International Journal f or the Advancement of" Counselling 19:167-185, 1996.

1997 Kluwer Aeademic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.

A study of international students' perspectives on
cross-cultural adaptation
MALCOLM LEWTHWAITE
International Pacific College, Private Bag 11021, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Abstract. The aim of this study was to discover and describe how international students
experience and adapt to their new academic, social, cultural and linguistic environment.
Questionnaires were given to 1"2 post-graduate students and interviews conducted on the basis
of the responses. It might be expected, given the range of "culture shock" literature which often
presumes the stressful and even pathological nature of cross-cultural transitions, that interna-
tional students from cultures very different to that found in New Zealand would report high
levels of frustration, stress and even depression. While most reported on obstacles to integra-
tion as being loneliness, mismatch of culture, frustration with the lack of deep integration with
New Zealanders as well as irritation with aspects of their host culture, there was not a high
level of stress reported. The greatest block to adaptation was lack of intercultural communica-
tive competence.
Int roduct i on
I nt e r na t i ona l s t udent s ar e e nr ol l i ng i n i nc r e a s i ng n u mb e r s in Te r t i a r y
Educ a t i on I ns t i t ut i ons in Ne w Zeal and. Uni ve r s i t y char t er s under l i ne t he ne e d
t o pr ovi de an e n v i r o n me n t and t he r e s our c e s t o cat er f or s t udent ' s a c a de mi c
and soci al needs. Hi s t or i c a l l y t her e has been a mi x o f al t r ui s m and c o mme r c e
wi t h ma n y i nt er nat i onal st udent s s pons or e d by t he Mi ni s t r y o f For e i gn Af f ai r s
and Tr ade ( MFAT) and, i ncr eas i ngl y, ot her s c o mi n g as pr i vat e f ul l - f ee p a y i n g
st udent s. Si nce 1990 f e e - p a y i n g ove r s e a s s t udent s have i ncr eas ed f r o m 887
t o 5300 nat i onal l y, f r o m 5% t o 16% o f t he t ot al uni ve r s i t y r ol l , wi t h 8500
ant i ci pat ed i n 1997 ( NZ Educ a t i on Re v i e w 5/ 3/ 97) . The que s t i on o f whe t he r
t hese st udent s feel t hat t he Uni ve r s i t y and t he hos t c o mmu n i t y are he l pi ng
t hem adapt t o t hei r new academi c, soci al and l i ngui st i c e nvi r onme nt s has pr ac-
t i cal i mpl i c a t i ons f or t he uni ver s i t y, f or t he d e v e l o p me n t and a dj us t me nt o f
t he st udent s and f or t he pe r s onne l wo r k i n g f or t he st udent s: couns el l or s , i nt er-
nat i onal s t udent of f i ce st aff, a c a de mi c and admi ni s t r at i ve st aff.
Gi ve n t he g r o wi n g i mpor t a nc e o f i nt er nat i onal st udent s ( her e de f i ne d as
s oj our ne r s f r o m ot he r c ount r i e s wh o ar e in Ne w Ze a l a n d t e mp o r a r i l y f o r
t er t i ar y st udy, a l t hough it is r e c o g n i s e d t hat ne w Ne w Ze a l a nde r s and per -
ma ne nt r es i dent s al so fi t t he pr of i l e o f t hi s s t udy) f or t er t i ar y e duc a t i on, it is
i mpor t a nt t o unde r s t a nd t he f act or s wh i c h af f ect t he qual i t y o f t hei r adj us t -
168
merit and to glean information from their point of view. With only having
2- 4 years for post-graduate study it is important that these sojourners adapt
to the new culture rapidly so as to function effectively.
It is suggested in much of the literature that international students do appear
to experience more physical and mental ill-health as well as more academic
problems that native students. In a revi ew of sojourner adjustment Church
(1982) estimated that the functioning of 15-25% of all international students
might in some way be impaired. In a cross cultural study of Hong Kong
Chinese students in China and Canada, Dyal and Chan (1985) found these
sojourners, particularly the females, to be at greater risk of self reported stress-
related symptoms than Canadian nationals or Hong Kong students studying
in their own countries. Conversely other studies (Klineberg & Hull, 1979)
have found that international students who made satisfactory social contact
and established relationships with local people during their sojourn reported
broader and more general satisfaction with their academic and non-academic
experiences.
Literature revi ew
There are 4 broad streams and models in the cross-cultural literature. The most
dominant over the last 30 years has been the culture shock model which, using
the well-known U-shaped curve (Lysgaard, 1955), sees the entry point for
the sojourner as being on a honeymoon high, fol l owed by a bottoming out
resulting from cultural maladjustment, and finally a climb up and out to
cultural acceptance and adaptation. In it' s original presentation (Oberg, 1960)
culture shock was seen as a medical condition which afflicted all who crossed
cultures.
A modern extension of this culture shock as medical sympt om sees it in
terms of a crisis of personality or identity (Adler, 1975, 1987). Contact with
an alien culture is said to tear away at all the familiar bases of one' s self,
depriving people of their familiar points of reference. As the sojourner moves
through the points of passage various probl ems and crises are met and
resolved, working out new identities embracing both old and new selves. Adler
especially views the culture crisis as an impetus necessary to make possible
personality development and personal growth. The "shaking" of personality
allows a more integrated and transcultural self to be constructed.
