This is a really useful and comprehensive guide for Chinese students about the essential academic skills needed for successful study in higher education in the UK. It covers all skill areas as well as general information for Chinese students new to the UK academic environment.′ - Julie Watson, Principal Teaching Fellow in e-Learning and Head of eLanguages, University of Southampton Leaving China to study in the UK for the first time can be a daunting experience. You will be entering a new country and education system with its own culture, customs and values, some of which will be totally different from those back home. You will need to acquaint yourself with these differences to achieve your goals while studying in the UK and make the most of your stay. You may be finding it difficult to find this information, you may even be feeling anxious about the move or struggling to fit into your new environment. Help is at hand! This easy-to-read book is designed to be your companion throughout your university studies in the UK, providing practical information and skills and strategies for success. This guide: Introduces you to many life skills needed to support your studies in the UK, such as food, socialising and local amenities Contains information regarding UK assessment, lectures, seminars, campus life and support available from faculty Covers language and comprehension skills to help you communicate in your work and in the classroom with peers Explains the main differences between Eastern and Western thinking and culture Includes research skills and strategies for dissertations, essays and exams. Other useful features: Xiangping has included study tips in Chinese to help you fully understand each chapter Key words in each chapter are also provided in Chinese, alongside a test on the topic Hear from other Chinese students about their own experiences studying in the UK. This essential guide will help you to flourish in your UK studies and enjoy yourself along the way! The Student Success series are essential guides for students of all levels. From how to think critically and write great essays to planning your dream career, the Student Success series helps you study smarter and get the best from your time at university. Visit the SAGE Study Skills hub for tips and resources for study success!

Lecturers, why waste time waiting for the post to arrive? Request your e-inspection copy today! 'Brilliant little book! ... It's easy to follow and understand, full of practical hints and tips, helps to remove some of the pressures of uni life!' - Amazon review 'Really useful sections on reading and taking notes ... the bread and butter of student life.' - Amazon review Do you want to do better at university? Whether you're a student wanting to improve their study skills or a lecturer who wants to give their students a helping hand with their work, this book is for you. Packed with study tips and handy activities, this proven guide shows you step-by-step how to study effectively and make the best of your time - whatever level you're at. Whether you are going to university straight from school, a mature student, or an overseas student studying in the UK for the first time, you'll find out how to: Sail through those tricky first weeks Get the most out of lectures by understanding how you learn Learn techniques for academic writing and research Pass exams with flying colours Stay cool and cope with stress. Practical and interactive, this edition features six brand new chapters to arm you with even more essential skills including how to produce a dissertation, planning your career and focusing on building relationships with lecturers and other students to help you get ahead. Visit the Essential Study Skills Companion Website Launched with this edition is an improved and expanded companion website. Don't miss the extensive range of guidance and resources for both students and tutors, including video tips, study packs, practice exercises and other tools for you to use in both your preparation and actual work. SAGE Study Skills are essential study guides for students of all levels. From how to write great essays and succeeding at university, to writing your undergraduate dissertation and doing postgraduate research, SAGE Study Skills help you get the best from your time at university.

Written by Chinese authors who having both successfully completed Masters degrees and PhDs and become lecturers at UK universities, are equipped to provide Chinese students with straightforward guidance to help overcome the cultural and language difficulties they are confronted with, and to support them in their undertaking of the research methods section of their dissertations. The book comprehensively covers both the theory and practice and includes a number of features to support learning including: Chinese translations of key concepts and definitions Tips about how to use different methods in the Chinese context Clear definitions of key terms Short illustrative examples A list of useful resources about Chinese research The book also features examples of Chinese research from the authors’ own work and from top journals to illustrate how the methods can be applied in the Chinese context. Suitable reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students across all business and management disciplines.

