Matthew: Today I am with Xiaohua Yang in the school of management. We're going to talk over some issues about students who come to USF from China and how to better incorporate and enhance their learning in our classes at USF. Thank you so much for being willing to do this interview but before we get started, could you tell us a little bit about, not so much your research per se, but who you are, what department you work in, what kind of courses you teach?
Xiaohua Yang: Good afternoon, Matthew. It's really a pleasure to have opportunity to share some of my thoughts about to teaching Chinese students. I am currently associate professor in the school management, teaching international business. Specifically, I teach cross-cultural management, cross-cultural in negotiation, globalization Chinese business, and introduction to international business, et cetera.
Matthew: Et cetera, yes. We all have that.
Xiaohua: ThatŐs right.
Matthew: Thank you so much. Well as a preview, USF has really seen a rather dramatic increase in students from China over the past few years. I actually think that's probably true for a number of universities in the United States. I'm wondering, before we get into anything more specific, if you have any general advice you would give to faculty about how to best work with Chinese students? I want to say beforehand-- I know Chinese students aren't all the same, so there's a large number of differences. But are there any general trends faculty should be aware of for helping Chinese students more?
Xiaohua: I would say, first of all, you really need to know a little bit about China, about the students, where they are from, their background. Learning a bit more about the Chinese student self is going to be very helpful and have some good understanding of China. I'm talking about the current China, not China 30 years ago. I wish I could show you a slideshow which actually show the dramatic change between China 30 years ago and China today. China today is very different. The students-- For instance, just take myself as example. I came to this country nearly 30 years ago.
Matthew: Oh gosh.
Xiaohua: 1986. Many of my peers at that time had a very similar background as I do. We came to this country to pursue a higher education, and we came during time when China was truly just starting economic reform. That means we really did not have a lot of financial resources. We were here because we were aspire to pursue higher education, higher degree, and pursue our career. There you know what would happen. All we knew was study, study, study. We knew very little other things. By the way, as for me, I did have a tremendous interest learning about the culture in this country. Now 30 years, forward to today the situation is very different. Today China is no longer that backward. Today China, in many ways, is far more advanced than anything you could have imagined, you see? The students who are here today at the University of San Francisco, actually have tremendous resources. These people come from the background of families who are very resourceful and have plenty in their life. These students, the reason they can come to our university, first of all, they have to be able to afford it, right?
Matthew: Right. Which is hard for American students.
Xiaohua: That's right.
Matthew: It is expensive.
Xiaohua: YouŐre exactly right, yes. The situation is no longer the same. These students probably have very different expectation. That itself is going to be different. They're here for education because in many cases because the parents want them to have a higher education not necessary that themselves. There's motivational issue. Second, as I said, they are very resourceful and so they come here they have very different expectations, different needs, and wants than what I remember when I was student. In that regard, I would say for us to do better job, to serve better that particular population on campus, we need to know them a little better, and know China better, know the students better, why they're here. Obviously, many students are still very aspirational. Either they want to have a good career in the future or they want to take over their family business and or some other good reasons. Right?
Matthew: Right.
Xiaohua: However, we do want to know that this generation is out of the one-child policy, so that's another thing to keep in mind. That means these students are well pampered at a background.
Matthew: ThatŐs right because they were the only-- Yes.
Xiaohua: Yes, they say six adults raising one child and they come from that environment. Many of them do. It's something for us to keep in mind.
Matthew: Absolutely.
Xiaohua: ItŐs not necessarily that we have to pamper them. We just need to know their expectations. They need to know our expectation and we need to know their expectation. I think it's important for us as educator need to let them know our expectation. What do we expect a student at a university like this?
Matthew: We don't necessarily do that. I think we all do that as faculty in some way in our courses, but there's probably ways that we just assume students understand what's expected on a basic level. I think even for American students coming here, they are sometimes confused about the shift in expectations from high school. I think it'd probably serve all students if we were a little more explicit and detailed about our expectations. I'm very interested in what you're saying about getting to know them better and I'm brainstorming right now, so that all my ideas may be really bad. But I think there might be some relatively simple things that get it that the faculty to do. I'm thinking about asking the students to write a couple of paragraphs about themselves, where they come from, what they-- Something short so that even if you had a large class which most faculty don't but some do 50, 60, 70 people if you had a couple of paragraphs from each student you could read all that fairly quickly and yet still have a better snapshot of who the students are and who you're working with.
Xiaohua: I do something in every class. The first class, I hand out a sheet and ask them to write the content information and say something about themselves and what they want to get out of this class. I take home and read up on it and that gives me the first snapshot of what these students actually are.
Matthew: That helps a lot when you do in class. It doesnŐt take a lot of time.
Xiaohua: In class, every class I do that. The other thing that I normally do for Chinese students per se is that Chinese student organization actually holds new student orientation every semester at the very beginning every semester and I'm normally invited to give a talk at that orientation. At that orientation, I do talk about expectation, what we expect of them. I hope that more of us then might have that opportunity to speak to Chinese students.
Matthew: Yes, that would be good.
