Pedagogy to empower Chinese Learners to adapt to western learning circumstances: a longitudinal case-study

Deficit theorisations of Chinese Learners studying in western countries are criticised for dichotomising learning attributes into Surface- or Deep-learning approaches. Subsequent context-dependent, small culture studies of students transiting between cultures theorise learning as a dynamic journey o...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cambridge journal of education 2014-01, Vol.44 (3), p.361-384
Main Authors: Saravanamuthu, Kala, Yap, Christine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic achievement
adapt
Anxiety
Australia
Benefits
Case Studies
Chinese culture
Chinese languages
Chinese Learner
Cultural factors
Culture
deep
Educational policy
Fluency
Foreign Countries
Foreign Students
Intervention
Language Fluency
Languages
Learning
Learning Strategies
Learning theories
Longitudinal Studies
Memorization
Motivation
Postsecondary Education
Qualitative Research
Rote Learning
Student Motivation
Students
surface
Teachers
Teaching
Teaching methods
Transformative Learning
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Deficit theorisations of Chinese Learners studying in western countries are criticised for dichotomising learning attributes into Surface- or Deep-learning approaches. Subsequent context-dependent, small culture studies of students transiting between cultures theorise learning as a dynamic journey of adapting to a range/continuum of learning attributes. Here we employ the transformative learning theory to examine whether pedagogical interventions could facilitate adaptation to deeper learning strategies by couching discipline-specific detail/facts within the discipline's theoretical structure. Our longitudinal case-study of Chinese Learners in an Australian tertiary institution revealed that (1) Achievement-motivated CLs were more likely to harness the benefits of this discipline-specific pedagogical intervention and move towards independent, student-centred learning than Surface-motivated CLs; (2) Achievement-motivated CLs were less likely to normalise teacher-centredness than Surface-motivated CLs despite being exposed to examination tips early in their enrolment; and (3) fluency in the host language is instrumental to adapting successfully to deeper learning.
ISSN:0305-764X
1469-3577
DOI:10.1080/0305764X.2014.914154