Chinese International Students Research Articles

음악대학원 중국인 박사과정 유학생 지도 경험에 관한 자문화기술지

Objectives In this study, we examine what kind of environment the graduate professors who directly affect the research capabilities and performance of graduate students are in, what they experience, and how they cope with problem situations as a surge of Chinese international students enters the university scene.
 Methods In order to achieve this objective, I used my own experience as a researcher and university vocal music educator to write this autoethnography, using data from memory, research journals, and documentation.
 Results There were four significant results found. First, the biggest difficulty I felt while teaching Chinese PhD students was that there were significant differences in their levels, both between themselves and between non-foreign students. To solve this problem, I modified various standards that I expected from PhD students and considered many additional details in the preparation and management of the class. Second, I had ambivalent feelings about helping the students with their lives outside of the classroom. There were positive aspects, but also hardships and dilemmas that would not be present in a typical academic setting. Third, the Chinese PhD students actively studied based on their excellent practical skills, but reported difficulties with the thesis. I put more effort into giving them practical help to solve this issue. Fourth, my relationships with them were satisfying and rewarding. But when they graduated, I was disappointed that my relationships with them were severed and I could not continue to communicate with them.
 Conclusions Based on these results, I suggest follow-up studies by university educators on the experience of teaching Chinese PhD students, additional studies on how to approach theses with foreign international students, and policy research on the problems and experiences that the university educators faced.

Pull factors in choosing a higher education study abroad destination after the massive global immobility: A re-examination from Chinese perspectives

Chinese international students compose the largest group of full-tuition-paying students globally and are important to hosting destinations both culturally and financially. However, the obstructed international mobility caused by COVID-19 has changed their international applications. As the world gradually resumes its previous mobility level, it is important to comprehend what pull factors can effectively attract students for marketing purposes. This quantitative research re-examines the established pull factors considered and valued by prospective Chinese international students and their parents and discovered that (1) a combination of five to six factors can be sufficient for Chinese students to decide on an overseas destination, (2) cost, global rankings, and Chinese employment prospects have become the most substantial factors in destination choices, (3) opportunities for immigration and overseas employment are no longer significant, and (4) students and parents view international education with different interpretations. The marketing implications are discussed.

Challenges and Resilience of First-Year Chinese International Students on Academic Probation

A substantial percentage of international students are placed on academic probation each year. This study explored the challenges and resilience characteristics of Chinese international students placed on academic probation in their first year of college. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine probationary Chinese international students, and the data were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. The results indicated that challenges with daily routine, reduced adult supervision, inadequate academic preparation, and limited participation in the application process were the main factors that contributed to their academic probation. Proactivity, independence, and flexible thinking were important resilience characteristics that may have helped students cope positively with stresses relating to academic probation. Targeted institutional support could be strengthened. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Negotiating the temporal and spatial complexities: Chinese international students’ learning experience at home during the COVID-19

ABSTRACT Many Chinese international students had to or chose to leave their host universities, receiving online international higher education (HE) at ‘homes’ during the COVID-19. Inspired by the ‘glonacal’ mode of thought, this qualitative study interviewed 16 Chinese international students at ‘homes’ to explore the potential complexities of spatiality and temporality regarding their online international HE experiences during COVID-19. Physically separating from host universities, our participants lost the sense of belongingness to the campus and felt disconnected with their academic communities. Their stories revealed a different ‘money’ value between gaining and losing regarding online international HE experiences at ‘homes’, and the disadvantages they experienced at host countries/universities. Our participants experienced temporal flexibility, temporal conflicts and temporal asymmetry simultaneously. Such spatial and temporal complexities intertwined with each other, making international student experience (ISE) during the COVID-19 unique. This article contributes to understanding of ISE and internationalisation of HE for a post-pandemic era.

