Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development

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Examining the influence of transnational

discourses on Chinese international secondary
school students’ academic learning

Xi Wu

To cite this article: Xi Wu (2019): Examining the influence of transnational discourses on Chinese
international secondary school students’ academic learning, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural
Development, DOI: 10.1080/01434632.2019.1623223

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2019.1623223

Published online: 29 May 2019.

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JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2019.1623223

Examining the influence of transnational discourses on Chinese

international secondary school students’ academic learning
a,b
Xi Wu
a
Faculty of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; bFaculty of Education,
Western University, London, Canada

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

In recent years, increasing numbers of Chinese international secondary Received 22 August 2018
school students have come to study in Canada. Upon arriving in their Accepted 20 May 2019
international context, their academic studies are influenced by socio-
KEYWORDS
economic and cultural forces circulating between the home and host Chinese international
spaces of China and Canada. This paper delves into the economic, secondary school students;
cultural and social rationalities behind eleven Chinese international transnational forces; cultural
secondary school students’ distinct ways of learning in transnational logics; academic studies;
contexts. My study was guided by Ong’s [1999. Flexible Citizenship: The language learning
Cultural Logics of Transnationality. Durham: Duke University Press; 2006.
Neoliberalism as Exception: Mutations in Citizenship and Sovereignty.
Durham, NC: Duke University Press] notion of cultural logics and critique
of neoliberal discourses by examining how sociocultural forces/
rationalities in transnational contexts governed eleven Chinese
international students’ learning goals, characteristics, needs, and
preferences, as well as how global-scale neoliberal cultural logics played
a dominant role. This ethnographic study not only problematises the
dominance of neoliberal discourses and Western cultures in daily
teaching and learning, but also gives educators and policymakers
insights into how to support academic studies and language learning of
Chinese international secondary school students by considering the
aggregated effect of multiple transnational forces.

Introduction
The internationalisation of education in Canada has led to an influx of Chinese international second-
ary school students who represent the largest international student body in secondary education
(Popadiuk 2010; Zhang and Beck 2014). As of 2015, the number of Chinese international secondary
school students reached close to 20,334 students (Canadian Bureau for International Education
2016). After arriving in their new educational, social, cultural, and linguistic contexts, Chinese stu-
dents’ international education is governed by multiple global and local socio-economic forces and
culture traditions (Soong 2016).
One of the most significant global forces (neoliberal discourses1) requiring Chinese students to
become competitive workers in global job markets governs their academic studies along their trans-
national mobility. Western countries (including Canada) aim to cultivate competitive workers who
not only possess Western educational qualifications and strong work competence, but are also highly
proficient in English. English, as a lingua franca in schools and workplaces, plays a significant role in
Chinese students’ international education and even future career development (Johnstone and Lee
2017; Wu 2018a, 2018b). In addition to the language requirements, curriculum and pedagogy in

CONTACT Xi Wu wuxi81710@sina.com
© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 X. WU

Canada focus on cultivating students’ market-oriented skills and competencies, such as independent
learning, critical and creative thinking and active participation (Haque 2017). Furthermore, Chinese
international students’ academic learning is highly influenced by values and norms in the host
society. Zhang and Beck (2014) highlight that both Canadian schools and Chinese students highly
value so-called high Euro-American symbolic values and cultural norms (Ong 1999) as useful cul-
tural capital for students to attain high status and social recognition in the future (Bourdieu
1986). Therefore, Chinese international students feel great pressure not merely from accommodating
their learning habits and styles but also from learning the dominant culture and language in the host
society (Fitzpatrick, Davey, and Dai 2012).
Despite Chinese international secondary school students’ effort to integrate themselves into the
host educational context, Chinese social and cultural perspectives and their learning habits still gov-
ern their learning (Wang 2013). In China, most of the high school learning is test-oriented, aiming to
push students to achieve higher scores on university admission tests. Test-oriented learning, invol-
ving abundant teachers’ knowledge transmission and students’ passive memorisation, still governs
many Chinese students’ learning preferences and expectations in their international education (Li
2004; Adrian 2009). Therefore, they feel challenged in learning through self-exploration, critical
thinking and other practical knowledge applications in which they take most of the learning respon-
sibilities. Instead of just probing independently in learning, many Chinese international students still
seem to prefer abundant teachers’ learning and language support given their former learning habits,
unfamiliarity with Western2 social and cultural knowledge and the lack of sufficient English language
competence (Ma and Wang 2014; Soong 2016; Wu 2018a, 2018b).
Recent scholarship centres on strategies for Chinese international students to adapt them-
selves to learning and language environments in the host society rather than looking back to
their former learning experiences and circumstances. Such assimilative practices, oriented
towards instrumental goals of cultivating successful and competitive learners, may neglect Chi-
nese international students’ learning characteristics and preferences (Soong 2016). This research,
guided by Ong’s (1999, 2004, 2006) notion of cultural logics3, investigates the cultural rationalities
of students’ learning habits, preferences and challenges. Culture logics are formed through glob-
ally circulated discourses and economic, social and cultural forces in local contexts in which
people are or were once situated (Ong 1999). Cultural logics, including global neoliberal logics
and different local social and cultural distinctiveness, converge to influence Chinese international
students’ learning expectations, habits, progress and needs (Wang 2013). Through a 14-month
ethnographic field study about eleven Chinese secondary school students’ international education
experiences (Wu 2018b), I examined how diverse cultural logics mediated their academic studies
in their transnational contexts4 and how to support their learning beyond narrowly focusing on
neoliberal concerns.

