From 2003 to 2009, five cohorts of students from the People’s Republic of China earned a Master of Public Administration degree after 6 to 12 weeks of intensive English study and were exempted from the requirement to pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Although students “understood” the English words, they struggled to use the materials and understand the classroom environment. Contextual meanings, group work, speaking in class, and applications-based exercises proved difficult for the Chinese students. Further, the expectations of the American MPA program constrained the students who were not prepared to provide what the instructors expected of them until we provided what they expected of us. When faculty pay close attention to the context of their classroom, the Chinese learner can construct knowledge and succeed in an applied academic environment.
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