EFL students cheating

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I am researching for an article on students who cheat - anyone have comments to share on this?

My Polish students cite work load and a need for excellent marks as their justification for cheating.

Thanks, solsen

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[nq:1]I am researching for an article on students who cheat - anyone have comments to share on this? My Polish students cite work load and a need for excellent marks as their justification for cheating. Thanks, solsen[/nq]
My Chinese students are brought up on "cheating" - it's perfectly acceptable for them to copy paragraphs from books and just change a few words within these paragraphs. They feel it's better to give in something which is in good English (i.e. in better English than they can produce themselves) rather than something that they consider to be sub-standard. "Cheating" is not a concept for them!!

Dace (pronounced "datsy"!)

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First thing first, house sitter, you can some information in http://www.turnitin.com concerning cheating.

Acutally I was set out to rebuff you, but when I come to recall what my classmates did in my university time, I would have to say they are rather liberal about the idea of "copying". I have never done it myself though, because I believe it is always myself being benefited if I work out the assignment myself and stand corrected.

But I would like to set the record straight that it is not limited to Chinses that "cheating" is popular and/or accepted. I still rememeber that a few years ago there was a riot in a Bangladesh university because in a particualr exam, the authority disallow cheating :-)

And it is the same in the developed world. There is a recent article and discussion on the subject here: http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/01/16/2237223&tid=
[nq:2]I am researching for an article on students who cheat ... for excellent marks as their justification for cheating. Thanks, solsen[/nq]
[nq:1]My Chinese students are brought up on "cheating" - it's perfectly acceptable for them to copy paragraphs from books and ... rather than something that they consider to be sub-standard. "Cheating" is not a concept for them!! Dace (pronounced "datsy"!) [/nq]

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[nq:1]I am researching for an article on students who cheat - anyone have comments to share on this? My Polish students cite work load and a need for excellent marks as their justification for cheating. Thanks, solsen[/nq]
Tell us a bit more about the specific ways EFL students might cheat... in the classroom, is looking at what your neighbour writes cheating or a commendable GLL strategy? Or are you thinking more of assessment and examination cheating?

In common with all other students the work of EFL learners seems to be in the grip of an exponential rise in plagiarism, largely due to the ease in which material can be copied from the net. While this seems to be partly cultural, it isn't exclusive to Chinese students. And while there may be an attitude of 'surely my teacher is more interested in reading good English than the **** I'd write', there's also 'can I get away with this?'

This summer I taught a pre-sessional Korean EAP student who was about to continue to a PhD. Along with the rest of his class he had to produce an extended assignment on his main subject, submitting drafts to me over a three week period. From the beginning it was obvious that what he was producing had the 'string of pearls' effect - long passages obviously written by an L1 author (or authors) connected by very short linking passages in which the error rate leapt. Not only did the style vary between the original and plagiarised parts, it varied from chunk to chunk of copied material, suggesting that some pieces were from popular science sites while others had been copied from academic papers. What it clearly wasn't was this student's original work. Students had been made aware of the stringent rules on plagiarism in the University (some people might suggest made aware almost to overkill), and I spoke to this student about the rules on several occasions. I also sat next to him and cut and pasted chunks of plagiarised material out of his assignment and into Google, which took us directly to the source on every occasion. Even after this the student did not make changes or seek to discuss any problems he had, and when his 95% plagiarised assignment was handed in, it had to be given a 0 grade. Not an episode I feel terribly good about.

Best regards Django Cat

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]First thing first, house sitter, you can some information in http://www.turnitin.com concerning cheating. Acutally I was set out to rebuff ... years ago there was a riot in a Bangladesh university because in a particualr exam, the authority disallow cheating :-)[/nq]
I didn't mean to single out the Chinese in particular - it's just that I teach mainly Chinese on an EFL foundation course in a British uni.