Chinese students’ academic studies in transnational contexts

Chinese international secondary school students’ transnational mobility is prompted by heavy
pressure related to standardised tests in China, their fantasy about Western education and moder-
nity, and the position of English in global job markets. Before their international sojourn, many Chi-
nese secondary school students may regard international education as an easier option or shortcut to
future success (Wang 2013; Zhang and Beck 2014; Soong 2016). However, after arrival, Chinese stu-
dents who are pushed to demonstrate their capabilities as successful university applicants and future
workers gradually realise that international education is not an easy process. To gain admission into
their dream universities, Chinese international secondary school students are required to show their
English language proficiency and the ability to study well under the learning and teaching require-
ments of the host society (Wang 2013; Zhang and Beck 2014). Through their empirical studies,
different scholars have put forward potential transnational forces governing Chinese international
students’ academic studies.
 JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT 3

First, as discussed in the previous section, curriculum and pedagogical practices in developed Wes-
tern countries largely influenced by neoliberal discourses request Chinese international students to
make learning adjustments (Rizvi 2009; Haque 2017). Foulkord and Ma (2014), Gordon (2014) and
Adrian (2009) argue that in North America and Australia, market-oriented learning requirements,
such as critical thinking and active participation, are necessities in students’ learning, while silence
results in negative evaluation. However, these scholars’ research shows that their Chinese participants’
learning habits were formed from the teacher-dominant and test-oriented learning environment in
China, and insufficient English language competency interfered with their active discussions in classes.
In addition, some local educators in both secondary and postsecondary education in developed
Western countries believe that they have little to consider or learn from students from other socio-
cultural and language backgrounds. Instead, they are mainly concerned with how to help inter-
national students’ transition to learning in the host society (Marginson and Sawir 2011; Wang
2013; Foulkord and Ma 2014). As newcomers, Chinese international students are at a disadvantage
when they are pushed by teachers to understand unfamiliar Western social and cultural knowledge
and express their views critically (Wang 2013; Gordon 2014; Soong 2016). If so, Wu (2018a) argues
that educators need to heed the learning needs of Chinese international students who come from
different cultural backgrounds and are situated in vulnerable positions in learning rather than solely
consider the dominant learning requirements in the host educational system.
Furthermore, research on international students’ experiences identifies English language learning
as a major challenge for Chinese international secondary students in academic settings in developed
Western countries (Adrian 2009; Zhang and Beck 2014). Chinese international secondary school stu-
dents whose mother tongue is Mandarin need to pass language proficiency tests (e.g. International
English Language Testing System, IELTS) for university admissions. While preparing for the test,
Chinese international students undergo difficult experiences that can be arduous and even humiliat-
ing (Zhang and Beck 2014). According to Wang and Zuo (2014), in addition to passing language
admission tests, Chinese international students still need to improve their practical English language
competency (e.g. English public speaking skills) to be successful in academic programmes and
courses in higher education.
Under such a dominant context, Chinese international secondary school students try to conform
to local academic and language requirements, as they cannot afford the consequences of dissatisfac-
tory academic performances that directly relate to their university admissions and future career pro-
spects (Wang 2013). Nevertheless, although Chinese students try to be integrated into the host
society, they feel suppressed or study in their own way because of their Chinese cultural distinctive-
ness (Ong 1999). For example, scholars, such as Yan and Berliner (2013), Hu and Smith (2014) and
Sit (2013) and Adrian (2009), mention that Chinese international students regard teachers as auth-
orities who are knowledgeable and transmit all the knowledge to students for clear understanding
and memorisation because they are influenced by Confucian philosophy emphasising hierarchical
teacher–student relationship and students’ obedience in learning. Chinese students are seldom
encouraged to ask questions or challenge teachers’ views through class participation. However,
such learning characteristics and habits run counter to neoliberal requirements for learners’ respon-
sibilities, such as independent learning and critical reflection.
It is also worth mentioning that Chinese international school students are not a homogeneous
group with the same learning styles because of the different regional, educational, linguistic, and
socio-economic contexts in which they grew up (Wu 2018a). According to Hayhoe and Mundy
(2008) and Wu (2018a), compared with students from inland and distant regions in China, Chinese
students from coastal or developed regions (neoliberal regions) (Ong 1999) are relatively more
accustomed to learning through active participation, critical thinking and practical knowledge appli-
cation. Other empirical data also reported lack of participation among many Chinese university stu-
dents from developed regions in China because of difficult vocabulary and jargon and lack of social
and cultural knowledge in the host country rather than their lack of initiative in active learning and
participation (Hayhoe and Mundy 2008; Feng 2009; Beres and Woloshyn 2017).
4 X. WU