Plurilingual Chinese learners of French Lx: agentic assembling of semiotic resources for learning

Abstract This paper reports an interview study with Chinese international students in an Anglophone university in Quebec, Canada, exploring their use of language and cross-language learning strategies to support their learning of French Lx (third language and beyond). Drawing on plurilingualism, Dynamic Model of Multilingualism, and language learning strategies, this article examines how Chinese learners made dynamic, creative, and, at times, unexpected links among Chinese and other additional languages and mobilized previous learning and professional experience to strategically enhance their French language learning. As a logographic language, Chinese is typologically distant from Latin-based languages. The focal participants, however, generated multilingual, multidirectional, and multimodal connections among the languages they knew. Their agentic assemblage of communicative repertoires for language learning contests the abyssal thinking behind the deficit-oriented label of “allophones” (those whose mother tongue is neither French nor English) that is used widely in the country. The study urges teachers and researchers to rethink language pedagogies that respond to and take full advantage of these student-directed strategies for better learning. Particularly, the paper argues for greater attention to students of non-alphabetic language backgrounds to recognize and co-learn with them about these self-initiated plurilingual strategies in order to build on their metalinguistic resources and create equitable classroom spaces for more effective teaching and learning.

Understanding Chinese international students’ perception of cultural conflicts in Canada: Through the case of cannabis use

The legalization of recreational cannabis consumption in Canada created a cultural conflict for international students from China, where the use of cannabis is heavily criminalized and deemed immoral. This conceptual paper theorizes this cultural conflict experienced by Chinese international students in Canada by applying three theories from macro to micro levels. Neoliberalism is first used to understand how this cultural conflict exposes collisions between the neoliberal West and the rising economic power of China as illustrated through Chinese students studying in Canada. Next, acculturation theory focuses on these students’ cultural transition and provides further insight into potential strategies for their handling of specific cultural conflicts such as cannabis use. Lastly, Cloninger’s theory of substance use is adopted to explore Chinese international students’ individual reasoning about cannabis use, particularly how they make decisions based on evaluations of various conditions. Building upon the above analyses, an integrated conceptual model is further formed to help us understand Chinese students’ potential perception of cannabis use in Canada. This conceptual framework provides an important theoretical and conceptual base for future research and practice, from which to further explore cannabis use in the context of cultural transition of different immigrant and migrant groups.

Chinese International Students Studying Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the UK

As the number of Chinese international students studying abroad continues to rise, they often encounter difficulties in adjusting to college life in a foreign country. These challenges can include difficulties in adapting to new environments, cultural differences, feelings of isolation due to being away from their parents, and academic pressures. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, negative media coverage and social stigmatization of Asians, such as the use of terms like “Chinese virus,” have led to increased discrimination against Asians, particularly Chinese international students, which has had a significant impact on their mental health. To explore these issues further, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews with five Chinese international students studying in the UK, examining the challenges and concerns they faced before and after the pandemic and how they coped with them.

Telecollaboration Tool Preferences for Online Intercultural Learning in Higher Education: Perspectives of Chinese International Students

Communication and learning across cultures is always a challenge during the development of educational internationalization. Higher education institutions worldwide are progressively under pressure to support and embrace multicultural student bodies and intercultural exchange. In recent years, some overseas universities have conducted opportunities for online pre-communication and interaction with local students and staff via telecollaboration tools for their incoming international students. It seems that telecollaboration can positively develop students’ multicultural communication skills based on appropriate online communication tools. However, we think it is important to consider students’ cultural contexts and individual preferences and needs to choose a suitable telecollaboration tool for online intercultural learning. This study explored Chinese international students’ (one of the largest mobile student groups worldwide at the tertiary level) uses and opinions regarding what online communication tool would be the most appropriate telecollaboration tool to support effective online intercultural learning. These participants’ uses for and views regarding the online telecollaboration tools were gathered through a mixed-method analysis of an online questionnaire’s responses and a focus group’s interview responses with a semi-structured questionnaire. The results indicated that although online communication tools, such as email and video chatting, were convenient for communicating and sharing information with others, these tools cannot entirely satisfy participants’ demands for an effective online intercultural learning experience. The results revealed that virtual environments have the features of meeting participants’ preferences for the desired telecollaboration tool and have a positive potential to deliver an effective online intercultural learning environment.

