The Psychosocial Adjustment of International Students · IELTS 6.0 Business / Economics Intro Background 1: QUAL 2: QUAN . Research: EAP1 Research 1: Qualitative Case Study

Contextualising the international student experience:

Psychosocial adjustment and the role of institutional intervention

Lee Hawkes April 2013

Intro Background 1: QUAL 2: QUAN

Introduction: “Psycho-social”?

Psycho Social

Feelings Emotions Identity

Friends Activities

Languages


Why care?

Introduction: Why care?


“The view of writing as a situated social practice also represents a shift away from a characterization of genre as consisting primarily of conventionalized textual formalisms to one in which textual patterns and regularities are considered to be aspects of broader social and rhetorical practices…” (Casanave, 2002)

Why care?

Introduction: Why care?

(Street, 1995; Lea & Street, 1998; Duff 2010)


Acculturation

Academic Socialisation

Genre

Syntax, etc..

Psychology Sociology

Background: Existing Research

Existing Research

“Student perceptions of their experiences have taught us that their interactions with native speakers may be far less intense and frequent than was once assumed…” (Freed, 1998)



Existing Research

Japanese students in US: happier when NSs are accommodating (Imamura, Zhang, & Harwood, 2011)



Existing Research Singaporeans in Australia: Extroverts good (Ward, Leong, & Low, 2004) Australians in Singapore: Extroverts bad (Armes & Ward, 1989)



Existing Research

Chinese students in London: disappointed with accent/dialect (Tuneja, 2008)



Existing Research


Background: Marginalisation

Marginalisation (Berry, 1997)

‘Acculturative stressors’ (Smith & Khawaja, 2011)

‘Maladaptive strategies’



Integration (Berry, 1997)



UK students’ perceptions of the French (Coleman, 2001)



UK students’ perceptions of the French (Coleman, 2001)



Perceptions of the French, ctd.. (Riley, 2008)

“lack of a greeting or eye contact, explicit remarks about their accent or linguistic incompetence, being kept waiting and lack of interest” (p.223)

“little objective difference in respect of these factors between the treatment meted out to native and non-native clients” (p.223)

“the French don’t find one another rude, in fact they think of themselves as being politer than many other nationalities” (p.220)


Research: EAP1

EAP 1: International Foundation Programme

China x2 Azerbaijan x2 Kazakhstan Pakistan

IELTS 6.0 Business / Economics


Research: EAP1

Research 1: Qualitative Case Study – September 2011 to March 2012

What are the sociocultural experiences of a small group students undertaking an International Foundation Programme?


Research: EAP1

1. ‘Sat at the baby table’

“I thought that I will get a lot of English friends, English students, but now I

think that it is hard, maybe, like I am doing foundation, that is why…” (Tom)


Research: EAP1

2. ‘Not good enough’ “I met some people from UK,

and I went on party with them, it was a little difficult to

understand because they speak too fast” (Xoe)


Research: EAP1

3. ‘Later, but not now’ “…I will have English friends,

sometimes I will go to the pub Saturdays, but it will

happen in time, not now” (John)


Research: EAP1

What do you feel stressed about?

Lucy Tom Kate

1. Ability to communicate 1. Loneliness 1. Ability to communicate

2. Grades 2. Location 2. Academic work

3. Personal relationships 3. Food 3. Visas

Research: EAP1

1. Person 2. Duration 3. Where 4. Nationality 5. Language

Friend 60 Campus Turkish English

Friend 45 Campus Russian English

Flatmate 120 Home Pakistani English

Classmate 30 Campus Saudi English

Friend 120 Skype Kazakh English

Friend 60 Restaurant Turkish Turkish

Friend 180 Skype Azeri Azeri

Friend 40 Skype Indian English

Who have you spoken to this week? (Tom)

Research: EAP1

What are the sociocultural experiences of a small group students undertaking an International Foundation Programme?

