Words not enough to draw US students to China

• Source: Global Times
• [21:33 June 28 2010]
• Comments

Ray Wang

Editor's Note:

US President Barack Obama said the US would send 100,000 students to China in four years during his first visit to China last year. But over the past half year, there has been no news how and when Obama will realize this wish. Is this just an expression? Is China capable to receive so many US students? What's Chinese students' situation in the US? Global Times (GT) reporter Li Yanjie talked with Ray Wang (Wang), a dean and professor of California State Polytechnic University, on these issues.

GT: According to US statistics, around 13,000 to 20,000 students go to China to study each year. Do you think US President Barack Obama can realize his ambitious plan of sending 100,000 US students to China in four years?

Wang: The US government only sets certain policies and gives advisories, rather than requires universities and colleges to do things. In 2001, when the US government realized that the military and intelligence agencies had a critical lack of the language skills such as Arabic, Farsi, and Chinese, the State Department provided grant opportunities for US educational institutions to pursue language initiatives in those areas. But the program wasn't effective enough or large enough to encourage people to learn Chinese.

Several factors, such as China's economic rise, the successful staging of the Beijing Olympic Games, and the increased visibility of Chinese cultural products in the US, have made Americans moderately interested in learning Chinese. But I don't think there is a critical mass there because Chinese is quite difficult to learn.

Another problem is that local teachers of Chinese in China are often not well prepared in language teaching. There are a lot of problems with the Chinese style of teaching when it comes to teaching foreigners Chinese. My daughter studied Chinese for one year in Tsinghua University. Most of her classmates are of Chinese origin, born in Europe or the US. They were often frustrated by too much teaching and not so much practicing in Chinese classrooms.

There is a very effective program teaching Chinese in Cornell University called FALCON. Chinese programs in China should take a look at it.

I think Obama was simply expressing a wish and his words imply that China is growing stronger, but whether more US students come to study in China depends on many factors, and China's continued economic growth is a big one.

Although Obama said the US would send more students to China, the government didn't promise any financial support, so it's more like he has hopes for it than that there's any actual program to support it.

GT: Do you think China is capable of coping with so many overseas students?

Wang: Yes, most definitely! I think China has the capacity to cope with many more overseas students, but I'm not sure whether China can offer the kind of education American students expect in learning Chinese. But I think China is very successful in making American students like China. Most American returning students that I have talked to believe that Chinese people are nice and kind.

GT: What majors do US students usually choose when they study in China?

Wang: Chinese, of course. Most of them choose to study Chinese for business purposes. Besides, some US companies believe if someone has had studied Chinese, he or she shows potentials to deal with challenges because Chinese is regarded as one of the most difficult languages to learn. Those Americans that want to work for Foreign Service or intelligence might choose Chinese, too.

It's very unlikely for US students to study science and technologies in China, as they have better choices at home. I've heard that some students choose archaeology because China has many archaeological sites.