Foreign IT Textbooks Being Used on Chinese Campuses

Twenty kinds of original foreign textbooks on information technology, mostly in English, are being taught in Chinese colleges and universities.

These textbooks are the latest works recommended by foreign publishers or authors and are widely used on American campuses. They record the latest developments in computer science and technology and these textbooks are close to China's self-compiled textbooks in price, said Zhang Yaoxue, a senior official with the Chinese Ministry of Education.

Zhang explained that the move was taken to train a group of competitive IT personnel for the international stage in the shortest period of time, as such textbooks are taught in English or are bilingual (English with Chinese translation).

To make success of the job, more than 650 teachers were organized to attend special training programs about the original foreign edition textbooks for nine computer science courses in Harbin, Wuhan and Hangzhou this summer. The Publishing House of Higher Learning has presented sample original foreign edition textbooks to about 200 universities across the country.

A growing number of universities have been working on plans for carrying out bilingual teaching and have decided to introduce bilingual teaching in certain courses, especially IT in the new semester.

Experts believe the introduction of original foreign textbooks on Chinese campuses will help renew the content for teaching in computer sciences, import advanced teaching thoughts and ideas, improve China's capabilities to compile its own IT textbooks, and create awareness of international competition among Chinese students.

While encouraging Chinese and foreign publishing companies to introduce more good IT textbooks and supplementary materials to China, the Chinese Ministry of Education will also spread the experimental use of original foreign textbooks for teaching courses in biological technology, new sciences such as nanometer materials, economics and finance, as well as creating conditions to put China's best teaching materials into the world market.






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