>When study is nothing but rote learning, who doesn’t lose their appetite? Interesting that this first criticism is commonly leveled at students from the Peopl

>When study is nothing but rote learning, who doesn’t lose their appetite? Interesting that this first criticism is commonly leveled at students from the People's Republic of China. Does the language barrier force students to rote-learn to keep up? I know from personal experience studying overseas that rote-learning was my default mode to try and keep up. Are all the critiques of PRC students for rote-learning when studying in the PRC false? It seems an extraordinary claim give personal and abundant reported experience. >If you are wearing yourself out every day, you naturally embrace the spirit of “minimalism,” in which you do as little as possible, and once you’ve finished something you go to sleep, loathe to take the initiative on your own to explore anything else. Seems language struggles could be blamed for this. >it makes no difference if you don’t go to bookstores in the US, but if you bring this habit back with you, it means that you don’t go to bookstores in China either. The third criticism seems a spurious addition to the next two. > you wind up really lonely, which makes you appreciate the vitality of life in China. When you come back, you’re like a bird let out of a cage, and your only urge is to fly. Who wants to study? There are many places in the PRC even today that has never seen a foreigner. Exposure to foreign ideas and ways is limited even in the cities. The result is a massive culture shock when going overseas. If there is a language barrier then it is going to be hard to connect. The result is the PRC students form small and impenetrable cliques. That has to be a lonely experience. >trying to think in a foreign language is like trying to scratch an itch through your boots This is why a lot of PRC students now study abroad before going to an overseas university to avoid these cultural and language difficulties. If they have difficulty after that then there are other problems. >if you live abroad for a long time, you will miss many theoretically interesting things happening in China There are big changes afoot in the PRC. If the student is unprepared to gain the most from an overseas education then they shouldn't go. Since the U of C was mentioned, the US has been underestimated many times in its past. Time will tell which was the better choice. The seventh criticism makes no sense to me. It seems wrong or, worse, self-effacing in the worst way for a young vital student. > because of various difficulties abroad, you wind up feeling rebellious, and spend your days arguing with foreigners. This engagement is precisely why you go abroad and is a big part of Western thought. Can't say that everything is wrong but the solution is not to pull back but to study outside the PRC with the proper expectations and preparation.