加拿大留学生赴华线下上课的困境 Sheng Gao Daniel Tsai The Diplomat 文章的作者 McAndrews、Edwards 和 Sorenson（2021）强调，近 10 年来，在中国学习的外国学生人数不断增加，但大流行导致边境关闭和在线学习。然而，希望还是有的：《大学世界新闻》的 Sharma (2021) 预测，2022 年 2 月后外国学生将返回中国线下学习。 根据 RAD II 中国的 Weingarten (2021) 的说法，这样的政策是基于对大流行期间安全的关注。尽管如此，学生们开始感到与整体学习过程疏远，并失去了学习和生活的质量。 线下学习的最大优势之一是文化体验和与他人的实时互动。 McAndrews、Edwards 和 Sorenson (2021) 声称，禁止外国学生入境会引发普遍的国际紧张局势，特别是危及美国和中国之间的关系和理解，这意味着该问题具有政治和全球意义。 对于愿意去中国接受高质量知识和技能的外国学生来说，这种情况还有其他弊端。 例如，由于时区不同，其他一些国家的公民很难及时有效地适应研究。 在这种情况下，还存在缺乏有效日程安排和时间管理的问题。 对在家乡体验在线学习而不是去中国的学生的两次采访说明了上述问题。这些学生是 Nancy Warkentin 和 David Celli。 加拿大留学生 Nancy Warkentin 计划 2021 年在中国浙江大学学习媒体。然而，中国对进入该国的限制也扩大了外国学生。 南希不得不呆在家里，通过在线课程学习。学生对大流行造成这种情况的原因和防止其进一步扩大的必要性表示绝对理解，但作为一个有抱负的学习者，对整个情况仍然深感失望。 南希强调： “——我想念我以前通常的学习时间安排”。 此外，学生还认识到一个挑战，这方面最常提到的，即必须在家学习，这对南希来说比离线学习过程中的正常大学时间更难，更苛刻。 南希还表示，她仍然期待开放的边界和出国留学的机会成真。从长远来看，这样的学习方式会给学生更多的视角和优势，比如学习文化，感受当地生活，更好地了解当地人，以及与不同文化和种族背景的人交往的经验。 加拿大国际学生戴维·切利 (David Celli) 也计划扩大在中国的学术能力。大卫想在2021年去中国的上海交通大学，但受疫情影响影响了他的计划，他留在多伦多上网课，从而继续他的学业。 大卫不明白中国对所有外国学习者施加的政策的逻辑和原因，即允许中国学生以学习为目的来加拿大，而他和他的同龄人则不允许以同样的目的进入中国。因此，学生们看不到这样的政策有任何一致性，因此，他们对在线课程的需求而不是他们今年计划接受的学习质量感到更加不舒服。 大卫感慨道： “——嗯，中国的疫情已经有一段时间得到有效控制了，所以国际学生不应该被拒之门外”。 该学生还补充说，他遇到了与健康相关的严重问题，例如影响他健康的破坏性在线课程安排。因为时差，他不得不熬夜去上课，所以白天他不得不睡觉。 这样的日程安排影响了他的家庭和社交生活：他无法结交新朋友或维持以前的关系，只能在晚上与家人见面，这也是一个问题，因为他们的日程安排不同。同时，大卫缺乏不同的户外活动，这对他的健康状况和情绪状态产生了负面影响。 因此，整个情况相当令人不安和复杂，但预计在寒冬结束的外国学生回国是一个进步和积极解决的迹象。 本文仅代表作者观点 The Distress of Canadian International Students Entering China for Offline Classes Sheng Gao Daniel Tsai McAndrews, Edwards and Sorenson (2021), the author of the article at The Diplomat, underline that the number of foreign students studying in China keeps increasing within the recent 10 years, but the pandemic led to closed borders and online learning. Yet, there is hope: Sharma (2021) from University World News predicts return of foreign students to offline study in China after February 2022. According to Weingarten (2021) from RADII China, such a policy is based on concern of safety amid the pandemic. Nonetheless, students start feeling alienated from the holistic learning process and lose quality of study and life. One of the most significant advantages of offline studying is presence of cultural experience and live interaction with others. McAndrews, Edwards and Sorenson (2021), claim that prohibition to enter the country for foreign students triggers international tension in general and endangers relations and understanding between the USA and China in particular, which implies that the issue acquires political and global meaning. There are other drawbacks in such a situation for foreign students who are willing to go to China to receive high-quality knowledge and skills. For instance, there are different time zones which makes it hard for citizens of some other countries to align with the studies timely and effectively. There is also an issue of lack in terms of effective schedule and time management in such a case. Two interviews with students who experience online learning at their hometowns instead of going to China illustrate the aforementioned issues. These students are Nancy Warkentin and David Celli. Nancy Warkentin, a Canadian international student, had plans for studying media at Zhejiang University in China in 2021. However, China imposed restrictions on access to the country which expanded on foreign students as well. Nancy had to stay at home and learn through online classes. The student expresses absolute understanding of the reasons of such a situation because of the pandemic and the need to prevent its further expansion, but remains deeply disappointed by the whole situation as an aspiring learner. Nancy underlines: “– I miss a usual schedule of studying hours I used to have earlier”. Moreover, the student also recognizes a challenge, the most commonly mentioned in this regard, namely, the necessity to study at home, which is harder and more demanding for Nancy than regular university hours during offline learning process. Nancy also stated that she was still looking forward to the open borders and the opportunity to study abroad coming true. Such an approach to learning process gives students more perspectives and advantages in the long run, such as learning the culture, feeling the local life and understanding local people better as well as having experience of interactions with people with different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. David Celli, a Canadian international student, also had plans to expand academic competence in China. David wanted to go to Shanghai Jiaotong University in China in 2021, but impact of the epidemic affected his plans and he stayed in Toronto to take online classes and thus continue his education. David does not understand the logic and reasons of the policy China has imposed on all the foreign learners as far as Chinese students are allowed to come to Canada for learning purposes, whereas he and his peers are not allowed to enter China for the same purpose. Hence, students do not see any consistency in such a policy and, therefore, feel even more uncomfortable with the need of online classes instead of the quality of study they have planned to receive this year. David underlined emotionally: “– Well, the epidemic in China has been effectively controlled for quite a while, so international students should not be kept out”. The student also added that he experienced serious health-related issues, such as a destructive schedule of online classes that impacted his health. He had to stay up late at night to join classes because of time difference, and so he had to sleep during the day. Such a schedule affected his family and social life: he failed to make new friends or sustain previous relations, and had to meet his family only during the night, which was also a problem since they had different schedules. At the same time, David lacks different outdoor activities, and this impacts his heath condition and emotional state negatively. Hence, the whole situation is quite disturbing and complicated, but the expected return of foreign students to China in the end of winter is a sign of progress and positive solution. (Article: 749 Words) References McAndrews, E. (2021, September 16). 19 months into the pandemic, China is still shutting out US students. The Diplomat. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://thediplomat.com/2021/09/19-months-into-the-pandemic-china-is-still-shutting-out-us-students/. Sharma, Y. (2021). International students may begin to return from February. University World News. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20211118090024890. Weingarten, E. (2021, September 30). Students around the world desperate to finish studies in China. RADII China. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://radiichina.com/students-around-the-world-desperate-to-finish-studies-in-china/. |
