International Education and the Chinese Learner

International Education and the Chinese Learner is one of the first full-length studies in the relatively new field of transnational pedagogy to explore the role of the Chinese learner in international schools and universities across the globe. It describes the unprecedented growth of international schools and university exchange programs during the past decade together with the way in which Chinese learners at all levels have taken advantage of these opportunities and have been scrutinized in the process. The results of this internationalization have in some cases solidified stereotypes about Chinese learners and in other instances have helped to overcome those prejudices.

Teachers within the international schools comment about the challenges of integrating students from different ethnic and national backgrounds in their schools and about the rewards of developing intercultural programs that will give the students the most substantial, diverse, and ethical education and encourage cross-cultural understanding, build academic skills, and develop character. University teachers—both Chinese and Western—describe the opportunities and challenges for cross-cultural teaching and learning within the classrooms of their own countries and in global classrooms where local and international teachers together advance new perspectives based on team teaching, interdisciplinarity, and intercultural enquiry.

Teachers within international schools and university and school teachers who teach exchange students and other international students will find the understanding, experiences, and practical advice to be of help in their own teaching, but those within international business communities may well find the research helpful in understanding their own intercultural environments.

Janette Ryan is a lecturer in education at Monash University. She specializes in cross-cultural teaching and teaching for international students. Her previous publications include A Guide to Teaching International Students (2000) and Teaching International Students: Improving Learning for All (2005). She is a Mandarin Chinese speaker and works with a network of schools and universities across China on curriculum reform and professional learning communities. Gordon Slethaug is a visiting professor in English studies and communications at the University of Southern Denmark and has previously been professor of English at the University of Waterloo, Canada and director of American Studies at the University of Hong Kong. He has recently been visiting Lingnan professor at the University of Hong Kong and Sun Yat-sen University in China and senior Fulbright professor at the University of Southern Denmark. His previous publications include Teaching Abroad: International Education and the Cross-Cultural Classroom (2007) and several chapters and articles concerning American Studies, the Lingnan Foundation, and innovative teaching in China and Denmark.

“International Education and the Chinese Learner is a valuable contribution to the relatively new field of cultural and cross-cultural pedagogy. Built upon current research in the field, the volume provides readers with insights into the cultural influences on the learning experiences that Chinese learners bring with them, as they pursue their studies across the globe. It also shows that the notion of a single kind of Chinese learner has been put to the test as the contributors more fully explore cultures of learning, institutional contexts, and ethnic and national diversity.” —Rui Yang, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong

“This is a valuable book with accessible, critical, thought-provoking perspectives and a wealth of insights—essential reading for those interested in Chinese learners and international education. It offers a unique combination of well-chosen case studies of international schools in Hong Kong and transnational or cross-cultural studies in a range of higher education settings.” —Martin Cortazzi, Centre for Applied Linguistics, University of Warwick