Test-preparation courses taught in China tend to focus on rote memorization, which can help students achieve high test scores. But once those students arrive at American universities, they struggle to handle the Western style of academic writing, Skilling said.
The American tradition of “linear” writing—“introduction, development, and then coming back and having a conclusion”—might seem formulaic to Chinese students, said Michelle Green, a Virtual Academy teacher working on the English writing course.
Up to this point, it is likely that the Chinese students’ English education heavily focused on grammar and syntax—some Chinese teachers even require students to memorize and then regurgitate full essays. But that approach does not address key points of the American writing style, such as the importance of a thesis, Green said.
To move away from that focus on correctness and instead develop depth of thought in English, the Oxford writing course emphasizes metacognition.
The Chinese students will need to “think about why they think the way they do,” so they can move toward thinking the way an American student would be expected to think at a U.S. college, Green said.
She said the lessons encourage students to ask themselves, “Why did you write this? What is it about your traditions, culture, and environment that creates this paradigm for thought?”
This emphasis on originality in the first semester will help students understand voice, personality, and tone—nebulous aspects of English writing that can be difficult to grasp for non-native students and will prepare them for more skills-based learning in the second semester, Green said.
“We definitely don’t want to go in with an ethnocentric attitude. … We truly want to go in with an understanding of how Chinese writing differs from American writing,” said Krista Price, another Virtual Academy teacher who is developing videos for the writing course.
Price said she has found some similar virtual foreign exchange programs at the college level but has not yet heard of any other K-12 districts adopting this kind of global approach.
“There’s not a lot to model after,” she said.
But, Price noted, she also felt this way when she first began developing courses for the Virtual Academy, and virtual learning has since exploded.
Aside from the upcoming exchange program, Oxford Virtual Academy offers more than 200 classes, spanning from kindergarten to associate’s degree.
Unlike most other virtual schools, which build all their classes on the same platform, Oxford Virtual Academy works with individual students to find vendor-offered curricula that fit the student’s learning style.
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