英国文化与中国文化对比英文教学总结.docx
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英国文化与中国文化对比英文教学总结
英国文化与中国文化对比(英文)
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.