Many Chinese students could pay U.S. college costs but lack the language skills, survey finds

Chinese students seeking to study in the United States have the money to do so but may lack the English-language skills, a survey of 18,000 prospective students found.

Fifty-three percent of those surveyed by Zinch China, a consulting company that advises American colleges and universities about China, said their families can afford to spend $40,000 or more, per year, on an undergraduate education. Another 22 percent reported they could spend between $10,000 and $40,000 a year.

But more than a third of the students in the Zinch study don’t speak English well enough to function in an American classroom. Just 18 percent have the advanced linguistic skills that would allow them to participate in a seminar-type setting.

Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education