When discussing global culture, it helps if there's more than one culture represented in class. Sometimes, that just isn't possible.
But this semester, lecturer Karen Dykstra's Language and Culture class includes three visiting scholars from Bohai University in Jinzhou, China — part of an eight-person contingent conducting research at EMU under a new cooperative agreement between Bohai and EMU's College of Arts and Sciences.
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CHINESE VISIT: Faculty of Bohai University in
Jinzhou, China, meet with Jeff Popko (above, left) an
EMU professor of foreign languages and bilingual
studies. The Chinese contingent includes (above,
from left) Yali Zhao, Yuqi Zhou, Bo Zhang, Yan Gao,
Yan Wang, Zhengrong Ma, Hong Zhou and Yun Wang. |
Under the agreement, which was signed in May 2007, Bohai has an open door for EMU faculty — particularly in the areas of English language, math, computer science or international trade — who'd like to conduct research at the university's four-year-old campus in Jinzhou, a city in northeastern China. The agreement also paves the way for guest faculty lectures and study abroad opportunities.
The three visitors sitting in on Dykstra's Language and Culture class have spent the first few weeks observing as part of their research in linguistics, cross-cultural communication and teaching English as a foreign language. But, as they become settled, the Chinese educators also get a chance to share their perspectives with EMU students and faculty.
Other visiting Chinese scholars are conducting research in math, computer science and English literature.
"The added perspective is really valuable," said Rebecca Sipe, interim department head of English language and literature. "Also, one of the intangibles is that when someone comes in and they're so excited about learning and being in this learning environment, that's kind of a nice thing to add to our mix. It lets our students see how valued educational experiences are to other people, too. I think the more diverse we have the campus, the better. It just adds wonderful depth to our experience here."
The eight Bohai faculty arrived Jan. 4 and will remain on campus through the end of April. Yali Zhao is studying control theory and variational inequalities; Bo Zhang's focus is computer networks. Yuqi (Christine) Zhou, who serves as the group's interpreter, is studying American culture and society. Yan (Melissa) Gao and Yun (Laura) Wang are studying linguistics and cross-cultural communication, respectively.
Yan (Ann) Wang, Zhengrong (Marnie) Ma, and Hong (Helen) Zhou are each researching an aspect of teaching English as a foreign language.
"We just have been in EMU for a short time, less than three weeks, but we were impressed by the beautiful campus and hospitable people here," Yuqi (Christine) Zhou said via e-mail. "We enjoyed the meetings with all the professors and were particularly impressed by the teamwork/spirit of the colleagues and staff here."
Zhou added, "…We feel the curriculum arrangement, teaching focus and methods are different from what we adopt. We will bring these differences and experiences back, and share them with our colleagues."
Betsy Morgan, assistant to the dean, teacher education and international exchanges, within the College of Arts and Sciences, has managed the details of this group's visit since meeting with them in China last fall. She also worked with mentoring faculty at EMU to help pave the way for individual research projects.
Everyone's been very welcoming, Morgan said, and other departments have gone above and beyond expectations. Housing helped set up on-campus apartments for all eight guests; faculty have invited them to their homes and showed them around the area. The music department provided complimentary tickets to a weekend dance performance.
"We hope (that) when they go back to China, they speak highly of EMU," Morgan said. "The hope is we'll get an increase in students from China. And, when our faculty are thinking about sabbaticals and research projects, and want to do it in a different country, we've got this connection."
Faculty interested in doing cooperative work at Bohai University should contact Morgan at emorgan@emich.edu