Xiaohua: Yes, that would be something can be done in a more efficient way. Individually I would also say that if we do have much concern about Chinese students, there's some of us who teach Chinese students so particular I have significant number of students in class, they do have a hold a small orientation. Take them out to lunch or you might student join you for lunch and the get to know them and then meantime, let them know about your expectation. I think that would be something can be effective. I do that for some of my classes. If I feel like I have a need to know these students then I organize lunches.
Matthew: It's a great idea.
Xiaohua: 45 minutes.
Matthew: You do them on campus, you go off-campus?
Xiaohua: Normally on campus. Sometimes if the number is small number I may take in the faculty lounge, but otherwise, I can also do it in the cafeteria. That way, students feel special. They develop some special-- they have a connection with you and the next time they see you they feel-- The food is something really quite bonding thing.
Matthew: It is a strange but true thing, isnŐt it?
Xiaohua: Yes, it bonds people. Once you have meal with them-- Also, sometimes invite them-- I actually in many classes, particular class with cultural content in it. Then I actually have a cultural night or culture taste and where I ask students to bring their cultural food. We sit around and talk about the food, about the culture, and get to know each other. Then, in that case, you also don't single out Chinese students because all other students would do the same.
Matthew: Exactly. Nice.
Xiaohua: There are a number of things I do to get to know students.
Matthew: There are a lot of things that many faculty already do naturally to make students feel more welcome, and you've brought up some additional ideas. But, for example, something that a lot of faculty do, unless the class is way too large is, they great all the students when they come into the class by name. "Oh, good to see you. Hello, how are you doing?" There are other ways they do it to just make the classroom a friendlier place. Are there any particular small but important ways beyond what you're saying that a faculty can do in the classroom at the beginning or end that might make things more welcoming for Chinese students?
Xiaohua: Learn about their names. [laughs] [unintelligible 00:10:23].
Matthew: Okay [unintelligible 00:10:24] you have to do if they say, "Good to see you Joseph [unintelligible 00:10:27]."
Xiaohua: It's okay to ask them about how the name should be pronounced. But do make effort to learn how to pronounce the name correctly. Then say the name when you meet them next time.
Matthew: How much of a difference do you think that would make to students?
Xiaohua: Oh, it's a very personal touch. I think it would decrease the distance between you and a student.
Matthew: That's something almost every faculty can do.
Xiaohua: I tell you my son's experience. My son told me, said, "Mommy, the principal did not even know my name." [laughs] That was funny and the next time I went I saw the principal and then I brought my son. I said, "This is Alex," and I make sure he knows my son's name. So he said, "Hi, Alex?" Greet him. Next day he came back to say, "Mommy principal remember my name now." He feel so special. I think there is that.
Matthew: Fantastic, that's good. Sorry, I interrupted you, you were going to go on to a second thing.
Xiaohua: [laughs] I would say that would be something. Another thing that you could do is if you have a large class, you really don't have a lot of time, schedule 10-15 minutes meetings outside class at the very beginning. Have them come to your office and just chat with you about their career aspiration and what they want to get out of this class. Is there anything special the professor needs to know about a student? I would say these things. Then you have a chance to meet them one-in-one and make them really special. You get to know them as well.
Matthew: I think that works both ways.
Xiaohua: Both way, yes.
Matthew: The student feels more connected but faculty member is--
Xiaohua: Feel more connected.
Matthew: Exactly.
Xiaohua: You know them even though time flies quickly. The 14 weeks if you can do something special, you can make that 14 weeks unforgettable both to you and to the student.
Matthew: That's a good point. On that, a separate question. There's more and more faculty who use small group work in class. Not everybody but a fair number. Is that--? A fair, not all. But and I'd say most American high school students are used to small group work, maybe not in the best way, but they're used to it. Our Chinese students used to small group work, and if they are there's nothing more to be done. But if they're not, are there any things faculty should do to really help them transition into that new way of learning in the class?
Xiaohua: That is actually a very good approach. Small group work in class, outside class, both is particularly effective for Chinese students. Those of you who know China, the education system, it's more spoonfed type of approach. More or less it's improving but still isn't more professor lectures, students sit there listen. That kind of style. They are quite used to this style. They come to American classroom and expecting the same sometime, until they realize that everyone else is talking, raise their hands or jumping in. They felt overwhelmed. The language barrier for one thing prevent them from jumping in.
The second is the mentality. The mindset is very different and they just do not know what to do. Most of them really feel very lost in classroom. The small group then gives them a different environment, less intimidating, and far more easy to get them involved. I think that is a great way of getting them involved. But professors needs to be very careful about this small group thing. If you let a student to small groups themself, what you get is the Chinese students are going to then choose among themselves, the American among themselves, and the Japanese among themselves and et cetera, et cetera. It tend to be ethnic [unintelligible 00:14:38] rather than really a dynamic, cross-cultural type of group. That's really what you want, to mix them up. I tend to actually not let students choose unless I know that that's not going to be a problem. I would choose groups for myself. I assign students to groups, so I know that it's all culturally mixed.
Matthew: That's really good to know. Yes. 
