Re: RE: Why Catholic isn't Christian.
I know. I've met them. Well, sorry, I'm exaggerating. Literate, but grammatically, severely deficient.
As to whther education has plummetted that much or is hard to say. Society has changed much, needed knowledge has changed alongside it. It really would be hardto compare.
As for education in China, don't overestimate it. Chinese students do well with hard facts (e.g. 1+1=2), but terrible when it comes to solving problems which don't have a right or a wrong. To give examples. In Putonghua, much is regulated. The rules of grammar, and even pronunciaiton, are clearly defined. In social studies, the problem, and the correct answer, are clearly defined. Everything mucst be clearly defined. Without that, they cannot function.
This is also a great disadvantage to their English learning. After all, how can 'color' and 'colour' both be correct? How can both American and British pronunciation both be correct? Belive it or not, they really have a hard time grasping that one, even when it appears at first glance that they have grasped it. When it comes to being able to operate without clearly defined rules, a Canadian will usually be able to create the needed rules himself based on previous experience (interdisciplinary transfer of knowledge and re-application of it in a new context), while his Chinese counterpart will, for the most part, run around frantically looking for some authority figure to teach him every rule.
tamarin said:Grade 10 in China is probably equivalent to our first year university here. Certainly those who graduated high school in the 60's in Ontario are believed now to have received the equivalent of today's BA. Standards have plummeted. It's not unusual to meet high school graduates who are illiterate in Canada.
I know. I've met them. Well, sorry, I'm exaggerating. Literate, but grammatically, severely deficient.
As to whther education has plummetted that much or is hard to say. Society has changed much, needed knowledge has changed alongside it. It really would be hardto compare.
As for education in China, don't overestimate it. Chinese students do well with hard facts (e.g. 1+1=2), but terrible when it comes to solving problems which don't have a right or a wrong. To give examples. In Putonghua, much is regulated. The rules of grammar, and even pronunciaiton, are clearly defined. In social studies, the problem, and the correct answer, are clearly defined. Everything mucst be clearly defined. Without that, they cannot function.
This is also a great disadvantage to their English learning. After all, how can 'color' and 'colour' both be correct? How can both American and British pronunciation both be correct? Belive it or not, they really have a hard time grasping that one, even when it appears at first glance that they have grasped it. When it comes to being able to operate without clearly defined rules, a Canadian will usually be able to create the needed rules himself based on previous experience (interdisciplinary transfer of knowledge and re-application of it in a new context), while his Chinese counterpart will, for the most part, run around frantically looking for some authority figure to teach him every rule.