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16 March, 2014

University of Arkansas at Little Rock


2801 S. University Avenue
Little Rock, AR 72204


Mr. Tugrul Polat
Director
International Students Services, UALR Education 101
2801 S. University Avenue
Little Rock, AR 72204


Dear Mr. Polat:

Thank you for providing me with this opportunity to work on issues related to the international
students during their stay in UALR. I am enclosing my report on Study Regarding the
Frustrations due to Language Inefficiency and Cross-Cultural differences of International
Students in UALR. In this report, I included some experiences of the international students and
a few solutions to minimize the problems. International student gatherings where the students are
assigned groups with people of cross-cultural, language, and demographical differences can help
to reduce the disparities. This way both social connections and English communication can be
improved.

I will be very glad to provide any additional information on the report if you need any. I look
forward to hear your reviews. I hope this report will be helpful in your future course of actions.

Yours truly,
Tavleen Kaur
Undergraduate
Dept. of Computer Science
UALR





















Study Regarding the Frustrations due to the Language Inefficiency and Cross-Cultural
Differences of International Students in UALR.










for
Mr. Tugrul Polat
Director, International Student Services
University of Arkansas at Little Rock








by
Tavleen Kaur
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Department of Computer Science









March 16, 2014
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Table of Contents


ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................................. III
1.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 1
2.1 BACKGROUND.................................................................................................................................. 1
3.1 TYPES OF PROBLEMS FACED BY THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN UALR ........... 2
3.1.1 English Language Inefficiency ........................................................................................................................ 2
3.1.2 Cross-Cultural Disparities .............................................................................................................................. 2
4.1 CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................................................. 3
5.1 RECOMMENDATION ...................................................................................................................... 3
REFERENCES (MLA) .............................................................................................................................. 4
APPENDIX................................................................................................................................................. 6
Interview Questionnaire for the international students ........................................................................................ 6















