Being Chinese in Lived Intercultural Experiences:A Discourse Analysis of Chinese Undergraduates’Perceptions of Chinese Culture

The current study investigates a group of Chinese undergraduates’perceptions of Chinese culture.It examines the discourses that the students drew on to assign meaning to Chinese culture and how the students used these discourses in constructing their Chinese cultural identity.A qualitative study was conducted collecting written self-reflective reports on critical intercultural incidents from 39 Chinese undergraduates at a university in Beijing.Questions designed to evoke reports from the students had them describe incidents in their past intercultural experiences that made them acutely aware of themselves“being Chinese”and specify aspects of Chinese culture that they felt such awareness could be attributed to.A discourse analysis reveals the multiplicity and contextuality of the students’notions of Chinese culture.The findings raise important considerations for contemporary Chinese undergraduates’cultural identity and their much debated“identity crisis.”

Problems and Strategies:A Study of Cross-Cultural Adaptation of Chinese Undergraduates in the Philippines

Investigating the intercultural adaptation of Chinese undergraduates in the Philippines provides an effective example of bridging the gap between theories of intercultural adaptation.A questionnaire and interviews were conducted to explore the problems and challenges faced by Chinese undergraduates in the Philippines,thereby providing some first-hand information for subsequent studies on cultural adaptation.Chinese undergraduates in the Philippines faced four main challenges,namely interpersonal communication,living environment,social services,and course study.As coping strategies,four suggestions are presented,including cultural integration,life experience,bridge building,and rational docking.

Being Chinese or Being Different:Chinese Undergraduates’Use of Discourses of Chineseness

Myths about“the Chinese learner”developed from an outsider perspective abound in the Western world.The focus of this article,however,is how discourses of Chineseness were used by the Chinese international students themselves who,as undergraduate students in a New Zealand university,were the subjects of my doctoral research.It examines the students’notions of Chineseness and how these served in explaining their own narratives,either through identifying with,or distancing themselves from,“Chinese”traits,indicating alternatively a shared experience of the challenges of the new academic culture,or marking themselves out as having a special ability to thrive within it.Whichever way they used them,the discourses seemed to serve a purpose of fortifying their sense of identity and membership.By the end of their study,they were able to reflect carefully on their experiences and discuss new third space identities in which both Chinese and New Zealand values were forging new realities for them.

Cultural and Academic Meetings in the Writing Classroom： China and the West

With growing numbers of Chinese students entering Western universities, cultural understanding is of increasing importance, not least in higher education. Without a good understanding of the academic conventions of Western universities, Chinese students, and undergraduates in particular, are at a disadvantage in the multi-cultural classroom. Lack of knowledge of structural influences on higher education, including teacher-student relations, reference management practices, and assessment procedures, are likely to lead to failure and disappointment. This paper, which is based on writing workshops conducted at Beijing University and in Sweden （Kristianstad University and Linnaeus University） in 2014, focuses primarily on writing practices and conventions because written texts are the main means of assessment in higher education. Addressing four key problems encountered by Chinese undergraduate writers in Western universities, namely lack of familiarity with the structure of academic papers, lack of focus on relevant issues, copying and pasting without giving proper reference, and inadequate understanding and mastery of the conventions of academic English, this paper argues for greater awareness of cultural differences between the Chinese and Western systems of education. Not until this has been achieved can Chinese students realize their full potential at Western universities.

Analysis of Authorial Stance in BA Thesis by EFL Learners in China

Based on Hyland’s(2005)framework of stance,this study explored the distribution of authorial stance used by undergraduates in their BA thesis.Through two self-built corpora,the result of the study shows that the use of stance markers in the corpora displays the following sequence:hedges>boosters>attitude markers>self-mentions.Further analysis on each stance marker reveals that undergraduates,as novice academic writers,have some problems with appropriately using stance markers in their academic discourses.The results provide some implications for both student writers and teachers of academic writing.

Implementing Effective Internships:A Case Study of Work-Integrated Learning in a Chinese Undergraduate University

Chinese local undergraduate universities are in a process of transition into universities of applied sciences.Important aspects of this include strengthening cooperation between universities and industry,cultivating applied talent needed in industry,improving students’employment rates,and promoting economic development.Internships are an important way to help students gain practical experience and deepen university-industry cooperation.The purpose of this paper is to analyze the challenges of the existing internship process in an undergraduate university in China and give suggestions to improve internship quality.Qualitative data from 35 students and 12 administrators/faculty were collected at a local undergraduate university,H University(HU),in central China,which is currently undergoing the process of becoming a university of applied sciences.The findings of the study show issues with the university’s model,including communication between industry and university,internship evaluation,student guidance,and internship quality.Recommendations based on the literature are provided.