英国文化与中国文化对比英文Word文档下载推荐.docx
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Westernstudentsenjoyaseeminglyrelaxededucationalexperience.This,however,isnotthecaseforstudentsinAsia,whofacecrushingworkloadsandareoftenverydisciplined.InthefirstpartofherGlobalist.?
Thedecisionispartlybasedonaninability—orunwillingness—tospendthousandsofdollarsintuitionfees,especiallygiventhesuspicionthatlocalschoolsarebetteranyway.Afterall,whatmorecouldonewantfromabasiceducationthanastronggroundinginlanguage,mathandscience,allsubjectsinwhichAsianschoolsfamouslyexcel.Ourmainconcernistheabilityofourson—andindeedthewholefamily—toadapttothestrictdiligencethatisexpectedoftheChinese.Apprehensionincreaseswhentalkingtolocalfriends.?
Chinahasalonghistoryofstandardizedtests,beginningwiththeancientimperialexamsinitiatedduringtheSuiDynasty.ShellyChenisatthetopoftheclassattheShanghaiforeignlanguageschool,oneofthecity’sbestmiddleschools.AlreadynearfluentinEnglish,sheisstudyingGermanandranksamongthehighestinhergradeinphysics.HergoalistogetafullscholarshiptoHarvardtostudybiochemistry.ItisnotonlyWesternexpatriatesthatgrowanxiouswhenhearingaboutstudentslikeShelly.?
ThroughoutEngland,politicians,parentsandpunditsworrythattheindustriousnessanddisciplineofkidsintheEastareleavingrelativelyrelaxedWesternerstrailingbehind.Thoughthereissomedebatesurroundingthestatistics,itiswidelybelievedthatNorthAmericaisfailingtoproducesufficientgraduatesinsciencesandengineering.StilllesscontroversyattendstheobservationthatmathscoresthroughouttheWestrankwellbelowthoseofmostAsiancountries.Asaresult,thereisadeepeningconsensusthat,inordertomaintainitscompetitiveedge,?
Chinesestudentsaretaughtthatallquestionshavebutonerightanswerandthereislittleroomfordebate.NorthAmericaneducationneedstomoveawayfromanemphasisonfun,flexibilityandindividuallearningstyles.Instead,ithastoshifttowardsamorestrict,disciplinedteachingenvironmentthatmathandscience,inparticular,seemtodemand.ThisshiftcanbediscernedeveninCanada,wheretherearenocollegeentranceexams,andwhere,standardizedtesting,memorizationandrotelearninghavelongbeenfrownedupon.?
Nevertheless,thereisamountingchoruscomplainingthattheprominencegiventocreativitycheatsstudentsoutofapropereducation.PeoplelikescienceteacherSumitraRajagopalanareentreatingCanadianeducatorstoadoptamoreAsianpedagogicalphilosophybasedon“constantrepetition,recitation,grillinganddrilling”.IntheUnitedStates,theriseofChinaandIndiaisputtingevenmoreemphasisonthedemandforeducationreform.?
Tougherstandards,Newpolicies—suchasNoChildLeftBehind—haveledtoanincreasedstressonstandardizedtesting.?
Inthe2006StateoftheUnionaddress,PresidentGeorgeW.BushmentionedthethreatofAsia’sgiantsspecificallywhenintroducinghis“CompetitiveInitiative”,aprogramthatpromisessubstantialfundsfortheteachingofbasicmathandscience.?
Butinanironictwist,thereisanincreasingdesiretomakeeducationmoreEnglandinChina.ManynowagreethatthelackofcreativityinChina’seducationsystemwillsoonproveamajorstumblingblockinthecountry’scontinuingdevelopment.?
Governmentandbusinessleadersworryaboutaderivative,manufacturing-basedeconomy,whichisunabletoinnovatecoretechnology,lacksmajorresearchanddevelopmentprojects—andlagsfarbehindincreativesectorslikemarketinganddesign.?
Alackofflexibilityandinabilityofindividualstotaketheinitiativeaffectstheentireservicesector,paralyzingemployeesateverylevel.Arrivinglateforthesetbreakfastatafive-starhotelinChengdu,forexample,I,alongwithagroupofotherforeigners,foundthatthecoffeehadrunout.Ourrequestformorethrewthestaffintocrisis.Itwasnotuntilaseriesofmeetingshadbeenheldandpermissionsoughtfromseniormanagementthatafreshpotcouldbebrewed.Passingeventrivialproblemsupthemanagementhierarchyinthiswayissimplyimpossibleinasophisticatedpost-industrialsociety.?
Chinahasimplementedasetofreformsknownas“qualityeducation”.Thispolicy,whichaimstoteachcreativityandemphasizecharacterdevelopment,hasresultedincertainconcreteshiftsincludingchangestotextbooks,anincreasedemphasisonoralskillsinlanguagelearning—andvariousattemptstogetteacherstoencouragestudentparticipation.?
