Job Discussion Forums

[teachfortoday]

I was watching one of my students hand out the test for the upcoming CET-6.
I was told it is the actual test, not a practice test.
There were several pages on racism in America.

Very interesting. I am sure that if one of the topics for a national English test in America was about racism in China that Beijing would be upset and screaming that "there is no racism in China".

I briefly read the test and from what I could see all of the topics were about America.


Edited to add this quote from Wikipedia "The College English Test, better known as CET, is a national English as a Foreign Language test in the People's Republic of China."

[Laurence]

[nickpellatt]

I think it would depend on the content of the article. Does it suggest black people cannot drink water from the same public fountains as white people in NYC today? If so, it would be wildly inaccurate, and then you could be upset.

It is a concern when text books, materials and test papers contain information about any other country that is totally wrong. As someone from the UK I am amused that many people still think London is covered in fog. At the end of the day though, I dont really think its wrong to show a little national pride, which is exactly what you are doing in being offended, although we often mock or knock the Chinese when they display national pride.

The content really is key though, but at the end of the day, its not really worth getting upset over IMO. Let off steam on Daves by all means, but I wouldnt make such a big deal of it in your day to day China life.

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

[nickpellatt]

You should include them in a thread Cleric. Interesting reading perhaps. I havent seen too much material that would bother me, but I normally use fairly standard material that is western in origin anyway. New Interchange is the only exception.

I would still say such things arent worth getting too wound up about though. I think anyone who plans on spending a long time abroad, and travelling to many different countries has to accept that whilst our leaders may champion us as leaders of democracy and freedom, much of the world outside our borders sees us in a very different light. Taking offense at every person (rightly or wrongly) who suggests 'The West' are XXXXXXX is going to make for a painful and frustrating life on the road IMO.

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

[nickpellatt]

Actually....I should make a retraction to my earlier post. If it is plainly inaccurate, it should be corrected and having to do so is frustrating. Apologies for not stating this earlier.

The initial post does come back to content though.

[dog backwards]

It isn't just a matter of just content, but also of context.

I wouldn't put a toe into that water, even if a student were to ask me for input. First, students shouldn't be in possession of the actual test. (Yes, I know that the present sense of academic integrity is somewhat fluid).

Second, even if I knew the question(s) that appear on the test, I can't be certain that I could give the students answers that would be acceptable to the graders. For the student, the bottom line is passing the test.

I would choose to stay out of it altogether IN THE CONTEXT OF COACHING A STUDENT FOR ANY CE TEST.

When I teach western and American history in China, I correct misconceptions and misrepresentations presented in the text (backed by prior research). I always tell the students that anything that I tell them that contradicts the text is based upon personal experience, personal observation, personal research and/or personal knowledge, and that the textbook's theses and premises are probably based upon outdated and/or faulty data.

[choudoufu]

[roadwalker]

As an American, I wouldn't be too put out that my country, or some aspect of it, was held up in an unflattering light. If there were factual errors, as opposed to opinions I didn't agree with, I might try to correct those. On the other hand, I wouldn't help anyone who purports to have an advanced copy of an exam (and I agree with the poster who said we native speakers don't always answer correctly, according to the key- maybe foreigners should write those exams?)

The USA is 1) a country made up mainly of immigrants from all parts of the world, and 2) a country that gets discussed often, for various reasons such as having a large economy, a large and extended military, and a very influential entertainment industry. So it is natural for the "it" country of China, an up and coming economic power and trading partner to the US, to discuss the US and any social problems it may have in an exam based on the language that is most used in the US.

The fact that nobody is shocked by the advanced test copy, or posits that it couldn't be true, is a testament to one of the major problems holding China back from becoming an academic power. Until real reform takes hold in China, it won't really matter what their texts or exams contain since their degrees aren't valued anywhere except for some parts of China.

edited to add "and any social problems it may have"

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

[nickpellatt]

[teachfortoday]

As best as I can remember the topic of the essay is that there is now an increase in racism in America due to some people being against Obama.

The student was handing out copies of the test as I was preparing to begin class so I only had a minute or so to scan the test.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

And this is exactly the reason why a Chinese person with a doctorate degree in medicine is not allowed to practice medicine in Canada or Britain.

Speaking as both a Canadian and as a British citizen...

[mdovell]

I actually did meet people that thought there was still segragation. If they don't see media that shows it otherwise they would be more apt to see it as such.

On the reverse there's probably people thinking that China is this massive area of starvation and destitute people. Remember "If you don't finish those vegetables there's starving kids in China" routine

In all honesty I'd tell the truth. Some think the country is riddled with crime..yeah there's some areas but it's not the whole thing.

I've seen a video that showed an African (sorry it didn't say what country) and thought the USA was one massive city...better not go to Wyoming..