Group Of International Students Research Articles

Context matters: a sociocultural framework for materials development

Abstract English language education is commonly seen by practitioners and researchers as an activity that should take into account the teachers and learners’ sociocultural realities. Reflecting this, in this article I argue for the use of Activity Theory as a sociocultural framework to promote the development of practitioners’ contextually relevant learning materials. Illustrating from my own EAP practice, I show how I used Activity Theory to overcome the limitations of the materials that were provided at a British university to teach multimodality to a group of international foundation students. Whilst making the case that materials development should reflect the sociocultural nature of teaching and learning, the article also argues that materials development knowledge and skills should be part of teachers’ core pedagogical repertoire.

Face Attack Online: Unpacking Conflicts in Multimodal Group Chats

This study focuses on analyzing face attacks in the conflict discourse of cross-linguistic online chats on the instant message application WeChat among a group of international students at a prestigious university in China. Drawing on the previous impoliteness theory of Leech and Culpeper, this article selectively combines these two theories and proposes that in face-attack studies, especially with respect to online discourses, impolite multimodal discourse should be considered and subsumed in the theoretical framework. It is found that a wide array of face attacks in conflict discourse manifest themselves both in verbal discourse as well as in multimodal counterparts. The present study might shed light on online impoliteness research that is beyond monolingual and single-mode contexts.

Gender Differences in Coping with Discrimination, Psychological Distress, and College Stress Among International Chinese Students in the United States

Chinese students represent the largest group of international students in the United States and have been reported to experience various challenges and stressors including transitional stress, academic stress, language barriers, financial difficulties, perceived discrimination, loss of social support, and homesickness. This study drew from intersectionality theory to examine how Chinese international students coped by gender (through problem-solving, avoidance, and social support) with perceived discrimination, psychological distress, and college student stress (e.g. academic and social stress). Study participants were self-identified Chinese individuals over the age of 18 who studied in the United States as international students (N = 98). Participants completed measures of perceived discrimination, psychological distress, college student stress, coping, and demographic characteristics. Results showed that women reported higher rates of psychological distress and college student stress than men. Problem-solving coping and seeking social support were significantly and positively related to psychological distress for both men and women. Results also showed that women who perceived high discrimination used problem-solving coping to a greater extent than men. Surprisingly, coping approaches were unrelated to college student stress. The findings indicate that examining intersecting identities by gender, in line with intersectionality theory, produced a more nuanced understanding of the experiences and needs of Chinese international students and highlights the importance for colleges and universities of creating inclusive campus climates. Implications and recommendations are discussed.

Intercultural Friendship Formation Through the Lens of Cosmopolitan Agency

This article explores a group of international students' experiences on intercultural friendship formation in one British university in the UK through the lens of cosmopolitan agency (Kudo, 2023), which is an ecological perspective of meaningful interactions between international and home students. Under the context that internationalisation continues to be on the agenda of higher education in the UK, this article examines how international students form and develop friendships among themselves and with home students within constraints mainly on power and privilege. Semi-structured interviews with 22 international students were carried out: Nigeria, Cameroon, China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, as well as four British home students. Thematic analysis was used to explore their experiences in greater depth. The result indicated that the participating students demonstrated dynamic and discursive engagement with the four states of cosmopolitan agency, exhibiting specific manifestations of the agency relating to linguistic abilities, socioeconomic status, gender and religion.

Desertification seen through the eyes of a group of international students

Desertification seen through the eyes of a group of international students

An internship program that empowers international students to grow professionally and find their voice in the nutrition field

