I have appreciated this topic in the forum, and just wanted to add that a prestigious learning centre here in Australia says that in the ELICOS classes here, the over-riding first difficulty in teaching English to those who come to Australia for English language training before entering University here is to overcome the "learn it by rote" mentality.

It is true that students from most of Asia learn how to learn, not how to think, and this places them at a severe disadvantage when placed in the Australian academic process, which requires critical thinking processes for academic achievement. I am sure this would also be true of the experience of most western trained countries and disciplines.