Read International Students from Mainland China: Struggles to Integrate. What did you learn from this piece? Did it teach you something new? Did it reinforce what you already knew? What resonated most with you? Your response should be between four and eight sentences long.
14 thoughts on “Blog Post #8: Commenting on a Student’s Medium Piece”
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I feel like I knew a little bit about what is said in the article, like about the censorship of social media in China. One thing I gained more insight about is how difficult it is for international students to get a job in a foreign country. I can definitely see what Zhou said, that a lot of companies would prefer to not hire international students because they would have to sponsor them. In addition, since English is their second language and that leads to the lack of clear communication, I can see how hard it is to integrate for both sides. Not only is it hard for international students to practice using a language they’re new to, but there is also discrimination against their accents. I think that as employers start making efforts to support hiring international people and if international people try to speak more with people outside of their bubble, then there could slowly be an improvement in integrating them into the U.S. Overall, I do think there are definitely more ways to help make the process better such as more efforts from schools or clubs.
Much of this piece reinforced things that I already knew about China and Chinese culture. East Asian cultures are very big on respecting elders and other forms of authority no matter what, which can be infuriating sometimes. The language barrier and existing community is something I am all too familiar with as well. To this day I still haven’t had a proper conversation with my grandparents, and every time my family tries to do something that requires a professional, they look for a Chinese person.
There is an important aspect in the Chinese culture of respecting elderly therefore, a lot of Chinese people tend to do as they were told as it is in the education system. I knew that the Chinese educational system is more base on memorizing what has been taught in class rather America’s education is more about the analysis of a thought. I saw a video about the difference in Chinese and America’s educational system through the story of Cinderella. In American education you would learn that friends are important, have to have time management, treat yourself well, and do not be afraid of failure. These are teaching a child values and how to look at the world. A Chinese teacher tells the students to focus on questions that might appear on an exam and that is what motivates a student to learn. For example, a term is useful that is why you should remember it and it can change your life. The Chinese teacher sets the value as something needs to be useful.
It is not uncommon to see international Chinese students to be in their own group since the writing system is very different than English which can make them uncomfortable in speaking another language that they are not familiar with. I have seen that in my middle school were there were a few students that transferred from China to my school and they were always together and spoke Chinese in school.
A lot of what I read in “International Students from Mainland China: Struggles to Integrate” pretty much reinforced a lot of what I already knew and presumed about the immigrant experience especially pertaining to China. There is a lot of information about China since it is a leading force globally alongside the United States of America. I already knew about the censorship of information, and one can presume that ignorance can only follow, which leads to misunderstanding of other cultures. I knew that in Chinese culture, elders are regarded with deference. The language impediment and isolation is something I could definitely see happening with people new to a country or culture. I could also understand that since colleges charge more for out-of-state and national students, bringing in students internationally could be a profitable opportunity that is only increasing.
However, something that surprised me was how similar the learning styles are here and in China. I didn’t know teaching was mainly focused on memorization over there. I wonder how it is that Chinese students are doing better in education according to what I’ve heard and read, when their learning style is what I would approximate to be about 90% of my school experience here. She doesn’t really expand on that or cite specific sources, so I guess I will have to find out what the truth is on my own time.
In conclusion, I already knew the majority of what she wrote, but I never really took the time to even consider the experience and how hard it is to be in a foreign country. My takeaway is that I really need to take into consideration actual people’s experiences because just understanding isn’t enough.
This piece really helped me better understand this topic that I was not too knowledgeable on. I always was aware that Mainland china had some censorship over what their citizens see. However, I never fully realized the extent to which they controlled the content. I see now why it may be more challenging to adjust to a society that lives completely different than what many Chinese had as their norm. This statement said toward the end of the article resonated most with me “You can find everything inside, so why go out and face discomfort?”. This can apply to anyone fearful of venturing out of their comfort zone into something new and unfamiliar. In many respects, I understand how they may feel. Now, I am more enlightened on the topic.
This article taught me a lot about the topic. One item I did not know was that international students end up paying more, and usually don’t qualify for financial aid and that colleges try to recruit international students for their money and the diversity. The article did reinforce the idea of Chinese censorship. I had known that the Chinese blocked a lot of websites, but I do find it interesting that they created their own versions of the websites. It makes sense, however it was not something I have thought about.