The secrets behind China's extraordinary educational system – good, bad, and ugly Chinese students' consistently stunning performance on the international PISA exams— where they outscore students of all other nations in math, reading, and science—have positioned China as a world education leader. American educators and pundits have declared this a "Sputnik Moment," saying that we must learn from China's education system in order to maintain our status as an education leader and global superpower. Indeed, many of the reforms taking hold in United States schools, such as a greater emphasis on standardized testing and the increasing importance of core subjects like reading and math, echo the Chinese system. We're following in China's footsteps—but is this the direction we should take? Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Dragon? by award-winning writer Yong Zhao offers an entertaining, provocative insider's account of the Chinese school system, revealing the secrets that make it both "the best and worst" in the world. Born and raised in China's Sichuan province and a teacher in China for many years, Zhao has a unique perspective on Chinese culture and education. He explains in vivid detail how China turns out the world's highest-achieving students in reading, math, and science—yet by all accounts Chinese educators, parents, and political leaders hate the system and long to send their kids to western schools. Filled with fascinating stories and compelling data, Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Dragon? offers a nuanced and sobering tour of education in China. Learn how China is able to turn out the world's highest achieving students in math, science, and reading Discover why, despite these amazing test scores, Chinese parents, teachers, and political leaders are desperate to leave behind their educational system Discover how current reforms in the U.S. parallel the classic Chinese system, and how this could help (or hurt) our students' prospects

Learning Chinese can be frustrating and difficult, partly because it's very different from European languages. Following a teacher, textbook or language course is not enough. They show you the characters, words and grammar you need to become proficient in Chinese, but they don't teach you how to learn them! Regardless of what program you're in (if any), you need to take responsibility for your own learning. If you don't, you will miss many important things that aren't included in the course you're taking. If you study on your own, you need to be even more aware of what you need to do, what you're doing at the moment and the difference between them. Here are some of the questions I have asked and have since been asked many times by students: How do I learn characters efficiently? How do I get the most out of my course or teacher? Which are the best learning tools and resources? How can I become fluent in Mandarin? How can I improve my pronunciation? How do I learn successfully on my own? How can I motivate myself to study more? How can I fit learning Chinese into a busy schedule? The answers I've found to these questions and many others form the core of this book. It took eight years of learning, researching, teaching and writing to figure these things out. Not everybody has the time to do that! I can't go back in time and help myself learn in a better way, but I can help you! This book is meant for normal students and independent language learners alike. While it covers all major areas of learning, you won't learn Chinese just by reading this book. It's like when someone on TV teaches you how to cook: you won't get to eat the delicious dish just by watching the program; you have to do the cooking yourself. That's true for this book as well. When you apply what you learn, it will boost your learning, making every hour you spend count for more, but you still have to do the learning yourself. This is what a few readers have said about the book: "The book had me nodding at a heap of things I'd learnt the hard way, wishing I knew them when I started, as well as highlighting areas that I'm currently missing in my study." - Geoff van der Meer, VP engineering "This publication is like a bible for anyone serious about Chinese proficiency. It's easy for anyone to read and written with scientific precision." - Zachary Danz, foreign teacher, children's theatre artist About me I started learning Chinese when I was 23 (that's more than eight years ago now) and have since studied in many different situations, including serious immersion programs abroad, high-intensity programs in Sweden, online courses, as well as on the side while working or studying other things. I have also successfully used my Chinese in a graduate program for teaching Chinese as a second language, taught entirely in Chinese mostly for native speakers (the Graduate Institute for Teaching Chinese as a Second Language at National Taiwan Normal University). All these parts have contributed to my website, Hacking Chinese, where I write regularly about how to learn Mandarin.

