International students’ specific adjustment issues

Adjustment issues relating to international students can be categorized into three separate, but overlapping categories: linguistic, academic, and

sociocultural. Linguistic and academic challenges will be discussed in the next sections. Although the sociocultural issues faced by international students is a valid and fruitful line of enquiry (e.g. Kudo, Volet, & Whitsed, 2018), it is

beyond the scope of this thesis. It is worth noting that the majority of studies that have been conducted on international students have involved Chinese students, which is not surprising as mentioned previously Chinese students

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account for the majority of international students in Anglo-Western universities ("Project Atlas 2018: Infographics", n.d.).

One point to bear in mind is that I do not take a deficit view of international students. Research has confirmed that international students are equal to home students in tests of non-linguistic verbal reasoning (e.g. Trenkic & Warmington, 2018). The issues that international students face, especially those from countries that do not have a shared history and culture (e.g. the UK and France), generally stem from linguistic and cultural differences. Overall, research has found that over time and after the initial challenges of adapting to a new culture are overcome, most international students are able to adjust to their new educational and social environment (McMahon, 2018).

2.2.5.1Linguistic issues

Numerous studies have confirmed that the language proficiency of

international students plays a key role in academic achievement (Daller & Phelan, 2013; Iannelli & Huang, 2014; Li et al., 2010; McMahon, 2018; Ramachandran, 2011; Trenkic & Warmington, 2018; Wang, 2018; Yu &

Moskal, 2018). Specifically, issues with language proficiency have been found to affect reading comprehension (Qian, 2002), academic writing (Trenkic & Warmington, 2018), understanding lectures, classroom activities such as presentations (Ramachandran, 2011) and both oral and written feedback (Smith & Khawaja, 2011). In an interview study of Asian and Middle Eastern postgraduate students in a UK university, McMahon’s (2018) participants overwhelmingly explained that language was one the of their main causes of concern. The participants in McMahon’s study “struggled with communication” (p. 39), felt “disadvantaged having to operate in their second language” (p. 39), “felt foolish” (p. 39) using English inside and outside of class, and had to rely on translation tools when they were conducting coursework. All of the students felt unhappy with their current abilities in English language, although they did mention that they slowly gained in confidence as their language skills improved over time.

Chinese students have been found to be less successful academically than home students and other international students, with language difficulties playing a pivotal role (Li et al., 2010; Trenkic & Warmington, 2018; Wang, 2018). In a recent study at a UK university, Trenkic and Warmington (2018) compared the English language proficiency and overall achievement of 63 Chinese and 64 British master’s students at the beginning of the first semester and eight months later. Trenkic and Warmington (2018) took measurements of vocabulary knowledge, reading accuracy and comprehension, summary

writing, spelling accuracy, and sentence processing. Furthermore, academic achievement was measured using end of course grades. The results of the study highlighted the gulf between native and non-native speakers of English

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as the Chinese group were weaker on all language measures. This difference between the home and international students remained stable over the eight months, meaning the international students did not catch up in any of the measures. Additionally, for Chinese students, over half of the variance in end of course grades could be explained by language proficiency, while no

correlations were found between home students’ achievement and language proficiency. Trenkic and Warmington (2018) posit that there is a proficiency level at which there is no longer a correlation between linguistic proficiency and academic achievement, and that the students in the study had not yet reached that level, even after eight months of study at a UK university. What is also interesting is that the students in Trenkic and Warmington’s study (2018) had met the English language requirements to enter the course directly. The discrepancy between English language tests such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the language required for successful tertiary education is thus highlighted in Trenkic and Warmington’s (2018) study.

The “relatively poor English writing ability” (Li et al., 2010, p. 402) of Chinese students may be explained by the fact that English language training in China tends to focus on the passing of IELTS or TOEFL examinations which “do not help them to resolve practical issues that arise in a classroom environment” (Ramachandran, 2011, p. 204). Furthermore, Chinese Mandarin and English languages differ in many ways. They belong to two unrelated language families and differ greatly in terms of phonology, syntax, grammar, and there is a lack of cognates which students can use (Trenkic & Warmington, 2018). In summary, a lack of adequate preparation in the kind of language used at Anglophone universities, and the substantial differences between English and Chinese may account for the linguistic difficulties Chinese students face. As well as language difficulties, international students face other academic challenges which will be discussed in the next section.

2.2.5.2Academic issues

International students are likely to experience a different style of education compared to what they experienced in their home country and must adapt to new methods of teaching and learning (Young & Schartner, 2014). Although international students have been found to be generally satisfied with their academic experience (Glass & Westmont, 2014), they gain fewer first and upper-second class honours degrees than home students (Morrison, Merrick, Higgs, & Le Métais, 2005), and part of this shortfall can be explained by academic adjustment issues. In McMahon’s (2018) study, his participants quickly learnt that they needed to “bridge the gap” (p. 41) between the academic practices they were used to and the academic practices of a UK university. McMahon’s (2018) participants mentioned that they needed to

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“catch up with knowledge and skills” (p. 41). Furthermore, they also mentioned that they were initially unsure of how they might bridge the gap in such

knowledge.

Academic adjustment can be particularly challenging for students from China and other Confucian heritage culture countries. As mentioned in previous sections, the majority of research on international students concerns Chinese students, which is the most populous Confucian country. Figure 2.5 gives an overview of learning in Confucian heritage cultures.

Figure 2.5: Learning in Confucian heritage cultures (Jin & Cortazzi, 2006) The learning style in much of South East Asia as shown in Figure 2.5 and the contrast with learning approaches in UK universities is well documented. In a study at a UK university by Wang (2018), six postgraduate Chinese students and six British teachers were interviewed over a period of seven months. The teachers in the study stated that the Chinese students in their classes tended to be good active listeners, but also reticent and did not ask questions so frequently. The students in the study mentioned that they tended not to ask questions, especially of the teacher, to avoid challenging the teachers’ opinions, and as Jin and Cortazzi (2006) highlighted, questioning teachers may be interpreted by Chinese students as not showing respect to the teacher. Furthermore, Wang (2018) explained that due to the culture of rote learning and memorization of texts, the students were less likely to question knowledge and took information from textbooks and tutors as unquestionable truths. Additionally, the reticence of students was a way of maintaining

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harmony in the classroom: “the student interviewees described that they tried to control their emotions, avoid conflict, and maintain inner harmony with their teachers and peers” (p. 16).

Another adjustment issue may stem from the amount of independent study that is expected in a UK university. Students in Wang’s (2018) study

mentioned that they felt stressed at the perceived lack of explicit instructions and support from their tutors. Similar findings were found by Gu and Maley (2008) in a study of undergraduate Chinese students in the UK. The students in Gu and Maley’s (2008) study stated that they felt the teaching style in the UK was not systematic, often unclear, and that teachers were not strict enough. Furthermore, they tended not to like group discussion work in seminars and thought that is was not challenging enough, too casual and overall a waste of time, which is summarised by Ramachandran (2011) who stated, “as they (Chinese students) are more familiar with teacher-led learning paradigms, they fail to see any benefits emerging from self-study components” (p. 207).

In summary, it is apparent that international students, especially those from China, encounter numerous linguistic and academic challenges when they come to study in the UK. To counter these challenges, UK universities and other Anglo-Western universities offer EAP courses that help international students to adjust academically. These courses will be examined in the next sections.