• Socioculturally marginalised • Very little contact with native speakers • Report feeling isolated, lonely and disappointed • Not necessarily ‘lack of access’ to NSs


Research: EAP2

Research 2: Quantitative/Longitudinal – September 2012 to March 2013

How do students’ reported contact, confidence and competence with English, in both academic and non-academic contexts, change over the period of an IFP?


Research: EAP1

Group number IELTS scores

1 8

2 7

3 7

4 6

5 6

6 6

7 5

8 5

QMUL IFP 2012-2013 8 groups: From IELTS 5.5 to 8.5

IELTS • 8 • 7 • 6 • 5


Research: EAP2

EAP2: Longitudinal Survey

IELTS

8.5

8.0

7.5

7.0

6.5

6.0

5.0

120 students

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar


Research: EAP2

4

5

6

7

IELTS 5 IELTS 6 IELTS 7 IELTS 8

Contact

Confidence

Competence

IELTS scores and contact, confidence and competence #1


Research: EAP2

4

5

6

7


Contact

Confidence

Competence



Research: EAP2

4

5

6

7


Contact

Confidence

Competence



Research: EAP2

Overall increase in English contact over 5 months:

0

1

2

3

4

5 6 7 8


Research: EAP2

Overall increase in English confidence over 5 months:

0

1

2

3

4

5 6 7 8


Research: EAP2

Overall increase in English competence over 5 months:

0

1

2

3

4

5 6 7 8


Research: EAP2

Overall increase in Academic/non-academic CCCs over 5 months

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

5 6 7 8

Academic

Non-academic


Research: EAP2

All levels increased contact, competence and confidence

over 5 months, in both academic and non-academic

contexts.

(but not much…)

IELTS 6 did much better with both

How do students’ reported contact, confidence and competence with English, in both academic and non-academic contexts, change over the period of an IFP programme?


So…?


IELTS

Confidence

Competence Contact

Achievement

So…?


Institutional Intervention? • Accommodation

• Mentoring schemes

• Orientation Programmes

• Volunteering

• Student Unions

End

Summary

Referencees

Armes, K., & Ward, C. (1989). Cross-Cultural Transitions and Sojourner Adjustment in Singapore. The Journal of Social Psychology, 129(2), 273-275.

Berry, J. W. (1997). Immigration, Acculturation and Adaptation. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 46(1), 5-68.

Casanave, C. (200). Writing Games: Multicultural Case Studies of Academic Literacy Practices in Higher Education. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

Coleman, J. (1998). Language Learning and Study Abroad: the European Perspective. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, v4 n2 Fall, 167-203.

Duff, P. (2010). Language socialization into academic discourse communities. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 30, 169-192.

Freed, B. (1998). An Overview of Issues and Research in Language Learning in a Study Abroad Setting. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 4, 31-60.

Imamura, M., Zhang, Y. B., & Harwood, J. (2011). Japanese sojourners' attitudes toward Americans. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, 115-132.

Lea, M., & Street, B. (1998). Student Writing in Higher Education: An Academic Literacies Approach. Studies in Higher Education, 23(2), 152-172.

Masgoret, A.-M., & Ward, C. (2006). Culture Learning Approach to Acculturation. In D. L. Sam, & J. W. Berry, The Cambridge Handbook of Acculturation Psychology (pp. 58-77). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Riley, P. (2008). Language, Culture and Identity. London: Continuum.

Smith, R. A., & Khawaja, N. G. (2011). A review of the acculturation experiences of international students. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 35, 699-713.

Street, B. (1995). Social Literacies: Critical Approaches to Literacy in Development, Ethnography and Education. Harlow: Pearson.

Tuneja, E. (2008). Aspects of intercultural awareness through an MBA study abroad programme: Going "backstage". Business Communication Quarterly, 71(3), 314-337.


Documents

The Psychosocial Adjustment of International Students · IELTS 6.0 Business / Economics Intro Background 1: QUAL 2: QUAN . Research: EAP1 Research 1: Qualitative Case Study