MostChinese,however,areskepticalthatanythingotherthansurfacetransformationistakingplace.Astheyarequicktopointout,theunderlyingissue—aneducationsystemrootedinstandardizedtests—hasyettobealtered.?
ChinesestudentsachievenearperfectscoresonWesternstandardizedexams.Butwhengoabroad,theyfindthemselvesillpreparedfortheeducation.?
Today,nationaltestsdeterminewhichelementary,highschoolanduniversityastudentwillattend.Theyarestillthesinglemostimportantfactorindecidingone’sgeneralcareerpath.?
TheweightgiventotestingisregularlycriticizedthroughoutChinesesociety.Newspapersandmagazinescommonlyreportontheextremepressureofthegeneralexams.?
StoriesrangefromconcernoverthesuicideratetobizarreanecdotesliketheoneaboutgirlsinGuangdongprovincewhoaresaidtohaveboughtupmassquantitiesofcontraceptivepillsandthentakenthemduringthetestperiod—inthehopeofwardingofftheilleffectsoftheirmenstrualcycle.Despitetheseconcerns,thereislittlerealimpetusforthetestingsystemtochange.InChina,standardizedtestsareseenastheonlywaytoguaranteemeritocracyandensurefairness.TheCanadianmethodofgrantinguniversityadmissiononthebasisofinterviewsandgradepointaveragesisseenasfartoosubjective.InChina,manybelievethatinasystemlikethisthebestschools,universitiesandjobswouldgoonlytothosewiththerightguanxii(connections).China’semphasisonmemorizationandrotelearninghassignificantconsequences.Studentsaretaughtthatallquestionshavebutonerightanswerandthereislittleroomfordebateandoriginalthought.?
Subjectslikehistoryandpoliticsarefocusedsolelyondatesandnames.EventheChineselanguageexam,whichrequiresstudentstowriteessays,allocatesgradesaccordingtohowwellonecanquoteclassicaltextsandidioms.?
Passingtrivialproblemsupthemanagementhierarchyissimplyimpossibleinasophisticatedpost-industrialsociety.?
Asaresult,ChinesestudentsdevelopwhatappearstomanyWesternersasashockingcapacityformemorization.Manyareabletoreciteentirearticlesandtherearestoriesofsomewhoarecapableofcommittingtheentiredictionarytomemory.?
Chinesestudentsthusregularlyachievenear-perfectscoresonthestandardizedexamsofEuropeandEngland.whentheygoabroadmanyofthesestudentsfindtheyareill-preparedforWesterneducation.ChinesestudentswithphenomenalTOEFL(TestofEnglishasaForeignLanguage)scoresareoftenincapableoftakingpartinsimpleEnglishconversation.?
AtleastonegraduateschoolinoneofEngland’smosteliteuniversitieshasnowbecomewaryofacceptingstudentsfromChinaforthisreason.Assumedskillssuchasin-classparticipation,seminarpresentationsandindividualresearchprojects,commonpracticeinelementaryschoolsinNorthAmerica,arelargelyunheardofintheChineseclassroom—eveninmostuniversities.?
Nationaltestsdeterminewhichschoolastudentwillattend.Theyarethemostimportantfactorindecidingone’scareerpath.?
Moreover,thestressonoriginalthinkingandstrictrulesregardingplagiarismoftenseembafflingtostudentsfromChina.AnAmericanteacherworkinginYunnanprovincetellsofencounteringthisculturaldividewhentwostudentshandedintheexactsameessayforanin-classexam.
Becauseofdiffrenttraditionsandcultures,therearemanydiffrencesbetweenChineseeducationandBritisheducation.
Firstly,theChineseeducationis"
nineyearcompulsoryeducation"
.Mostofschoolsarepublicschools.Andthetutionscomefromthegovernment.AndtheBritisheducationisalsocompulsoryeducation.Buttheschoolsystemistwo-tracksystemwhichincludedthepublicschoolandtheprivateschool.Andthetutionsarefreeinthepublicschoolwhilethosecomefromthestudents'
parentsintheprivateschool.
Secondly,theChineseschoolsonlyhavesomesubjects,suchasChinese,maths,English,history,physicsandsoon.TheChinesestudentsmuststudythesesubjectseveryday.Andtheymustworkhardthattheyhardlyhavesparetime.ButinBritain,thestudentshavechancestochooseanelectivecourcetoexpandtheirknowledgeandvisions.AndtheyhavemuchmoresparetimetoplaythanChinesestudents.
Finally,theChineseeducationalsystemisverysimple.Mostofstudentshavetopassthecollegeentranceexamination.Andthentheycangotocollegetostudyamajor.ButinBritain,thestudentshavemanychoicestostudy.Therearemanytechnologyschools.Everybodycanenterwithoutcertisficationandlimetedage.
AlthoughtherearemanydifferencesbetweentheChineseeducantionandtheBritisheducation,theyhavesomeadventagesanddisadventagesinsomeaspects.