Cultural Adjustment Problems Of International Students Essay

In the article, “Colleges Adapt to New Kinds of Students from Abroad,” Karin Fischer (2011) explains the increase of foreign students in U.S. universities leads to make more problems in campus and how universities are trying to overcome those problems and help foreign students to adapt to campus. Fischer explains the increase of the foreign undergraduate students due to the support from foreign governments. Fischer quotes Wesley Young, the director of services for international students and scholars at the University of California at Davis, to discuss that the increase of foreign undergraduate students especially requires more care and help than graduate students. While older students know what they need to do and what to do in U.S. university,

Most young people believe that studying in a different country is a privilege because they are able to experience other cultures, and learn from them. However, in the United States it is not as good as they thought because International students have much more pressure being in this country, and sometimes they cannot handle it very well. Therefore, in the United States the life of an international student is very unfavorable if people compare it to the life of an American student. International students have to learn a new language to study, they cannot work while studying, and their tuition is much more expensive.

As the widespread population of teenage international student body growth, many more promising and upstanding students came to America to develop their better selves. When the first year they come, the very different environment would be a challenge for this young generation of student who just left the protection of their parents and familiar teachers and friends. The adjustment of academic will be a fundamentally challenging for them in many different aspects.

Every year there are around 435,000 international students enrolled in universities around the UK (UKCISA). Studying abroad for a lot of these students is a privilege, however it can be a stressful experience for various reasons. There are plenty of challenges, other than language barrier, that these students face, like major culture shock, homesickness, and financial difficulties.

The emotional struggles that international students have are homesickness and culture shock. According to Ivan Sekyonda from Uganda, he appreciates the school faculties for helping him with going through homesickness and culture shock (Sewall, p. 127). Students from different countries happen to have trouble adapting to American culture that is more liberal. This inability of getting along with American culture due to culture difference causes homesickness which makes students want to go back home. Many international students seem to not enjoy their first year in America for such problems.

When international students study for the first time at a university in the United States, the first challenge almost is study. For instance, students’ communication and writing skills, the grades in each class and so on. When the student decided to study abroad, parents place great hopes on the students. Almost international students were having a bit afraid to talk with native speaker, when they first time at the university in the United States. Also, international students could not write really like the native students writing. At the same time, students must want to get a good grade in each class, but different countries have different education system.

Maureen Andrade article, “International students face academic and social transition issues in their first year of university” (P.135), so, students will face hard times at the beginning because they came from different countries which have different traditions and believes so, they will need time to adjust with the new environment depends on the student’s personality if he or she is extroverted or introverted. Accordingly, social adjustment issues present an obstacle for the international student; they face new life style, and sometimes the social support they get is less than what the domestic students get. Language proficiency can be the biggest obstacle for the international students, sometimes they feel shy speaking to native speakers because

However, the change from home to college can be difficult for international students (Mesidor & Sly, 2016). While some international students find it easy to adjust to the transition, others international students find it challenging to adjust to the transition (Mesidor & Sly, 2016). Studies show that international students experience many challenges as a result of language and cultural barriers, academic difficulties, financial difficulties, medical issues, housing concerns, food differences, alienation, homesickness, lack of social support system, racial discrimination, and cross-cultural loss) (Akanwa, 2015; Guzman et al., 2015; Mesidor & Sly, 2016; Sherry et al., 2010; Smith & Khawaja, 2011; Tung, 2011; Zhang & Goodson, 2010). According to Prieto-Welch (2016), international students as a group are regarded as a main minority population in campuses

They contribute to the diversity and internationalization of their classrooms, campuses and communities. In this essay we will be looking into the academic, social and cultural challenges international students face when they study here in the US. Follow by why students from different regions (Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, Australia etc.) adapt to US culture differently. Lastly I will look into why International students mostly associated with other international students instead of associating with American students.

The United States accommodates the largest pool of international students globally, with over one million students choosing to extend their education and life experience in the US. The number has grown since the 1950s and continues to grow due to the quality of teaching offered and the multi-cultured environment that allows for wholesome growth and unforgettable life experience. Additionally, the prospect of getting into the US labor market has made international students prefer the US as a study destination. The number of universities and colleges offering a broad range of courses has also grown thereby encouraging more

One of the common stressors to international students is the adjustment difficulty. Immersed in a different culture and a new environment, it is normal for international students to feel more stressful to adapt

Adjusting to a new government, similar to adjusting to a new culture requires learning and adapting to new rules and norms. Dealing with this kind of change comes with new lessons, new understandings of life and new perspectives. Individuals have to learn things from scratch, learn to understand the culture and most importantly, people have to stop making assumptions. Moreover, a new culture requires a new level of open-mindedness. This is not always an easy process to go through. However, through education, creating valuable relationships and a positive attitude, it is possible to gradually get used to the new environment.

The United States have been hosting the largest number of international students than any other country in the world. Enrollment of foreign students in US universities increased rapidly from over 310 thousand in 1980 to over 880 thousand in 2013, with an average annual growth rate of 3.4\% over the last three decades \citep{iie}. The growth in enrollment has been positive in all years except in 2003 - 2005 during which strict visa application process was implemented following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack. Afterwards it received a quick rebound with an average annual growth of 5.8\% from 2006 - 2013. In 2013 foreign students constituted 4\% of the total U.S. higher education population, of whom 42\% and 37\% were enrolled in undergraduate

“In 2006 to 2007, according to the data compiled by the Institute of International Education, 582,984 students from all over the world were enrolled in American colleges and universities in a wide range of fields” (Carter, Paragraph 2, 2008). The United States has the highest number of students who are coming to study abroad than any other countries. Each year, the number of international students coming to the United States to obtain degrees is increasing by thousands, and home countries of these students are primarily India, China and Korea, all located in the whole different continent. But what are the motives of students who are crossing the sea to study? Their goal of studying abroad is to experience diversity and to adapt attitudes

International students face many different challenges when studying abroad. This is due to many factors. First, they are living in a country very far away from their own. The country they are studying at has a very different way of life than theirs. Further more, the laws in that country are much different than the laws in their own country. Due to that they face a lot of problems trying to adapt to this new culture. Me personally as an international student in the US studying at ASU, have faced three particularly difficult challenges that I was able to overcome through time. In this essay I will explain how international students can overcome tough challenges and situations.