Acculturation of international students in a non–first-tier city in China

Abstract

Although there have been abundant studies on the acculturation of immigrants in developed countries, such as Russia and the United States, research on acculturation in China has been relatively rare and mainly focuses on migrant workers in metropolitan cities. This study conducted a six-month investigation of the acculturation of 133 international students in Wuhan, a non–first-tier city and the largest city in central China, using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Moreover, this study explored six major factors in the acculturation process, including ethnic identity, perceived attitude, social support, social interaction, daily communication, and future plans. It was found that most of the international students in Wuhan could acculturate well, tended to adopt an integration strategy in their acculturation process, and all the factors under investigation, except social interaction, exerted significant influence in the process. Different measures have been proposed to facilitate the acculturation process of international students in China. This study aimed to provide a reference for future research on international students’ acculturation strategies and results and to formulate relevant policies in facilitating the acculturation process in some universities.