International and domestic students

Department of Finance 22 9(PhD),1(MBA)

Department of Business

Department of Marketing 13 10(PhD)

Department of

Resource: The table is produced by the researcher based on the information on MBA brochure of Guanghua School of Management (2011)

In regard to the sources of the teachers of international programs, if we use the case of IMBA, a teacher of GSM mentioned at interview that the teachers of IMBA were from both China and the international, and most of them were Chinese teachers, and a small portion of them were foreign teachers (Appendix 2, Interview with teacher A).

IV. International and domestic students

There are four options for international students to study at PKU:

1) Undergraduate or graduate degree-granting programs 2) Visiting students program (non-degree granting) 3) Pre-university program

4) Short-term language courses or Chinese studies programs

Basically, the applicants must be non-Chinese citizens and above the age of 18 (PKU Website, 2008d). Regarding the programs of PKU, please see the following table:

Table 4-6 Programs of PKU

Program Undergraduate Master’s Doctorate

Requirements:

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26,000RMB 29,000 RMB 32,000 RMB

Tuition Per

Year Science Subjects

30,000RMB 33,000 RMB 40,000 RMB

Program Senior Visiting

Students

Resource: The table is produced by the researcher based on the information on PKU Website, 2008d

PKU also offers scholarships for students with excellent academic performance. The student candidates include third year undergraduates, masters, and doctoral exchange students. PKU has set up the basic requirements for the scholarships. The values of scholarships are as follows:

‧Doctorate Academic Excellence Scholarship:

1st Prize: 10,000 RMB 5 students 2nd Prize: 5,000 RMB 10 students

‧Masters Academic Excellence Scholarship:

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4,000 RMB 15 students

‧Undergraduate Academic Excellence Scholarship:

3,000 RMB 30 students

International students who have been offered scholarships from the Chinese government will not directly be given the scholarship. They will only physically be given a certificate of honor and a souvenir (PKU Website, 2008e).

Over 4000 international students from about 80 countries studied in PKU in 2004, which included 1,825 long-term students and around 2,600 short-term students.

Among those students, 1,292 were degree-seeking students and they were for undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral degree (PKU Website, 2008c). Up to 2008, 1857 graduates from 103 countries and 1240 graduates from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan had joined the Graduate School (PKU Website, 2008b).

Based on the information obtained at the interview with the staff of OIR (Appendix 1, Interview with staff A) and the teacher of GSM (Appendix 2, Interview with teacher B), international programs are also opened for domestic students. International programs can be a very good platform which can help to enhance the interaction and communication, understand and respect each other’s cultures between Chinese students and foreign teachers and students. International programs can also help Chinese students to improve English abilities, enhance the academic level, and develop an international perspective.

4-1-2 The role of English teaching in internationalization of Chinese higher education

The results of the study on the implementation of English teaching of PKU, the interview results, and literature review reveal that English is a dominant language in internationalization of Chinese higher education. The results of the study on the role of English teaching in internationalization of Chinese higher education also reveal the following:

1. It can attract more and more international students, teachers, and researchers to go to Chinese higher education institutions for international programs, academic exchanges, etc.

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2. It can strengthen the links between Chinese higher education institutions and higher education institutions worldwide and enhance the academic level of Chinese higher education to the world classes.

3. It can facilitate student absorption of new knowledge to participate in international and academic activities. Many international students attend Chinese higher education institutions to study China’s economy, politics, laws, etc.

4. It can assist in the expansion of the global alumni network and enhance the global recognition of Chinese higher education by drawing international students who go to China for higher education.

5. It can foster understanding and respect for each other cultures, enhance mutual communication and interaction, and reduce misunderstanding and estrangement between Chinese students and foreign teachers and students.

6. It can reduce language barriers, so foreign students can participate in international programs in Chinese higher education without difficulties. It can also help foreign students to have an inter-department or inter-institution study.

4-2 Discussion

In regard to the dimensions of internationalization of higher education and the indicators of each dimension, scholars and institutions have different ideas. Since the main purpose of this research is to explore the role of English teaching in internationalization of Chinese higher education, the researcher will focus on four dimensions of internationalization of higher education with inbound area - administrative support, international programs, faculty members, and international and domestic students. PKU is used for an example here.