Many studies simply concluded that inactive participation among Asian students in classes has
created teaching and learning problems for students and academic staff (Marginson and Sawir
2011). Fitzpatrick, Davey, and Dai (2012) criticise the phenomenon that in Western societies, Chi-
nese international students are important consumers of (higher) education services, yet they lack
power and voices to express their diverse learning needs. Through focus group conversations, Fitz-
patrick, Davey, and Dai found that their dissatisfied Chinese international participants, as a minority
group in a university in New Zealand, had a low tendency to complain or talk with their teachers
because of the educator’s power and the students’ fear of negative evaluation and inability to change
the educational context. In Soong’s interviews (2016), she found that insufficient understanding
about the learning styles and needs of her adult Chinese participants made them uncomfortable
in learning or even retreat to Chinese communities in foreign countries for emotional comfort. If
so, their silence and stickiness to the home spaces could be a way for them to respond to dominant
discourses in the host society (Wu 2018a).
Through other empirical studies, this section explains the learning habits, preferences, and challenges
of diverse Chinese international students at different levels of education. Guided by the recent relevant
literature that focuses more on the postsecondary school level, my ethnographic study unveils the com-
plexities in how cultural logics emerging from transnational socio-economic and cultural forces governed
eleven Chinese secondary school students’ practices and feelings along their international education.

Conceptual framework
My study investigates how culture and society play a significant role in Chinese international stu-
dents’ academic studies. This paper is framed by Ong’s notion of cultural logics (1999) and her cri-
tiques of neoliberal discourses (2004, 2006). Ong (1999) and Wang (2013) expound that cultural
logics (or cultural rationalities) bred from cultural institutions, regimes and markets inform and
regulate Chinese international students’ academic learning motivations, desires, characteristics
and struggles. Ong and Nonini argue that cultural logics of overseas Chinese are constituted through
transnational systems rather than through stable cultural entities (cited in Law and Lee 2006).
First, cultural logics derived from dominant discourses on a global scale and from the host
society regulate Chinese international students’ learning (Ong 1999). Neoliberalism, as one of the
most significant global discourses, regulates Chinese international students’ academic journeys
(Ong 2006). Market-based neoliberal rationalities not only decide curricula and implementation
in the Canadian educational system (Haque 2017) but also inform actions of Chinese international
students who manage their studies according to market principles of efficiency and competitiveness
(Ong 2006, 4). |Ong (1999, 2006) further contends that neoliberal cultural logics mould Chinese
students to become highly calculative subjects who aim to accumulate such cultural capital as Wes-
tern educational qualifications and social and cultural knowledge that are highly recognised in glo-
bal job markets. In addition to globally circulated neoliberal discourses, Chinese international
students’ learning is also influenced by high Euro-American social and cultural values and
norms (as the class-based culture of educated global elites) (Ong 1999) embedded in Canadian cur-
riculum content and implementation (Law and Lee 2006; Zhang and Beck 2014). Such high culture
valued in education and workplaces is also pursued by Chinese international students given their
goal of upward social mobility (Ong 1999, 2006). Furthermore, Chinese international students’ cul-
tural distinctiveness or cultural logics from home still control and regulate their practices in trans-
national contexts (Ong 1999). Mitchell (1997, 103) contends that although migrants become more
or less assimilated to dominant cultures in the country of settlement, they still bring their home
culture with them.
Ong (2004, 2006) further critiques that, influenced by neoliberal discourses, schooling mainly
attends to market-driven demands while minimising humanistic concerns or cultural values, such
as diverse students’ learning characteristics and needs. Collier and Ong (2005, 13) further point
out a focal issue that ‘market calculation is freed of any social or cultural considerations, responding
 JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT 5

only to the global logic of supply and effective demand’. Market-oriented demands, continuously
prompting Chinese international students to chase different goals in academic studies and language
learning, exert heavy study pressure (Zhang and Beck 2014). Global-scale neoliberal discourses are
unlikely to fulfil individual Chinese international student’s social and cultural habits, characteristics
and needs in learning (Ma and Wang 2014).
As explained above, different cultural logics converge, intersect and mediate Chinese international
students’ subjectivities, practices and desires in their academic studies (Ong 1999; Wang 2013). Pre-
sently, more attention is given to the cultivation of successful and competitive future talents rather
than needs of learners from diverse backgrounds. My study unveils how cultural logics in transnational
contexts converged and intersected to govern eleven Chinese secondary school students’ learning in
Canada and how to support their learning through disrupting dominant discourses.

Ethnographic field study

From April 2016 to June 2017, I conducted ethnographic field research in a Canadian international sec-
ondary boarding school in Ontario where I once worked as a part-time IELTS preparation instructor.
Ethnography is the study of people in naturally occurring settings, capturing their views and intentions
in ordinary activities. I was involved directly in different school and life settings to collect data without
imposing meaning on my participants externally (Brewer 2000). I tried to catch meaning grounded in
my participants’ real transnational life contexts. This field study investigated how global and local cul-
tural logics/forces governed my participants’ academic learning habits, needs and preferences in their
international education, and I tried to present some complexities in this paper.