Overlapping somewhat with this is a second stream which conceptualizes
cross-cultural adaptation as essentially a learning process. Sojourners are ini-
tially very ignorant of the behavioral and cultural norms of the new culture
and to adapt they must learn the features of it and acquire the sociocultural
skills for participating in it. In contrast to the U-curve, adaptation here is
plotted as a classic arithmetical learning curve. The jolts provided by expe-
riencing the new culture can be a precondition to learning (Taylor, 1994,
p. 397).
169
Within this learning process two different learning emphases are given.
One, that of communi cat i on theorists (Ruben & Kealey, 1979), holds that
because communication determines the individual' s ability to interact com-
petently in all life situations, intercultural communication is the essence of
cultural adaptation. The other emphasis states that successful adaptation not
only depends on communication but also in learning and using appropriate
behaviours.
The third approach seems to combine various elements of the above, where
culture adaptation is a process of learning and recovery. Typically an inter-
national student is on a step by step psychological journey from the periphery
of a culture to the centre, from a state of ignorance and resentment to a position
of understanding and empathy, or, as Bennett (1986) puts it, from ethno-
centrism to ethno-relativism.
A final model presents a homeostatic mechanism which sees cross-cultural
adaptation as a dynamic and cyclical process of tension reduction until an
equilibrium is reached (Gudykunst & Hammer, 1987). In these homeostatic
terms an international student is in a situation where upheavals and disrup-
tions are pushing them out of equilibrium, and the process of adapting aims
to reduce the internal imbalance felt as tension/drive/need/uncertainty.
With the recognition that none of these models can comprehensively explain
the complex process of cross-cultural adaptation, and noting their failure to
take into account individual adaptation strategies, cognitive factors and the
fact that some peopl e thrive on stress, other model s are emerging. Some
(Furnham & Bochner, 1986) widen the discussion to "change shock" or
(cultural) adjustment stress or, with the more positive emphasis, "being effec-
tive abroad"; others (Kim, 1978; Klineberg & Hull, 1979) report that little or
no shock or crises were felt at all, and hence that the U-curve is dubious.
Much of the recent research has focused on identifying predictors such as
skills, traits, attitudes and knowledge that are indicative of intercultural com-
petence, with one study concluding that "the ability to deal with psycholog-
ical stress . . . . the ability to effectively communicate, [and] . . . the ability
to establish interpersonal relationships" are the basic factors in successful
intercultural experiences (Hammer et al., 1978).
The conceptual backdrop for this investigation will use two models. The
first is a communi cat i on model offered by Redmond and Bunyi (1993).
Intercultural communication competence (ICC) here is seen as a composite
of six components: (1) communication skills (especially social decentering
or empathy), (2) knowl edge of host culture, (3) language competence, (4)
adaptation (mainly determined by interpersonal flexibility, adapting to dif-
ferent points of view, suspending judgements and the like), (5) communica-
tion effectiveness (ability to communicate with a range of New Zealanders,
deal with misunderstandings), and (6) social integration (ability to initiate
assimilation into the social or relational network) (Brislin, 1981; Imahori &
Lanigan, 1989; Redmond & Bunyi, 1993).
Many studies on cultural adaptation stress the importance of the ability to
170
communi cat e with others in a culturally appropriate way and underline
concepts such as empathy, perspective taking, cultural sensitivity, listening
and non-ethnocentrism (Collier, 1989). Social decentering involves the
ability to understand and adapt to others, persuasive effectiveness, enhancing
relationships, and providing a supportive atmosphere (Redmond, 1989). The
opposite of decentered communi cat i on is egocentric communication which
is the tendency to send messages that make sense to oursel ves without
adapting to differences. The importance of knowing something about the host
culture in reducing intercultural misunderstandings and stress is underline by
Gudykunst and Hammer (1987). Ethnocentrism can be reduced by intercul-
tural contact programmes prior to arrival (Stephan & Stephan, 1992) and, once
arrived, orientation programmes and contact with host families are ways of
gaining cultural knowledge.
In this investigation language compet ence refers to the international
student' s self-perceived ability to speak and understand (in both academic and
social settings) and to read and to write (especially in academic English). Their
feelings as to their performance may not refer to their actual ability. The term
"social integration" is used to indicate the degree which international students
are able to initiate interactions and maintain friendships with host nationals.
Some indices of social integration would be the number of host friends made,
quality of contact with host families and the number of university and com-
munity organisations they are members of which have New Zealand members.
Redmond and Bunyi (1993) found that reported communi cat i on effective-
ness along with adaptation and social integration were the best predictors of
effectiveness in handling stress. In fact the social-psychology acculturation
model of Schumann (1986) predicts that the (language) learner will acquire
fluency in the target language to the extent they acculturate to the host culture,
and hence by extension internationals will not make language progress, be
confident in their academic studies, or feel integrated until they actually belong
to clubs, societies and families within the host culture.
