The Theoretical Concepts Of Culture Shock And Adaptation

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,

The need for higher education has prompted many students to seek further studies in international colleges outside their countries and Australia has become an academic hub for international students who mostly come from developing nations in Asia and Africa. The students, once they secure a place in this schools, they are subjected to a new environment which comes with different challenges. International students in Australia have become an integral part of the society both social and economical. However the students face a myriad of challenges before fully adopting to the new learning culture. In

A sudden change in one’s surroundings can result in culture shock. Culture shock refers to the anxiety and surprise a person feels when he or she is discontented with an unfamiliar setting. The majority of practices or customs are different from what a person is used to. One may experience withdrawal, homesickness, or a desire for old friends. For example, when a person goes to live in a different place with unfamiliar surroundings, they may experience culture shock. Sometimes it is the result of losing their identity. In the article “The Phases of Culture Shock”, Pamela J. Brink and Judith Saunders describe four phases of culture shock. They are: Honeymoon Phase, Disenchantment Phase, Beginning Resolution Phase, and Effective

They have to face new experience and new challenges in their life when they come to abroad. The first year of their college abroad is a litmus test for them, if they have a positive experience they will stay but if they have negative experience they have to leave. I had observed the issues faced by the international students over here as they make their entry to new culture and a new educational system. They have to begin a new life in an environment that is very different. For example simple tasks such as going to grocery store where the language is different and the products are unfamiliar. The education system in India and Canada is different as in India, more focus is on memorization and there is no practical work but over here, more focus is on problem-solving skills and self-guided research. Majority of the students live without their family which is very hard for them to live without parents in abroad. Their parents sent them over here with a hope of their family

Pederson (7) explains that there are stages of culture shock, which he identifies as the honeymoon, negotiation, adjustment, and adaptation. In the honeymoon phase, a person is likely to get excited about being in a new place, meeting new people, tasting new foods, and acquiring new habits. However, as time passes by, they get into a phase of negotiation, where the differences between the culture one is used to and the one they find themselves in start to become apparent. Feelings of anxiety, anger, and frustrations start to take shape as unfavorable events perceived as strange come in the way of the person 's life, especially if a person does not feel accepted in the new culture (Mukherjee 273). Loneliness may set in, and the urge to go back to the familiar culture strongly comes into play. However, as time goes by, adjustment sets in, usually within six to twelve months, and one gets accustomed to the culture and also comes up with a routine. By this phase, one knows what is expected of them, and life once again becomes ‘normal.’

One of the most obvious difficulties for an international student is culture shock. Culture shock is the result of moving from an environment that is familiar to one that is not. Adjusting to new food, people, environment and

Finally the last stage is referred as the “acceptance stage,” according to one foreign student. After some weeks or months we are noticing improvement within ourselves after have wrestling with the emotional stages. The final stage of cultural shock doesn’t mean that the new cultures and environments are completely understood, it signifies realization that complete understanding isn’t necessary to function and thrive in new surroundings. During this stage, travelers have the familiarity and are able to draw together the resources they need to feel at ease.

1. Culture shock- The disorientation that people experience when they come in contact with a fundamentally different culture and can no longer depend on their taken for granted assumptions about life. Pg. 35

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

According to Gitterman (2001) “the term culture shock was coined to characterize severe anxiety-provoking situations experienced by those who must act under unfamiliar social norms and behavior cues (p. 661).”

(Bennett, Janet M, pg. 1, 1977). Cultural shock can be commonly seen in foreign students, refugees and immigrants. Even students who stay in their home countries suffer cultural shock as they make the transition into the foreign environment know as University. There are five stages of culture shock theory which all can be apply in Pakoro Toyin case, but for this topic I am only going to elaborate on only two key stages that directly addresses Pakoro Toyin current situation. The second stage is the withdrawal stage after the honeymoon stage where people feel the negative effect s of culture shock, which in Pakoro Toyin situation is the frustration to learn his new found language. This is the stage that you learn the differences between your own culture and the new culture that generally leads to depression and anxiety. It usually affects people the most like Pakoro Toyin if they are in a country that speaks a different language. Has an immigrant I can relates to this stage too because most of my frustration came from the language barrier and not being able to convey message I wanted or needed. The third stage involves a reintegration of new cues and an increased ability to function in the new culture. The emotions associated with this stage are typically anger and resentment toward the new culture as having caused difficulties and being less adequate than the old familiar. In Pakoro Toyin we saw must of the anger is directly comes from his inability to adjust to his new found culture, lacks the social skill to make new

According to the Merriam-webster dictionary, culture shock is defined as “a sense of confusion and uncertainty sometimes with feelings of anxiety that may affect people exposed to an alien culture or environment with adequate preparation”. In the article 6 Challenges for International Students in College by Katy Hopkins, she discusses different effects of culture shock that international students have affect them. With a new culture comes many different changes, both in education and in social life. In regards to education, there are two distinct points that Hopkins makes. First, she points out that many universities require students to take a variety of courses, or what is referred to as ‘general study’. Hopkins says that, “this can come as a surprise for international students who expect only to take, for example, business or engineering courses”. (Hopkins. 2012) The second aspect of cultural shock that Hopkins points out is the change in the dynamic between professors and students. In other countries, academic environments are more of a hands-off experience, with a distinct role for students and instructors. Whereas in education in the culture they may be entering, as Hopkins states, “professors…want learning to be a collaborative experience, and encourage participation from students both in class and during their office hours”.

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.

According to Berk (2013, p.454), the college experience is viewed by others as formative, a more influential than any other period of adulthood, because it serves students a “development testing ground,” a time for devoting full attention to exploring alternative values, roles, and behaviors. Therefore, the college experience is a huge contributor to psychological changes during early adulthood. But to contribute to favorable psychological changes during the college years, one must be exposed to “culture shock” (Berk, 2013, p.454). Culture shock is a good way for students to explore alternative values, roles, and behaviors, as well as, new ideas and beliefs, new freedoms and opportunities and new academic and social demands (Berk, 2013, p.454).