I observed that the actual instruction time per week was about the same. The difference was the way the school accommodated students to help them study and do homework. In many suburban and rural areas in the US where each student can have some quiet space to work at home, the difference between the systems is not significant. But in systems where students either cannot or do not have quiet time and space to work at home, perhaps schools can do more in providing time and place to study. Next issue, look for something I learned about teaching English while I was in China.
Many English nouns end in -ess.
Most often such words have had a suffix added to them. It is most often added to adjectives. Actually modern English is such that we can add -ness to just about any adjective to express a thought. It may not always be standard English, but the meaning is understood. For example, American Comedian Bill Cosby a number of years ago had a comedy album entitled Wonderfulness.