Research site and participants

The international secondary school is located in City A, a middle-sized city in Ontario, Canada. The
school accepts international students from around the world but predominantly from China.
Altogether, eleven students participated in my study. All of them were studying university prep-
aration courses when I just approached them. Furthermore, to triangulate the sources of data, I
also interviewed and talked with ten teachers. In this article, I focused on the data collected from
three Canadian teachers (Mr Brian, Mr Davies, and Mrs Anna) in university preparation English
courses. I maintained the privacy and confidentiality of all participants and the school involved.
Pseudo-names were given to the student and teacher participants and their affiliated institutions.
Here, I give a brief introduction of the participant students.
First, with regard to their geographic origins, all four girl students (Lan, Qi, Lin and Li) and four of
the seven male participants (Hui, Qiang, Song and Le) come from highly developed ‘neoliberal’ zones
in China, including large cities and coastal areas where learning and social contexts are more globally
connected and highly market-oriented (Ong 2006). Most of the students from neoliberal zones come
from middle or upper-middle class families that run family businesses. However, two of the female
students, Lan and Qi, stated that their families could barely afford the tuition and so they had to work
harder. Otherwise, their families’ high investment in their international education (almost all family
savings and income) would not receive a high return on investment. For Chen, Hao and Lei, they
were from less developed and inland regions in China. They stated that their parents, who either
run family businesses or have administrative positions, earn stable and high incomes. Through pur-
suing Canadian educational qualifications, their families hope them to further work and live in devel-
oped cities in China or Canada.

Data collection
For data collection, I used multiple methods, or triangulation, to secure an in-depth understanding of
my research phenomenon. I observed the participant students’ performance in classes, their
6 X. WU

interaction with other students and teachers in the school, and their assignments and school projects.
In addition, based on my observations and the relevant literature and theories, one round of semi-
structured one-on-one interviews were implemented with all students and their teachers to explore
more details about economic, social and cultural rationalities of the participants’ daily learning. In
addition to the interviews, I conducted short, informal talks with the student and teacher participants
weekly.
Through the observations, I aimed to learn the participant students’ learning motivations, chal-
lenges and needs in and out of classes. The use of different data collection methods allowed me to
deeply understand how multiple sources of transnational forces/cultural logics intersected to govern
the students’ learning practices and feelings and further provide educational implications for sup-
porting diverse Chinese secondary school learners in their international education.

Data analysis
I took field notes in the process of my observations. Most of the interviews were recorded and tran-
scribed. Transcriptions were contextualised in the dynamics of real situations. Consistent with my
social constructivist approach to qualitative research, themes emerged inductively from my coding,
close reading and comparisons of the data across time. After coding was completed and categorised
into themes, I also reflected upon the relationships among the preliminary categories and my theor-
etical framework and other empirical studies in the literature (Bardin 2009). I ground the analysis by
examining how different cultural logics emanating from transnational contexts governed my partici-
pants’ subjectivities in learning, thereby disrupting the dominance of prevalent global neoliberal dis-
courses/cultural logics centred on capital accumulation.

Findings and discussion

This section illustrates my participants’ academic studies before and during their international edu-
cation and how different cultural logics/forces emanating from transnational economic, social, cul-
tural and educational contexts/regimes intersected to govern their learning desires, needs, habits
and preferences. In the first subsection, I outline some contextual information about the students’
mobility from China to Canada, which relates to their former learning in China and family
expectations.

Former learning in China and reasons for transnational mobility

Influenced by the ‘credential capitalism’ context in China and worldwide (Kim, Brown, and Fong
2016, 271), my participants chose to study in Canada to accumulate better educational qualifications.
Some students (Chen, Hao, Lin, Hui, Le, Lei) felt less likely to obtain university educational qualifi-
cations through gaining high scores on standardised tests in China (such as Gaokao5), and they pur-
sued another option beginning from Canadian high school to access higher education. Additionally,
before they studied in Canada, most of the participants strived for Gaokao so they sustained unbear-
able study pressure. They assumed international education was a solution to escape oppressive and
tedious test-oriented learning. Chen gave a more detailed narration of his former studies,
In China, I not just reviewed what I had learned until midnight every day but also attended after-school tutoring
programmes during weekends. My former teachers required us to memorize important knowledge points they
taught so as to get higher scores in Gao Kao. I feel very lucky to remove myself from these pressures.

