ABSTRACT

Since China proposed its “Belt and Road Initiative” in 2013 to boost its influence on international affairs and “cultivate international contacts who are friendly toward China”, the number of foreign students in China has surge exponentially. Yet global political changes have added tensions and challenges to the education of international students.

This book is one of the first works to discuss the educational experiences of international students in China. Using survey research and qualitative studies to study participants in degree-bearing and language programmes at regular universities and Sino-foreign universities located in different parts of the country, the book covers a variety of topics across education, including international students’ intercultural experience, teacher–student classroom interaction, learning and teaching Chinese as a foreign language, academic adaptation and identity formation in higher educational contexts.

This book is essential for researchers, practitioners and policy-makers of international student education in China. It can also benefit prospective international students considering pursuing higher education in China.

chapter 1|11 pages

Introduction

International students in China

chapter 2|14 pages

China’s international student recruitment as “outward-oriented” higher education internationalisation

A historical approach for analysing challenges during the “Belt and Road” Initiative era

chapter 4|22 pages

Instructional communication with international students in China

Perceptions of the Chinese professoriate

chapter 5|22 pages

The significance of silence

Variations in perceptions and experiences of “silence” in international classroom settings

chapter 6|17 pages

Being the Other in international educational settings

The case of American students’ experiences in Mainland China

chapter 7|24 pages

Informal learning

Approaching Chinese language and culture in authentic contexts

chapter 8|24 pages

Learning environment, academic engagement and personal development

A survey study of international undergraduate students in China

chapter 9|6 pages

International students in China

The need for us all to unlearn