Conclusion

The trend of Chinese mainland students going abroad to study shows no signs of slowing down in the foreseeable future with the fast expansion of China’s middle class.The study experience of Chinese international students at overseas universities will undoubtedly have an impact on their future life and career.Through an analysis of the academic performance of two groups of Chinese international students in two humanities subjects，this study finds that Chinese international students benefit from an Australian-style training in the humanities，but that English is a key challenge for them in achievement of higher academic results.The benefits are reflected in their strengthened critical thinking capabilities and improved analytical skills as demonstrated in the control group’s end-of-semester work.Chinese international students do not lack critical perspectives if they can resort to their native language to convey their ideas，but this ability is noticeably restrained by their English levels，asshown in the mid-term and final essays of the experimental group.In other words，English remains a major challenge for Chinese international students in their study of the humanities at the higher education level.

Living in an image-saturated world，Chinese international students are generally adept at using the visual language，often assisted by multimedia tools，to communicate their ideas.This can be seen in their film review presentations.Distanced from their home country，Chinese international students are more motivated to study if they feel a cultural or emotional connection with the course content，and this connection can make a difference in their academic performance.This is not to say that educators should tailor their curriculum or pedagogy to please the students，as this is not the true purpose of education.But communicating in a language that resonates with students，be it more visual or culturally sensitive，will help both students and educators achieve maximum learning outcomes.