How Do Americans View International Students?
2021-10-17
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Jack Li received his doctorate in science from a major university in the southeastern United States in 2020.
2The Chinese student said research opportunities remain strong in the U.S. but he planned to continue his work in Germany.
3Li told VOA earlier in 2021 that part of his decision was because of the "political environment in the U.S."
4Li had good reason to feel that way.
5A recent survey by an education policy group showed Americans are somewhat concerned about too many Chinese students coming to study.
6The American Council on Education (ACE) talked to 1,000 Americans in the first part of 2021.
7It found that 43 percent of the people in the survey said they think international students take away places from American students.
8In addition, about 40 percent also said they think "some international students are sent by their country to try and steal valuable U.S. intellectual property."
9When China was used as an example, nearly 50 percent said it is a "widespread problem."
10Karin Fischer writes about international students for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
11Fischer said the number of international students coming to the U.S. grew by large numbers in recent years.
12So international students, especially those from China, became "a lot more visible" for people who live near colleges.
13"They'd become kind of caught up in the politics of immigration, of the politics of sort of Chinese-American geopolitical conflict, they got caught up in the politics of COVID and school re-opening a year ago."
14The Institute of International Education's Open Doors report says the number of international students in the U.S. has increased from 764,000 in 2011 to more than 1 million in 2020.
15In the same period, the number of Chinese students in the U.S. has nearly doubled from 194,000 to 372,000.
16Sarah Spreitzer is director of government relations for ACE.
17She helped write the report that came from the survey.
18She said it was important for ACE to learn how Americans feel about international students.
19ACE, she said, wanted to know if Americans supported the actions and words of former president Donald Trump and his administration related to international students.
20If they did, ACE wanted to make suggestions for how the administration of President Joe Biden could make life easier for international students.
21In July, both Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona talked to a group of international students at the EducationUSA Forum.
22Using video conferencing, Blinken said, "It's strongly in our national interest for the United States to remain the world's top study destination for international students."
23And Cardona added that international education helped people around the world understand and effectively connect with each other.
24While neither announced a new policy, Spreitzer said the messages should make a difference to international students currently in the U.S. and those considering coming.
25Spreitzer added that one of the best things the Biden administration can do to help international students is to send "clear" messages.
26She pointed to a program called Optional Practical Training.
27The program permits international students working on degrees in science, technology, engineering and math to stay in the U.S. for up to three years to continue their training after graduation.
28"Under the Trump administrations, there had been rumblings that they were going to withdraw the program, which would've been really problematic."
29Spreitzer explained students make long-term decisions about their education and might not come to the U.S. if programs such as Optional Practical Training get taken away.
30And for students who already were in the middle of their studies, it is difficult to deal with fast policy change.
31While the Biden administration is more welcoming with international students, Fischer, the higher education writer, said some issues remain.
32In August, the U.S. welcomed international students, including those from countries under COVID-19 restrictions, back to the U.S. Around the same time, the U.S. government dropped its case against five Chinese scientists accused of lying on their visa application.
33They were accused of hiding their ties to the Chinese military.
34While the cases may not seem directly related to international students, "it can affect their behavior," Fischer added.
35Spreitzer said she is looking forward to the next Open Doors report.
36She hopes the numbers will show that international students are interested in coming back to the U.S.
37"We're very hopeful," Spreitzer said, "that students are receiving that message that we are welcoming, we are open for business, and that the U.S., in general, we support our international students."
38I'm Dan Friedell.
1Jack Li received his doctorate in science from a major university in the southeastern United States in 2020. The Chinese student said research opportunities remain strong in the U.S. but he planned to continue his work in Germany. 2Li told VOA earlier in 2021 that part of his decision was because of the "political environment in the U.S." Li had good reason to feel that way. 3A recent survey by an education policy group showed Americans are somewhat concerned about too many Chinese students coming to study. The American Council on Education (ACE) talked to 1,000 Americans in the first part of 2021. It found that 43 percent of the people in the survey said they think international students take away places from American students. 4In addition, about 40 percent also said they think "some international students are sent by their country to try and steal valuable U.S. intellectual property." When China was used as an example, nearly 50 percent said it is a "widespread problem." 5Karin Fischer writes about international students for The Chronicle of Higher Education. Fischer said the number of international students coming to the U.S. grew by large numbers in recent years. So international students, especially those from China, became "a lot more visible" for people who live near colleges. 6"They'd become kind of caught up in the politics of immigration, of the politics of sort of Chinese-American geopolitical conflict, they got caught up in the politics of COVID and school re-opening a year ago." 7The Institute of International Education's Open Doors report says the number of international students in the U.S. has increased from 764,000 in 2011 to more than 1 million in 2020. In the same period, the number of Chinese students in the U.S. has nearly doubled from 194,000 to 372,000. 8Sarah Spreitzer is director of government relations for ACE. She helped write the report that came from the survey. She said it was important for ACE to learn how Americans feel about international students. 9ACE, she said, wanted to know if Americans supported the actions and words of former president Donald Trump and his administration related to international students. If they did, ACE wanted to make suggestions for how the administration of President Joe Biden could make life easier for international students. 10New messages from Biden administration 11In July, both Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona talked to a group of international students at the EducationUSA Forum. Using video conferencing, Blinken said, "It's strongly in our national interest for the United States to remain the world's top study destination for international students." And Cardona added that international education helped people around the world understand and effectively connect with each other. 12While neither announced a new policy, Spreitzer said the messages should make a difference to international students currently in the U.S. and those considering coming. Spreitzer added that one of the best things the Biden administration can do to help international students is to send "clear" messages. 13She pointed to a program called Optional Practical Training. The program permits international students working on degrees in science, technology, engineering and math to stay in the U.S. for up to three years to continue their training after graduation. 14"Under the Trump administrations, there had been rumblings that they were going to withdraw the program, which would've been really problematic." 15Spreitzer explained students make long-term decisions about their education and might not come to the U.S. if programs such as Optional Practical Training get taken away. And for students who already were in the middle of their studies, it is difficult to deal with fast policy change. 16While the Biden administration is more welcoming with international students, Fischer, the higher education writer, said some issues remain. 17In August, the U.S. welcomed international students, including those from countries under COVID-19 restrictions, back to the U.S. Around the same time, the U.S. government dropped its case against five Chinese scientists accused of lying on their visa application. They were accused of hiding their ties to the Chinese military. 18While the cases may not seem directly related to international students, "it can affect their behavior," Fischer added. 19Spreitzer said she is looking forward to the next Open Doors report. She hopes the numbers will show that international students are interested in coming back to the U.S. 20"We're very hopeful," Spreitzer said, "that students are receiving that message that we are welcoming, we are open for business, and that the U.S., in general, we support our international students." 21I'm Dan Friedell. 22Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 23Are you a student thinking about coming to study in the U.S.? Do you think you will feel welcome? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 24___________________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26opportunity - n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done, a chance 27survey - n. an activity in which many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something 28visible- adj. able to be seen 29geopolitical- adj. a way of referring to politics and the relationship between nations around the world 30destination - n. a place to which a person is going 31optional - adj. available as a choice but not required 32practical- n. appropriate or suited for actual use 33rumblings- n. written or spoken comments showing that people are considering something