and academic environments in China and Britain due to their different
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