Finally a cross-cultural adaptation process model that provi des for the
framework of this study is that of Anderson (1994) who, synthesising key
features of the concepts mentioned above as well as using studies from social
psychol ogy and psychological drive theory (power, affiliation and intimacy),
starts more broadly than j ust cross-cultural adaptation and puts adaptation
processes in the arena of life changes such as bereavement, starting school,
retirement and the like, all of which can be experienced as an earthquake or
as a minor tremor. Basically the model sees the presence of a blockage as a
thwarting condition and the adjustment is the generation of a response to
overcome the obstacle. All adjustment is a cyclical and recursive process of
overcoming obstacles and solving problems. Drive or motivation is needed
for the individual to press towards a better integration and thus surmount the
problem. For the newly arrived and inexperienced international student, the
hurdles can come from their living circumstances, academic situation and
171
surrounding culture. Or they may come from internal states; a sense of lone-
liness or homesickness may be the obstacles that the sojourner must overcome
before other goals are achieved.
From the adj ust er' s perspective, real-life adj ust ment i nvol ves worki ng
toward a fit bet ween person and environment; for an international student
environmental or situational demands can assault all areas, values and beliefs,
interpersonal relationships and skills or, as Anderson (1994) points out, even
physical appearance as a member of a visible minority. The individual chooses
how to respond to these new obstacles (if they are defined as such) and in
doing so creates his or her own adjustment. There are, broadly put, four ways
of reacting to a new situation: changing the environment, changing oneself,
doing nothing, or avoiding it. Individuals' perceptions shape both what must
be adjusted to and what the process wilt be. For example the international
student may determine that their present level of English is sufficient for them
to succeed academically, but because they feel their lack of social language
makes them feel uncomfortable they will avoid social situations. It should also
be noted that not everyone wishes to adjust to everything in the environment.
In Anderson' s model cross-cultural adaptation is not seen as a U-curve or a
gradually advancing accommodation to a culture but as a non-linear and dis-
continuous process, consisting of a string of adjustments to environmental or
internal obstacles. This is best described in terms of "transition experiences"
and not culture shock.
The empirical study of Furnham and Bochner (1982) supports this
approach. They found that some of the probl ems confronting international
students were natural and predictable, faced by all those crossing cultures;
language problems, accommodation difficulties, racial discrimination, sepa-
ration reactions, dietary adjustments, financial stress, misunderstandings and
loneliness. Some of the academic stresses were common to all students, inter-
national or local, others arose out of the cultural background of the students.
Alongside these were the difficulties that face all young adults, whether at
home or abroad, in becoming emotionally independent, self supporting, pro-
ductive and a responsible member of society. In other words many of these
processes can be cast in the "string-linear" model of Anderson.
The purpose of this case study is to explore the issues and process of adap-
tation which international students experience whilst doing post-graduate study
at a New Zealand university.
Methodology
Participants
Respondents were 12 international students at Massey University, all of them
undertaking post-graduate studies across a range of disciplines. They were
172
from 4 different East Asian countries which are significantly represented at
this Universitry: Indonesia (6), Taiwan (2), Thailand (2) and Japan (2). They
were chosen because they all had initial introduction to New Zealand and uni-
versity life at the Uni versi t y' s English Language Centre, had passed the
English Language Proficiency test requested by the University and were under-
taking post-graduate studies. (The other 8 students who met this criteria were
not available to participate.) At the point of interview (July/August 1994) they
had all been in New Zealand for approximately 10-12 months and had been
taking their postgraduate courses for 6 months.
Six were female and six were male with the average age being 26.5 years
old with a range of 23-31 years. Two were married, with their spouses still
in their home country. Seven were sponsored students and five were privately
funded.
Materials
The materials used in this investigation were a small scale questionnaire and
an in-depth interview based on the questionnaire.
Questionnaire
In developing items for the questionnaire the University International Student
Adviser was consulted and copi es of the questionnaire were also given to
others in the counselling service and ESL area for comment. Other items and
ideas emerged from the literature and from talking with international students,
as well as from my experience in pastoral and counselling work. In order to
check the comprehensibility of the items in the questionnaire with English as
a Second Language (ESL) students, an early version was pre-tested with 4
post-graduate students from Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, and Taiwan who were
not participants in the research. Taking into account comments from all of
these, the final version was constructed.
The questionnaire was divided into 6 sections: section A being personal
details, section B on cultural adaptation issues, section C related to academic
adaptation concerns, section D on language issues, and sections E and F on
personal support and counselling related issues. There was a mix of Likert
scale ( 1- 10 and 1-5) items using the following ranges: difficult to no real
difficulties, very difficult to easy, very different to not so different, no anxiety
to high anxiety and so on; items consisted of ticking preferences and open
questions designed to elicit written responses. These were designed to tap at
feelings of acculturation, psychological adjustment and sociocultural adapta-
tion. Use of the Li kert scale allowed for a nuanced response and perhaps
suggested that extremes are permissible, especially for cultures where harmony
is stressed above criticism. The primary purpose of the questionnaire was to
obtain information for the interviews.
173
Interviews
Interviews were held to explore experiences and perceptions and gain greater
in-depth understanding than could be gained from a questionnaire alone. The
interview had two stages; the first part followed through the structured
responses given in the questionnaire. Students were then asked to elaborate
on any responses either side of the Likert scale median. In the latter part, the
interview aimed to allow more freedom for students to talk about issues of
significance to them.
Procedure
A letter requesting participation in the questionnaire and interview was sent,
along with a copy of the questionnaire and a suggested time 2 or 3 days later
for the interview. In order to boost motivation toward response, the ques-
tionnaire included a brief preface outlining it's purpose.
