Preparatory course
There are two reasons:
First, whether in China or in the western education system, basic education and higher education have a great span in knowledge structure and teaching methods. Even in China, our freshmen are generally uncomfortable with university teaching and life, and even a little at a loss. In our middle school, more knowledge is passively instilled; In university, it is the exploration of knowledge under the guidance of professors. Geometry and algebra in middle school mathematics cultivate students' thinking in images, while calculus and linear algebra in university are abstract thinking abilities. As far as mathematics is concerned, the span is so large. Preparatory course, as a preparatory course, decentralizes some of the most important and basic knowledge in university compulsory courses, such as advanced mathematics, language and literature, computer science and other important subjects, to help students lay a good foundation step by step and make full preparations for university life and study. Therefore, this course is also called "basic course" and "bridge course" leading to universities.
Secondly, it is what people often call "cultural shock", and the biggest difficulty is language. Although most of our senior high school students have studied English in China for more than five or six years, and even scored 6 points in IELTS, when they first arrived abroad, they still listened to the "heavenly book" at first, constantly translating English into Chinese in their minds and turning Chinese into English when expressing it. We know that it takes a certain period of formal training and adaptation to really pass the language barrier before we can completely "get rid of" Chinese, think in English and even dream in English. Therefore, preparatory courses play a vital role in overcoming various difficulties caused by cultural and language differences for international students.