“An Exploratory Study in the Adaptation in International

Transferees of FEU Grade 11 Students in their New

Environment in Metropolitan Manila”

In partial fulfillment for the course

Practical Research & Reading and Writing

As presented to the Faculty of

Humanities and Social Sciences Department

Far Eastern University High School

Submitted to:
Sir Ian Lucky Sumbilia
And Miss Chrizelle Villanueva

Submitted by: GROUP 1- STEM 4

Babiera, Ian Karl V.

Baricaua, Mayflor
Dadula, Mark
Evangelista, Gab A.
Maguddayao, Malchiel A.
Mariano, Chester G.
Silva, Chelsey Dianne B.
Supnad, Lyssa Mae A.
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This research paper will be talking about the International transferees in the grade 11

senior high students of Far Eastern University. How these students go through the struggles of

adaptation.

According to "Critical Thinking Manila" (2010) adaptation is defined in terms of

behavioral skills as an ability to fit in" or effectively interact with members of the host culture.

Therefore, adaptation is the ability to fit in with the social life and how they adapt the different

instances in the new environment.

I. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

In this paper, we shall discuss the different experiences or hardships of the FEU SHS

students regarding on how they adapt the new environment. This research paper would like to

thrust of this topic to know the effects of adaptation to a new environment.

Culture shock comprehends those phenomena which result when groups of individuals having

different cultures come in contact with different cultures (Berry, 2006). It happens especially

when individuals are totally immersed in the new culture, as is usually the case with international

students. Culture shock often results in feelings of confusion and anxiety

Knowing that transferring schools is already a nerve-racking situation, what more when your

way of living is suddenly being shifted to the other part of the country. The thought of people

anticipating much from you brings a lot of pressure. Many students are suffering through the

feeling of loneliness & isolation. The fact that the things they know are not applicable anymore
to their current situation. A lot of adapting is a must and this research paper would like to answer

the unanswered questions on how else other students struggle.

According to Joseph (2013), many students travel from all over the world to study in the

Philippines, and that number is significantly increasing. This may be due to affordability, high

quality education, and its early progress toward the integration of cultural diversity. They are

from different races religions, linguistic and cultural backgrounds, gender, ideology, and socio-

economic status, but most, if not all, have to adapt to their new life in the new country. In the

process, many of them may feel isolated. That feeling can go on for a long time without the

knowledge of the schools, relatives, or friends and can negatively affect their quality of life

during the time they spent studying in the Philippines.

Adaptation refers the process of adjustment to the existing conditions in the environment.

It refers to the development of cultural and social skills, sensibility to the beliefs, values, and

norms of the new culture.

II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This provides an overview of previews studies and related literature that supports our

present study. The ideas and information helps to compromise the main focus of our research.

It is common for students to face challenging situations when they are adapting to a new

environment. They usually go through a process when adjusting towards the new learning and

teaching systems of the environment. This has been given the term of "academic shock" wherein

students may find struggles to coincide with their present situation and alter their routines from

their past experiences (Yu & Wright, 2016).

 Studies stated that a lot of international students experience culture shock according to

the 1960s Oberg's model. As students came to learn the symptoms and stages of culture shock,

people started to get interested by how accurate the data are. Students have been more aware by

this study and it has helped prepare them for adjusting to the new environment. The article has

also stated that the crisis stage would occur because of the different culture and living styles.

This would leave a negative effect on the students of feeling helpless, depressed and alone

(Baier, 2005).

As mentioned by Zeng (2017), the number of College students studying abroad,

especially Asian international students has transfer among North American Universities in the

past decade. They face the new environments that differs what they do in their daily lives in their

countries both culturally and socially. For example, based on true experience, Asian students are

taught to be amenable with their teacher's expectations during the first 18 years of their lives.

With concealing their thoughts and remaining quiet during class is encouraged by their teachers.

On the other hand, American professors, ask them to do the exactly the opposite to achieve the

academic success. In addition, Asian culture motivates people to be humble and express

emotional restraint under social circumstances, while U.S. culture often encourages direct

expression of opinions. As a result, different social principles and moralities disconnect many

international students from their previous lifestyles, while the different cultural environment

continues to confound them.

As stated by Murray (2017), people go through various phases of adjustment when they

move from one culture to another. When feeling homesick or experience difficulty adjusting to a
new way of life, it can be helpful to talk about it with someone. It is comforting to be able to talk

to a friend and share your experiences. Majority of studies has revealed that there are many

effects of academic and socio-cultural changes to students. One example of that is psychological

distress that inevitably affects the student’s well-being. It also includes loneliness, depression,

culture shock and many more.

