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American sti By Thanong Khanthong Most USC undergraduate students are n< studying as hard as they should be, some e change program students said. "The students, in general, are m motivated in their studies; they're more i terested in getting good grades," sa Ziswiller Marc, who came to USC eight mo ths ago through the Students Exchange Pr gram between the Universite de Hau Alsace, Mulhouse, France, and USC. From his exnerience at USC. he sai because American students are taught I specialize in one particular area of stud; they "lack a culture of knowledge." MARC HOLDS an assistantship in tl Department of French and teaches introdu torv French courses. Although he does ni plan to seek any degree from USC, he is ta ing a number of graduate courses linguistics and literature. "The high school education system France is much more efficient than that this country," Marc said. If a high scho graduate is allowed to go to a university, implies that he has acquired a certain body < knowledge. "Here I have the impression that freshiru /I r\ rt y-v ftAMAcnllti r? i i r\ < r ??A?*?r rMii/iU Tlirkir rti uu nui gcuct any ^iuuy uiutii. i ncy lit only have little knowledge in academic su; jects but also in general affairs like what going on in this woria. "The first day I walked in to teach Frenc Reat B UJUSC N 90.3 ss?c ""Tflrsn L ^rAfila ffl he's cor _ | ? ? - ttt. Columbia's 0 Ifeach Headoua I \ qmCK uc I /^(?S\ KHAKI I J I 100% C0TT0 I V s,8-' I^LADjE^UCIUjEA[M(HA ABLE BODIED MEN & WOMEN WHO GO ? IHORIZON' SEE USC FRISBEE < FOR DETAILS OR CALL 7-9109 ASK F< idents slack, so 101, I asked the students whether they knew ot something about France. Half of them did x- not know where Franch was and half of them did not know the capital of France,'* Marc ot said. nid HOWEVER, MARC said he is very much n- imnressed hv the exchange nrocram hecause o- it gives him an opportunity to improve his te English and have a direct experience with the American culture. More importantly, the program allows him to teach, something he id would not be able to do in France, to "In my country, one cannot teach without y, a degree, no matter how good he or she is," Marc said. He plans to go back to France and complete his degree after the end of the iv c- De-you Yang, 45, a faculty member from ot Shanxi University, the People's Republic of k- China, said he also thinks that most in undergraduate students fail to study hard enough. in "The students do not have adequate in general knowledge such as geography, ol history, or culture of other countries," Yang it said. "Compared to the Chinese college . r _ a., j . ^ _ i _ r 1 l 1 a i 3i siuaems range 01 Knowieage, me Americans' is surprisingly limited." t NEVERTHELESS, YANG rates the g- graduate programs here as "outstanding." 's ' "Graduate students are more serious in their studies, and their thesis research works :h are very high in standard. 1 the fiampnnrk evprv Mi m % w w v % w j v ' :adio hk ever hh i unded hi ?-t?? r'.'ftl sis ig in WBBBB ning! i^^pipMi ? _ . ??I LiaWM -V--. &?$& ?!.. I Bw^^SBWI CLUB OR HANK me exchange si "This is the gap between the graduate and j undergraduate students in this university," f Yang said. Yang said education in China is sharply I competitive. "Only three to five high school n graduates out of 100 have a chance to continue their studies in higher education in i China." s YANG SAID while American students are encouraged to form their own opinion about i a ccrtain subject or analyze questions, Chinese students are taught in the traditional way of memorizing facts and figures. I He hopes that the Chinese educational system will encourage the Chinese students to < use an analytical approach to issues in their I studies, rather than the out-of-date method i now used. Yang had taught English and i European literary history at Shanxi Universi- ] ty before he participated in the exchange program to further his study in comparative literature and literary criticism at USC. With the experience and study made possible by the program, Yang hopes to improve his teaching profession when he goes back to China. Most American students lack the motivation to study, another exchange program student said. SCHWARTZMANN GEORG, 24, from Bamberg University, Germany, said German college students are more serious academically because of the intense job competition, onday, Wednesday and Fi ~ . _ r? : ' 1 ? ?,-' -.'^ l-0*^?-^^"" *<". jx- f7-~-'^- ^1, ^_*- aw' University of South Caroli Tuesday, March 27, 198' 8 pm, Russell House Ballrc Sponsored by Ideas & Issues un< E7 trr\ r\ A/lm!nni/v? I * MUi I Ilooll/I I tudents say and American students are indifferent :oward their studies. "Maybe they don't have this same problem as the German students do," Georg said. He said students in his country engage more in intellectual discussion of politics, social problems or international affairs than American students do. "Here," he said, "they're more interested in talking about football or baseball." BUT LIKE Yang, Georg is impressed with the graduate programs at USC. "I had to read 10 books last semester for . only one subject. (Graduate) courses are reali.. ?? iy muit uuiianuiu^, VJWUIg saiu auuiu^ lllal in Germany, graduate students are required to read only two or three books per course per semester. Most important of all, he said, is that American teachers care about their students and interact on the same level, something rarely seen in Germany. Georg is now pursuing a masters degree in the language department. With having an assistantship, he teaches introductory and advanced courses in German. He plans to graduate by 1985. ASKED WHAT he missed most about his home town. Geore answered. "I miss the town bell which rings at noon every day. It's pretty nice." riday HHBj nr^r^s^ *__jgig3^^WM? Hfy^iiwrn^ na X >om der C.P.U.