The Influence of Perceived Risks and Behavioral Intention: The Case of Chinese International Students

With the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic, health risks are common, while trepidation over physical harm risks during travel has emerged, notably anti-Asian violence. Tourists tend to avoid traveling, and their perceived risks related to these harms may hinder their travel decision-making. This research aims to explore the inter-relationships among destination image, perceived risk perceptions, and behavioral intention of Chinese international students visiting San Francisco. Drawing from 252 survey responses, findings highlighted that perceived risk did not affect destination image in general; however, the levels of student traveller’s perceived risk influence the destination image’s relationship to behavioral intentions. The group with low perceived risk relies more on their affective image to determine their behavioral intention. Furthermore, this study validated that affective image could serve as the antecedent to cognitive image despite being firmly held as the cognitive image’s consequence. Managerial implications were provided for destination marketers in the post-pandemic era.

More Happiness or Less Comparison? Unpacking Associations Between Life Satisfaction, Negative Comparison and Mobile Social Networking Use Among Sojourning Students

Although the swift proliferation of mobile technology has attracted considerable scholarly attention during the past few decades, relatively few studies have been devoted specifically to the potential influence of life satisfaction on mobile social media engagement among sojourning students. To address this research gap, the current study proposed a conceptual model to empirically explore how overall life satisfaction was associated with social comparison, fear of missing out and mobile social networking engagement. In a web-based survey, a total of 335 Chinese international students aged between 18 and 32 years old completed a battery of online questionnaires. Utilizing structural equation modeling, the results demonstrated that overall life satisfaction was negatively associated with users’ mobile social media use intensity. Additionally, overall life satisfaction positively and significantly predicted both fear of missing out and negative social comparison. Furthermore, fear of missing out and negative social comparison could conceivably mediate the relationships between overall life satisfaction and mobile social media engagement. Therefore, the current article study may shed light on new directions for deeper understanding the underlying psychological mechanisms of mobile technology communication among sojourners and also of the comparatively new phenomenon of fear of missing out and negative comparison in contemporary mobile-saturated society.

재한 중국인 유학생의 주체성이 대학생활적응에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between agency, acculturative stress, adaptation to college and Korean language proficiency among Chinese international students. For this study, online survey was conducted on 263 Chinese international students. The main results are as follows. First, agency directly affects adaptation to college. Second, acculturative stress partially mediated the relationship between agency and adaptation to college. Third, Korean language proficiency moderated the mediating effect of acculturative stress in the relationship between agency and adaptation to college. Based on the results, related suggestions were proposed to help Chinese international students better adapt to their college life in Korea.

Cross-cultural adaptation of Chinese international students: Effects of distant and close support-seeking.

Social support-seeking is considered to be an effective way for international students to cope with their acculturative stress and contribute to cross-cultural adaptation. In addition to support from people in the host country (close support), the ease of online communication now allows international students to receive additional support from people back in their home country (distant support). However, little research has investigated whether distant support works as effectively as close support. In two studies, we examined the differential effect of distant and close support-seeking on the psychological adaptation of Chinese international students in the host country and how acculturation orientations relate to the use of these two types of support. Chinese international students in Japan (Study 1; N = 172) and the United States (Study 2; N = 118) completed an online survey that assessed participants' host/home culture orientation, distant emotional/instrumental support-seeking, close emotional/instrumental support-seeking, and psychological adaptation. Results showed that distant emotional support-seeking negatively predicted psychological adaptation in the host country. Nevertheless, distant emotional support-seeking alleviated feelings of loneliness in Chinese international students as close emotional support-seeking did (Study 2). Also, the results showed that international students with higher home-culture orientation sought more distant support, whereas those with higher host-culture orientation sought more close support. Further, Chinese-culture orientation increased distant emotional support-seeking, decreasing psychological adaptation as well as loneliness. These findings highlight the importance of considering the source and types of support when discussing the implications of social support for the cross-cultural adaptation of international students.

