Overgeneralised and over here 2

I am, of course, sorry to hear that Ayako Yoshino feels that some universities and individuals are not sufficiently sensitive to "foreign" students and their countries of origin. I am surprised, however, that she herself is not more sensitive to the irony of her criticism of ill-informed generalisation about "eastern Asian students" being set against her own sweeping and ill-informed generalisations about the practice of British universities. Perhaps she has been unfortunate in not receiving support for academic writing, or guidance designed specifically for those from different cultural backgrounds by members of university staff with experience and expertise in this area.

That is a pity. It does not, however, excuse the use of anecdote as the basis for extrapolations that do less than justice to the many British universities that continue to make great strides in the provision of well-informed and specialist support for students from outside the UK.

Mary Hayden
Bath University