The interviews took place in an informal classroom, were audio recorded
and lasted 50-60 minutes each. Because the aim of the interview was to elicit
the student's perspectives I refrained from interrupting as much as possible,
and did so only to encourage speakers to continue or when new energy needed
to be injected. At the later part of the interview I intervened more in order to
check their meanings and my interpretations. Honesty and confidentiality were
emphasised.
Resul ts
Survey
Students were asked to respond to 59 items covering the following aspects:
cultural adaptation, academic issues, language issues, personal and counselling
issues. These were analysed according to the frequency/placing of student
responses on the Likert scales.
The major issues presented by the students are summarised in Table 1.
These are negatively stated, that is the figures given (out of 12 respondents)
indicate some problem or anxiety in this area.
A number of responses to other questions indicated there were no great
concerns or issues and these have been left out of this summary table.
Interviews
The interviews revealed in a different form the intensity of feelings and expe-
riences of international students. Major themes to emerge were the gaps in
cultural and linguistic knowledge and lack of interaction; the relative satis-
faction with adaptation to university life and dissatisfaction with integration
174
Tabl e 1.
Academic issues: concerns arising from: Students N = (12)
Big difference between own country and NZ
Assignments/Essays
Tutorial/seminar presentations
Difficult to meet New Zealanders
Differences in teaching and learning styles
Tests/exams
Understanding content of courses
Faculty staff
Language issues: concerns arising from
Understanding lectures (English, not content)
Speaking in tutorials
Written assignments
Taking notes in lectures
Understanding social English
Reading academic literature
Personal/support issues
Do not belong to clubs in community
Do not belong to clubs on campus
Use counselling/other support systems
Homesickness
Religious concerns
Loneliness/isolation
Racism
Adjustment ratings
Feel well adjusted to academic study
Feel well adjusted to New Zealand
Happy with living situation
10
9
9
8
8
6
6
6
10
10
10
9
8
7
l l
7
5
5
4
4
2
12
10
9
t o t he hos t cul t ur e. St ude nt s e xpr e s s e d mo r e f ul l y t he e l e me nt s t hat he l pe d
t hem t o adj ust ( r ol e o f super vi sor , hos t f ami l y, i nst i t ut i onal suppor t s, be l ongi ng
t o a cl ub) and t he bar r i er s t hat t hwa r t e d t he m ( f os s i l i zed l a ngua ge pr ogr es s ,
a mbi gui t y i n pos t - gr a dua t e r ol e, a c c o mmo d a t i o n si t uat i on, l ack o f t i me f or
r e s oc i a l i z i ng i nt o hos t s oci et y) . I n t e r v i e ws r e ve a l e d t hat r e s ponde nt s e qua t e d
c ouns e l l i ng wi t h gi vi ng a dvi c e and g u i d a n c e in pr act i cal as pect s o f t hei r l i ves
r at her t han i n he l pi ng wi t h af f ect i ve ar eas. I f t hey wer e t o t al k wi t h a c oun-
sel l or 4 wo u l d pr ef er s o me o n e o f t he s a me et hni c b a c k g r o u n d and 6 wo u l d
pr ef er a Ne w Zeal ander . No n e had s t r ong f e e l i ngs on t he mat t er. Fi nal l y i nt er -
vi e ws s h o we d t hat t he f o l l o wi n g i s s ues we r e not a ma j or f a c t or i n s t ude nt ' s
i nt e gr a t i on i nt o Ne w Ze a l a nd; h o me s i c k n e s s , t e a c hi ng and l e a r ni ng st yl es,
t hought s o f r et ur ni ng home , r el at i ons hi ps , mo n e y or f ood/ di et .
175
Discussion
(a) Cultural adaptation
Respondents were asked to comment on various aspects that have aided or
hindered them in adapting to their new environment. As popular wisdom has
it, first impressions can be important in determining the nature of future rela-
tionships. Some of the students had little to no information on New Zealand
or the particular institution they were entering prior to their arrival and this
was cited as a bewildering experience. Some bemusement and anger was
expressed by sponsored students at the lack of substantial information and
preparation for cross-cultural adjustment that was given prior to their depar-
ture. They indicated that more time was needed to disengage from their work
and study in their own country, and for emotional preparation and disen-
gagement. It seems that there was more uncertainty as to precise departure
times and acceptance for courses on the part of these sponsored students.
However, the private students had done their homework prior to coming and
felt satisfied with their preparation at home. The sponsoring agency deter-
mined that the sponsored group were to live with a homestay family and this
was a source of much stress. The private group had more choice as to their
living situation. Students from both groups who stayed in student hostels
expressed a lack of opportunity to establish contacts with people in the off-
campus community.
All students except one expressed the view that it was difficult to meet with
New Zealand people outside of their study context. The motivation and desire
was there to do so, but as the year progressed academic workloads made this
increasingly more difficult, a situation that resulted in felt tension for students.
They realised the social and linguistic benefits of interacting with local
families but felt trapped by the academic workload and by their perceived lack
of fluent social English. While there was frustration in not being involved in
more New Zealand cultural activities, most of the students seemed resigned
to the fact that to succeed academically they needed all the available time for
their studies, especially in the exacting linguistic work of producing accurate
assignments and theses. The major consequence is that they remained on the
periphery of their host culture rather than integrated to it.
