International Students’ Daily Negotiations in Language, Culture, and Identity in Canadian Higher Education

Abstract

Globalization has changed the landscape for higher education, and many students decide to improve their educational qualifications outside their home countries. As a result, Canadian higher education has witnessed an increasing number of international students, and the People’s Republic of China has been the main source country (Canadian Bureau for International Education, Facts and Figures: Canada’s performance and potential in international education. Retrieved from http://cbie.ca/media/facts-and-figures/, 2018). Therefore, the current demographic context calls for a further investigation of Chinese international students’ experiences while studying abroad. Many research studies have investigated different aspects of international student experiences (Sovic, Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education, 6(3), 145–158, 2008; Zhai, Studying international students: Adjustment issues and social support. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov.proxy1.lib.uwo.ca/fulltext/ED474481.pdf, 2002; Zhang & Zhou, Canadian and International Education/Education canadienne et international, 39(3), 43–58, 2010), but little is known about student perspectives. This chapter focuses on Chinese international students’ lived experiences in one Canadian institution using a narrative inquiry into student experiences from a sociocultural perspective, listening to students’ stories, recognizing their voices, and understanding their choices and practices in order to reconsider what seems familiar and to reveal some ordinary yet “sophisticated” stories. Suggestions are made to help educators and administrators to further support international students in Canadian higher education.