Translanguaging and Spatial Repertoire: Academic Information Literacies of Multilingual International Doctoral Students

This paper presents a case study of the academic information literacy practices of two Chinese international doctoral students in the United States, drawing on the theoretical concepts of translanguaging and spatial repertoire. This investigation is situated within and against the deficit discourses surrounding the information literacy of international students, especially those who use English as a second language in western English-dominated academia. Using phenomenological interviewing, weekly information-seeking diaries, and focus group data, the study shows that these two students gather online information in multiple information ecosystems through the mobilization of multiple languages and diverse spatial repertoires. The results highlight the role of situated assemblages of linguistic, semiotic, and multimodal resources for successful information seeking and call for an expanded conceptualization of information literacy for multilingual international students. This paper concludes with a discussion on the importance of adopting an asset-based perspective when examining the information literacy of these students and provides recommendations for faculties, librarians, and research supervisors to consider when designing information literacy education for multilingual international doctoral students.

How do Japanese and Chinese view each other? Understanding the meaning of low‐context culture in intercultural communication

AbstractAlthough Easterners are assumed to have a high‐context culture, Yamashina found that Japanese believe the Chinese to engage in a low‐context cultural communication style. We interpreted her results as follows: the Chinese whom Japanese know are likely to engage in intercultural communication that is used in low‐context cultural situations (code‐switching). To test this interpretation, we used a 17‐item online questionnaire on context dependency for participants (Japanese university students, Chinese university students, and Chinese international students living and studying in Japan) to score the self, average Japanese, and average Chinese. Hence, the design was 3 (culture) by 3 (object). The results showed that both Japanese and Chinese students rated people in their counterpart countries as having a low‐context communication style, supporting our interpretation. However, this effect was not evident among Chinese international students. These results confirmed that low‐context cultural situations may arise when people engage in intercultural communication.

The Invisibility of Chinese International High School Students: Perceived Support and Wellness during a Pandemic

Asian youth in the US had the highest self-reports of poorer cognitive and emotional health during the COVID-19 pandemic. With Chinese international high school students comprising one of the top three sending countries in the US, understanding the offerings and utilization of school support during the pandemic is less known. This qualitative study addresses Chinese international high school student perspectives of the identified in- and out-of-school supports, along with in depth interviews to understand how these supports are being leveraged. Results indicate a range of identified offerings in- and out-of-schools–with social networks being the largest source of connectivity. Re-examination of current structures, in-school support, and communication with international students and families are needed. Recommendations include private schools leveraging cultural assets to provide greater connections between students and schools.

Psychosocial effects of self-disclosure among Chinese international students in Japan

This study examined the effects of four types of self-disclosure on the life satisfaction of Chinese international students studying in Japan. Using an online survey, the study found that offline self-disclosure predicted life satisfaction both directly and indirectly, mediated by received social support and perceived social support, while the direct effect of online self-disclosure was not significant. All four types of self-disclosures predicted received social support, while the social support obtained from host nationals online did not affect perceived support. The analysis also revealed that the paths were moderated by the length of residence in Japan. Only online self-disclosure positively and directly predicted life satisfaction for newcomers, while only offline self-disclosure did for those who had stayed longer. Offline received social support was perceived as helpful for both groups, while that of online predicted perceived social support only for newcomers. Theoretical implications and limitations were discussed.

Home culture and its effects on English as a lingua franca communication: Voices from Chinese students at a United Kingdom university.

