Abstract—This paper describes part of the findings of the
first author’s dissertation research on the learning narratives of
some Chinese international students in Canada. Based on data
collected using narrative inquiry, the authors specifically pick
stories on how the participants described, understood and
interpreted memorization, critical thinking and classroom
participation in Mountain University in Vancouver. This paper
questions the assumptions of the learning approach that Asian
international students may take, and points out that instructors
and teaching assistants in the Mountain University lack
knowledge and awareness of the academic learning experiences
of Chinese international students. The voices of international
students are thus silenced. The findings indicate that the
participants did not display evidence of active negotiation for
potential changes in the classrooms of Mountain University.
Index Terms—Chinese international students, critical
thinking, deep and surface learning, narrative inquiry.
Zhihua Zhang is with the Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University,
Canada (e-mail: zza28@sfu.ca), and Heibei Normal University.
Wei Zhang is with Tangshan Vocational and Technical College, Hebei,
China (e-mail: zhangwei1215@hotmail.com).
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Cite:Zhihua Zhang and Wei Zhang, "“I am not what you thought I should be”:
Learning Accounts of Chinese International Students in
Canada," International Journal of Social Science and Humanity vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 576-581, 2013.