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

teaching styles were different. In China I was used to the teaching-and-listening kind of stuff.
The process of studying was more like understanding and memorizing. But in the UK, it was
a whole different story. There was no standard answer to a single question, so memorizing
became useless. It was the skill to solve a given problem that mattered. Textbooks were not
always right. Every question had its uniqueness which required careful study. The gap did
not shrink easily, but I managed to deal with it at last. This was the common process our
international students had to go through.
The most challenging thing during my study in the UK was academic writing. It was nothing
near to my learning experience in China. For example, the writing requirements were
different. In England I had to read a lot before I started an essay, which meant reading was
the most important part in my learning. Tutors were tending to give me better grades when I
read more. However, in China I could always start without much reading. I always felt that
tutors were looking for critical thinking rather than evidence of in-depth reading.
I will start my MA study this year and I plan to work in the UK after that. Sometimes I have
the feeling that because I am the only child, I bear more responsibility for my family. My
Chinese values have a great influence on me in this part. It is not like my parents want me to
stand out among my fellows. They have never said anything like that. But deep inside myself I
strongly feel that I would love to repay my family by being a successful person. My parents
have been the most important part of my life, and they always will be.
In a range of 1 to 10 (1 is the lowest while 10 is the highest score), I give 8 to my learning
experience in the UK. I learned a lot, I met many great people, and I love Britain. By
learning I do not mean the knowledge and skill I learned in my subjects, but rather the way of
looking into life. Even though there are differences between politics, economy, geography,
history, culture, religion, etc, it is the same when it comes to the meaning of life.
I think of myself as a Chinese student who has some leaning experience in Britain. I grew up
in China, went to the UK at 20, and wanted to see where life could take me to. Chinese values
are rooted in my bones and spirit, while the western values come and and are implanted in
my soul. I am proud to say that I can take advantage of two very different cultures and make
myself a better person.
Jo
Jo is a 23 years old female Chinese student. She is in her 3 rd year of a BA English Language
course. She came to the UK in September 2007, and she has been studying here for two
years. Prior to that, she studied in a university in China for two years. Her Chinese university
has a ‗2+2‘ exchange undergraduate programme (2 years study in China plus 2 years in the
UK) with her current university. She is from a small city in southern China. I got to know Jo
via a Chinese student gathering in 2007. Later, she kindly agreed to participate in the research
when I invited her to be a research subject.
Jo‘s graphs of her learning experiences between the ages of 6 and 22, and of her learning
experiences in the UK between September 2007 and April 2009 are shown in Figure 8.21 and
8.22 respectively.
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