In academic research on intercultural communication (IC), students' perceptions and experiences regarding English as a lingua franca (ELF) have been central to the discussion because they form the basis for English teaching policies and practices in multilingual and multicultural environments. Substantial theoretical research on ELF has called for a paradigm shift from emphasizing the over-simplistic correlation between language and Anglophone cultures to recognizing the legitimacy of non-native English learners' home culture in English teaching pedagogy. Nonetheless, little empirical research has been conducted to examine how ELF speakers understand their home culture in ELF communications. Relatively fewer studies have investigated to what extent ELF users' perceptions of home culture influence their IC practices. To address these gaps, this study aims to explore Chinese international students in a liberal arts university in the United Kingdom and their understanding of Chinese culture in authentic ELF interactions. In addition, the perceived effects of Chinese culture on students' IC were explored in great depth. This study adopts a mixed-method approach, including a student questionnaire (N = 200) and follow-up semi-structured interviews (N = 10). Following descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of the obtained data, the findings revealed that most participants lacked a thorough understanding of their home culture, while they considered home culture playing a significant role in ELF communications. The contribution of this study builds on work in English users' awareness of home culture in IC to identify the significance of enabling the presence of English learners' home culture in English language teaching (ELT) classrooms.

Understanding Intercultural Experiences of Chinese Graduate Students at U.S. Universities: Analysis of Cross-Cultural Dimensions

The purpose of this study was to analyze the experience of international graduate Chinese students in the U.S. The methodology included a focus group (n=8) and personal interviews (n=8) conducted at a southeastern university. This study revealed how international Chinese students dealt with differences in expectations for the classroom environment, excellence in schoolwork, and nonverbal norms during their time studying in the U.S. Gender theory and cross-cultural dimensions were utilized to explain the study results. The findings were consistent with three cross-cultural dimensions of Hofstede’s theory: Power Distance, Individualism versus Collectivism, and Indulgence versus Restraint. The study revealed that despite some cultural shifts demonstrated by newly introduced dimensions Collectivism-Individualism and Duty-Joy, cultural differences still caused challenges for the study participants. The results of this study provide additional insight into the behavior and acculturation process of international Chinese students and illustrate the benefits for universities to develop positive and productive experiences for these international students.

“In China, I live to eat. Here, I eat to live”

The population of international students in Canadian post-secondary institutions, including in dietetic programs, is growing. In addition to academic stress, international students must cope with culture change and acculturative stress, which has been found to increase the prevalence of problematic eating and body image concerns among this population. Research indicates that problematic eating and body image concerns may also be relatively high among dietetic students due, in part, to the emphasis on body weight management and the narrow representations of healthy eating, and the disciplinary processes of professional socialization that are characteristic of dietetic education. For international dietetic students, vulnerability to problematic eating and body image concerns may be particularly acute, given their position as both dietetic and international students. However, little is known about the experiences of this population, and if, how and to what extent being an international dietetic student may impact on eating and body image concerns, or what efforts may be needed to prevent and support those experiencing these concerns. This research used the EAT-26 questionnaire and one-on- one, semi-structured interviews to explore how culture change impacts eating and body image among Mandarin-speaking, Chinese international dietetic students. Results indicate that culture change has a significant impact on the relationships to food and on eating and body image among the study population. Further research is needed to elucidate the impacts of culture change, and how dietetic educators may best support international dietetic students.

Racial Attitudes toward Black and Asian People: From Chinese International Students Perspective

Racial bias has been a controversial topic across nations, especially in Western countries. Prior western research intensively studied the racial attitudes and interracial conflicts of white, black, or other minorities. However, researchers seldomly focus their eyesight on Chinese international students, who are the minority group and temporarily reside in these countries. To address the importance of Chinese international students racial attitudes towards interracial groups and diversify feasible research data, this research used implicit methods and explicit methods to examine implicit and explicit racial attitudes among Chinese international students (N = 27 participants, 13 females and 14 males). Results found that Chinese international students displayed implicit racial preferences for Asians higher than that of Blacks, but there are no explicit racial preferences. Additionally, no correlation was found between implicit and explicit racial biases. These results provide strong evidence for the existence of implicit racial biases and point to the need to reduce these biases among international students.