英国文化与文化对比英文.docx

英国文化与文化对比英文.docx

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英国文化与文化对比英文

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英国文化与文化对比英文

Westernstudentsenjoyaseeminglyrelaxededucationalexperience.This,however,isnotthecaseforstudentsinAsia,whofacecrushingworkloadsandareoftenverydisciplined.InthefirstpartofherGlobalist.?

Thedecisionispartlybasedonaninability—orunwillingness—tospendthousandsofdollarsintuitionfees,especiallygiventhesuspicionthatlocalschoolsarebetteranyway.Afterall,whatmorecouldonewantfromabasiceducationthanastronggroundinginlanguage,mathandscience,allsubjectsinwhichAsianschoolsfamouslyexcel.Ourmainconcernistheabilityofourson—andindeedthewholefamily—toadapttothestrictdiligencethatisexpectedoftheChinese.Apprehensionincreaseswhentalkingtolocalfriends.?

Chinahasalonghistoryofstandardizedtests,beginningwiththeancientimperialexamsinitiatedduringtheSuiChenisatthetopoftheclassattheShanghaiforeignlanguageschool,oneofthecity’sbestmiddleschools.AlreadynearfluentinEnglish,sheisstudyingGermanandranksamongthehighestinhergradeinphysics.HergoalistogetafullscholarshiptoHarvardtostudybiochemistry.ItisnotonlyWesternexpatriatesthatgrowanxiouswhenhearingaboutstudentslikeShelly.?

ThroughoutEngland,politicians,parentsandpunditsworrythattheindustriousnessanddisciplineofkidsintheEastareleavingrelativelyrelaxedWesternerstrailingbehind.Thoughthereissomedebatesurroundingthestatistics,itiswidelybelievedthatNorthAmericaisfailingtoproducesufficientgraduatesinsciencesandlesscontroversyattendstheobservationthatmathscoresthroughouttheWestrankwellbelowthoseofmostAsiancountries.Asaresult,thereisadeepeningconsensusthat,inordertomaintainitscompetitiveedge,?

ChinesestudentsaretaughtthatallquestionshavebutonerightanswerandthereislittleroomforAmericaneducationneedstomoveawayfromanemphasisonfun,flexibilityandindividuallearning,ithastoshifttowardsamorestrict,disciplinedteachingenvironmentthatmathandscience,inparticular,seemtoshiftcanbediscernedeveninCanada,wheretherearenocollegeentranceexams,andwhere,standardizedtesting,memorizationandrotelearninghavelongbeenfrownedupon.?

Nevertheless,thereisamountingchoruscomplainingthattheprominencegiventocreativitycheatsstudentsoutofaproperlikescienceteacherSumitraRajagopalanareentreatingCanadianeducatorstoadoptamoreAsianpedagogicalphilosophybasedon“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.Ourrequestformorethrewthestaffintowasnotuntilaseriesofmeetingshadbeenheldandpermissionsoughtfromseniormanagementthatafreshpotcouldbeeventrivialproblemsupthemanagementhierarchyinthiswayissimplyimpossibleinasophisticatedpost-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—inthehopeofwardingofftheilleffectsoftheirmenstrualtheseconcerns,thereislittlerealimpetusforthetestingsystemtochange.InChina,standardizedtestsareseenastheonlywaytoguaranteemeritocracyandensurefairness.TheCanadianmethodofgrantinguniversityadmissiononthebasisofinterviewsandgradepointaveragesisseenasfartooChina,manybelievethatinasystemlikethisthebestschools,universitiesandjobswouldgoonlytothosewiththerightguanxii（connections）.China’semphasisonmemorizationandrotelearninghassignificantconsequences.Studentsaretaughtthatallquestionshavebutonerightanswerandthereislittleroomfordebateandoriginalthought.?

Subjectslikehistoryandpoliticsarefocusedsolelyondatesandnames.EventheChineselanguageexam,whichrequiresstudentstowriteessays,allocatesgradesaccordingtohowwellonecanquoteclassicaltextsandidioms.?

Passingtrivialproblemsupthemanagementhierarchyissimplyimpossibleinasophisticatedpost-industrialsociety.?

Asaresult,ChinesestudentsdevelopwhatappearstomanyWesternersasashockingcapacityformemorization.Manyareabletoreciteentirearticlesandtherearestoriesofsomewhoarecapableofcommittingtheentiredictionarytomemory.?

Chinesestudentsthusregularlyachievenear-perfectscoresonthestandardizedexamsofEuropeandEngland.whentheygoabroadmanyofthesestudentsfindtheyareill-preparedforWesterneducation.ChinesestudentswithphenomenalTOEFL（TestofEnglishasaForeignLanguage）scoresareoftenincapableoftakingpartinsimpleEnglishconversation.?

AtleastonegraduateschoolinoneofEngland’smosteliteuniversitieshasnowbecomewaryofacceptingstudentsfromChinaforthisskillssuchasin-classparticipation,seminarpresentationsandindividualresearchprojects,commonpracticeinelementaryschoolsinNorthAmerica,arelargelyunheardofintheChineseclassroom—eveninmostuniversities.?

Nationaltestsdeterminewhichschoolastudentwillattend.Theyarethemostimportantfactorindecidingone’scareerpath.?

Moreover,thestressonoriginalthinkingandstrictrulesregardingplagiarismoftenseembafflingtostudentsfromChina.AnAmericanteacherworkinginYunnanprovincetellsofencounteringthisculturaldividewhentwostudentshandedintheexactsameessayforanin-classexam.

Becauseofdiffrenttraditionsandcultures,therearemanydiffrencesbetweenChineseeducationandBritisheducation.

Firstly,theChineseeducationis"nineyearcompulsoryeducation".MostofschoolsarepublicthetutionscomefromthetheBritisheducationisalsocompulsorytheschoolsystemistwo-tracksystemwhichincludedthepublicschoolandtheprivatethetutionsarefreeinthepublicschoolwhilethosecomefromthestudents'parentsintheprivateschool.

Secondly,theChineseschoolsonlyhavesomesubjects,suchasChinese,maths,English,history,physicsandsoChinesestudentsmuststudythesesubjectseverytheymustworkhardthattheyhardlyhavespareinBritain,thestudentshavechancestochooseanelectivecourcetoexpandtheirknowledgeandtheyhavemuchmoresparetimetoplaythanChinesestudents.

Finally,theChineseeducationalsystemisveryofstudentshavetopassthecollegeentrancethentheycangotocollegetostudyainBritain,thestudentshavemanychoicestoaremanytechnologybodycanenterwithoutcertisficationandlimetedage.

AlthoughtherearemanydifferencesbetweentheChineseeducantionandtheBritisheducation,theyhavesomeadventagesanddisadventagesinsomeaspects.