Henan University AiHua International College

With the approval from the People’s Government of Henan Province, Tengda has established Aihua International College in conjunction with Henan University. The new campus in Zhengzhou has an area of 20 hectares, complete with modern facilities such as new teaching buildings, administrative buildings, dormitories, canteens, language labs and multi-media classrooms. AiHua International College offers a comprehensive set of courses such as general English, English for Academic Purposes, IELTS training and its International University Foundation Program. The school’s aim is to make the transition to a foreign education system as easy as possible and ensure that students are sufficiently prepared to achieve their full potential.

Chinese students come from a culture where people learn wisdom from their elders, and are thus accustomed to a passive, teacher dominated learning environment where texts are interpreted literally as containing facts. Thus our students often need time to adjust, and also to appreciate the value of ‘co-figurative’ Western education where they are expected to actively participate in the learning process. The notion of ‘critical literacy’ can sit uneasily with learners who generally subscribe to notions of conformity, respect and obedience. However building our student’s abilities in critical analysis is vital. It encourages them not to take texts at face value, observing only superficial features, but also to identify the ideological features and biases of texts. This ability is critical if students are to remain objective, and is a key to success in the Western tertiary education context. In response to these factors, Aihua has developed a core set of literacy aims in order to produce students who are ready to meet the complex demands of studying abroad.

Classroom literacy aims

To develop the four macroskills in an interactive way to ensure that learners possess the English linguistic tools to adequately deal with the academic demands of tertiary level education with ever increasing confidence and independence in preparation for their studies abroad.

This includes:

• The ability to understand spoken English in a variety of contexts including understanding of teacher instructions and subject specific vocabulary.
• The ability to articulate opinions, including elaboration of viewpoints.
• The ability to skim, scan and infer meaning when reading texts and to identify the genre and purpose of the text. (with and without time constraints)
• The ability to produce factual texts over a variety of genres that adhere to established writing conventions and be in a position to edit initial drafts. (with and without time constraints)
• The ability to critically analyse in order to identify the ideological standpoints biases and prejudices of authors.

Social literacy aims

Develop all macroskills in an interactive way to ensure that learners possess the linguistic tools to adequately deal with the everyday demands of living abroad and can participate in the community with ever increasing confidence and independence.