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Abstract
The purpose of the report is to study regarding the frustrations among the international
students due to English language inefficiency and cross-cultural disparities in UALR. The report
contains some experiences of the international students on the lingual and cultural differences
during their stay in UALR. The differences not only affected their social life, but also the
academic performance of the students. The report ends with some solutions like interactive
introductory sessions for all the departments on the first day of the class each semester to
familiarize the international students with their classmates, assigning each international student
of UALR in groups with people of different countries and cultures with the help of ISS
(International Student Services) of UALR to make a comfortable stay for the internationals in the
campus.
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1.1 Introduction
The international students frequently undergo many problems due to language and cultural
disparities during their stay in UALR. Inefficiency in English language among the international
students results in isolation from the peer mates as they are unable to express themselves. As a
result, depression is quite common among the internationals during the initial stay period. Large
cultural differences are another problem that creates a drift in social adjustment in their
environment. Loneliness, homesickness, depression, stress and anxiety are some immediate
consequences due to language and cultural differences. The report shares some individual
experiences of the international students of UALR, and assesses the impact of the problems on
their academics and social life. The report also contains some recommendations like interactive
introductory sessions to make the stay of the international students comfortable.
2.1 Background
The cross-cultural disparities and English language inefficiency are the major problems faced by
the international students during their stay in UALR. The cultural differences affect the social
adjustment of the international students making them homesick at times. Language inefficiency
creates a hindrance in communication, and thus the students hardly share their problems with
someone. The frustrations due to these problems affect both the mental and physical well being
of the student. As a result, the performance of the students in academics is adversely affected.
Almost all the international students in UALR are from the countries which are
considered ESL (English Second Language). Some of the students learned the English alphabets
only in the high school. Thus, they find it difficult to learn the English language in a very short
period of time soon after their arrival in the U.S. This lack of efficiency in English language
among the students often results in poor class participation and hampers the academic
performance of the student.
All the international students in UALR come from different cultural background which
makes their social adjustment difficult. These students are hesitant to face questions regarding
the cultural differences from the local people, and hence avoid socializing. Even if someone
wants to interact, the English language inefficiency becomes an issue, and they are unable to
share their thoughts. Differences in food habits, dresses, beliefs, traditions, and customs make the
students to isolate themselves. They are unable to express their feelings because they are afraid
of being questioned or criticized. As a result, they undergo depression due to loneliness. They
feel alienated and have no one to share their thoughts with.
The problems related to English language inefficiency and cross-cultural differences
results in frustration among the international students. Acculturative stress is one major problem
due to the frustrations in their social life. This report discusses some of the recent experiences of
the international students in UALR, describing how the differences of language and cultural
affected the academics, social, and work life of the students in the UALR campus. The report
ends with some solutions like interactive introductory sessions for all the departments on the first
day of the class each semester, assigning each international student of UALR in a group of
people from different countries and cultures with the help of ISS (International Student Services)
of UALR to make a comfortable stay for the internationals in the campus.
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3.1 Types of Problems faced by the International Students in UALR
The section discusses about the problems encountered by the international students of UALR
with some specific evidences to support the point.
3.1.1 English Language Inefficiency
The international students of UALR mostly belong to the ESL (English Second Language)
nations of the world. Some of them might not have used English until they reached United
States. According to Wei, Heppner, Mallen, Ku, Liao and Wu, the opportunity to study in a
country like United States is one of those big opportunities for students across the world. The
International students study abroad program initiates cross national collaboration and knowledge
exchange. The surveys state that when students come to study specifically from countries like
China and Taiwan, they face problem of English language inefficiency most of the times. They
find it difficult to participate in the class discussion which affects their academic performance in
the long run (385). During the personal interview with few students from China, Rwanda,
Taiwan, and Saudi Arabia in UALR, they mentioned some of them learned English alphabets
only in their high schools. They enrolled themselves in IELP course in UALR before registering
for regular classes in their field of major. But, they still struggled when it was time for verbal
communication. One student said that the freshmen year was the toughest for her as she hardly
participated in the classroom discussion; she was in fact ashamed to ask her doubts because of
her poor vocabulary. Another student from Rwanda shared that he failed a course in the
freshmen year because it was difficult for him to understand the class lectures in English. Poor
performance in academics further resulted in depression among the students, and they started
feeling inferior. Thus, the English language inefficiency acts as a hindrance in the academic
performance of a student.
Additionally, language not only affects the academic performance of the international
students, but also their social life. Unlike the previous group of students, these students from
India, Pakistan, and Nigeria knew the English language, but for this group problem was
pronunciation and accent. Either way, communication was difficult for one or the other reason.
Thus, the international students avoid mingling with the natives.
3.1.2 Cross-Cultural Disparities
Gebhard says that the International students have to undergo a lot of mental preparation before
they get ready to attend the classes in an American University. They have to let go of their usual
self at times, and adapt to the totally new American culture to avoid isolation and maintain a
social strata. Due to the cross-cultural differences, many times the international students are
unable to make friends and hang around with people in America. It takes time for students to
learn new things in a totally new environment when they have their academic concerns to take
care of. Some students can handle this pressure of social adjustment and academics together, but
most of the time students are seen frustrated in the beginning because of the academic pressure
and social well being (184-185). The international students in UALR often undergo social
insecurity during their initial period of stay. Cultural disparities among students create a lot of
issues in social adjustment. Different groups have different beliefs which sometimes create rift
among the peer mates. According to some Indian students in UALR, they had difficulty in
coping with the food habits. Some of them are purely vegetarian who do not eat eggs even. They
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used to avoid get-togethers as they were too introverting to mention that dont eat some of the
food items. Also, during any international students gatherings in the UALR campus, the
international students of similar demography try to cling with each other. The reason is that they
feel comfortable with people of similar background and avoid people with cultural differences as
they can avoid questions on their culture and differences this way. Thus, their social group
remains confined to the people from same community or country with a little interaction with the
other groups or ethnicity.
These cultural disparities also affect the psychological condition of a student. They
frequently suffer from homesickness, unable to concentrate in their studies. Slowly, they develop
unwanted stress due to isolation from their native peer mates making them totally lonely in the
university campus.
4.1 Conclusions
The international students have to face a lot of odds during their stay in UALR. Lingual and
cultural differences play a major role in creating the oddities of the students. On completion of
the report work, a number of issues were identified which were the results of the frustrations due
to English language inefficiency and cross-cultural disparities among the international students
in UALR.
The lack of efficiency in English language has affected most of the students in their
academic performance. The students were ashamed to participate in the class activities due to
poor vocabulary in English. Also, some of them never approached to a professor to clear the
doubts for the same reason. Thus, they ended up scoring poor grades in their classes; some even
failed the courses. Poor grades often resulted in stress, anxiety and depression among those
students. Thus, one conclusion can be made that that English language inefficiency caused a lot
of trouble in the academic performance of the students in UALR.
The second major problem is the differences in the culture. The cross-cultural differences
create a major drift among the natives and the international students in UALR. Some of the
students come from a country with conservative beliefs, and thus find it difficult to answer the
questions raised by the natives on their beliefs. A difference in food habits and lifestyle often
affects the social life of the international students. The internationals slowly feel alienated, and
undergo stress problems in their life. They are more often homesick which further affects their
studies.
Some initiatives can be taken before the problems of the international students become
more complicated in UALR. To resolve the problems faced by the international students in the
university campus, some suggestions are recommended below.
5.1 Recommendation
In this section, some suggestions are made to bring about change in the life of the international
students during their stay in UALR.
To familiarize the international students with their classmates in the classroom, an
interactive introductory section on the first day of the class each semester can be assigned by
each department. The Rhetoric and Writing Department of UALR has already assigned the
sessions in their curriculum. The interactive introductory session will help the international
students to mingle with their classmates. They can approach them for help if they need any, and
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hence, they will know a good number of people from different cultures. This will help in
improving the social life of the students. Moreover, they can overcome the fear of approaching
their instructor in case of any doubts during the semester.
The second solution takes care of both the problems of language inefficiency and cross-
cultural differences. The International Student Services of UALR can assign groups to the
international students with cross cultural differences during the student gatherings. If not
assigned in groups, the international students tend to cling to the students from common
backgrounds which affect their social circle. If they are assigned groups, the first advantage is
that they can improve their language skills because people from different lingual and cultural
background will have one common language of communication i.e. English. Thus, the
communication efficiency in English will improve drastically. Secondly, they will develop a
keen interest on sharing things about their culture with one another. They will learn to deal with
the differences, and their social life will be better.
References (MLA)

