‘DEBATE IS NOT NORMAL IN THEIR COUNTRY’

Earlier this month, an Australian National University computer science professor came under fire on Chinese social media after he was photographed lecturing beside a slide that read, in English and Chinese, “I will not tolerate students who cheat.” The professor later wrote a lengthy apology, calling it a “poor decision” and adding that he was “not sensitive to how some people would interpret it.”

In May, an Australian lecturer at Monash University was suspended after Chinese students found a test question that joked that their country’s officials only tell the truth when they are “drunk or careless.”

Dr Varrall believes we “need to do more to understand the complexity of China’s influence” and not let their students — whose fees are now vital to Australian universities — feel isolated or as though the Australian environment is antipathetic to their interests.

“From what I can see, the Australian Government is alert to the situation,” she said. “We need to ensure Chinese students in Australia are really supported.

“A lot of them don’t speak in class because they are afraid their language skills aren’t up to it. Debate is not normal in their country, they don’t have that practice.

“You get students unwilling to participate, befriending others in similar situations and then you don’t get that integration and cross-pollination of ideas.”

http://www.news.com.au/finance/econo...08884527387372