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Volume 3,Issue 7

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26 August 2025

Divergence and Convergence of Speech Education between China and the United States from the Perspective of University General Education

Ruya Niu* Yongkang Zhao1
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1 Faculty of Foreign Languages, Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics, Zhengzhou 450046, Henan, China
EIR 2025 , 3(7), 52–59; https://doi.org/10.18063/EIR.v3i7.785
© 2025 by the Author. Licensee Whioce Publishing, Singapore. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Marked disparities exist between China and the United States in both the connotation and extension of speech education. From the perspective of university general education, an in-depth examination of the origins of divergence, the variations in practice, and the pathways toward integration holds both theoretical and practical significance. The fundamental sources of divergence lie in distinct cultural genes, collectivism versus individualism; political traditions, literary remonstration versus civic debate; and educational philosophies, moral orientation versus pragmatism. These underlying contrasts have resulted in systematic differences across multiple dimensions, including educational philosophy and objectives, instructional content and models, and assessment systems and standards. By advancing the transition from skill transmission to literacy integration, pursuing a balance between moral emotion and rational argumentation, and constructing a process-oriented and multidimensional evaluation framework, this study explores an innovative developmental pathway grounded in cultural self-awareness and cross-cultural integration. The ultimate goal is to establish a speech education system that is both rooted in indigenous cultural spirit and oriented toward global vision and future development, thereby promoting the continuous innovation and reform of university general education.

Keywords
China-United States comparison
General education
Speech education
Rhetorical education
Funding
This paper is a phased research outcome of the 2025 Graduate Education Quality Enhancement Project of Zhengzhou Aeronautic University: Graduate Workstation (Project No.: 2025YJSJD9), and the Henan Provincial Philosophy and Social Science “Education-Strengthening Province” Project (Project No.: 2025JYQS1052).
References

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