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".