It is worth noting that although most of the participants felt bored with test-oriented knowledge
transmission classes in China, such a learning environment already influenced their learning expec-
tations for huge amounts of knowledge gained from teachers in each class, which made it difficult in
their international education where learning through self-exploration is highly emphasised.
 JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT 7

Furthermore, another group of students (Lan, Li and Qi) performed well in their academic studies
in China and had high possibilities of being admitted by Chinese universities. However, the three girls,
coming from developed and internationalised neoliberal regions in China, aimed to use Western edu-
cational qualifications and knowledge as a stepping-stone to better career development in a globalising
world. As Qi argued, ‘The working context in China is highly internationalized. I have to study abroad
and gain Western educational qualifications and social and cultural knowledge; otherwise, I would lag
behind in job market’. Similar to Qi, many other participants from coastal and developed regions in
China pursued cosmopolitan capital, as a form of cultural capital related to the accumulation of tar-
geted high culture and educational qualifications in developed Western countries rather than feelings
of global connectedness or curiosity in learning in other cultures (Weenink 2008, 1089).
Most of the students in my study were between 17 and 19 and did not have any siblings because of
China’s one-child policy implemented in 1979 to restrict population growth. In such a social context,
their parents made larger investments in education of the children as the sole bearers of the family
dreams (Tan 2012). In return, all the students showed filial love for their parents, so they sustained
pressure to pursue academic achievement due to their responsibility for family prosperity. In the next
part, I analysed how my participants went to great lengths to accumulate cultural capital, such as
Western educational qualifications, knowledge and linguistic competence in Canada, and what chal-
lenges were involved in chasing these goals.

Academic leaning in Canada

Given their dreams about Western modernity and educational qualifications, all the participants
strived for better academic achievement in the Canadian high school that determined their university
admissions and future career success. According to Ontario curriculum requirements (Ontario Min-
istry of Education 2007) and learning expectations in the school, students’ English language profi-
ciencies, responsibilities in learning, critical thinking in knowledge application and active class
participation are highly emphasised. Nevertheless, most of the participants not only were deficient
in cultural and social knowledge in Anglo-Saxon countries (especially in Canada and the U.S.)
but also lacked sufficient English language competence. Therefore, it was arduous for them to pro-
gress in learning, attain learning requirements in Canada and further realise their educational goals.

English language learning

In university preparation courses, English as the only language in class learning and communication
represents an instrument of power (Bourdieu 1991). To equip students with the linguistic compe-
tence for their future higher education and workplaces, the teacher participants employed all
means to push Chinese students to speak and use English accurately. Mr Brian and Mr Davies
requested students to only use English-English dictionaries and to hand in their cell phones before
classes to avoid the use of English–Chinese electronic dictionaries. They checked students’ English
language use in classes. My participants lost marks because of their use of Mandarin.
The teacher participants aimed to use English-immersion strategies to help students improve
their English language proficiency, although they did not consider that these coercive measures
blocked many participants’ ‘survival strategies’ in their English language learning and social lives.
As Song complained,
The teachers who use the English-only rule do not understand human’s [Chinese students’] normal feelings, as I
need bilingual learning support from my friends, online dictionaries and other sources. Sometimes, when I
looked up one word in dictionaries, I met a cluster of new words in the explanations. I lost patience and confi-
dence in learning.

In addition, given the presence of a large group of Chinese students in the school, speaking the
mother tongue within home social circles becomes a social rule related to ‘Chinese cohesiveness’
8 X. WU

in a transnational context. Lin and Qi were afraid of being excluded from home social groups if they
only spoke English in classes.
Under the English-only class rules, I found that Hao, Hui, Lin and Chen remained very silent in
class participation. Lin explained her silence after a class, ‘My English teachers sometimes checked
the language use and marked accordingly. So, I was very silent in class discussions because at least I
did not lose marks for using Mandarin’. Hui added, ‘Sometimes the English-only rule made us use
Mandarin out of classes and seek learning support’. In my perspective, Chinese international stu-
dents who are vulnerable and lack power in the host society do not know other options to make
their voices heard, and they use their mother tongue or even silence as ways to empower themselves
and show resistance to dominant discourses.
In addition to constructing an English immersion environment, the teachers in this study also
required students to submit their project reports and assignments without language mistakes.
Many participants argued that their language mistakes influenced their course scores and even tea-
chers’ attitudes towards them. Song categorised himself in the middle-level students receiving unfair
treatment from some Canadian teachers who only gave high scores to students with high English
language proficiency. As he argued,
In the school, some Canadian teachers feel that Chinese students who rank in the middle are irresponsible
about their learning because of grammatical mistakes and language inaccuracies. However, my English
language foundation is not solid enough for me to avoid language mistakes regardless of how hard I have
tried. I need more language support instead of just pushing me to solve all the language problems by myself.

In addition to the pressure of using English in course learning, my participants also encountered
challenges in preparing for university language admission tests. All the students strived for the goal
of reaching at least Band 6.5 with no parts less than 6.0 in IELTS examinations as requested by Cana-
dian universities. Most of the participants attended IELTS exams more than three times. In test prep-
arations, they had to attend afterschool tutoring. After returning home at approximately 6 pm, they
still needed to complete a large amount of homework and prepare for coming tests as scores decided
their university admissions.
In December 2016, I accompanied Qi to attend an IELTS test, which was the third time she had
taken the test. After the oral test, she sadly said that her performance might be as bad as the last time.
On the way home, I tried to comfort her, ‘Qi, you could relax some tonight’. She responded,
I cannot. I will have four final exams next week. Last week, I only slept for 3–4 h every night to prepare for
IELTS and other exams. My parents put all their money in my international education, so I could not afford
any single ‘mistake’ to disappoint them.

