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

after my study. However, in 1998, this policy was abolished by the government in the
context of decentralisation of state-owned enterprises and cutting down the number of
civil servants. It was very challenging to find a job in Zhengzhou and I returned home
after my study. There were no graduate jobs in my home city. Both my parents had
left the state-owned factory and set up a new private business to support the family.
My younger brother was helping them. I did not want to be involved in the business
as I found it unattractive.
In 1998, I left home and went to the capital city, Beijing, to take another two-year
diploma course in Business English at China Agricultural University. It was
considered to be essential to speak good English in order to find a decent job in the
capital. Under pressure to make a living, English learning became the centre of my
life in those two years. There were a number of American language tutors who taught
us English speaking skills. In order to practise my spoken English, I was one of eager
students in the class who often liked to answer tutors‘ questions. I developed
confidence to speak English. As a by-product, I now speak English with a trace of a
North American accent. In July 2000, I finished my study with reasonable English
proficiency and started to look for a job in Beijing. It was challenging to get a job but
it was possible. Eventually, I found a job as an Assistant Marketing Manager in a
medium size computer software company in Beijing‘s Zhongguanchun – the Chinese
Silicon Valley. The company specialises in developing and producing software
application for the Globe Positioning System (GPS) and electronic maps. It was
exciting to work in the information technology (IT) industry as it was predicted that
IT would transform people‘s life and the way of conducting business. The job
involved travelling around China to attend IT exhibitions including some international
ones. My English skills were put in practice in the workplace when foreign business
partners visited the company. Two years later, I reached the career glass ceiling. It
seemed that a job promotion needed a higher academic qualification and experience
of working in a different company. I did not see the possibilities of advancing my
career without the above credentials. I was planning to move to another job in an
internet company after a headhunting agent approached me. However, it did not work
out following the bursting of the ‗internet bubble‘ in China in 2002. With small
savings and family support, I decided to study in the UK and invest in a master‘s
degree.
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