Discussion Questions

1) What values and assumptions does the group have that differ from your own?


First of all, I have found that Chinese families value education, rather than socialization, to a much higher degree than American families. The parents usually make their child study for hours every day as well as participate in playing a musical instrument. They also do not take part in after school activities, sleepovers, play dates, and other things that American children do regularly.


The second thing that stuck out to me that is different is their way of respect. For example, it is normal for them to not look you directly in the eye during conversation. To us, that would be rude, but to them it is showing respect. Also, Chinese children have a different type of respect for their parents and elders. They are taught to not talk back and would never challenge an adult. On the other hand, Americans argue constantly and children often talk back to their parents. It is even common to see American students correct a teacher when they are wrong. This is something you would not see happen in a school in China.


Other differences include their types of food, their religions, their holidays and celebrations, and their parenting styles.




2)What can we learn that will help us provide relevant, motivating, and effective instruction for the students? 


It is best to start by learning about the culture in general. Having a good understanding of their expectation, traditions, and everyday life will be a good insight as to what to expect from the student and their family.


Next, would be to get to know the student and their family. When they get to know you and feel comfortable with you then they are more likely to open up and tell you what they are expecting, what needs to be worked on, and will be more willing to come to you for help.


Also, it is important to help the families understand that their child's learning is a process. I know that since Chinese families value education so much and are tough on their child that they will be expecting their child to catch on right away. This more than likely will not be the case, so the parent will have to understand that there are many differences between Chinese education and American education and that it might take a little while before their child catches on. I would do everything possible to make the child feel comfortable and make sure that they know that it is okay to ask questions at any time and that I am willing to work with them on everything and help them understand what is going on. I never want my students to feel like they cannot come to me and ask questions.

About the Chinese Culture

Religion

·         Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%, Christian 3%-4%

Government

·         Communist

Nonverbal Communication:

·         I learned that people in the Chinese culture strive for harmony and are group dependent. They also rely a lot on facial expression, tone of voice, and posture.

·         Also, when in conversations, they try to keep an impassive expression because frowning during conversation is interpreted as a sign of disagreement.

·         One thing that stuck out to me is that in the Chinese culture it is considered disrespectful to stare into another person’s eyes. This would be very difficult for someone who comes to America from China since eye contact is a big deal in America. We see it as disrespectful when you do not look someone in their eyes when you are having a conversation with them.

Alphabet

·         Unlike the English language, Chinese is made up of characters rather than letters. Here is an example of the Chinese alphabet compared to our alphabet.

Education

·         90 percent of China’s populated area has 9 year compulsory education. Also, illiteracy in the young and mid-aged population has fallen from over 80 percent down to just five percent. The majority of students get a three-level education which consists of elementary, junior high, and high school.

·         There is also an increase in online education for adult in China. This gives them a chance to catch up and become educated.

·         One thing that I thought was interesting was that if they want to continue their education after middle school, they have to take an entrance exam. I found that the passing rate to get into their equivalent of high school is less than 60%

Number System

·         Here is when the Chinese number system looks like for numbers one through ten:

Marriage

·         I found that marriage is valued in Chinese cultures and that it is something that is taken very seriously. The male’s parents are the ones who decide who their son will marry, and then the chosen female’s parents have to agree with the decision in order for the marriage to happen. The daughter does not really have a say in it. Their wedding process involves a lot of presents and money being given to the bride’s family.

·         Another thing that I found interesting was how people in the Chinese culture handle divorce. The majority of the time the husband declares divorce and him and his family gain benefits from it. One example of how their divorce works is if one of the following seven occurs:

o   The wife lacks filial piety towards her parents-in-law.

o   She fails to bear a son.

o   She is vulgar or lewd/adulterous.

o   She is jealous. (This includes objecting to her husband taking an additional wife or concubine.)

o   She has a vile disease.

o   She is gossipy.

o   She commits theft.

Dress

·         Sticking with tradition, Chinese dress has a lot of gowns with many accessories, silk, and include things like hair ornaments, and pockets and belts. Although this is the case most of the time, they have become more Westernized and are starting to wear business suits and jeans more often.

Arts and Crafts

·         Art is a strong and important factor in Chinese culture. The most common types of art include: Bronze Vessels, Folk Toys, Embroidery, Calligraphy, Music, Opera, Painting, Cloisonne, Jade, Kites, Lacquer Ware, Paper-Cuttings, Porcelain, Pottery, Seals, and Silk.

Language

·         There are many different variations of Chinese languages that are spoken. The variation really depends on what the person was taught as a first language, as well as the location of the person. The official standard language, however, is Mandarin.

Festivals

·         The most common festivals that are celebrated in China are: Spring Festival, Double Ninth Festival, Winter Solstice Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Double Seventh Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Lantern Festival, and Qingming Festival.

Holidays

·         The legal holidays that are celebrated in China are:

o    New Year- a national one-day holiday

o   Spring Festival - a national three-day holiday

o   International Working Women's Day

o   Tree Planting Day

o   International Labor Day- a national one-day holiday

o   Chinese Youth Festival

o   International Children's Day

o   Anniversary of the Founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA)

o   Teacher's Day

o   National Day- a national two-day holiday.

Geography
·         According to the U.S. Census for 2010, in some of the larger states like California, Texas, New Jersey and Illinois, the Asian population growth is outpacing Hispanic growth. In fact, Texas saw an increase of nearly half-a-million Asians. Three Texas cities that have a high Chinese population are Houston, Dallas, and Plano.


