Adaptation to the United States Academic Culture for International Students

Adaptation to the United States Academic Culture for International Students PDF

Author: Mei Zhong

Publisher:

Published: 2018-12-31

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 9781516536238

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Adaptation to the United States Academic Culture for International Students provides readers with engaging articles that illuminate key differences between the culture of America and that of foreign nations, especially with regard to the higher education system. The collection empowers students to analyze and discuss cultural differences, develop skillsets that will help them thrive in the American educational system, and build their cross-cultural communication skills and competencies. The anthology is divided into three parts. In Part I, students are introduced to cultural concepts, key terms and ideas in human communication, and the main cultural differences international students are likely to discover when studying at a university in the United States. Part II focuses on cross-cultural adaptation, featuring articles about interacting with American professors, time management, effective study and attendance habits, and America's emphasis on academic integrity. The final part includes readings that examine nonverbal communication and the relationship between language and culture. Featuring invaluable content and scholarly insight, Adaptation to the United States Academic Culture for International Students is an ideal resource for students who've recently begun studies in the U.S., as well as university programs that seek to support the adaptation and overall experience of international students at their institution. Mei Zhong earned her Ph.D. from Kent State University. She is an associate professor in the School of Journalism and Media Studies at San Diego State University, where she also serves as the advisor for the international studies minor in the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts. Dr. Zhong has been involved in promoting international education for over 20 years and serves as a faculty coordinator for several educational exchange programs between SDSU and international universities. In addition, she has served as the president of the Association for Chinese Communication Studies, an affiliated organization of the National Communication Association.

International Studies (First Edition)

International Studies (First Edition) PDF

Author: Mei Zhong

Publisher: Cognella Academic Publishing

Published: 2019-03-22

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781516536245

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Adaptation to the United States Academic Culture for International Students provides readers with engaging articles that illuminate key differences between the culture of America and that of foreign nations, especially with regard to the higher education system. The collection empowers students to analyze and discuss cultural differences, develop skillsets that will help them thrive in the American educational system, and build their cross-cultural communication skills and competencies. The anthology is divided into three parts. In Part I, students are introduced to cultural concepts, key terms and ideas in human communication, and the main cultural differences international students are likely to discover when studying at a university in the United States. Part II focuses on cross-cultural adaptation, featuring articles about interacting with American professors, time management, effective study and attendance habits, and America's emphasis on academic integrity. The final part includes readings that examine nonverbal communication and the relationship between language and culture. Featuring invaluable content and scholarly insight, Adaptation to the United States Academic Culture for International Students is an ideal resource for students who've recently begun studies in the U.S., as well as university programs that seek to support the adaptation and overall experience of international students at their institution.

Second Language Learning

Second Language Learning PDF

Author: Virginia Gonzalez

Publisher: University Press of America

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 9780761827900

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Gonzalez' (TESL, U. of Cincinnati) text developed from her own experiences as an international graduate student in the U.S., and her interest in mentoring international students when she became a college professor. She examines the effects of social, cultural, cognitive, affective/emotional, and linguistic factors on the adaption process of interna.

Academic Cultural Mismatch and the Adaptation of Chinese International Students in the United States

Academic Cultural Mismatch and the Adaptation of Chinese International Students in the United States PDF

Author: Fei Xie

Publisher:

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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Though numerous studies have investigated the adaptation of Chinese international students in the U.S., few studies have talked about the influence of their experiencing a new academic culture. Following the Confucian tradition, Chinese academic culture canonizes education as the only approach to being a better person, and it can be achieved purely by an individual's effort. Together with the moral indication of performance and the highly competitive educational system, Chinese students become obligated to achieve academic success, sensitive to negative evaluation, and habituated to a unique learning culture that is characterized by silence. Their unique academic culture that is distinct from the Western educational tradition may contribute to many mismatch problems. Here we focused on learning culture mismatch and language mismatch. From two studies using archival data and self-collected data, we found that: a) Chinese international students have larger learning culture mismatch and language mismatch than Western International students and American students; b) They also have lower psychological wellbeing than students from Western origins; c) Learning culture mismatch and language mismatch make direct contributions to the lower psychological wellbeing of Chinese international students, and learning culture mismatch is also associated with lower academic performance; and d) social self-efficacy partly mediated the effect of learning culture mismatch and language mismatch, indicating the interactive nature of cross-cultural adaptation. We proposed that social-oriented academic motivation may be a possible source of academic culture mismatch and possible interventions to alleviate the mismatch problems were suggested.

Cultural Adaptation of International Students in the U.S.

Cultural Adaptation of International Students in the U.S. PDF

Author: Amandeep Gill

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13:

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The current study examined the ethnic differences in acculturative stress between non-European and European international students. In addition, the relationships between perceived discrimination (race/ethnicity-based and foreigner-based), social support from five sources (family in home country, co-nationals, other international students, American friends, and online ethnic support groups), and acculturative stress were examined. Data were collected from international students at California State University, Sacramento. Results revealed that race/ethnicity-based discrimination, foreigner-based discrimination, social support from family in home country, and social support from American friends were significant predictors of acculturative stress in international students.

