Teaching International Students In Western Universities

Abstract

In this systematic literature review, reports of international students, faculty members, and researchers indicate that international students have difficulty with the reading, writing, listening, and speaking demands of their English-mediated academic contexts, and that many host-institutions are not equipped to effectively accommodate their linguistic needs. A significant number of the studies reviewed also report that the difference between international students’ previous educational experiences and typical Western classroom practices, dynamics, and expectations can be sources of confusion and anxiety. Additionally, salient trends indicate that linguistic and cultural difficulties may persist throughout the entire course of study, that some instructors hold deficit views of international students, and that international and domestic students have limited interactions. Host-institutions that fail to adequately meet the unique needs of this population have a moral obligation to take each of these issues into consideration if they are going to continue to take international students’ tuition dollars.