Xiaohua: That's one thing our professors can do. I strongly encourage you professors, if possible, to have student working in a small group. Have Chinese student, mix them up and not have a Chinese student stay to the Chinese students.
Matthew: I got you. Thank you, that's really useful to know. There's not many but I know there's a few classes at USF where there's a very high percentage of Chinese students, certainly over 30%, sometimes over 50% of the students. It seems in some of those classes, which aren't that numerous, that most of what happens is a little bit what you're talking about when small groups go bad, that most of the Chinese students sit on one side of the room, other students sit on the other side of the room. It's almost you have two different classes in the same class. We've heard actually from a couple of faculty that sometimes they feel they're literally speaking to two different audiences at the same time. In a situation like that, are there any key strategies you would use to get around that problem when there's so many Chinese students? Let's say in class it's 50-50.
Xiaohua: What I would do is I would sign the randomly and make sure they're mixed. The one strategy you could use is again using small group discussion to break them up randomly. I [unintelligible 00:16:23] have them call out numbers. If I know I would have four groups, I would say, "One, two, three, four, and one, two, three, four, one, two, three, and almost forced them mixed up with the other side of the class. Right? You have to. Then the natural economist mixed up with other students. Once they get used to it, they actually probably will realize the benefits of being-- interacting with students from other country, other culture, and the local student, American students.
Matthew: It's a good point. Now, what about the flip situation? There are probably a large number of classes where there might be one, two Chinese students in the class and they're fairly isolated. Any special things you would recommend in that situation?
Xiaohua: Again going back to my strategy for having outside class meeting, and the lunches, that would probably pretty much begin to get them involved. You can let them know, in a very unthreatening way, that it's great to interact with the other students and finding a way, put them in a small group. Make them feel really comfortable, that it's okay. Really they're not taking much risk about making a mistake in class. This is at least a costal way of making mistake. In the classroom I always tell students it's better to make a mistake now than when you go out in real life, a real job, then make a mistake, then you'll be fired. That's how I would do.
Matthew: Well, thank you so much for all of this. I've tried to ask you the best questions I could, and I have some other questions but you've really already addressed those. I'm wondering are there any issues or things that we haven't touched upon that you think would be important for other faculty to know when working with Chinese students?
Xiaohua: I think somewhat it probably is an institutional issue. I would say we could do a little bit more before the students arrive. I understand they are doing something. They're holding some meetings before they come here.
Matthew: I heard they're ramping up the student up the support.
Xiaohua: I heard, but why not involving more faculty members in this. In particular, you have so many faculties, people like me and you and some others travel to China all the time. Every year I spend three or four weeks at least in China, and others as well. Why doesn't university get these faculty members involved, give a talk to students what it is like to study at the USF? What professors expect of them? How they should be mentally prepared and what they expect to get out of the university like this if they do one, two, three? Things like that.
I just think that it's good that we talk about this here and getting more faculty on ground here to be sensitized, be aware of some issues we talked about. But it'll be even better if there's institution effort involve more offer us to do some work before they arrived. I think as I told you about these student, their needs are different and they have different resources. But there are certain things that we need to let them know in order to be successful at USF. There is some things they need to do, right?
Matthew: Right.
Xiaohua: Give them a pre-university entry education.
Matthew: It is a very good point.
Xiaohua: Just, I think there needs to be more institutional efforts, get more faculty involved.
Matthew: I think there are more institutional efforts. But what I'm really hearing from you, you know, that gets ramped up a little bit each year, but perhaps we're really not taking advantage of faculty to help with that as much as we could. I think it would help the students, but frankly, I think it would help us also if we were more involved.
Xiaohua: Absolutely, I mean, now we're talking about 10% students are Chinese students. That's a tremendously big percentage.
Matthew: It is.
Xiaohua: Even though I tell you, when I was in Australia was 15% for most universities, very big. But American University normally is 5% or less. That's what I understand. Yes. The 10% is very large. I mean, so understandably so because of our location, our particular-- just our vision and values that draw some more Chinese students probably here. If that's all good, but we're getting such a significant number of students here, Chinese students here. We need to do something that more substantial and get more people involved so that we don't have anything unnecessarily bad thing happen like it happened before. Right?
Matthew: Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for taking time out during the summer to kind of talk over these issues. This is really fantastic to hear about. Hopefully, this will really benefit some faculty who work with Chinese students, a significant number of Chinese students in their class or even those who have the odd one or two. What I really appreciate is you've given us some really, I think, very personal, simple tips for how to create a better learning environment. Thank you so much.
Xiaohua: Well, I hope that the other faculty member and colleagues will find this useful. I do hope that you could do more of a teaching cafe, that type of thing. The one I've participated before. My colleagues told me that it was very useful, you know, to share my thoughts with them. Say anything that I can do to make it better for the university I'll be happy.
Matthew: We would definitely be coming back for you.
Xiaohua: Oh, sure, Thank you so much in that view for this wonderful conversation.
Matthew: Thank you.
[00:22:20] [END OF AUDIO]


File name: Xiaohua Yang on Chinese Students.mp3
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