The orientation programme offered by the university at the beginning of
the academic year was a helpful introduction to academic and, to a lesser
degree social, life and expectations were high. In spite of the nervousness
and fear of being in a culturally different environment there was the expec-
tation that genuine connections would be made and sustained over the year
with the different people and groups (e.g. academic and registry personnel,
Maori groups) met during the orientation week. This did not happen. It was
noted that New Zealanders at all levels were friendly but difficult to maintain
relationships with.
176
While some of the respondents belonged to university clubs and societies
these tended to be groupings from their own culture "I belong to the Thai
students club because ! can relax and speak my own language. I am in an
English speaking environment all we e k. . . I couldn' t relax in the same way
with Kiwi students I can catch up with news from home and we talk about
our studies and of course New Ze a l a nd. . . I think this helps me relax more
and helps me survive in the uni ver s i t y. . , yes I suppose it stops me from
meeting other students but I don' t have energy or time for more than this."
None of the respondents belonged to any clubs or society in the community.
In part this explains student comments that they feel a "psycho-social" distance
from their host culture, a major factor in slowing down language fluency
(Schumann 1986).
Students noted the difficulty of crossing into New Zealand culture and
society due in part to the felt disparity between the two cultures involved.
More importantly what made it more difficult was the lack of real opportu-
nities to engage in a relaxed way with the host culture. Respondents found
living in the hostels did not facilitate significant interaction. Many mentioned
the differences in age and interest of hostel students while others said they
found the hostel students "unt hought f ul . . . i mma t ur e . . , not interested in
international s t udent s . . , underestimate us and our cul t ur e. . , preoccupied
with their own concer ns . . , naive about our country and it's sophistication
. .". One student with a confident gregarious personality still finds himself
sitting alone at the evening meal. This is in contrast to the importance of the
communal meal in this student's own culture. The only person who engages
in conversation, apart from other international students, is the hostel super-
visor. Other students underlined the importance of the hostel supervisor
(usually a more mature post-graduate student) who functioned for the inter-
national student as a social and language reference point (for example, in
introducing the international students to New Zealand students). Along with
the academic supervisor they were the most important brokers of the host
culture
And if cultural integration doesn' t happen in their places of accommoda-
tion it doesn' t seem to happen in their academic environment either, or at least
to the extent desired. In lectures and tutorials, seminars and conferences the
perception is that New Zealand students, both post-graduate and undergrad-
uate, keep to themselves and do not invite the participation of internationals
into their groups. Some respondents mentioned that they would have some
anxiety if they did establish friendships with New Zealand students; for
example the extra time it would take to cultivate the friendship in contrast to
someone from their own background. Thus anxiety if they do make contact,
anxiety if they do not.
The 4 students who did register satisfaction with their continuing integra-
tion into their host culture were those who intentionally kept regular contact
with their original homestay family and who felt their interest and support.
These students used the family to discuss personal and cultural concerns and
177
felt some kinship with the wider community. "Visiting my [host] family in
town gives me the opportunity to get away from campus and to check with
them what words and sentences [that I ' ve heard during the week] me a n . . .
I ' m also able to ask questions about New Z e a l a n d . . . I ' m too embarrassed
to ask peopl e on campus. The children [of the host family] are good for this".
Contact with the local family, in other words, gave them cultural knowl edge
that wasn' t availed upon elsewhere. It also provides a counterbalance to the
tendency to stay within their own sociocultural group for support. It is note-
wort hy that the two Japanese students interviewed indicated their desire for
social integration and showed the most effort to maintain community family
contact and to avoid fellow nationals. Even so, guilt was expressed in failure
to keep in contact with the family as academic pressures mounted.
(b) Academic adjustment across cultures
The quest i onnai re and interviews clearly reveal ed three aspects regarding
international student' s academic life: (1) the important role of their academic
supervisors in their adaptation, (2) their general satisfaction with the quality
of their courses, and (3) the stress generated by producing written essays and
producing spoken discourse in tutorial or lecture situations.
Gi ven the "apprent i ceshi p" and "gat ekeepi ng" nature of the supervisee
and supervi sor relationship and the expect at i ons of post-graduate study
(Rudolph, 1994), it is important that a good rapport be established. This can
be a make or break time for successful acculturation of the student into
academi c culture, and has a marked i nfl uence on student contentment and
productivity.
Respondent s felt tension in having to master and use the appropriate dis-
course in order to develop a bond so that they could gain membership into
the academi c community. For one student in particular this learning new
patterns of talk, along with feeling unsure of her status with her supervisor,
was the supreme source of anxiety. Others also voi ced uncertainty as to the
degree of dependence and deference they should display towards their super-
visor. Should they take more initiative, or woul d this be seen as assertive-
ness or even aggression?
Most students mentioned the surprising amount of freedom they had to find
and design their own research area as we l l as to choose from the array of
papers available. For some with little background in experimental design,
theory driven research or the structures of argumentation this was a stressful
new reality. Some had expect ed to be able to j oi n existing research teams
rather than to start at the very beginning. Compared with their home coun-
tries fewer guidelines were given as to what areas were available to research.
Study guides, where available for post-graduate work, were considered indis-
pensable.