The Filipino culture is said to be a diverse culture wherein many other nationalities has

given a contribution to the practices today. The country is marked by a true blend of cultures;

truly in the Philippines, East meets West. There are many different backgrounds which include

Malay, Indonesian and Chinese, Spanish elements as well. The country has a great mixture of the

east and west cultures, it is beneficial for everyone in the community. Foreigners and other

people are welcomed in the Philippines, adapting to our culture won’t be as difficult for

Philippines are also one of the top most English speaking countries. Therefore, strangers to this

country will not be excluded. For this country will openly welcome all other diversities

(Florido, 2006).

Every nation has different culture and it is good to know what their culture are. There are

so many nations in the world hence, generalization cannot be avoided. One writer said that

human need to be categorized. This is true but there is danger when we act on some of these

generalizations, especially when they are based on faulty observation. These faulty observations

can have serious negative consequences. Stereotyping can have intense negative effects. When

visiting other countries there will sure have different culture that is different from yours. There is

no good substitute for receptiveness to interpersonal feedback, good observation skills, effective

questions, and some wisdom. By observing, you can gain knowledge on how people of the same
culture interact with each other. Show appreciation on their food and music. Interact with the

people, ask question, with these you can have a balanced view of their culture. When the exterior

is peeled off, there are not so many differences after all (Billikopf, 2009).

Graber and Lill (2006) discusses that environmental interactions are also called the

human social system which states that this complex adaptive system means that everyone is

somehow and connected and that these parts are important to the society. As cited by Marten

(2001), interacting with other people would need awareness on whoever you are socializing with.

This has also talked about the terms of coevolution and coadaptation which describes the never-

ending process of mutual adjustment and change between human social systems and the

environment. In short, people’s action has an impact in everyone.

University Of Colorado Boulder (2017) states that, adjusting to another culture is so hard

but you need only time to adjust on the new environment. The cultural adaptation is part of the

process of learning new stuffs. Learning the environment is another factor that plays a major role

in international students' adjustment and acculturation. In other words, learning the environment

could make international students' experiences. Just remember that this is a very normal process

that nearly everyone goes though. Healthy adjustment is essential for maximizing the

educational and social benefits of the experience. Coping with a new learning environment

which could in turn affect their behavior and attitude either positively or negatively.

According to the University Publishing Service (2011), making an adjustment to

existence in a new country is tough due to the fact while you go away your property tradition,

you separate yourself from the humans and locations which you are acquainted with and in
which your position and expectations about life are predictable. Cultural adjustment happens

whilst you are able to each have fun your private home way of life and adapt and combine into

the Australian way of life and its look at styles, language, conduct and attitudes. The system of

moving from way of life shock to cultural adjustment isn't a one-manner adventure. You may

locate that at instances you discover yourself feeling related and happy but that others you're-

revel in feeling homesick and pissed off. Throughout the first weeks of a while remote places,

you may sense enthusiastic about the change in your environment. But this preliminary pleasure

of the change can drop away when the new and one of kind expectancies start to sense worrying

or overly traumatic. Lifestyle shock may be skilled by using the most powerful and most able to

students. You may also sense like an “outsider” and be irritated or annoyed through your new

country - seeing it as “awful” or “wrong”. It is also common to sense in reality homesick - a

longing to be returned home where matters are “regular” and “make feel”. A success adjustment

normally starts off evolved whilst you begin to experience that the environment and the nearby

language are becoming more acquainted.

Although international students had high levels of social support and low levels of

loneliness and stress, students were experiencing high levels of sociocultural adjustment

difficulties and psychological distress. Language is one of the most important differences

between cultures and can be a major barrier to migrant adaptation. Students report language

difficulty as one of their biggest concerns and several studies have reported that international

students who have higher language proficiency report better adjustment. According to the

researchers, another major challenge for international students is their academic performance

abroad. Indeed, International students often experience significant academic adjustment

difficulties and the academic needs of international students are often poorly understood within

constitutions. The international students who form more relationships with host students felt less

lonely and enjoyed themselves more. On thorough research and observations, the psychological

adjustment is predicted by loneliness, sociocultural adaptation, and social support, whereas

sociocultural adaptation depends on language ability and interaction with host nationals. This

research has been guided by culture learning, stress coping and social identification theories to

bring conceptual integration. This research has also shown that there is a strong association

between social support and loneliness. The authors provide strong theoretical and useful

information that will help the readers to relate on their lives. This research would be beneficial or

useful to our research for it illustrates different data that would be useful to fortify and strengthen

our study (O' Reilly, Ryan, & Hickey, 2010).

III. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This research is entitled to the adaptation of senior high school transferee students in FEU

that came from the other country. The research ought to answer these following questions.

1. What is Sociocultural adaptation?

2. Why do students transfer from one country to another?

3. How do the senior high school students from another country, currently studying in FEU

adapted into a new environment in the city?

IV. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

This research study about adaptation is specified for FEU senior high students in the year

2017-2018 who are going through rough times in adjusting to new their new lifestyles. It talks
about the causes and effects when a student would transfer his/her life into another country.

What these transferees go through and how do they cope up with their challenges. The struggles

in socializing with people who differs from your culture and/or being naive about the new

environment wherein a person can only have so little knowledge about the surroundings. Those

are the topics that this paper will be explaining.

V. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this research paper is to provide credible information for students that are

dealing with negative effects of transferring to a different place so suddenly. The researchers

have noticed that a lot of transferee students came from the provincial regions and as students

emotionally close to the people, we are aware of the struggles that they are facing and this study

would like to give awareness and oblige to their well-being

There are many different type of people that deals with situations like this in various

ways, though as students, it brings them a lot of pressure to have that independent image.

Adapting to a new environment has many different effects on people. And we want to know how

big of an impact can change be towards a student’s mentality. This study strives to know if it

affects them in more ways than we can think of.

VI. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Figure 1. A Framework according to Acculturation Research

At group of acculturation involves the society of origin and society of settlement. Society of

Origin is the cultural characteristics that accompany individuals into the acculturation process.

Society of Settlement is the general orientation of a society and its citizen towards immigration.

The moderating factors existing prior to acculturation include age, gender, education, migration,

motivation, cultural distance and personality. On the other hand, moderating factors arising

during acculturation includes acculturation strategies, coping, societal attitudes and social

support. Psychological acculturation involves two fundamental issues facing immigrants: one

involves the decision to maintain one’s culture of origin and the other refers to the extent to

which the immigrant wishes to have contacts with and participation in the society of settlement’s

culture. Psychological acculturation leads to sociocultural adaptation. Sociocultural adaptation is

the degree of success of the acculturation process. Although socio-cultural competence focuses
on the level of competence in the society of settlement’s culture, from a theoretical point of view

it is also important to address the level of socio-cultural competence in the society of origin’s

culture and changes in this competence as an outcome variable. The acculturation framework

represented in Figure 1 displays the major factors that influence an individual’s adaptation to a

new cultural environment. Each component at the group level of acculturation as well as

individual level of acculturation in the framework have an impact on one’s overall level of

adaptation, whether sociocultural or psychological. This theory we’ve chosen is the most

appropriate because it shows how the major factors affect the adaptation of one to a new

environment.

CHAPTER II
METHODOLOGY
This chapter will be discussing about the research design, participants, instruments to be

used and the time frame for our research which is about the adaptation of international

transferees in FEU grade 11 students to the new socio-cultural environment.

A. RESEARCH DESIGN

The method of this research will be using a case study for us to be able to access

more information since we will be talking about a subject participant’s experiences. Since case
studies, in their true essence, explore and investigate contemporary real-life phenomenon

through detailed contextual analysis of a limited number of events and conditions. A case study

is a unique way of observing any natural phenomenon which exists in a set of data. It includes

sufficient information for the reader to treat problems and issues. Yin (2014) defines the case

study research method “as an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon

within its real-life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not

clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of evidence are used.” Case study present data of

real life situations and provide better insights into the detailed subjects of interest. Analyzing a

case study requires you to practice applying your knowledge and you’re thinking skills to a real

situation.

B. PARTICIPANTS

The target participants of this study will be focusing towards the grade 11 students in Far

Eastern University in Manila for they are much more convenient and they are our main subject.

We will be looking for as many participants as possible in the range of 5-10 for a more credible

information and more perspectives for us to analyze on how different transferees would really

adapt to the change. The sampling method we will be using is the convenience sampling, the

availability of our participants’ time for our interview. Making sure that our interview to be held

won’t be a bother for their schedule. Our participants can be from any strand and can either be

male or female and can be as distinct as possible.

C. INSTRUMENTS

This research designed interviews as one of the data collection instrument for this study.