Regardless of the effort made, Qi, Chen, Hao, Le, and Hui still did not reach the cut-off for language
admission requirements at Canadian universities. Therefore, before they started their majors, they
had to enrol in language courses in Canadian universities, which are expensive and time-consuming.

Students’ self-governance and responsibilities for learning

In addition to language requirements, my participants also had other challenges related to teaching
and learning styles. Under the influence of neoliberal discourses that highlight people’s self-govern-
ance (Ong 1999), all the students were required to take charge of their own learning through success-
fully completing tasks in classes. According to my observations, the teachers in English courses
assigned an Independent Student Project in which my participants decided their own ‘journeys’
to complete their projects with high quality. Mr Brian emphasised that this project was very similar
to students’ future work. They were required to independently manage their learning and demon-
strate their growth and achievement. During my investigation, all the participants needed to explore
on their own in learning, and teachers did not frequently intervene or transmit a large amount of new
knowledge. Mr Davies argued that independent learners could grasp multiple learning and work
 JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT 9

skills (e.g. searching information, self-management) that contribute to their future learning and
work.
After having suffered from so many years of tedious, test-oriented learning in China, all the par-
ticipants enjoyed the freedom of learning based on their interests. Additionally, Qi, Qiang and Lan,
who once studied in neoliberal regions in China, highly valued the improvement in their work com-
petency through self-governance in learning. As they argued, ‘In the Canadian high school, our study
and work skills that involve self-management, knowledge searching and processing and communi-
cation have been improved’. They enjoyed the practical learning that served to cultivate their future
work skills and competencies.
However, tensions arose with the emphasis on students’ self-governance in learning, one of which
mainly related to the lack of sufficient teacher instruction and support. Chen, Hao, Lei, Hui, Song
and Le, who were not academically strong, felt less capable of taking charge of their own learning.
Chen, Hao, and Lei, who came from inland regions in China, had more challenges because their for-
mer learning mode was more teacher-dominant. As Chen argued,
I feel so arduous in Canadian schooling because of the language difficulties and lack of local cultural knowledge.
I could not learn without abundant learning guidance from teachers. I enjoy teacher-dominant learning in
China in which my former teachers supervised students’ learning and patiently explained all the knowledge
points and details. If I did not need to face fierce test competitions in China, I would rather return and
study in the familiar educational and language environment.

Chen, Hao, Lei, Song and Le felt dissatisfied because their Canadian teachers took the role of learning
facilitators rather than knowledge-transmitters. In their view, Canadian teachers’ high demand for
students’ learning responsibilities and insufficient teaching support reflected teachers’ lack of
basic work ethic in their teaching roles.
Different from the students above, Lan and Qi, who once studied in top Chinese public schools,
had higher learning expectations for knowledge input in each class. Lan complained that in self-
explorative learning, the amount of one-week knowledge acquisition in Canadian classes might
just equal to that in one Chinese class. Lan expressed her expectations for improvement of class
learning efficiency,
In my former schooling in China, all the teachers taught a large amount of new knowledge every class. I prefer
to follow teachers’ instruction, through which I could learn knowledge deeply, thoroughly and systematically.
Now the Canadian teachers always push us to learn through self-exploration, though I learn in a superficial way.

Qi agreed and added,

Canadian teachers always encourage us to learn by ourselves without providing abundant feedback that plays
an important role in my learning progress. I felt very frustrated that one Canadian teacher even said he(she) did
not know the answer when students asked him/her a question. Teachers as the authority in classes should
understand everything and be very knowledgeable!

Cultural logics underlying the responsibilities of learners and educators were formed through the
participant students’ former educational environment and continue to influence their learning
habits, preferences and expectations and even teacher–student relationship in Canada. It is impera-
tive for educators to ‘have a grasp of not only the contexts from which the learners’ originate but also
how schooling in their home countries affects their expectations, aspirations, and values’ in learning
(Gordon 2014, 13).

Critical thinking
In addition to the emphasis on learners’ responsibilities in the Canadian high school, the student
participants were also prompted to apply knowledge critically and practically. When I interviewed
Mr Brian, he hoped that his students would be critical thinkers who were able to analyse what
they learned or read and make real-life connections. Mr Brian and Mr Davies further argued that
10 X. WU

critical thinkers always reflect upon how to properly manage their lives and handle daily issues so
they likely succeed in the future.
Nonetheless, given their former learning habits and knowledge of China, my participants encoun-
tered challenges using English and unfamiliar social, cultural and religious knowledge in Euro-
American contexts to think or express their views critically. For instance, in English classes,
Chen, Le and Hao were less capable of using critical lenses (e.g. postcolonial-ism or feminism)
briefly taught in classes to analyse the assigned American novels and make real-life connections.
Chen explained his difficulties,
I do not understand how to use the postcolonial theory to analyse the novels I have read. I never learned in
China. My Canadian teacher did not provide a detailed explanation. Given my low English language profi-
ciency, I sometimes could also not understand the teacher’s instruction about the theories. So, I had to ask
my friends or read Chinese explanations online for deeper understanding. Still, I could not apply critical lenses
either to novel analysis or making real life connections.