First of all, the researcher will make comments on English teaching in achieving internationalization of PKU. Then the researcher will talk about the challenges on English teaching in internationalizing Chinese higher education.

4-2-1 Comments on English teaching in achieving internationalization of PKU

1. Administrative support

In order to achieve the goal of internationalization, PKU has set up the Office of International Relations (OIR). Since OIR is responsible for the internationalization of

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administration and dealing with the international affairs, the staff members of OIR are able to use English to deal with the related matters. The staff members at different offices who are involved in international affairs are also able to communicate in English. Sometimes the staff of PKU may go to the other countries for staff exchange programs, which can also help to improve the staff’s English skills. In addition, English is used in many areas of PKU, for example, the facilitation of the library, the website of PKU, the international conferences and lectures, etc. In terms of administrative support, English teaching has helped PKU to achieve the goal of internationalization.

2. International programs

In order to promote internationalization and attract foreign students to study in PKU, PKU has opened some foreign language teaching programs and they are implemented in the university and the graduate schools. So far all the foreign language teaching programs in different graduate schools are for degree-granting and taught in English.

From the aspect of international programs, English teaching has also helped PKU to achieve the goal of internationalization.

3. Faculty members

Because the international programs in different graduate schools of PKU are all required to be taught in English, PKU has recruited some foreign and Chinese teachers who are able to teach in English, and among the Chinese teachers, there is high percentage of teachers whose highest degrees were granted at abroad. From the aspect of faculty members, English teaching has played an important role on helping PKU to achieve the goal of internationalization.

4. International and domestic students

As mentioned above, the international programs in different graduate schools of PKU are taught in English. So far those programs have enrolled many international and Chinese students. More international students can also help to build an international campus. In terms of international and domestic students, English teaching has also helped PKU to achieve the goal of internationalization.

4-2-2 Challenges on English teaching in internationalizing Chinese higher education

1. Through internationalization of higher education, higher education institutions have the potential to create more international programs that attract international students,

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professions and can express themselves well in English?”. The information regarding the source countries of foreign students for IMBA program of PKU reveals that a certain number of foreign students were from English speaking countries. In order to meet the different needs of foreign students, it is possible that higher education institutions in China will need to create more and more international programs in the future. Therefore, it is imperative to find a sufficient number of teachers who have expertise and the ability to express themselves well in English. This may require an incentive policy to encourage teachers to teach in English.

2. The English proficiency of international and domestic students is also an important issue. International programs have established different requirements of English ability, students still experience difficulty understanding class instructions, giving presentations, participating in a group discussions, etc. In addition, the different needs and cultural backgrounds of students bring unique challenges to teaching an English class.

3. Under the trend of internationalization, it is possible that more and more foreign and domestic universities will open international programs in order to attract students.

High-quality, creative and practical program will likely attract students. Yet, how does a higher education institution keep its international programs competitive?

4. Compared to the regular graduate school tuition charge, the tuition fee for international programs is more expensive. Even higher education institutions may offer scholarships or Chinese governments may provide subsidies in some cases.

However, would that be affordable for non-affluent foreign and domestic students in the international programs?

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The internationalization of higher education has been a world trend. Many higher education institutions of nations are committed to achieving internationalization.

Many factors are contributed to internationalization of higher education. The main purpose of this research is to explore the role of English teaching in

internationalization of higher education in China. This study explores the following four research questions: 1. What is the development of internationalization of Chinese higher education from the 1980s? 2. What is the policy and implementation of English teaching in Chinese higher education from the 1980s? 3. What is the role of English teaching in internationalization of Chinese higher education? 4. What are the

challenges to English teaching in internationalization of Chinese higher education? In regard to research methods, literature analysis, case study, and in-depth interviews have been used in this study. The fact that English teaching contributes to

internationalization of Chinese higher education accords with the theory of

internationalization. This research does not intend that internationalization of Chinese higher education is the result of English teaching, but that English teaching has a certain degree of influence on the development of internationalization of Chinese higher education. Please see the following for the results of the four research questions:

I. The development of internationalization of Chinese higher education from the