Most students reported that, in comparison to their home country, univer-
sity teachers in New Zealand were very approachable and took a profound
178
interest in the students themselves, offering hospitality, friendship and
guidance. This had a direct bearing on their feelings of satisfaction with their
sojourn in New Zealand. At the same time it was noted by half the students
that their lecturers/supervisors seemed very busy and students were reluctant
to approach them particularly if the staff members seemed stressed. Other
problems mentioned were that supervisors were often away and not available
when needed (with the student not feeling it culturally appropriate for her to
mention this to the supervisor or head of department) and a few students had
changed supervisor, one three times. Some indicated surprise at the degree
of interaction and questioning in lectures and felt inadequate compared with
the New Zealand student's ease in generating discussion and using the teacher
as a resource. Only one respondent felt this style of interaction indicated a
lack of respect. Most felt that the dialogical and open nature of interaction,
while initially surprising, enhanced their own learning.
(c) Language issues
The great frustration for all these international students was that they felt a
lack of confidence in their English language ability to contribute in lectures
or seminars, even though a strong motivation to do so existed. Problems were
identified in understanding lectures, taking notes, reading academic litera-
ture and in understanding the informal New Zealand variety of English of
students and staff. (It could be noted in passing that some other varieties of
spoken English were regarded as almost impossible to understand.) It seemed
to depend on their personality whether they would ask for the missing infor-
mation to be repeated.
Students were asked what aspects of academic life they find the most
helpful and the most stressful. The small seminar groups were a source of
comfort and stress; helpful in overcoming the sense of isolation and in pro-
viding a context for discussing research topics but causing high anxiety
regarding their own role in the group, most feeling that because of their per-
ceived linguistic inadequacies they were not able to contribute to the discus-
sion and hence felt parasitic and judged as such in the group. As discussed
above, perceived communicative competence is important in feelings about
cross-cultural adjustment. As one Indonesian student commented "New
Zealand students ask lecturers di r ect l y. . . In fact some teachers really look
for questions and make the lesson around i t . . . I like the questioning approach,
I like to listen to others but I don' t know when to ask them mys e l f . . . I
don' t feel brave enough". It seems that though these students had been
admitted to post-graduate courses on the basis of their high linguistic ability
(based on IELTS or TOEFL scores) their lack of knowledge of such things
as "rules for speaking" and "turn taking" and other sociolinguistic knowl-
edge may be impeding them (Rudolph, 1994).
179
(d) Per s onal and support concerns
The degree to which students experience a satisfactory integration into their
host culture depends on a mix of factors including the opportunities given and
taken for being immersed in language and culture. Redmond and Bunyi (1993)
state that the best predictors of the amount of stress reported is reported com-
munication effectiveness, adaptation and social integration. But what do inter-
national students do to cope with the strain that comes from not feeling
integrated in the host culture, and from where do they seek and get support?
And what are these others strains?
The students who had left their wives and children in their home country
expressed a special loneliness, sense of frustration, and an intense concern for
the health of families and themselves. In fact, the fear and experience of ill-
health away from the normal supports of home was a great source of anxiety.
One student who underwent a minor operation in hospital showed extreme
discomfort with the experience of being alone, and expressed strong anxiety
at falling behind in his research. Most others reported having experienced bad
health, and one can only speculate whether a few may be somatising anxiety
(Furnham & Bochner, 1989).
The other great concern was a fear of failure. This is natural enough to all
human beings but had added edge for the international students when expec-
tations were so high from their families and, for the sponsored students, their
respective Governments and sponsoring agencies. Sue (1981) underlines that
Asian family expectations results in high stress levels for Asian students.
The high anxiety rating given for examinations fitted in with a sense of being
away from family supports, having to cope in fluent and accurate academic
English, and the high expectations. As one expressed it "the shame I would
have if I f ai l ed. . . My education ministry expects me to pass well and return
as head of the research uni t . . . " . The fact that they were also studying for
others seemed to be related to the remarkably high motivation they exhib-
ited. Even the constant demand of assignments was seen as inducement to
motivation rather than a deterrent to it. Being away from the normal supports
encouraged them to find more motivation from within themselves.
Some concern was expressed that they were loosing touch with their own
culture, and an important way to maintain and feel good about their culture
was to meet regularly with others from the same background. This also seemed
to function as a way of maintaining some form of collectivism against the per-
ceived individualism of New Zealand university culture (Bhawuk & Brislin,
1992). Three students stated that they wouldn' t mind loosing the values and
traditions of home and seemed to deliberately keep away from their fellow
nationals; "I don' t miss my culture but I do miss my f a mi l y. . . " and "I don' t
want too much contact now with others from [my country] . . . they speak
English with a bad accent, so I want to meet more with Kiwi students but I
c a n' t . . . I do want to have two countries and two cul t ur es. . , but I want to
stay in New Zealand". Amidst such feelings of ambiguity this student showed
180
hi gh intrinsic and i nst rument al mot i vat i on Overal l the gr oup of r espondent s
val ued the exper i ence of becomi ng i nt ercul t ural but readi l y fel t the t ensi ons
of it happeni ng t oo qui ckl y in some i nst ances or t oo sl owl y in others
An i mpor t ant part of cul t ural mai nt enance f or the Musl i m students inter-
vi ewed was t he r egul ar t i me of meet i ng f or worshi p and pr ayer bot h duri ng
t he mont h of Ramadan and t he r est of t he year. Concer n was voi ced t hat
faci l i t i es used wer e i nadequat e and a larger, mor e per manent faci l i t y needed.
