Dekalb | Higher education varies, like most things, from country to country, but NIU is hosting educators from China to give them the chance to experience American culture via different cultural exchange and professional development programs.

The programs, which give visiting scholars the opportunity to complete research as well as learn about American culture, are available to all higher education teachers in China. However, they are very competitive.

“You must appropriate a program title, and then experts will evaluate your program,” said Ailing Li, linguistics professor at Minzu University of China. “Whether that’s practical — whether that’s useful — and then if most experts agreed you can do that abroad, then you can just have the opportunity — the chance — to study abroad, to get financial support from agencies.”

Why come to America?

It is required English be taught through primary and secondary school in China. In order to attend college, students must take an entrance exam, which Rumin Huang, English associate professor at Quanzhou Normal University, said English is a big part of.

“English is a compulsory course in China; even though you dislike the course, you must learn,” Li said. “So some students, they feel they are forced to learn.”

Huang put students’ attitude toward the teaching of English more plainly

“They hate it,” Huang said.

Both educators said it’s important to experience American culture firsthand to provide a better understanding to their students in China. Li said experience is part of the language learning process.

“After going back to China when we are teaching students English, we can just share some experiences and share some interesting things we experienced in the U.S. with them,” Li said. “Maybe make them more interested in English — activate their learning.”

Huang said it’s important to be given a choice, but because English is required for students in China, many aren’t interested. However, many share a great interest in American culture.

“Chinese students are all having great interest in American culture,” Huang said. “So what I hope that I can teach them is something about the diversity about American culture.”

The differences between higher education in China and America

Although Huang and Li teach at different universities in different provinces in China, they both pointed out the same aspects of the learning environment at NIU as being different from their own higher education styles.

“Here there aren’t many students in class, but in China, in our classes, generally there are about 55 to 60 students,” Li said. “So generally we cannot spend much time asking questions, and as students, that’s impossible for them to answer the questions one by one.”

Huang agreed class sizes are a very big difference for her and what she is used to. What Huang said stood out most to her is students are encouraged to talk and express themselves because of the small class sizes.

“If a student wants to express himself [in China], he has to put up his hand first and ask for the teachers permission,” Huang said. “That’s very different, so keeping quiet is kind of respect to the teacher, so we have a quiet class, not like here.”

Li said educators in China typically focus and teach based on textbooks and a syllabus that is set up for them by their province.

Though Huang said there are many differences between Chinese and American culture, there has been a time that she felt at home. NIU English professor Mark Van Wienen said Huang shared her experience with him at Corn Fest, as she was settling into DeKalb prior to classes.

“She said that it was hot, noisy, and there were lots of people there, and it was the one time that she’s been here that she felt like she was back home in China,” Van Wienen said. “Though I think corn on the cob was a novelty to her, big crowds, lots of noise congestion, that was like being home.”

Getting to America

Li is being financially supported by the United Department of Education for the duration of the school year so long as she completes the research of the program she developed and provides the department with a thesis.

There are different ways a university teacher from China can earn a chance to experience higher education at universities in different parts of the world, but all programs require the completion of research.

Huang said she received a sponsorship from her university that will support her for the duration of the fall semester.

“We have to do some research program here; that’s our task” Huang said. “Mine is on literature, Western literature.”

Both teachers, although from different provinces in China, are required to provide a report every three months to prove they are doing research while in the U.S. Although she is not required to attend courses, Huang feels it would be a waste not to learn while at NIU.

Educators who are visiting from China are designated a contact person at NIU who helps them to file paperwork and visas as well as to figure out their living situation on campus, Van Wienen said.

“As part of the process of agreeing to work with these visiting scholars from China, I coordinated matching them with a faculty member at NIU who has interest and research expectries that correspond with what the students are hoping to study,” Van Wienen said.

The faculty member whom Huang is working with is Deborah De Rosa , associate professor of later 19th century American literature.

“I volunteered to mentor Rumin [Huang], my third scholar, because I love the interchange that occurs during formal discussions about literature, teaching and scholarship as well as informal exchanges about our respective cultures,” De Rosa said in an email. “I think these cross-cultural experiences enrich all of us and support NIU’s mission to support a diverse community of learners.”