[enjalot]

A lot of Chinese students learn to read and write English perfectly but can barely speak it because of the way it is taught in Chinese schools. Learning to speak requires practice speaking as well as hearing, and there arent enough teachers who can speak fluent English to set an example. Try learning Chinese sometime and see what its like.

I've noticed a more general trend where white people assume those who don't speak like them are stupid. this will end up hurting them as the world grows more connected and more people from different backgrounds end up in the same place.

[ascorbic]

I realise that it's possible to be able to read and not speak it. However these students were supposed to have passed tests of written and spoken English proficiency. If they couldn't understand spoken English it will have been pretty difficult for them to understand the lectures and seminars. I certainly never said they were stupid. I know the languages are very different and it will have been very hard for them. I've spent a little time in China and know how hard it is the other way around. What I said is that this wasn't reflected in the work they submitted. The comparison with times when they wrote without the opportunity for outside help was also significant. There's no dispute that cheating is widespread among Chinese students, and other Chinese students expressed frustration similar to those expressed by commenters here.

As for your point about white people: I don't think skin colour has anything to do with it. It's a problem with English speakers. Foreign language proficiency among native English speakers is terrible. Hypocritically, because so many people do speak English as a second language well, then it is easy to assume, even subconsciously, that if someone doesn't speak it well then they're not as smart. The fact we don't speak their native tongue makes it harder to disabuse ourselves of this. I will say in our defence that it is actually quite hard to learn a foreign language when you're in the country and everyone just replies to you in English. Having lots of Swedish friends and spending quite a bit of time in Sweden, I took several courses to learn the language, even though I never met a single person who was unable to speak English, and nobody under 50 who wasn't totally fluent. In the total of probably three or four months I've spent there over the past decade, not once has anyone responded to me in Swedish when I've spoken to them. It's not useless, as it does at least mean I can understand when they're speaking to each other. Scandinavia is an extreme case, but the phenomenon has spread with English proficiency. In most of Europe it's safe to assume that almost anyone under 40 will speak at least some English. This certainly makes things easy for English speakers, but it does lead to complacency.

[studentrob]

> In the total of probably three or four months I've spent there over the past decade, not once has anyone responded to me in Swedish when I've spoken to them

This behavior varies from country to country. In Cambodia, for example, people love when you speak khmer and will spend the whole day teaching you and showing you around the city. They are ridiculously friendly.

[ascorbic]

Yes, outside Europe it's certainly less widespread.

[studentrob]

> I've noticed a more general trend where white people assume those who don't speak like them are stupid

This is likely miscommunication and it doesn't matter anyway. Who cares what other people think?

As a white person living in Asia I get the same vibe sometimes. I just shrug it off and power through whatever conversation needs to happen.

> this will end up hurting them as the world grows more connected and more people from different backgrounds end up in the same place.

People live and learn