Dace

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Tell us a bit more about the specific ways EFL students might cheat... in the classroom, is looking at what your neighbour writes cheating or a commendable GLL strategy? Or are you thinking more of assessment and examination cheating?[/nq]
I'm talking here about exams and assessments. We've had cases of GLLs handing their answer paper over to a very poor learner to copy the answers - suspicions are already aroused when these particular students get any correct answers! We get a number of students using their electronic dictionaries secreted in their pockets. Also whispering to each other. I haven't got any proof yet, but I'm sure they also use telepathy ;-) ! It really has got to the stage where all coats, bags and books have to be removed from the desks at the start of a test (bags are great to hide dictionaries behind), and there's no way you can sit and do any marking because you have to constantly watch what they're doing. It's a situation I hate because I work very much on trust in life and this constant need to watch goes completely against the grain.
[nq:1]In common with all other students the work of EFL learners seems to be in the grip of an exponential ... is more interested in reading good English than the **** I'd write', there's also 'can I get away with this?'[/nq]
I do agree that this problem isn't limited to the Chinese - I teach mainly Chinese students so that's why I was using them as an example. I also agree with what you say about being able to get away with it which I think is the true reason in the majority of cases.

What I was saying about it seeming to be acceptable to plagiarise in China was with reference to a number of good students who had copied paragraphs which, of course, I crossed out. They came to me in tears saying that they hadn't copied - I told them to bring their sources and we'd look at it. What they had done was taken the paragraphs from the book but changed a few words in each sentence. I was told this was perfectly acceptable in Chinese universities and not regarded as copying.

Dace

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Tell us a bit more about the specific ways EFL ... Or are you thinking more of assessment and examination cheating?[/nq]
[nq:1]I'm talking here about exams and assessments. We've had cases of GLLs handing their answer paper over to a very ... because I work very much on trust in life and this constant need to watch goes completely against the grain.[/nq]
[nq:2]In common with all other students the work of EFL ... isn't exclusive to Chinese students. And while there may be[/nq]
[nq:1]an[/nq]
[nq:2]attitude of 'surely my teacher is more interested in reading good English than the **** I'd write', there's also 'can I get away with this?'[/nq]
[nq:1]I do agree that this problem isn't limited to the Chinese - I teach mainly Chinese students so that's why ... few words in each sentence. I was told this was perfectly acceptable in Chinese universities and not regarded as copying.[/nq]
That's tricky isn't it? We're trying to teach students the legitimate technique of paraphrasing other peoples's ideas (as long as they give proper citation), but what may also be an issue that has cultural variation is the amount of original material that can be quoted - how much change stops the text being a quote and makes it into a paraphrase. I've also been working with Chinese students in a UK university recently - but I remember reading something recently which claimed that in Italian academic circles, direct quotation to a level which would be unacceptable in the UK is considered an entirely appropriate mark of respect to the orignal author.

DCC

Usenet · Answer

but I
[nq:1]remember reading something recently which claimed that in Italian academic circles, direct quotation to a level which would be unacceptable in the UK is considered an entirely appropriate mark of respect to the orignal author. DCC[/nq]
Yes, I've heard this before - I think I heard it with regard to the Chinese, although I wouldn't swear to that.

Dace

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Django Cat | misc.education.language.english in
[nq:1]remember reading something recently which claimed that in Italian academic circles, direct quotation to a level which would be unacceptable in the UK is considered an entirely appropriate mark of respect to the orignal author.[/nq]
I guess it would be acceptable only if you mention your source.

-- Enrico C ~ No native speaker

Usenet · Answer

I'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to post.

The school secretary where I teach was a part-time university student. He once actually made a tiny book, using computer small fonts and photocopier reduction mechanism, and glued it all together, and was thus ready for his final exam!

Perhaps it's cultural - Chinese, Polish, whatever - in that the ends matter, not the means?

Best regards, solsen

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[nq:2]I'm talking here about exams and assessments. We've had cases ... acceptable in Chinese universities and not regarded as copying. Dace[/nq]
[nq:1]What[/nq]
[nq:2]they had done was taken the paragraphs from the book ... perfectly acceptable in Chinese universities and not regarded as copying.[/nq]
[nq:1]That's tricky isn't it? We're trying to teach students the legitimate technique of paraphrasing other peoples's ideas (as long as ... which would be unacceptable in the UK is considered an entirely appropriate mark of respect to the orignal author. DCC[/nq]
Not tricky at all. Both direct quotes and paraphrases must be cited.

Plagiarism is theft, either of the originator's words or ideas.

EFL students cheating

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