The number of foreign students enrolling in tertiary courses in China is on the rise, however so too is the number of those failing subjects and being forced to repeat courses and exams.

Henri Cheng, a 23-year-old French student came to China with dreams of becoming a doctor, but after five years majoring in traditional Chinese medicine, he now realizes that his dream is far from becoming true.

While some of Cheng's former classmates are about to graduate, he has been left behind.

"I am repeating the second year," Cheng told the Global Times, "once again."

Repeating, or as some universities call it "probation" is quite common among foreign students in China.

Fu Yanling, dean of the International School at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, told the Global Times that many foreign students fail to graduate when they originally had planned to.

"At least 10 percent of the students will repeat a year or two during their study," Fu said. "Most are students in the second and third year."

Saeng Chai, a 24-year-old student from Thailand is studying acupuncture. Chai told the Global Times that when he moved from first to second year, half of his 50 classmates had to repeat.

Chinese medicine may be one of the most difficult majors for foreign students to pass, according to Fu, due to its deep roots in Chinese culture, which also has to be learnt by students.

Despite the difficulties, enrollments are on the rise. Last year saw 230,000 foreign students head to China to study, 6,000 more than 2008.

Tsinghua University is tackling the problem of failing foreigners by offering one year probation for those who don't make their grades. If failing probation, students are unable to continue.

"Each year, over 10 students among around 300 on probation will fail and leave," said Wu Yunxin, director of the foreign students administration at Tsinghua University.

"Most students, except visiting students who study only Chinese, are mixed with Chinese in most of the classes," Wu added. "They need to spend much more time if they want to reach the average level of the class."

"We have to study twice harder than the Chinese students to keep up with their studies," 23-year-old Ugandan Su Lang, told the Global Times.

Su is in her third year studying international trade at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. She is on a university scholarship and one of the best students in her class, but studying is never easy for her.

Speaking fluent Chinese, Su also has no problem socializing with her peers, but when sitting in class with Chinese students, she feels at a loss.

"The language we study every day is not the same that the teachers speak in class," she explained.

Usually, foreign students will have one or two years' language study before moving into their major, with their Chinese required to reach level six of HSK, the Chinese proficiency test. According to some faculty members, the language barrier is just one obstacle.

"They [some of the foreign students] didn't study as much mathematics, physics and chemistry in high school like Chinese students did", Wu commented, "which makes it extremely difficult for students in science majors."

At Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), where foreigners mostly major in Chinese culture and economics, students seem to be in an easier situation, with less than 8 percent of repeating each year.

Apart from the choice of majors, the high standard of enrolling students is the reason students perform better at the school, explained Li Bing, director of BFSU's foreign student administration.

He added that one of the reason students may be failing elsewhere, is the variance in standards. "Chinese students are enrolled from the national college examination, their level is almost the same. Foreign students come with different backgrounds. Less than 10 percent of them are scholarship students, with the rest paying high prices to study here."

In Li's understanding, repeating should not be seen as an embarrassment, rather, an option.

"It is a choice for students who are lagging behind," he said. "It offers them a chance to catch up with their courses and to retake the exams that they failed, otherwise they may fail to graduate when the time comes."

"I myself chose to repeat," commented Cody Fuiten a Canadian student studying for a bachelor's degree in teaching at Beijing Normal University. "I didn't want to miss any information and I didn't want to drop out."

Like most students, Fuiten came to China to study as it relatively cheap, but the sudden cultural clash and heavy homework load left him without time to breathe.

Now in his second year, Fuiten said his initial shock has subsided and he is enjoy-ing his university life and hopes to become a teacher after graduation.