The Role of Chinese academic Language for International Students’ Liberal Education in China Today：A Case of THU

• In Event: Technology and education. Inclusive education for domestic and international students

Proposal

The Role of Chinese academic Language for International Students’ Liberal Education in China Today：A Case of THU
1. Objectives or purposes
International students in China have become one of the subgroups of college students that cannot be ignored. Relevant statistics show that as of 2021, China has become the world's third largest destination for studying abroad, and the number one destination in Asia. Investigations and studies have shown that the lack of academic Chinese proficiency has seriously affected the academic performance of international students. Under the vision of China's high-quality education development concept in the new era, liberal education for international students in China has increasingly become the focus of colleges and universities.

How to improve liberal education for international students? This study intends to reveal the positive impact of the mastery of Chinese general academic language on the academic career of international undergraduates in China through the survey of Tsinghua University (THU).

The specific research questions that guided this study were:
(1) What is the status of Chinese general academic language performance among international undergraduates at THU?
(2) How does the use of Chinese general academic language affect the academic career of international undergraduates?
(3) What is the Tsinghua Mode to help international undergraduates improve their use of general academic language writings in liberal education of THU?
(4) How can the international undergraduates benefit from Tsinghua Mode? Which kind of student are most likely to benefit from the it?
2. Theoretical framework
Liberal Education in Chinese universities has gone through 40 years of practice and exploration, from the recovery stage (1978-1995), the pilot stage (1995-2000) to the promotion stage (2000-present). Liberal Education reform has been transformed from a concept to a practical movement, with 10 to 18 credits added to undergraduate courses, average 300 courses/school. Through the case of liberal education for international students in THU, for most of the 3,800 international students, additional help was needed in participating in group discussions, completing academic assignments, and writing dissertations (Li Haiyan et al.,2020; Gao Zengxia, Liu Fuying, 2016). The present study focuses on Chinese academic Language for International Students’ Liberal Education. General academic language is a hub that runs through two ancient Greek traditions of liberal education theories by bridging the gap between what people communicating in reality and what they constructing in the mind.

The view is retold repeatedly in modern academic research. Deficiencies in academic language undoubtedly affect students’ literacy accomplishments (August & Shanahan, 2006; Halliday & Martin, 1993; Pilgreen, 2006; Schleppegrell & Colombi, 2002). Academic language is a special language register used to accomplish studies. It is that the language students use to acquire subject-specific knowledge, develop advanced literacy skills and the necessary habits of academic thinking (Limanli & Lishuwen, 2020). Furtherly, academic language is frequently used for academic assessment. Accountability assessments requiring written essays in persuasive or analytic genres are often graded using criteria that refer implicitly to academic-language forms(Snow & Uccelli, 2009).Therefore, the mastery and use of academic language is a prerequisite for international students' academic achievement (Cummins, 1981, 2001; Chamot & O'Malley, 1994; Scarcella, 2003; Biancarosa & Snow, 2004; Guerrero, 2004; Schleppegrell, 2004, 2012 ; Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008; Valdés, 2004; Francis, Rivera, Lesaux, Kieffer, & Rivera, 2006; Bailey, 2007; Bailey & Heritage, 2008; Bailey et al., 2010; Snow & Uccelli, 2009; Wong Fillmore & Fillmore, 2012).
3. Modes of inquiry
Pilot Research
In response to research question (1), in 2017, we developed a questionnaire to investigate the impact of international undergraduates ' Chinese proficiency on their academic career. A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed, and 193 (97 males and 96 females) were effectively recovered. The social and cultural background, language background, Chinese learning experience, and Chinese test experience of undergraduates were investigated.

The first stage research (In progress)
Using the Tsinghua Chinese General Academic Language Proficiency Test, we measure the academic language knowledge and academic language skills of international students at THU. In response to research question (2), the test results were regressed with their GPA and China College Student Survey (CCSS) scores.

The second stage research (In progress)
In order to presents an in-depth understanding of research question (3) and (4), this study relied on interviews incorporated the paradigm of a triangulating fashion of students, teachers and academic committee of writing center. We used semi-structured interviews, specifying interview outlines for three different groups of interviewees.
4. Results
A summative analysis of reports on undergraduate education shows that there were deficiencies repeated or emphasized in undergraduate education. The first of these is the belief that language learning deserves more attention because today's college graduates are not able to read, write and speak effectively (Kimball,1988). Consistent with the analysis, the pilot research shows that 38% of international undergraduates cannot participate in academic discussions effectively. About 57% of them were able to use Chinese freely for daily writing, while only 43% of them considered themselves capable for academic writing.

About 77% of the students believed that their Chinese proficiency could meet the needs of daily communication, but only about 58% of them believed that their Chinese proficiency could meet the requirements of professional learning, and 32% of them believed that they were barely meet the requirements. In addition, 52% of the students believed that their lack of academic Chinese vocabulary hindered their academic learning. On the contrary, the writing of Chinese characters was not difficult for them.

The reality forces us to face up to the fact that Chinese academic language ability is likely to limit the ability of students in higher education, not only the ability to communicate, but also the ability to think.

Data collection for the first stage research is ongoing, and the second stage research is in the data coding phase, and we will report more detailed results later.

Authors

• Manli Li, Tsinghua University

• Shuwen Li, Hebei University