Sometimes, my participants’ Chinese cultural perspectives impeded their critical thinking in the
host context. For instance, when analysing such sensitive topics as abortion that are not discussed
publicly in her former Chinese high schools, Li felt very frustrated. She resisted analysing these topics
from the feminist lens as sometimes she held very different views. Feminist views discussed in classes
made her uncomfortable, but she still needed to analyse such views for good marks.
My participants’ learning experiences speak to what Tarc (2013, 34) has argued, “students may
react to feelings of not being able to perform at their imagined level of ‘smartness’ when new material
or altered rules of engagement are initiated by teachers”. During my stay with them, most of the par-
ticipants were less capable of critically applying knowledge because of the lack of good command of
English language and deeper understanding of knowledge in Western societies, especially in the U.S.
and Canada.

Active participation
To cultivate critical thinkers, the Canadian teacher participants required students to actively participate
in different forms of class discussions and interactions and be evaluated accordingly. Based on my
observations, Chen, Hao, and Lei, who are from inland regions in China, remained silent in class learn-
ing. Even for one-on-one teacher–student conversations in classes, Chen just waited for the teachers’
words, and he only agreed without stating his own perspective. As Chen mentioned after classes,
I am not accustomed to expressing my ideas in front of teachers and students. All my former Chinese teachers
had very serious relationships with students. Now Canadian teachers in the school are friendly and always
encourage us to bravely express our views, though I still do not have the courage.

In contrast, in line with the study by Hayhoe and Mundy (2008), the students (e.g. Qiang, Lin, Li,
Qi) from neoliberal zones in China stated that they were accustomed to learning through active par-
ticipation in their former schooling in China. However, they paid attention to their positive social
image, which showed that they were more willing to be involved in class interactions and discussions
when they had fully understood the knowledge. As Qiang explained, ‘I like to express my views in
public. However, given the influence of test-oriented learning (emphasising right or wrong answers)
in China, I would feel humiliated and embarrassed to make mistakes in front of teachers and
classmates’.
Indeed, all students contended that positive social image counted a lot for them, as they had been
taught to ‘avoid losing face’ publicly in schools and families since they were young. The Canadian
teacher participants who argued that Chinese students are not aggressive participants understood
possible reasons for Chinese students’ lack of initiative in class participation. Mrs Anna and Mr
Brian adjusted their teaching strategies in classes to accommodate to Chinese students’ learning
characteristics (e.g. using small group discussions to replace the whole class participation) and
built up a ‘safer’ learning environment for Chinese students.
 JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT 11

Discussion and implications

The previous section illustrates how different transnational economic, social and cultural forces/
logics converged to influence eleven Chinese international secondary school students’ academic
studies and English language learning in a Canadian international secondary school. To pursue Wes-
tern educational qualifications and social and cultural knowledge and linguistic competence (as cul-
tural capital), my participants strived to immerse themselves into the host learning and social and
cultural environment and achieve learning requirements. Nonetheless, their social and cultural par-
ticularities and perspectives formed through their educational and life experiences still exerted criti-
cal effects on their learning habits, preferences and feelings (Ong 1999, 2003). This section is a deeper
discussion about how different cultural logics intersected with and mediated the participants’ aca-
demic studies and what the implications are for educators and policymakers in (Canadian) inter-
national education.
First, neoliberal cultural logics were coherent with linguistic and academic requirements in the
Canadian educational environment that governed the participant students’ academic learning.
Taking English language learning in Canada as an example, in line with Neubauer and Zhang
(2015), English language competency was directly related to Chinese international students’ univer-
sity admissions and career development opportunities in global markets. Therefore, employing all
possible means to improve Chinese international students’ English language proficiency was highly
emphasised in the curriculum and teaching practices of the Canadian high school. It is easy to nor-
malise the English-only rule without careful consideration of the second language learning charac-
teristics and habits of Chinese international secondary school students. As bilingual learners, most of
the participants emphasised that they were accustomed to employing the first language to scaffold
more accomplished performance in their second language learning and better understand English
curriculum content (Cummins 2007).
The English-only requirement contradicts Chinese cohesiveness that was highly emphasised by all
participants in a transnational social context. Given the fear of being excluded from Chinese social
groups sharing the same mother tongue, many students showed their rebellion through lack of par-
ticipation and silence in classes. Therefore, when pushing Chinese international students to learn
English, (Canadian) educators need to consider students’ second language learning characteristics
and habits and the transnational social/cultural contexts in which they are situated.
In addition, the emphasis on self-governance in learning in the Canadian school negotiated with
Chinese cultural logics of learning effectiveness and efficiency. According to Wang (2012), learning
effectiveness and efficiency are highly emphasised in China. Learning effectiveness relates to whether
students can use the knowledge they have learned to solve similar problems. Learning efficiency in
Chinese classrooms is associated with the amount of knowledge students obtain through class learn-
ing. The highlight of students’ self-governance and exploration in learning, to some extent, concurs
with Chinese students’ expectations for their learning effectiveness. As neoliberal subjects, my par-
ticipants preferred applying knowledge practically through self-exploration, which cultivated their
work competence in the future.
Nevertheless, the highlight on students’ responsibilities and self-exploration in learning ran coun-
ter to my participants’ expectations for learning efficiency. Cultivated in a long-term knowledge
transmission system, some participants (especially for those from top Chinese public schools) had
greater requirements for the amount of knowledge gained from teachers’ instruction, which also con-
nects with the responsibility of qualified teachers in their fixed mindset. Therefore, overemphasising
students’ self-governance in learning incurred my participants’ dissatisfaction in teachers’ lack of
work ethic and responsibilities in teaching and tense teacher–student(s) relationships. Additionally,
my participants argued that the requirement for students’ self-governance in learning went beyond
their learning abilities. They not only lacked sufficient English language competency but also social
and cultural knowledge in Euro-American societies. Therefore, they desperately yearned for
12 X. WU

