Thoughts to Stakeholders in the Eye of the Beholders

Abstract

Based on the narratives of the participating students’ lived experience and the analysis of the factors that shaped who they are and why they are. This chapter discusses, in the eye of the beholders, what works for the Chinese international students’ successful pursuits as EFL learners and ESL users and learners and what could be improved. Specific suggestions and advice are proposed to stakeholders who are involved in Chinese international students’ cross-border education, namely, the U.S. host institute, the English education policymakers and practitioners in China, and the Chinese international students. For the U.S. host institute, issues discussed and recommendations provided include faculty knowledge, curriculum internationalization, inclusive pedagogy, and institutional services (writing center, international student office, and intensive English for Academic course). For the English language teaching (ELT) in China, the focal issues we discuss are those identified from the narratives, then suggestions for reconceptualizing China’s ELT, teacher quality training (including NESTs vs. NNESTs), curricula reform, as well as K-16 EFL curricular articulation. In the last section of this chapter, we focus on providing practical recommendations pertinent to Chinese international students’ linguistic and academic success. Thoughts also include our suggestions on promoting international education stakeholders’ intercultural communication competence in response to critical incidents such as the COVID-19 pandemic.