Learning and Growing in a "Foreign" Context: Intercultural Experiences of International Students

Autor/inn/en	Gu, Qing; Schweisfurth, Michele; Day, Christopher
Titel	Learning and Growing in a "Foreign" Context: Intercultural Experiences of International Students
Quelle	In: Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 40 (2010) 1, S.7-23 (17 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0305-7925
Schlagwörter	Foreign Students; Undergraduate Study; Interpersonal Relationship; Interaction; Psychology; Educational Environment; Intercultural Communication; Foreign Countries; International Education; Comparative Education; Global Approach; Cultural Differences; Adjustment (to Environment); Maturity (Individuals); Individual Development; Student Development; Language Skills; Outcomes of Education; Self Concept; Social Support Groups; Undergraduate Students; Comparative Analysis; Student Attitudes; Questionnaires; Student Surveys; Interviews; Case Studies; English (Second Language); United Kingdom + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Grundstudium; Interpersonal relation; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonelle Beziehung; Zwischenmenschliche Beziehung; Interaktion; Psychologie; Lernumgebung; Pädagogische Umwelt; Schulumwelt; Interkulturelle Kommunikation; Ausland; Internationale Erziehung; Vergleichende Erziehungswissenschaft; Globales Denken; Kultureller Unterschied; Reifung; Individuelle Entwicklung; Language skill; Sprachkompetenz; Lernleistung; Schulerfolg; Selbstkonzept; Social support; Soziale Unterstützung; Schülerverhalten; Fragebogen; Schülerbefragung; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Großbritannien
Abstract	This paper discusses the background and key findings of a two-year Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded mixed-method research project (2006-2008) which was designed, within the context of university internationalisation, to provide an investigation of the experiences of first-year international students during their undergraduate study at four UK higher education institutions. The research explored the complexities of international students' transitional experiences both in terms of their maturation and human development and their intercultural adaptation within a different educational environment and a different culture and society. These two types of transition interactively influenced the nature and process of students' change and development over time. Findings of the research challenge the psychological model of international students' linear intercultural adaptation and point to the presence of a complex set of shifting associations between language mastery, social interaction, personal development and academic outcomes. It is the management of this amalgam which results in intercultural adaptation and the successful reconfiguration of "identity". Moreover, this research suggests that personal, pedagogical and psychological factors are as important as organisational and social cultures in influencing students' adaptation, identity change and ultimate success. The extent and nature of successful change and development can be restricted by the availability of support and the conditions of contact within the environments in which they are engaged. (Contains 1 note and 4 figures.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10