substantial learning support from their Canadian teachers instead of being pushed to blindly and
aimlessly probe by themselves.
Furthermore, in this study, the effort to cultivate students’ critical thinking skills through active
participation was mediated by Chinese educational, social and cultural norms, such as ‘maintaining
positive social images’, ‘the pursuit for right answers’, and others. Pithers and Soden (2000, 237) con-
tend that in developed Western countries, critical thinking relates to students’ learning outcomes,
smartness and creativity, which determine students’ and national competitiveness in the future.
Critical thinking is highly emphasised under neoliberal discourses/cultural logics, which though con-
tradicts the Chinese pursuit for ‘correct/standard answers’ (under test cultures) and avoiding making
mistakes publicly.
Moreover, some widely discussed social and cultural topics and mainstream views in the host
society produced some student discomfort because of the influence of social and cultural norms
in China. However, the students in this study lacked the courage to voice their feelings or challenge
mainstream cultures because they feared that their views might affect their academic achievement.
Therefore, (Canadian) teachers need to build their intercultural sensitivity and awareness of inter-
national students’ knowledge and learning habits formed through different sociocultural settings
(Baker 2015), thinking about how to build a more inclusive learning environment and encouraging
Chinese students to critically express their views based on their distinct social and cultural
experiences.
Indeed, all students in this study were under great study pressure and emotional tension because
the cultural logic of (cultural) capital accumulation converges with Chinese filial feelings and family
expectations to push them to work harder. To facilitate Chinese international secondary school stu-
dents’ academic studies and wellbeing in Canada or other host countries, educators and policy-
makers need to understand how different cultural logics formed from transnational economic,
social and cultural contexts/regimes influence Chinese students’ learning pressures, habits, needs
and feelings. This study also challenged stereotypical views on Chinese international students
whose learning expectations, habits and needs relate to their individual geographical, social, cultural,
educational and family backgrounds. As Moon (2017) maintains, when teaching (international) stu-
dents from diverse transnational social and cultural backgrounds, all educators and policymakers
should increase their intercultural awareness, which demands scrutiny of circulating transnational
conditions and positioning of students and further development of new approaches in teaching
diversity.
In recent periods, educational activities (in Canada and other Western receiving countries) aimed
at improving international and intercultural understanding and wellbeing of (Chinese) international
students have shrunk considerably, whereas educational practices driven by economic rationale by
recruiting more international students and making them competitive for personal and national
development have increased (Guo et al. 2010). The ethnographic data of this study reveal the insuffi-
ciency of educators’ intercultural awareness of Chinese international students’ situation in academic
learning, which resulted in the lack of appropriate learning support. Hence, I advocate that educators
converse with (Chinese) international students frequently, understand their language and learning
progress and needs related to the influences of transnational experiences, and adjust the amount
of knowledge input, learning content and teaching methods accordingly (Ong 2004; Marginson
and Sawir 2011). Additionally, in policymaking, policy implementation and school management,
educators’ intercultural awareness and sensitivities (to student differences) should be highlighted,
especially regarding the care and attention to diverse students’ learning particularities, needs and
desires as governed by multiple transnational forces. Such educator–student(s)’ collaborative
efforts and the negotiation of pedagogy are crucial strategies to empowering Chinese international
students (as the minority group who lack voices) in the host society and challenging dominant dis-
courses/practices.
 JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT 13

Notes
1. Neoliberal rationality “informs actions by many regimes and furnishes the concepts that inform the govern-
ment of free individuals who are then induced to self-management according to market principle of discipline,
efficiency, and competitiveness” (Ong 2006, 4).
2. Regarding geographical locations, Kachru (1992) points out that Western countries include developed
countries in North America (USA and Canada), Europe (e.g. England and Ireland), Australia and New Zealand.
3. Cultural logics, relying on the establishment of stereotypes and other kinds of precedents, serve as references in
inferring and attributing motivations behind people’s actions (Enfield 2000).
4. Transnational spaces/contexts in this paper implicate cross-border economic, political and cultural relations
(Rizvi 2010).
5. Since 1950s, Gaokao has been officially stipulated as the sole Chinese university admission criteria to ensure
that only those who have reached cut-off scores for higher institutions will be admitted (You and Hu 2013).

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Funding
This work was Sponsored by Peak Discipline Construction Project of Education at East China Normal University.

ORCID
Xi Wu http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6670-0905

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