International Student Adaptation to Academic Writing in Higher Education

International Student Adaptation to Academic Writing in Higher Education PDF

Author: Ly Thi Tran

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2014-07-08

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 1443863769

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Academic writing is a key practice in higher education and central to international students’ academic success in the country of education. International Student Adaptation to Academic Writing in Higher Education addresses the prominent forms of adaptation emerging from international students’ journey to mediate between disciplinary practices, cultural norms and personal desires in meaning making. It introduces new concepts that present different patterns of international student adaptation including surface adaptation, committed adaptation, reverse adaptation and hybrid adaptation. Drawing on these concepts of adaptation, this book provides readers with new and deeper insights into the complex nature of international students’ adjustment to host institutions. It works through many unresolved issues related to cross-border students’ intellectual, cultural, linguistic and personal negotiations. This book presents a trans-disciplinary framework for conceptualising international students’ and lecturers’ practices within the institutional structure. This framework has been developed by drawing on a modified version of Lillis’ heuristic of talk around text and positioning theory. The framework enables an exploration of not only the reasons underpinning international students’ specific ways of meaning making, but also their potential choices in constructing knowledge. A distinctive contribution of the book is the development of a dialogical pedagogic model for mutual adaptation between international students and academics rather than the onus being on exclusive adaptation from the students. Existing research on international education indicates the significance of reciprocal adaptation between international students and academics. Yet very little has been done to conceptualise what mutual adaptation means and what is involved in this process. The dialogical model introduced in this book offers concrete steps towards developing reciprocal adaptation of international students and academics within the overarching institutional realities of the university. It can be used as a tool to enhance the education of international students in this increasingly internationalised environment. This book is a significant contribution to the field of international education. It takes a critical stance on contemporary views of globally mobile students. The insights into international students’ voices, hidden intentions and their potential choices in meaning making presented in this book will attract dialogues about the critical issues related to inclusive practices, internationalised curriculum and institutional responses to the diverse needs of international students.

Adjustment to a New Education System

Adjustment to a New Education System PDF

Author: Cungang Liu

Publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing

Published: 2010-06

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 9783838367873

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International students come to the United States with different cultural, social, and linguistic backgrounds. The disparity between the American culture and the foreign student s culture is large enough to cause serious adaptation problems. This book investigated the academic, personal, and social adjustment problems encountered by Chinese students attending different types of universities in the United States of America. Differences among students by campus were examined by age, length of stay, marital status, gender, financial situation, language proficiency, and academic achievement. The adjustment problems faced by Chinese students arel also encounted by international students from other countries. The identification and analysis of these adjustment problems will help international students alleviate their culture shock and shorten their adaptation process

Understanding International Students' Cultural Adaptation in Acculturation Framework

Understanding International Students' Cultural Adaptation in Acculturation Framework PDF

Author: Ulziimaa Chimed-Ochir

Publisher:

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 178

ISBN-13:

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The number of international students studying in the United States has reached unprecedented levels over recent years. While the process of acculturation has been studied over this time, we argue that there has been a lack of a systematic approach that considers the impacts of the ecological context on cultural adaptation. This study examined cultural adaptation as an outcome of the acculturation process, which is impacted by the ecological context. We studied international students from multiple countries who were studying at Cornell University, which is located in the Northeastern United States. This study surveyed international students using an online questionnaire and utilized a stepwise multiple regression analysis and a principal component analysis to test our hypotheses regarding cultural distance, individual characteristics, familial context, and institutional and societal context in regard to their influence on students' ability to adapt. We hypothesized that international students who perceived that there was a large distance between their home and host (the U.S.) country culture, a large distance between personal ideal culture and the host culture, and small distance between personal ideal culture and home culture would be less likely to adapt. Additionally, we predicted that students who were motivated to adapt, resilient, and proficient in English would also be more likely to adapt successfully. We also hypothesized that stable early family life, strong ties to family and friends in their home country, and perception of host institution and society as inclusive or exclusive of internationals would influence their adaptation. We found that students who are highly motivated to adapt to the US culture and who perceived their English skills as proficient are better able to adapt to the new culture. Also, those who had a stable early family life and those who perceived the host institution and general society as inclusive of international students were more likely to adapt to the U.S. culture. However, we did not find that resilience, strong ties to family or friends residing in the home country or perceived cultural distance were likely to lead to successful adaptation.

International Students

International Students PDF

Author: Stefanie Theresia Baier

Publisher:

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 134

ISBN-13:

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Annually thousands of international students attend US colleges and universities which requires them to adjust to a new environment, often accompanied by a culture shock experience. This study analyzes to what degree cultural background, gender differences, language proficiency, self-confidence/self-efficacy, and social support networks impact the adjustment process of international students to the US culture. Forty-five international students attending a Michigan community college were surveyed and interviewed to assess the relationship among self-confidence/self-efficacy, cultural background, gender and social support networks. Western students reported more positive cultural adjustment (M=29.0) than non-western students (M=29.0). Males adjusted better (M=29.4) than their female peers (M=25.4). A significant positive correlation was found between cultural adjustment and the experience of culture shock symptoms. English usage of English as a primary language in the students' home countries accounted for a stronger social support network. These results have implications for college and university personnel in working with international students.