"Understanding China" is an employable skill for American students
"Understanding China" is an employable skill for American students Education Articles
(People's Daily Online) September 17, 2014
Ning
Tao is an American overseas student who graduated from Northwestern
University in the US, and is now studying in East China Normal
University in Shanghai. After a year in Shanghai, Ning Tao not only uses
chopsticks well, but can also speak some simple Shanghainese.
As
distinct from many Chinese students who study abroad, American students
who come to China are not primarily motivated by an elite college
education, but come in order to"understand China."
The vice
president of 100K Strong Foundation, Travis Tanner, told journalists
that the number of American students in China has increased by 100,000
from 2010 to 2014. "A better understanding of the Chinese culture is now
an important employable skill against the background of a
globally-competitive workforce," said Tanner.
This is the second
time Ning Tao has come to China to study. As an undergraduate he was an
exchange student at Nanjing University. At East China Normal University
he is majoring in Chinese history.
Ning's dream is to be a
journalist. If he speaks fluent Chinese he will have a tremndous
advantage. "I probably will have more opportunities if I stay in China.
As well as journalism, I will have access to a lot of other jobs."
Xiao Rui, a Berkeley graduate is also very interested in studying in China.
He
spent a transitional year in Hong Kong as he was worried that his
Chinese was not good enough. Later he spent some time in Nanjing. After
winning a CSC Scholarship, he finally started his studies in Beijing.
Now he is a graduate student in Peking University majoring in
international relations.
Xiao Rui is very impressed by the
Chinese students' appetite for hard work: "The library will not open
until 7, but usually there are people queuing up at 6:30." He has the
impression that Chinese students are always studying, and never take a
break.
Brandon graduated from a top university in US with a
economics degree, and never imagined he would study in China. "I was
planning to stay in the US and find myself a steady job. But when I saw
the 100K Strong Foundation, I thought the experience of studying in
China might be a good chance for me to secure a competitive advantage
over other Americans, so I took this opportunity."
Travis Tanner
was the only American student in China's Jinan University in 1998. He
studied Chinese for two years. He told journalists that compared with
the past, more and more Americans are now keen to study in China. But
the goal is to have more Americans study further in China, and come back
to the US with a deeper understanding and broader experience.
This article is edited and translated from 《美国学生到中国留学 “了解中国”成为一项就业技能》,source: China Youth Daily, authors: Wang Yejie, Zhou Kai