查克·徐（Chuck Xu）和愛迪生·丁（Edison Ding）已經(jīng)在特拉華大學的英語課程學習了整整一年。他們的英語頂多只能算是湊和，連和記者進行基本的交談都費勁。丁同學說，他向中介支付了3000美元來準備標準化考試、填寫申請表并幫自己用英語寫申請論文。那篇論文寫的是關(guān)于什么的？他已經(jīng)想不起來了。

Mr. Xu just completed the program and is now enrolled in freshman classes. Mr. Ding has yet to pass the final stage and hopes to begin regular classes in the spring.

徐同學剛剛念完了語言課程，現(xiàn)在正在修大一課程。丁同學還沒有通過最后階段的語言考試，他希望能從春季學期開始選修常規(guī)課程。

About 5 percent of students in the language program flunk out before their freshman year. In addition, Chengkun Zhang, a former president of Delaware’s Chinese Students and Scholars Association, has known students who simply got frustrated and returned home. “I know a couple of students who have complained to me,” he says. “They think that the E.L.I. program is doing nothing more than pulling money from their pockets.”

語言課程里大約有5%的學生沒能撐到開始念大一課程就被退學。此外，特拉華大學中國學生學者聯(lián)合會前任主席張成昆（ChengkunZhang，音譯）還知道一些學生僅僅是因為喪氣而打道回府的。他說：“我認識幾個學生，他們來跟我抱怨。他們覺得英語語言學院的課程毫無用處，只會從他們口袋里掏錢?！?/div>

THE university’s push to attract more foreign students is part of the “Path to Prominence,” a plan laid out by Delaware’s president, Patrick T. Harker. When Dr. Harker came to Delaware five years ago, less than 1 percent of the freshman class was international. He knows firsthand about the classroom challenges because he has taught a freshman course each year. “They’re very good students that struggle with American idiom and American culture,” he says. Dr. Harker says he’s aware that applications from China aren’t always what they seem to be. He notes, though, that it’s a problem lots of universities, not just Delaware, are grappling with.

特拉華大學努力吸引更多外國學生，這是該校校長帕特里克·哈克（Patrick T. Harker）推出的“卓越之路”計劃的一部分。當哈克在5年前上任的時候，該校大一班級中的國際學生比例還不到1%。他對于課堂上的挑戰(zhàn)有第一手體會，因為他自己每年都會給大一學生開一門課。他說：“他們都是非常好的學生，努力學習著美國習語和美式文化?！惫苏f，他了解中國申請人并不總是像他們的申請材料所展示的那樣。但是，他指出，這個問題是很多大學都為之頭疼的，而不僅僅是特拉華大學。

“Do I think the budget squeeze is driving the rush to international?” Mr. Melcher says. “Unfortunately, yes.”

麥徹說：“我是不是覺得預算縮減在促使大家爭著去國外招生呢？不幸的是：是這樣的。”

At Delaware, officials are trying new strategies. They’ve started a program that pairs Chinese and other international students with mentors to help ease their transition to American academic life. In addition, the English Language Institute runs workshops for faculty members who have Chinese students in their classes. Other institutions are also rethinking their approach. Valparaiso University, in Indiana, has started a special course to give international students on academic probation extra help with English and study skills.

在特拉華大學，校方在嘗試新的策略。他們啟動了一個項目，把來自中國和其他國家的國際學生跟指導老師結(jié)對，把他們向美國學業(yè)生活的過渡變得容易些。此外，英語語言學院為那些課堂上有中國學生的教職員開辦了講習班。其他大學也在反思它們的方法。印第安納州瓦爾帕萊索大學（Valparaiso University）啟動了一門特別課程，給那些處于試讀階段的國際學生提供英語和學習技能方面的額外幫助。

There are ways to improve the admissions process as well, including interviewing applicants in person to get a sense of their actual English abilities and to discover more about their academic backgrounds beyond test scores. A handful of institutions, including the University of Virginia, have alumni and students interview prospective students, either in the home country or via Skype, and the Council on International Educational Exchange, a nonprofit group, has begun offering an interview service. Such changes are welcome to some educators on the ground. Mr. Jiang, the deputy principal in Beijing, believes oral interviews could give colleges a better sense of students’ readiness for an American classroom.

也有一些方法可以改進錄取程序，包括面試申請人以了解其實際英語能力和考分之外的更多學業(yè)背景。包括弗吉尼亞大學在內(nèi)的幾所高校請校友和在校學生面試未來學生，有的在申請人所在的國家進行，有的是通過Skype網(wǎng)絡(luò)電話。而非營利組織國際教育交流委員會（Councilon International Educational Exchange）已經(jīng)開始提供面試服務(wù)。這些改變受到了業(yè)內(nèi)教育人士的歡迎。北大附中校長助理江學勤認為，面試可以讓美國高校更好地了解學生是否為進入美國課堂做好了足夠的準備。

Some universities, too, are hiring outside evaluators to review transcripts or are opening offices in China with local staff members who can spot the application red flags that colleges are missing. But interviewing and thoroughly evaluating every applicant, considering the deluge, would be an enormous and expensive undertaking.

還有一些大學聘請了外部評估師來復核成績單，或在中國設(shè)立辦公室，招聘當?shù)芈殕T來找出學校會錯過的申請材料中的可疑點。但是，由于申請人數(shù)太多，對每個人進行面試和細致的評估將會是沉重而昂貴的負擔。

For officials like Dr. Stevens, who has been dealing with international students for nearly three decades, Chinese undergraduates are like a code he’s still trying to decipher: “How can we reach them? How can we get them to engage?”

而對于史蒂文斯這樣已經(jīng)和國際學生打了將近30年交道的大學官員來說，中國本科學生就像一個他還在努力解密的代碼：“我們怎樣才能觸及他們？我們怎樣才能讓他們真正投入到美國的學習生活？”

“That,” he says, “is something that keeps me up at night.”

他說：“那是讓我在深夜輾轉(zhuǎn)難眠的事情?！?/div>

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