During the COVID-19 pandemic, our international students were confined to their rooms in a foreign land and were unable to return to their home countries during their semester break due to border closures. A summer internship program, underpinned by Asian philosophies including Confucianism(1) and collectivism(2), was designed to bring them together physically in a COVID-safe environment and collectively develop employability skills. Twenty-five international students across six year-levels and from 11 countries participated in the five-week internship program. Our in-house dietitian presented participants with an authentic nutrition problem, i.e. observable unhealthy eating habits being prevalent amongst the international student client group. Participants were empowered to draw on their cultural knowledge, international student experience, cooking skills and evidence-based nutrition knowledge, in the development of an educational nutrition resource to be used in the dietitian clinic. Employability skills self-assessment was completed pre- and post-program for comparison. In addition, a collective reflection was facilitated at the end of the program to gather in-depth understanding of the unique learnings from the students’ and program facilitators’ perspectives. Thematic analysis was adopted to analyse the narrative data. It was found that the student-participants developed a website with healthy eating information, including tailored to international students’ habits of late-night snacking and suggestions for quick meals during exams. They developed 50 healthy, simple, multicultural recipes with cooking videos. The internship served as an opportunity for the students to work together with a shared purpose. They reported a strong sense of community which was longed for and extended the established friends outside of the internship program. Students were observed sharing acculturative experience and knowledge with one another when socialising together. Upon reflection, students reported feeling challenged by the lack of structure and assessment guide for the internship tasks. However, they were able to develop confidence in their judgement and decision-making skills through this process and work together exploring the uncertainties. Many reported feeling empowered from this internship as their cultural differences and unique international-student-experience were valued and utilised in the resource development. This low-cost education strategy contributed to the development of professional skills and formation of professional identity, and for the students to find their voice in the nutrition field.

Challenges Faced by the International Students Studying in Universities of Pakistan

The study tries to find out the challenges faced by international students in higher education institutes in Pakistan. The main objective was to find out the challenging areas for international students studying in higher education institutes in Pakistan. A descriptive research approach was utilized to find the challenges experienced by international students in Pakistani higher education institutions. Data was collected using a 5-point Likert-type scale questionnaire comprising six parts covering academic, social and cultural, logistic and administrative, financial, discrimination-related challenges, and support and resources. Prior to the main data collection phase, pilot testing was conducted with a small group of international students to refine the questionnaire and assess its alpha reliability (0.921) and validity. Data was collected from 150+ samples using snowball sampling due to a low response rate from different universities. Ethical considerations were considered, and respondents were provided with informed consent outlining the purpose of the study. Data analysis was conducted using statistics software. Descriptive statistics, including frequency distributions and group statistics, were used to quantify and compare the challenges. Mean scores, standard deviation, t-values, and significance were also calculated. The study found certain very challenging areas for international students and certain areas as less difficult. The study recommends a comprehensive support setup for international students by the higher education institutes of Pakistan.

International education supports and cross-border student mobility: factors influencing Cambodian and Laotian students’ choice of studying in a Vietnamese university

PurposeCambodian and Laotian students (CLS) are among the largest groups of international students in intra-ASEAN student mobility as well as in Vietnamese higher education institutions (HEIs). However, little has been researched on the factors influencing CLS’s decision to choose Vietnam as destination country. The purpose of this study is to investigate why CLS decide to go overseas and choose Vietnam as their host country among other opportunities as well as their perceptions of the decision.Design/methodology/approachUsing qualitative methods and employing purposive sampling, data were collected by semi-structured interviews from CLS studying in a HEI in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The data were analysed against the push–pull framework to understand factors influencing the participants’ decision.FindingsThe findings show that CLS in the study were “pushed” by the perceived higher value of a foreign qualification and family encouragements. In terms of pull factors, they were attracted to choose Vietnam as the host country most observably due to scholarship opportunities. However other pull factors were also significant, especially the lack of certain skills in home countries and its congruence with Vietnam’s competitive strength in offering courses for those skills. In retrospect, the participants expressed a sense of optimism, though there was also certain reservation.Research limitations/implicationsThe small sample restrict the generalisability of the findings.Practical implicationsAs an exploratory study, the findings can lay the ground for largerscale studies investigating CLS mobility in Vietnam and be employed for inbound student mobility policymaking reference for HEIs in Vietnam as well as in other developing countries.Originality/valueThis study investigates why Cambodian and Laotian international students decide to go to Vietnam, a developing country in the lesser-known part of international student mobility landscape. This is a topic that remains under-researched in the Asia-bound student mobility literature. Insights from the study can not only contribute to the scholarly gap but also offer implications for HEIs in Vietnam and other Asian countries.