Abrahao, Andre de Araujo. Adjustment Issues of International Students Enrolled in American
Colleges and Universities: A Review of the Literature. Higher Education Studies. 1 (June
2011).2-8. Web.

Burant, Christopher J. Melanee Crist, Ranjita Misra. Relationships Among Life Stress, Social
Support, Academic Stressors, and Reactions to Stressors of International Students in the United
States". International Journal of Stress Management. 10:2 (May 2003). 137-157. Web.

Gebhard, Jerry G. International Students Adjustment Problems and Behavior Journal of
International Studies. 2 (2012).184. Web.

Hamera, Sadia. Personal interview.18 Feb.2014.

Heppner, P. Paul, Kelly Yu-Hsin Liao, Meifen Wei, Michael J. Mallen, Tsun-Yao Ku, and Tsui-
Feng Wu. Acculturative Stress, Perfectionism, Years in the United States, and Depression
Among Chinese International Students. Journal of Counseling Psychology. 54:4 (2007).385-
394. Web.

Iradukunda, Pierrette. Personal interview.17 Feb.2014.

Khanafriboor, Mona. Personal interview.17 Feb.2014.

Mutambuka, Vedaste. Personal interview. 15 Feb.2014.

Ota, Akiko. Factors Influencing Social, Cultural, and Academic Transitions of Chinese
International ESL Students in U.S. Higher Education. (2013).1-270. Web.

Pillai, Vishnu. Personal interview.15 Feb.2014.

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Shang, Fangyu. Personal interview. 17 Feb.2014.

Rajjoub, Abdullah. Personal interview. 18 Feb. 2014.









































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Appendix
Interview Questionnaire for the international students
1. Name and home country
2. What is your major?
3. What is the duration of your stay in UALR?
4. What are the problems you faced during your stay? How did you manage those issues?
5. Was language inefficiency was a major problem?
6. Did the difference in the classroom environment affect your academic performance initially?
7. How did the cultural differences affect your social life?
8. Are you aware of the international students gatherings in UALR?
9. Any personal experience you want to share?

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