Other
·         I also found that the average Chinese household for families living in America is about 30% higher than the national average.
·         According to the US Census, in 2008 there were 3.62 million Chinese people living in the United States. There were more Chinese than any other Asian culture.

Chinese Culture Interview

My friend, Tim, lives in California with his parents and six siblings. Of those six siblings, three were adopted from China. He went with his parents to China two of the three times to meet and adopt his new siblings. Although he is not Chinese, he does know some about their culture. I asked him some of the questions about the Chinese culture. His family strives hard to keep those three children interested and learning about their Chinese culture. They encourage them to learn Chinese as well as their cultures traditions. Here is what I got from the interview with Tim:

1. What is the main religious orientation? (What might this mean for teaching-learning relationships? What might this mean for teacher-student, student-student, adult-student, male-female relationship at school?).

The main religions of China are: Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism, and Christianity. These 5 religions are highly practiced in China and it really just depends on the family, their location, and how they were raised as far as what religion that they practice.

2. What are reasons for families to leave their home countries?

The main reason why people from China come to the United States is because there is more freedom in America. Coming to America gives them the freedom to work, practice the religion of their choice, get a better education, raise their family how they please, and many other freedoms. There are much more opportunities in America than there are in China.

3. What are the family dynamics? (What is the family decision making structure? Who should be contacted if needed at home?)

The parents are definitely in charge and the children never question their parents. The parents make the rules and decide what the child will and will not do. The children know to respect their parents and anyone who is in charge.

4. Are there strong overall cultural values that might make a difference in Western schools?

One huge difference is that Chinese value education and being successful more so than Americans. For example, Chinese children do not have the same play time, after school activities, sleepovers, and fun things like that that American children get to participate in. Their lives are a lot more strict and less fun. They just value different things than Americans do.

5. What are the general attitudes toward school and schooling?

Schooling in China is important. It is hard to get into a good “high school”.

6. What are some specific language features that might make a difference?

One example is that the Chinese alphabet it completely different from the alphabet that we use. For example, we have a sound for each letter unlike Chinese. In fact, we have letters and they have symbols, which are completely different.

7. Are there ways in which the teacher can be sensitive to cultural differences?

The teacher should understand that there are many differences and they should get to know the culture before they make judgments. For example, eye contact is normal in America, but not in China. The teacher may think the child is being disrespectful by not making eye contact, but really that is just how the Chinese culture is. There could be a lot of misunderstandings if the teacher does not understand the culture that the child is coming from.

Chinese Food

Of course as part of this cultural experience, I had to eat some Chinese food. When I was home for the weekend I went to a local Chinese restaurant with my dad. I ordered the Orange Chicken and Rice dinner and my dad ordered the General Tso's Chicken dinner. While I was there I got to talk to the owner of the store. He had a very thick Chinese accent, so it was difficult to understand him most of the time. From our conversation, I got that he really enjoys owning the restaurant and is there most days that it is open because he likes to know that everything is running smoothly and that the customers are pleased. He also said that he enjoys being there because repeated customers come in often and he likes talking to them and catching up with them. I thought it was awkward to take a picture with him, so instead I quickly took a picture of my meal. It was delicious, and with such a large serving I took half of it home to eat the next day.

I did some Chinese food research and found that people in China do eat foods such as Orange Chicken and General Tso's Chicken, but their version is much different than that at American Chinese restaurants. This could be difficult for Chinese ESL students to understand because when you are so used to a specific food it is sometimes hard to completely change that and eat a different version of it. The American version happens to be a lot more fried than the traditional Chinese version.
Another thing that I learned, and did not expect, was that fortune cookies were originally made in the United States! People in China most often times will not eat fortune cookies because they view them as being "too American".

Chinese Adoption Documentary

This weekend as I was searching through Netflix I came across a documentary about Chinese adoption. It was a National Geographic documentary titled "China's Lost Girls". I was really interested in this topic because I know that it is common for American families to adopt children from China. There were several things that I learned from the documentary that will help me in my classroom.

First of all, the majority of children that are adopted from China are girls. This is because there is a One-Child policy in China where families can only have one child, unless they pay a fine. Since males do more hard labor and can look after their family better (in their opinion), they are preferred over females. This causes a high number of girls to be placed in orphanages, and in this case they will hopefully be adopted. I learned from the documentary that the children grow up in the orphanage learning Chinese and getting little attention due to the amount of children in the orphanage and the lack of staff working there. The earlier the children are adopted, the better they adapt to their new life.

In the documentary there were several children (all girls) who had been adopted by American families. These girls told their story about how life was different in America and how sometimes they wondered why they were not wanted by their birth families but also that they were glad that they were with families who loved them. They also talked about how some of their families kept their Chinese culture alive by encouraging them to continue to learn Chinese as well as participate in Chinese culture activities. 

When I am an ESL teacher I might have several Chinese students, or just a few. Either way, I will keep in mind the challenges that they have faced, if they are adopted, or even if they are not. Being adopted is something that is difficult to begin with, but I think it is more difficult when you are adopted and brought to a whole different country than what you are used to. These students not only have to learn a new language, but they also have to learn how to live with a new family, make new friends, and adjust to the culture change. I think that in the future there will definitely be an increase in adopted Chinese children (mainly girls) in American schools since China is becoming more strict about their One-Child policy.

Multicultural Experience- Part 1: Rationale

For my multicultural experience project I am choosing to focus on the Chinese culture. Since most of my classes focus on the Hispanic culture, I would like to learn more about the Chinese culture because I feel like knowing more about another culture, such as the Chinese culture, will benefit me when I am a teacher and have several different cultures present in my classroom.