Research on the Mechanism and Intervention of Cross-cultural Psychological Adaptation of International Students in the Context of Digitization

Abstract The management and social problems caused by the psychological problems of international students have become more and more serious, and cross-cultural adaptation has a very important influence on the integration of international students into new environments and cultures, which has been increasingly concerned by the education circles at home and abroad. In this paper, we investigated the psychological adjustment ability and demographic characteristics of international students and analyzed the correlation between different factors and cross-cultural psychological adjustment ability based on the statistical results. After analyzing different groups of international students with different types of psychological adjustment abilities using the LPA method, a reasonable intervention plan is formulated. The mediation effect analysis method was also utilized to explore the impact and mechanism of interventions on psychological adaptation. The study’s results indicate that metacognition and cross-cultural psychological adjustment have a high correlation coefficient (0.773), which suggests that this factor can have a significant impact on the psychological adjustment of international students. It was also found that the intercultural psychological adjustment interventions for international students positively and significantly affected the intercultural psychological adjustment ability (B=0.085, P=0.032), indicating that the intervention program can improve the intercultural psychological adjustment ability of international students through psychological capital. This study provides a reference for the later targeted construction of intervention strategies to improve international students’ cross-cultural psychological adjustment and also paves the way for future studies to specifically analyze the mechanisms of international students’ cross-cultural psychological adjustment.

Konstruirovanie sovremennoy effektivnoy modeli obucheniya inostrantsev russkomu yazyku na printsipakh antropologicheskoy lingvodidaktiki

The relevance of the work is due to the need to optimize the educational process by its integrating on all its main parameters; to free up the working time of students, to increase the productivity of educational activities and ensure the high quality of mastering the learning materials by means of multidimensional and multi-level integrative units in educational speech activity in the Russian language. The aim of the research is to present an integrative model of efficient educational speech activity of international students in the Russian language, as well as implementing this model within a specific lesson. The study was carried out on the material of audio recordings of classroom discourse in learning groups of international students, A2-B1 level of the Russian language proficiency. The method of modeling, based on integrating and differentiating units correlation and generalization of best practices in teaching Russian to foreign learners were used. A descriptive model of teaching Russian to international students has been developed, based on the bidirectional and multifaceted integrative system, scaling: a) from the personality-based activity approach, across its three principles (anthropological, communicative and cognitive), to operating with the acquired language material (vertical perspective); b) from the integrative to differentiating units of the languages in contact in the process of educational cross-cultural communication at the level of text/discourse as communicative units (considering their verbalizations) (horizontal perspective). In accordance with the presented model, the development of the student's linguistic personality at the initial stage of learning Russian is based on the identified integrative units. In terms of content, these are microtexts of the following types: a) description; b) narrative, as well as structural units (words and word forms) that identify them and are included in the processes of internalization; in operational terms, this is the interaction of integrated reading-listening-speaking systems. The study demonstrates that both right-hemisphere and left-hemisphere international students easily include (integrate) into their linguistic consciousness a typified Russian-language description or narrative, as well as elements of reasoning, using the cognitive strategy “from synthesis to analysis”. The educational materials interiorized on the integrative basis allows these students further, at the B1 level, to cope with more complicated educational tasks, such as producing their own monologues/discourses of different types.

Digital Platforms and Media Use: An Exploratory Research on Trust, Gender Stereotypes and Bias in Turkey

Media use and news consumption occur throughout digital platforms as a rising trend worldwide. These digital infrastructures serve as channels through which users access content and as gatekeepers that curate the content figured by algorithmic selection. Thus, this research is designed to step inside the digital media use and aims to understand what kind of stereotypes and biases users face in digital platforms. To that end, a group of international university students from Turkey were interviewed about their experiences from several digital platforms. Accordingly, the participants were asked about the preferred source of the news, whether they trust the content they encounter on platforms, the stereotypes they face in their social media use, the most disturbing content in terms of bias and discrimination, if they feel free on their social media accounts, the awareness about the concepts “stereotypes”, “representation”, “algorithmic selection”, “algorithmic bias”. The research has shown that gender is the most common category of stereotype, followed by political, religious, nationality, and social class. In parallel with the concept of intersectionality, it has been observed that other forms of social discrimination are also encountered along with gender on digital platforms.