It was st ri ki ng how this gr oup of Musl i m st udent s had set t l ed i nt o t he
academi c life but had little cont act of f campus Ot hers of di f f er ent faiths wer e
able to fi nd fel l owshi p wi t h communi t i es on and of f campus, or wer e cont ent
pract i si ng individually
St udent s wer e also asked i f t hey exper i enced any racial di scri mi nat i on and
whi l e none exper i enced it over t l y on campus one not ed that "possi bl y some
l ect urers l ook down on me but I ' m not sure whet her it' s because of my race,
my bad Engl i sh or my per sonal i t y". Somet hi ng cl ose to r aci sm emer ges in
the f ol l owi ng comment , "I f eel that most New Zeal ander s under est i mat e us
. . and have superi or, pat r oni si ng vi ews of [my count r y] . . . this is an
unspoken a t t i t u d e . . . Ki wi ' s feel t hey are bet t er in e v e r y t h i n g . . . " . A Japanese
st udent may have also been speaki ng f or some Thai and Indonesi an students
' J apanes e can be t aken as a cause of pol l ut i on and depl et i on of r esour ces
. . Ki wi s t hi nk so pr oud' (sic). One had hear d of some pr ej udi ce agai nst
Asi ans in Auckl and, and anot her had r ecei ved der ogat or y comment s of f
campus One r es ponded t hat she i mpl y di d not know any New Zeal and
st udent s to exper i ence raci al at t i t udes f r om. Whet her this "i sol at i on" was a
resul t of cert ai n at t i t udes is not clear.
What resources do i nt ernat i onal st udent s use as strategies f or copi ng? Most
not ed the severe lack of t i me f or recreat i onal activities but all have some relax-
at i on t i mes bui l t into t hei r timetables Some envy was expr essed at how much
mor e l ei sure and sports t i me New Zeal and st udent s take. It was per cei ved t hat
any di scr et i onar y t i me avai l abl e was best used f or that ext r a ef f or t to pr oduce
proj ect s and assi gnment s in good Engl i sh. Some wer e so f ocused on this t ask
that i roni cal l y t hey di d not use the faci l i t i es avai l abl e whi ch woul d hel p t hem
wi t h t hei r pr oduci ng accurat e Engl i sh or adj ust i ng to t he cul t ure, that is, not
havi ng the t i me to use l earni ng suppor t net wor k or ESL t ut ors or appr oachi ng
t hei r mentor
St udent s wer e asked f or what r easons t hey woul d go and see a counsel l or,
and whet her t hey had an pr ef er ences f or t he et hni c backgr ound of the person
None had used t he counsel l i ng servi ce but t here was not great fear of doi ng
so, part i cul arl y to di scuss study, fi nanci al and per sonal probl ems. "I woul d
use the servi ce i f the pr obl em I had was t oo per sonal f or my fri ends, some-
thing like s h a me . . . Someone obj ect i ve mi ght hel p. " Two students were cl ear
t hey woul d not use a counsel l or: "Seei ng a counsel l or won' t hel p wi t h my
basic pr obl em whi ch is Engl i sh". Anot her st udent eager to devel op sel f-con-
t ai ned approaches stated " My own pr obl em is my own pr obl em". For another,
pat t erns est abl i shed at home wer e mor e appropri at e, "In my own count r y I
181
would see the priest with a problem and I would do the same here". For most,
if they were to see a counsellor, it wouldn' t matter what nationality the coun-
sellor was so long as he or she is helpful and professional. Six indicated that
if they had to choose they would prefer a New Zealand counsellor because
of the local knowledge they have. Some studies (Pederson, 1981; Sue, 1979)
have indicated that international students prefer a counsellor to be from their
own ethnic background. These students had no such preference, perhaps
because they were keen to integrate quickly into the university environment.
Many studies have noted the reluctance of Asian students to use counselling
services (Pederson & Marsella, 1981; Sue, 1981). The University International
Student Advisor commented that Asians often see a stigma in going to psy-
chological services and would prefer to see someone like an International
Student Advisor even if the problems are of a psychological nature. In the
interview it was clear that students from these Asian backgrounds did not
distinguish between psychological counselling, advising and other roles of the
international student office. As mentioned earlier hostel supervisors, host
families, academic supervisors and mentors functioned for many as "coun-
sellors" when some sort of blockage occurred.
As to the style of counselling, respondents commented they expected coun-
selling to be "advising me what to do", that is reasonably directive, nurtu-
rant, practical and advice giving. At the same time they acknowledged that
as adults they needed to make the final decisions.
Clearly because of the limited sampling and nature of this study no gen-
eralisations can be made. To trace the process and dynamics of adjustment
with more accuracy, as well as discover ways people cope, a longitudinal
and multi-factorial design with a wider representative sampling would be
suitable for the future studies needed in this area.
