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Posts: 77

Governor

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Q: Can your students write in Mandarin, never mind English?

I was shocked to find out out that half my students have no ability to write in Chinese effectively for basic book reports and essays. The Chinese teacher informs me that the students usually only write about 2 or 3 essays for the entire 2 semester year in all high school grade levels.

 

Is this standard in China for the mother tongue? I recall having writing assignments every two weeks for all of high school. A mixture of book reports, essays, letters, short stories, show and music reviews etc.

 

If they can't construct reasonable outlines and communicate in Mandarin, can they write well in English without the first language foundation. Pedagogy is not my forte, any thoughts or is this another "this is China".

7 years 49 weeks ago in  Teaching & Learning - China

 
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Posts: 7178

Emperor

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Knowing how to write Mitsubishi PLC language or how to compose a component on a 5 axis machine center is way more important than knowing the first names of the Bronte sisters.

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7 years 47 weeks ago
 
Posts: 5156

Emperor

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Why is it surprising? If you can't  write in your second language (provided you have sufficient vocabulary) then it's likely you can't write in your native language. Language ability has little to with thinking ability. Chinese education system is designed to kill independent thinking. Chinese teachers encourage and directly reward students who plagiarize.  So those few essays, most likely they don't even write them themselves.

 

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7 years 47 weeks ago
 
Posts: 69

Governor

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If you provide the right instruction, you can teach them how to write in English. It's true that many Chinese students don't know how to write well, even in their own language, but I believe they can be easily taught how to write with the proper instruction.

Chinese students are very good students. They respect their teachers and have a great work ethic in the classroom. All of my students study for their tests and do their homework. Comparatively, in the West, students don't give a damn about anything.

 

I remember when I was in school, I rarely studied, disrespected teachers and often turned assignments in late. But, most of my students at my high school in China fear their teachers and will do whatever they ask.

 

While it's probably true most Chinese students are lacking in creativity and imagination, it's not true that they won't be productive members of society in the future.

Englteachted:

Do you check for plagiarism or give assignments that are impossible to plagiarize?

7 years 47 weeks ago
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7 years 47 weeks ago
 
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