Migration aspiration and desire of international students: Chinese international students under strain amid geopolitical tension and the COVID-19 pandemic

Confronted with restrictive visa policies, deteriorating US–China relations and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese international students in the United States face unprecedented uncertainty in their immigration prospects. Their unique intersectional identities as temporary immigrants, prospective permanent immigrants and emerging adults modulate their migration aspirations and desires within this exceptional social context. We interviewed and surveyed a group of Chinese international students in a major American university at various stages of their stay in the United States. Using the migration aspiration and desire framework, we explore how they cope with the challenges and plan for immigration upon graduation. Our findings suggest that under the unique temporal junction of the geopolitical tension and a global public health crisis unprecedented in their lifetime, the becoming process associated with their particular identity as in-between migrants and the assemblage of various actors throughout the process help recalibrate their initial aspirations at personal and collective levels and reshape their migration desires. Although it has frustrated their migration motivations and plans, it has also endowed them with perspectives and the capacity to develop effective coping mechanisms and remain resilient.

Integrating Social Robot in a Jigsaw Cooperative Activity: Insights from an International Workshop with Students from Universities in Germany and Israel

A Jigsaw activity represents an educational approach providing students opportunities to exercise collaborative learning targeting topics from across domains and levels including those addressing innovative technologies. This paper presents our efforts targeting a Jigsaw workshop addressing educational activities enhanced by Social Robots (SR). SR includes AI-enabled features becoming accessible through software affording to develop motivating and engaging cooperative learning processes. In light of these trends, we present a Jigsaw learning activity we conducted and supported by a Social Robot (SR). We conducted the activity as part of a mutual effort exercised by the authors of this paper in the framework of an Erasmus+ project in Social Robotics involving German and Israeli higher education Institutions. We examined this activity while focusing on various aspects corresponding to its interrelated phases and the educational interactions exercised by students. Results reveal a high potential for applying Jigsaw learning activities in groups of international students. The positive effects seem to be enhanced by choosing to focus the collaboration on an innovative learning environment such as social robots, designing the activity to maximize creativity, autonomy, and ownership, and addressing authentic application contexts to enhance the quality of the educational experience.

The impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on motivation to stay: a comparison between Chinese and non-Chinese international students in Nova Scotia, Canada

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted international students due to unexpected changes in policies and regulations regarding their visa status and immigration, travel restrictions, and heightened scrutiny against foreigners. Such changes potentially disrupt and affect international students’ post-graduation migration plan: whether they decide to go back to their home country or stay in Canada and apply for permanent residency. This may particularly be the case for Chinese international students, the 2nd largest group of international students in Canada, due to the rise of anti-Asian racism and the stigmatization that the COVID-19 is a ‘Chinese virus’. Using ‘intellectual migration’ as our analytical framework, we pay particular attention to the experiences of Chinese international students in the province of Nova Scotia, an intellectual periphery in Canada. Drawing upon data from online surveys and focus groups, this study compares the experiences of Chinese and non-Chinese international students during the pandemic and whether these experiences have impacted their post-migration plans and their motivation to stay in Nova Scotia, Canada.

The Decision to Study Abroad at Hungarian University

Globalisation is driving the internationalisation of higher education, promoting open access to universities, enhancing educational programs with an international focus, and stronger presence in the international higher education market. Thus, globalisation stimulates the internationalisation of universities. For universities to attract international students successfully, it is necessary to understand general issues regarding the decision-making process. The study aims to analyse the benefits of studying abroad at a Hungarian university among international students. To fulfil the aim of this study, a questionnaire was administered to 100 international students, aged 18 to 38. The study results showed that international students had been looking for benefits while studying abroad, such as personal development, cultural experience, career prospects, and the possibility of travelling. Some benefits were also related to social and economic factors such as access to unique courses and knowledge, positive country image, safety situation, and affordable living costs in Hungary. The decision to study at a Hungarian university was made according to such benefits, including a desired program of study, comfortable facilities, flexible schedule, admission criteria, opportunity to improve English language skills, good reputation of the university, European degree, supportive environment, related costs, and future career prospects. At the same time, different age groups of international students considered the importance of benefits differently. Also, different groups of international students based on perceived social family status paid attention to different benefits. The findings of this study can be used for the promotion of Hungarian universities internationally to attract more international students with benefits that they look for when studying abroad.

