https://artslondon-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/joanne_mcvey_arts_ac_uk/EdCwbP29VvFCu_hvvMgHaRsBCC-Hzt8MBYDJoLBZjkRmMw: Artefact Presentation
Chinese students are currently one of, if not the largest group as part of the cohort of international students at UAL. In discussions with lecturers, support staff and colleagues there is perhaps at times a lack of awareness of a student’s cultural habits of learning where according to research by Frimodig cited in Richards and Finnigan (2015:12) “The tutor and East Asian students may share an English vocabulary but not necessarily its exact meaning, intention and underlying expectations.” In choosing an artefact by the journalist Ben Chu “Chinese on Campus” (Radio 4, 2022, 11:00) and the accompanying text ‘Why are Chinese Students so keen on the UK?’ (Chu, 2022) the intention is to open up conversations around inclusivity whilst also looking at language. Frimodig continues “International students arrive, but do not automatically connect with a western, and especially Anglo-centric, individualistic intellectual heritage of critical thinking.” (ibid 2015:12). This Artefact may go some way to addressing some of these important truths for international students.
The artefact chosen is intended to be used for both staff and students as a resource for staff training sessions and student workshops. Currently, within Language Development, where we are actively including Anti-Racism, to include decolonising the curriculum, the strategy states it will “Audit and review existing collections and resources and encourage students to suggest resources reflecting their social and cultural backgrounds.” (UAL, 2021). Despite the potential for the text and/or video to be controversial I still hope and anticipate that it would open up a discussions for both staff and for students, allowing students to come forward with their own stories and experiences adding to the current SoN Tell Us About It (2009) archive. In recognising the challenges faced it could lead to creation of further artefacts from Language Development.
Through the coming summer months, I will not be directly teaching a group of students with taught sessions but as tutorials. However, I would like the opportunity to use it in the new academic year starting 2024. Firstly, with students, potentially as part of an ‘introduction to studying in the UK’. Later and where possible through discussions with both students and colleagues to use as part of a staff training session around that time.
Bibliography:
Chinese on Campus (2022) BBC Radio 4, 16Th February, 11:00 am Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0014gbk (Accessed: 22nd May 2023)
Chu, B (2022) Why are Chinese Students so keen on the UK? Available at: https://www.benchu.co.uk/post/chinesestudentsukunieversities (Accessed: 22nd May 2023)
Finnigan, T. (2009) Shades of Noir, Tell Us About It. Available at: https://shadesofnoir.org.uk/artefacts/tell-us-about-it (Accessed: 24th May 2023)
Frimodig, B (2015) Cited by Richards, A. and Finnigan, T. (2015) Embedding equality and diversity in the curriculum: an art and design practitioner’s guide, 5.6 Use of English and modes of thinking Higher Education Academy (2015:11-12). Available at: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/embedding-equality-and-diversity-curriculum-discipline-specific-guides (Accessed: 25th May 2023)
Shades of Noir (2023) Shades of Noir, Tell Us About It. Available at: https://shadesofnoir.org.uk/artefacts/tell-us-about-it (Accessed: 24th May 2023)
UAL (2023) Intercultural Communication Workshops. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/study-at-ual/language-centre/intercultural-communication-training (Accessed 23rd May 2023)
UAL (2021) Anti-Racism Strategy. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/about-ual/strategy-and-governance/anti-racism strategy#:~:text=Some%20of%20our%20plans%20are,will%20continue%20to%20do%20so. (Accessed:24th May 2023)
Feedback from Kasia Idzi
Kasia and I had a good chat prior to the presentations about how we see ourselves now that we have been studying in this unit. As she mentioned she is a second language speaker and so can identify with students who are developing their language and how this can have an impact on their studies. Especially when students come to the library and are looking for guidance, she considers this and how to make sure students can benefit from what the library has to offer. With this in mind her feedback that my Artefact is well thought out in relation to my practice as it is good to connect language within our positionality in terms of Inclusivity and how we interact and encourage students to build confidence with their skills is encouraging. She also added that it was a good idea to concentrate on a one group as a large cohort within the university who may at times be misunderstood or considered as one homogenous group, yet of course are individuals with many facets that include more than one identity. In this sense she helped me to think about this further and how I can consider this as I move forward into the Action Research Project.
Feedback from Jackie Roberts
your artefact is both topical and useful. i like that you start with the statistics. chinese students do equate to a large proportion of the student numbers, and pay high tuition fees, and so we do have a duty to be culturally competent when understanding the learning needs of this population. it’s great that you have referenced your work to give the reader further materials on the topic. SoN Tell Us About It (2009) is particularly useful. i like that you have used various materials, video and radio, and not just the written word. what is also great is that you have seen an area for learning/improvement in your practice, and arguably within the wider teaching environment of ual, and you are looking at ways to address the in-balance by becoming more inclusive in your practice.
in my first job as an accredited psychotherapist, i worked at a human rights foundation, working with people from all over the world who were fleeing persecution from their home countries. we saw lots of chinese clients who had been trafficked for purposes of exploitation. we would have various in-house training sessions and one that stood out for me was by one of the mandarin speaking interpreters, who gave an informal training session in chinese culture. i learned things in that training session that i never would have learned in my psychotherapy training, such as the fact that acts of charity or help are often viewed with suspicion by chinese people, outside of the major cities, and this is relevant in my work as a therapist and counsellor- how can i make it easier for chinese students to ask for help, to feel that it is okay to ask for help, and in fact that it is beneficial to ask for help.
perhaps a similar type of training for staff at ual could be useful? there is also a name pronunciation training at ual, which i greatly enjoyed and thought how useful it is. it shows a certain level of respect, and a desire to understand, to get someone’s name right. it’s great that you are looking at intersectionality and positionality also, and i am looking forward to hearing more as you continue with the artefact