From reading this article I have come to understand how difficult it could be for an individual who is so deeply rooted into their culture, to integrate into a world they are not used to especially a country like China who sensors the outside world. I have always comprehended how difficult the Chinese language is based on simply hearing it, but did not know that one character in the Chinese language is like one word in English. This article definitely reinforced and educated me on this topic, and it makes sense that students from certain backgrounds and cultures choose to stay within those communities, like I myself have.
After reading this piece, I found that a lot of the details mentioned in the cultural differences section were all things that I am familiar with myself. This is because traditions such as not going against the elderly are practiced in my household. I am also familiar with the strict internet censorship in mainland China. Something new that stood out to me was the part about how the education system in mainland China is based on memorization rather than critical thinking because it sounds completely different from the system in the United States.
What I learned from this piece is that colleges like international students because they have to pay out of state or out of country tuition and often don’t qualify for financial aid which makes international students good for colleges seeking money. Something I already knew was that colleges like international students because they are good for increasing the level of diversity and bringing in more perspectives on the campus. What was reinforced and also resonated with me the most was that Chinese international students face struggles with things such as cultural differences and language barriers which leads to those students forming their own bubble and staying inside.
Before I read this article my knowledge on this topic was very limited. From what I knew, I thought most international students were really well off in terms of economic status and that’s how they were able to afford US schooling. The article explains that most colleges take advantage of this information and do not offer any financial aid to most international students. I’ve also heard about some cultural traditions such as obeying elders but I did not know how much emphasis was placed on obeying every word they say even if it is incorrect. In addition I did not know that the chinese school education system was exactly like the arabic school system in terms of how much mindless memorization there is and the amount of unbelievable workload given to young students. The censorship in mainland china is really well known about, the government has been known to block real news from the outside world and not allow chinese news to spread. One example of this is how the chinese government still refuses to acknowledge the tiananmen square massacre despite photo evidence. The chinese government has been also known to attack anyone in China talking about the topic.
I had not known that about the censorship inside of China’s mainstream. This article taught me that China are isolated to their own culture and as a result would make it difficult to mix in America. I am familiar with how language plays a huge barrier when it comes to understanding one another inside of America. This resonates to me alot since my parents are spanish speakers and it has been challenging for them to understand english when it is spoken to them.
I learned a lot from reading this article. It never occurred to me that international students would face many hardships. They were taught one thing in their homeland, and are taught another thing when they go to a different place. Adjusting to that can be very difficult. Changing your mindset faces many challenges. Also breaking the language barrier and adjusting to cultural differences is very difficult. This article opened my mind to a different side of colleges. Colleges like international students because many of them don’t qualify for financial aid and are required to pay from their pockets, which ultimately are hurtful for international students and beneficial for colleges. I didn’t realize that Chinese international students are so restricted in their homeland. For example, the internet is censored and they mostly have to use third-party apps. A difference that I learned between China and the United States is, that China is based on memorization and the United States is based on critical thinking. I can’t imagine that for myself. I know for sure that I would struggle with all this if I was coming from another place.
After reading such an article, I learned a great deal of what it means to truly struggle and face restrictions. It was also a great deal of reinforcement of what happens within the Asian culture. Growing up within a Chinese community, there is a clear frustration in having a language barrier with the real world. Discrimination occurs quite often against this particular community and identity is a sensitive topic that the world is still trying to adjust towards. Something that I also notice was that there is such a clear difference between the United States and China’s educational system. I personally think the Chinese culture values education on a more vigorous level and that there is a heavier discipline system. China has different views on where education should take a student in their life. Lastly, what resonated the most was within the article, it stated, “And it is only us who can choose our own identities”. Chinese international students have a higher standard of trying to prove themselves in such a big world. Already struggling within their own environment of being in mainland China, it is another struggle to travel to the studying internationally. Overall, this article truly echoed a lot that I have noticed my whole life, but it is interesting to see that this topic is being publicized and being addressed.
After reading this article, the part about international students staying in their bubble really resonated with me. I personally felt the same way when I first went to Tokyo. However, after a few months of me living abroad, I started venturing out of my bubble and really experiencing life in Japan. I am not sure if this was because I was raised in America, or because there was a strong support system provided from my school in Japan. I cannot help but feel sad that for whatever reason, international students from Mainland China feel the need to stay within their bubbles, and thus are not able to experience what life is genuinely like in America.