Learning from peers’ diverse knowledge and experience. Findings from internationalising a course for medical students

ABSTRACT This study reports on the outcomes of internationalising a course on Nutrition for medical students. Two interventions towards internationalised learning experience included: 1) introducing new readings and activities that invited students to consider geographical and cultural factors of dietary recommendations and 2) asking students to suggest an intervention for a hypothetical patient with a nutritional problem through discussing the assigned case in purposefully mixed groups. Changes were made both in the group that predominantly consisted of home students (N = 18) and the group of international students (N = 21). The interventions encouraged an increase in student awareness of the cultural and geographical contexts of nutrition. Students learnt through sharing diverse knowledge and experience and recognised peer learning experience as useful and enjoyable. The innovation achieved more impact in the group of international students than in the group of home students, in which diversity and previous experience from learning in multicultural groups was low.

Comparing COVID-19 and general health information-seeking behaviors among Chinese international students in South Korea

The study compares the COVID-19 information-seeking behavior of Chinese international students, who represent Korea’s largest international student group, with their general health information seeking behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted indepth semi-structured interviews with 30 Chinese international students who had been living in Korea for at least a year and were enrolled in degree programs. Two independent researchers coded the interview transcripts based on grounded theory until they reached an agreement. Our study revealed that the health information-seeking behaviors of participants differed depending on whether they were seeking general health information or COVID-19 information. Moreover, we found a notable discrepancy between the sources of information that participants preferred to use for general health information and the sources they actually used. Participants rated COVID-19 information as more accurate, authoritative, complete, current, useful, and objective compared to general health information. Our study highlights the critical need for comprehensive support from various organizations, including campus communities, local healthcare organizations, and the Korean and Chinese governments, to provide reliable and accessible health information to Chinese international students.

Exploring the academic adjustment of Pakistani students in second-tier Chinese cities

Pakistani students have become the third largest group of international students in China, and the largest group in many Chinese second-tier cities. This study explores their academic adjustment difficulties in Jiangxi, China by employing a mixed-methods approach, involving 134 questionnaires and 9 interviews. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS and Smart-PLS. Based on the study, it was found that Pakistani students encountered minor challenges in academic adjustment, and they relied on teachers, family, and friends for significant social support. However, there are concerns regarding the compromised quality of teaching due to deliberately lowered academic standards. To enhance the education quality and academic performance of Pakistani students and other international students studying in second-tier cities in China, this study suggests raising the academic standards to ensure their educational progress, improving teacher-student relations, establishing a supportive peer network, enhancing academic resources, and offering increased opportunities for cultural exchange.

Internationally educated local staff or IntELS in Vietnam: do they feel supported in the workplace?

ABSTRACT This study examines the influence of international higher education exposure on the workplace integration of Internationally Educated Local Staff (IntELS). This research aims to enhance our understanding of how individuals with international higher education backgrounds navigate the challenges of integrating into local workplaces. It seeks to uncover the underlying dynamics by examining various aspects of the IntELS experience, including academic identity and its influence on the local workplace and utilises the Liability of Foreignness (LOF) theory at the individual level. Additionally, the research examines different levels of international higher education exposure, their implications, the process of academic identity formation, and re-entry concepts. The findings will contribute to the existing knowledge base and provide valuable insights for the development of strategies in international higher education and human resources management, ultimately facilitating a more effective integration process for IntELS in various organisations. This study represents the first known attempt to formally identify and recognise this group of international students as IntELS.

The effect of social network sites on international students' acculturation, adaptation, and wellbeing

IntroductionA growing body of literature focuses on the impact of social media on well-being of international students. What remains understudied, is how these effects may be explained through acculturation and adaptation processes. This paper examines the mediating roles of acculturation dimensions (cultural maintenance and host country participation) and (psychological and sociocultural) adaptation, on the relationship between host and home Social Network Site (SNS) use and well-being, among two populations.MethodsHypotheses were tested using surveys distributed among a diverse group of international students in the Netherlands (n = 147) and a sample of Chinese students in Germany (n = 102).Results and discussionThe results of both studies show that international students use SNS to initiate contact with the host society, which relates positively to adaptation. However, using SNS to stay in contact with the home culture appears to inhibit the adaptation process, which relates to lower well-being. Our work suggests that these processes are similar across different contexts.