The Exponential Boom Of Technology

With an increase in student mobility around the world, there are many positive outcomes related to learning a different set of education from their home country and obtaining intercultural experiences with a global mindset. On the other hand, students may struggle with different challenges, which they may have unexpected to encounter.

The United States has always been a main attraction for international students to gain intellectual knowledge, technical skills, cross-cultural experience, and better opportunities for professional development (Han, Han, Luo, Jacobs, & Jean-Baptiste, 2013; Zhang & Goodson, 2010). According to the Institute of International Education (2017), in the academic year of 2015/2016, there was an increase of 7% in the number of international student pursuing higher education in the United States over the previous year with total international students of 1,043,839 and 5.2% representing the total of U.S College enrollment. International students make higher education one of the largest service sector exports in the United States (Rice, Choi, Zhang, Morero, & Anderson, 2012; Zhang & Goodson, 2010). They are regarded as a vital financial commodity for countries

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.

Internationalization, the term and its associated processes and practices, is a phenomenon clouded with complexity, nested within globalization, increased global migration, and capitalism. Our understandings of internationalization within an educational context often focus on the story of the West. Whether opening the doors of the academy to students from around the world or creating pathways for students and faculty to travel to different countries, internationalization (from the perspective of the West) has been viewed as a means of ensuring global

The United States leads the world in the number of international students who have chosen to study away from their home nation (Witherell & Clayton, 2014). However, other nations such as the United Kingdom and Australia are gaining on the United States and have higher retention rates (Burkholder & Holland, 2014). Moreover, these nations have clearly defined national policies to improve the recruitment and retention of international students, which the United States lacks (Andrade, 2006). International students provide an abundant source of benefits, which include financial stability, cultural awareness, and improved skills among domestic students (Luo & Jamieson-Drake, 2013; Owens, Srivastava, & Feerasta, 2011). However, adjusting

The United States of America in the eyes of the world is a place full of dreams, full of hope and a place where civil liberties are being uphold. People of all different background, different social and financial status flock to America for various reason. Some people come to America to escape religious and political persecutions; some come to escape the horrors of war; some come to find a better life for their family; and many more will come for a better education. From the depictions of Hollywood, pop-cultural and the tiny sections that are shown on the media, the world sees the American educational system as the best in the world. With diverse student population, friendly faculty and staff, the latest technology, and the most resources available to its student, America is the place to study. International students with full excitement pack their suitcases and say goodbye to their families; however what lies ahead of them is not the glamor that the media portrays, but rather harsh discrimination that comes from negative stereotypes await them.

Education is a never-ending learning process that has always been a piece of our life. As education is a building block in our lives, we are eager to put profoundly into our education. Good education will lead us to the bright future. With the fast advancement of public opinion, we have entered an era of information explosion which the necessity of studying abroad has turned into a developing pattern among youth. Most of the students feel that studying abroad is better than studying in local universities. As the saying goes, “the grass always looks greener on the other side of fence.” In this way, I believe that considering abroad have extraordinary points of benefits.

The United States is home to many multi-racial and multi-cultural populations. With the United States’ open and liberal policy concerning people from multicultural origins, it is inevitable that the country is the choice of destination for many international students. Although opportunities abound for people of multi-racial origins in the United States, it is undeniable that challenges also pose a threat to the smooth transition of international students to the American lifestyle. The increase in diversity in student population characteristics was mentioned in Andrade (2007) with the institutions of higher education in the United States admitting 580,000 international students from 2001-2002.

The world is globalizing. Many move from one country to another in search of better opportunity of education and job and so on. According to Foderaro, (2011) the population of international scholars who are working in colleges and universities in the United States; as researchers, instructors and professors has rose to 115,000 from 86,000 in 2001. It is the highest of all-time. With this increasing trend in foreign scholar, the number of foreign-born instructors in the U.S. will also rise. The foreign born instructors are expected to perform at the same standard as their native born colleagues. However, the foreign born instructors may encounter various cultural, educational, and/or administrative challenges throughout their work in the

In the Global Pathways article, “Why choose to study in the USA,” addresses that many American colleges and universities are ranked the best in the world and proclaimed “the USA has one of world’s best university systems.” The statistics showed sixteen universities were ranked in the world’s top twenty universities, and fifty-two of America’s universities were ranked in the top one hundred universities in the world. The credibility towards America’s university system goes to the flexible undergraduate curriculum that provides a large variety of classes for undergraduates to take. Classes narrow down each year until individuals only take courses directly linked to the major they desire (“Why”). The article “Choosing the USA,” from International Student, stresses the opportunities given to students deriving from the “cutting-edge technology.” Although they become better skilled and familiar with the technology, they also have the option of contacting researchers and teachers. This provides individuals with an outlet or resources benefitting them throughout their education and career. America is a practical place to study because of the opportunities the higher quality education

Because of internationalism, many universities and technical institutions have opened their doors to applicable foreign students enabling global education. This has brought gigantic benefits to students around the world. The students are given opportunities to study a path they are passionate about that are might be inaccessible from their own country; this is especially true to the students that came from underdeveloped nations. As an example, there are students from developing countries that migrated to North America or Europe to study. It benefits both the students and the universities as it allows cultural diversity within their institution which creates a new ground of overall social experience to transferred students and original students, and also, cultural development of a student community. This counter many oppositions of internationalism; however, people may argue that when a student from a certain country may carry diseases that may infect other students and staffs. Although, a medical problem will also be resolved by internationalism, as stated earlier, that it allows economic relationship with other nations. Through, medical personnels that are capable of solving these medical issues will aid to prevent it from occurring. By giving opportunities to these students are also caring about them, like they are “our countrymen,” as said by the

Australia, the U.S. and the U.K. have, in recent years, emerged as key players in the international student market. Australia has developed a strongly entrepreneurial approach to attracting the lucrative overseas student market, a key factor in is the potentially enormous profitability that ensues from Australia’s ability to attract “tens of thousands of students from several different countries” establishing a “diversified market with strong growth potential” (Verbik & Lasanowski, 2007, p.5). One reason for Australia’s success in the international student market is that it has a high numbers of students from India and China and these two countries are generally regarded as “the world’s two most prominent source countries” (Ibid). Australia has had success in supplying the enormous demand for higher education for international students from these countries and the numbers of Chinese and Indian students seeking higher education provision in Australia is expected to grow in the foreseeable future. There are several reasons why Australia has so much success in increasing international student numbers. These include effective marketing; English language; proximity to Asian countries; relatively affordable living and study costs and importantly, a quality education in terms of coursework and support for the needs of international students (Terrell, cited in Bartel & Petersen, 1999, pp. 73-75).

“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

According to Global Student Mobility, the global demand for international higher education is growing rapidly, and it is forecast to rise from 1.8 million international students in 2000 to 7.2 million international students in 2025 globally. The U.S. higher educational system remains the most respected and recognized, attracting the largest number of international students. The leading contributors to the U.S. total are China, India, South Korea and the most recent one Saudi Arabia sponsored by their scholarship program. Larger institutions tend to attract the most international students, however, small institutions are not far behind.

Along with a review of previous studies to contextualise the four topics, personal observations are provided, along with qualitative data gained through individual interviews with students who have studies in both countries. This is in keeping with the view of Schweisfurth (2012) who stated that, as participant observers of different educational systems, international students make natural comparativists.