Concl usi on
The aim of this study was to examine the experiences of a group of interna-
tional students while they were making adjustments to their new academic
culture and social environment. My own hunch, based on a reading of the
culture shock model was that they would be experiencing, or have experi-
enced, a high degree of cross-cultural anxiety. The students reported various
levels of frustration and misunderstanding arising from the mismatch of their
own culture and that of the host country, but there were no indications that
at any stage had "disintegration" occurred either physically or in psycholog-
ical/personality terms. There seemed to be crises of confidence and in estab-
lishing a sense of place in the new country but not the fundamental shaking
of personality mentioned by Adler (1987). The new situation, not surprisingly,
did cause them to assess their goals and motivations and to analyse host and
home cultures.
However, their reactions seem to fit in the intercultural communicative
182
competence model (Redmond & Bunyi, 1992) in that the stress and lack of
adaptation experienced was due to gaps in communication effectiveness. The
items in the questionnaire particularly relating to this were to do with under-
standing informal of New Zealand English, contributing in tutorials and
mixing with and understanding the host culture. Interviews showed that the
inability to deal with misunderstandings and to empathise with host students,
along with an inability to establish interpersonal relationships resulted in slow
social integration. In terms of Anderson's model this is seen as coming up
against certain (for the most part, communicative) obstacles in their cross-
cultural encounters. The student response leads to either furthering their inte-
gration or stagnation. The process of students adapting and integrating
generally seemed an incremental and reiterative process, as Anderson states;
many of the students themselves felt that they were on a slow loop.
The respondents viewed their crossing of culture also as a learning process
in which there were many obstacles to overcome. They had a simple aim of
learning the new skills which would help them feel at home, but they seemed
to have prioritised the order in which they would tackle these impediments:
(1) to make the necessary adjustments to fit into the academic environment,
i.e. to establish a good rapport with their supervisor; (2) to complete suc-
cessfully their academic requirements; and, (3) only when the above two were
completed would they use the available resources and seek deeper cultural
integration.
The intensity of the obstacles felt and their successful surmounting of them
seemed to be tied in with aspects of personality, style of learning and moti-
vation along with how objectives were prioritised. Respondents seemed to
choose how much of the new culture they wanted and needed to learn (defined
in terms of how much time they could dedicate to this process).The differ-
ences in values, attitudes and beliefs between home and host cultures were
seen as great and coupled with the sense of loss of the familiar (including
food) put considerable pressure on the student. Beyond this though was the
student's perceived social and linguistic incompetence. They did not feel that
they had as yet sufficient flexibility to respond appropriately in either social
or some academic settings and this greatly hindered their adapting to New
Zealand conditions. While despondent about their progress they acknowledged
much had been learned and successfully negotiated, and perhaps most sig-
nificantly none had run away. It can safely be said that generally this group
of students underestimate their linguistic ability but also clearly they feel
relatively incompetent, and it is this that slows down integration.
Implications for counselling and student services
There are a range of ways that those working with international students can
enhance their adaptation and reduce impediments. Administrators need to be
183
aware that pre-entry material should provi de solid cultural information as
should the orientation programme. In fact, there is good justification for such
a programme to be offered during the year covering issues such as the con-
trasting styles of individualism and collectivism (perhaps using small group
cultural teaching and counselling). And although most tertiary institutions
have appropriate language entry requirements in place, it needs to be recog-
nised that for an international student to be fully functioning they need oppor-
tunities for continued language input. In particular the students noted the
need for solid exposure to informal New Zealand English so as to be able to
confidently manage social situations. Given this need, sponsoring agencies
should consider the relative merits of having students in homestays v i s g~ v i s
hostels.
The academic programmes and staff support were in general highly rated,
with special mention made of the important roles that the supervisor(s) and,
where available, the mentors have in acculturation.
With regard to counselling, even though these international students tend
to use other resources including friends, hostel supervisors and homest ay
parents and do not tend to expect counselling in the psychological sense, they
do use the counselling service and international students offi ce for advice
and direction. Counsellors can help by recognising the emotional effects of
cross-cultural changes ranging from general fatigue, anxiety, depression and
hostility through to rejection of the host culture.
Because the university environment can not be changed quickly, students
might react in what Lazarus and Fol kman (1984) call "emot i on-focused"
coping, leaving the obstacle objectively unchanged. There was some sugges-
tion in the interviews that students used emotional responses for the first part
of their adaptation process and tended to use more cognitive aspects of their
personality in adapting (reframing, rationalising) the longer they stay. One
can also observe that a student is performing well academically but hurting
inside at feeling a failure at being intercultural. A helpful counselling approach
is to reframe the student' s experience indicating the "normal i t y" of the
processes and reactions involved and to point the way to other support systems
that are in place such as "adopt a fami l y" schemes, learning and language
support networks, support groups for spouses and the like. While some may
need to be encouraged to minimise their national peer group contact, the psy-
chological support that such contact brings should also be recognised even if
it is at the expense of socialisation.
With the numbers of international students growing, counsellors with
knowl edge of contributing countries and themselves cross-culturally compe-
tent will be in a good position to help the international student grow through
the learning curve or bend of adapting to a new culture.
184
Ac kno wl e dg e me nt s
I woul d like to thank John Clarke, my supervi sor for this project, for hi s very
hel pful comment s and advi ce. Al s o I woul d like to thank the international
students who contri buted to this project and who al so make our educat i on
settings in Ne w Zeal and richer pl aces, educati onal l y and culturally.
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