This book is for students who have learnt English as a second (or third, or fourth) language, and are studying at an institution where English is the medium of instruction. Each of its 10 chapters focuses on a reproduced academic article on an aspect of English for academic purposes - students can therefore learn about language skills from the articles themselves as well as developing those skills in the activities and tasks which follow. Each chapter develops six strands of academic skills essential for successful study: reading; learning language/vocabulary; writing; researching; studying′ and applying to your own subject. The detailed and focused activities and tasks will help you to: Make reasonable knowledge claims Become more aware of university culture and expectations Write according to academic standards Think critically and reflectively Respond to ideas in academic articles Document your work appropriately and avoid plagiarism. SAGE Study Skills are essential study guides for students of all levels. From how to write great essays and succeeding at university, to writing your undergraduate dissertation and doing postgraduate research, SAGE Study Skills help you get the best from your time at university. Visit the SAGE Study Skills hub for tips, resources and videos on study success!

Studies on Learning and Teaching Chinese as a Second Language represents the current advances in the field. It showcases theoretically motivated empirical studies and diverse methods used for a better understanding of how Chinese language is acquired as a second or foreign language. This contributes to L2 acquisition research in general and L2 Chinese specifically. Furthermore, this research is useful for teachers seeking to understand their students’ learning processes and adjust their pedagogical approach for more effective instruction. The book bridges the gap between research and instruction by providing pedagogical implications rooted in empirical findings.

New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice; Real Simple Best of the Month; Library Journal Editors’ Pick In the spirit of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Bringing up Bébé, and The Smartest Kids in the World, a hard-hitting exploration of China’s widely acclaimed yet insular education system that raises important questions for the future of American parenting and education When students in Shanghai rose to the top of international rankings in 2009, Americans feared that they were being "out-educated" by the rising super power. An American journalist of Chinese descent raising a young family in Shanghai, Lenora Chu noticed how well-behaved Chinese children were compared to her boisterous toddler. How did the Chinese create their academic super-achievers? Would their little boy benefit from Chinese school? Chu and her husband decided to enroll three-year-old Rainer in China’s state-run public school system. The results were positive—her son quickly settled down, became fluent in Mandarin, and enjoyed his friends—but she also began to notice troubling new behaviors. Wondering what was happening behind closed classroom doors, she embarked on an exploratory journey, interviewing Chinese parents, teachers, and education professors, and following students at all stages of their education. What she discovered is a military-like education system driven by high-stakes testing, with teachers posting rankings in public, using bribes to reward students who comply, and shaming to isolate those who do not. At the same time, she uncovered a years-long desire by government to alleviate its students’ crushing academic burden and make education friendlier for all. The more she learns, the more she wonders: Are Chinese children—and her son—paying too high a price for their obedience and the promise of future academic prowess? Is there a way to appropriate the excellence of the system but dispense with the bad? What, if anything, could Westerners learn from China’s education journey? Chu’s eye-opening investigation challenges our assumptions and asks us to consider the true value and purpose of education.

This book focuses on the phenomenon of Chinese postgraduate students studying abroad and depicts their learning trajectory as they adjust to a new culture of teaching and learning in a new environment. It uses an example from a British university to draw together intercultural learning theories to explore the impact that studying abroad has.

Written in response to the pressures on universities to produce highly skilled and work-ready graduates and intended to map across a three year business course, this book contains the study and employability skills students need to succeed as a business student and graduate, from essential study, presentation and leadership skills to practical advice on getting that all-important job after university. Hands-on learning aids offer exercises for group work and self-study. Readers can expect the book to: Help them adapt to a new culture and environment by setting out what is expected and what they can expect at university Help them bridge the gap between school and university by developing essential study skills such as critical thinking and time management Help them develop transferable skills that are sought after by employers including presentation skills, leadership skills and commercial awareness Give them practical advice on getting that all-important job after university with chapters on CV writing, job hunting, interviewing and networking, among others The book is full of examples drawing on the author’s own personal experience with the final chapter offering words of advice from current graduates and employees working in lots of different sectors all over the world – including US, Europe, China and the UK. The book is complemented by a companion website featuring a range of tools and resources for lecturers and students, including an instructor manual and PowerPoint slides, answers and guidance on skills assessment tasks, templates and examples to download as well as additional chapter content on topics such as plagarism and essay writing. Suitable for all students taking a business degree.