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Abstract
This article focuses on the kinds of adjustment problems that international students had while they studied at a university in the United States, as well as the adjustment behaviors they used when faced with these problems. Qualitative data was collected and analyzed for over a decade through on-going interviews with 85 international students, as well as through observation field notes and student-written narratives about their adaptation experiences. Findings show that students were challenged by academics, social interaction, and emotional reactions to their new life. To manage their problems, students made use of behaviors that can facilitate adapting to the new culture, as well as behaviors that can obstruct them from adapting. Facilitative behaviors include coping strategies, use of supportive people, observation and imitation, and reflection. Behaviors interpreted as impeding adaptation include expecting others to adapt, complaining, and withdrawing.
Key Words: International Students, Adjustment Issues, Adaptation Experiences, Qualitative Research
International students face a variety of adaptation challenges while studying in the United States, and one of the goals of this qualitative study was to identify the kinds of problems that students at a mid-sized university faced. A second goal was to discover the kinds of behaviors they used when faced with these problems.
Researchers have provided an understanding of the kinds of problems international students have while adapting to university life, and one of the most discussed is problems with academic language. They have reported that students often have trouble understanding professors' expectations and grading style (Zhou, Freg & Bang, 2006), taking lecture notes (Huang, 2006), articulating their knowledge on essay exams and reading textbooks in a timely fashion (Lin & Yi, 1997), comprehending professors (Kuo, 2011), and giving oral presentations, asking the professor questions and interacting in seminar discussions (Coward, 2003; Ferris & Tagg, 1996; Gebhard, 2010; Han, 2007; Kao & Gansneder, 1995; Liu, 2001).
Han (2007), for example, discovered that international students across an American university's graduate programs had trouble participating in whole class seminar discussions because of anxiety and insufficient content knowledge. Similarly, Coward (2003) studied interaction between Americans and students from China, Korea, and Taiwan during graduate seminar discussions and concludes that these students were continuously trying to understand what was going on in class, when they could talk, and...