The purpose of this was to help the researchers in understanding the adaptation of international

transferees in FEU grade 11 students in a better perspective. The interview will take 5-10
minutes to complete. We will be writing down the information of our participants rest assured

that the information they will be providing would have their credentials. The information that we

will obtain would be a big help in this research. Other references in this research would not only

come from our interviews and surveys but also from textbooks, articles and other research papers

as well.

D. TIME FRAME

The allotted time given would most probably last in 1-2 months. Since this research was

supposed to be a feasible research for us, the information we will need are based on our school

which makes it quite easier for us to access. The group will tell that their interview will be

private and we will give the interviewee a couple of questions to answer for the interview.

The group will also write down the interviewee’s answers and write down a report about the

interview. Once the report is accumulated the group will get some ideas from the report and

make a statement to put in the research.

CHAPTER III
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
After gathering the data we have acquired, important details will be found in this Chapter.

Exploring the different insights of the International Transferees present here at Far Eastern

University. Answering the questions based on the knowledge we want to obtain.

 SOCIO-CULTURAL ADAPTATION

Socio-Cultural Adaptation is the ability to fit in with the social life in the new culture and

being able to interact to other culture. When you first came to a country that you aren’t familiar
with you tend to have a “Culture Shock”, Culture shock is not quite as shocking most people

know or expect. It is part of the process of learning a new culture adapting to new culture. An

individual has to go through to be able to work effectively and live comfortably in a place that is

new and unfamiliar to them. According to our non-native Filipino participants they said that the

major barrier in socio-cultural adaptation is the language proficiency. Student 7 stated that

“Transferring wasn’t hard, having to adjust is, cause like I speak a different language and they

barely understand me, and some people avoid me just like I am different stuff”.

 MIGRATING AND TRANSFERING

There many possible reasons why a student would transfer schools and migrate into

another country. Here we have ought to know, why?. Based on the data we have acquired from

our participants, many have decided to transfer here in the Philippines due to education systems

and unsettling situations. Many of the transferees’ nationality were Filipino related which is a

main reason why they chose to go back to their home country here, the Philippines. A foreign

student reasoned out that he had to transfer here for the new experience, learning more things he

ought to know. Stating that the education system from his country, Korea, was quite difficult in

learning new things and it led him to migrate here. Other situations of transferring was because

of the ongoing war in the country, the Libyan Civil War (2014-present). Born and raised in Libya

her parents wanted her life was desired to be as comfortable as possible, though ever since the

war it has become an unsafe place for her and her family hence migrating to the Philippines. A

lot of the participants also came from the Middle East, the countries included were; United Arab

Emirates, Doha Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Most of the reasons for their migration was because of

the lack of K-12 Curriculum in their country. Knowing that they came from Filipino schools
where the Filipino Curriculum is out to date in International Countries, taking a while for the

senior high to be implemented in many Filipino Schools outside of the country. While even if the

availability of the senior high was present, some may still say that the education is not as solid

unlike the education here in the Philippines. Many other personal reasons were encountered,

stating that a family member was in need of company here in the Philippines and most parents’

decided that the exposure to the Filipino is a better experience for the child, thinking that it’ll be

easier for them. Transferring to a new school is already difficult for a student, migrating to

another country is a different level.

 ADJUSTING TO THE NEW ENVIRONMENT

Being a transferee in a new school may be difficult and one of the challenges of that is

adjusting yourself to fit in with the new environment. Knowing that it is not that easy to adapt

especially when you are not familiar with the environment. It takes a lot of time and patience for

people to adjust to something new. According to the results of the interviews held, many

participants had many different intuitive when it comes to adaptation. It has affected all of them

in various ways; saying that change was unavoidable and somehow migrating to the Philippines

molded them into a better person. They say that learning new things were part of the adaptation,

changing the mindset of these students became a mental challenge for them. Getting used to the

different things that are now incapable of being applied to the current situation could be

burdening. One interviewee even shared how he lived his life in America and how different it

was from living here in the Philippines, making it a struggle for him to blend in with other

people. Despite of all the mental challenges they had to face, all of it had helped in making their

minds stronger and flexible enough to cope up with the new environment. Learning that things
change and there will be times that you just have to bare with all of it because coping up with

everything else around was part of the adaptation they say. Being affected in emotional ways

also had diverse sets of opinions. Wherein one would say that they have not been affected much

by their own emotions ever since they moved here. While others would say that being away from

their family and friends triggers their emotional feelings but of course it is a well known fact that

homesickness is a common case for people who would travel or migrate into a different far away

place. Homesickness occurs to our participants when they start to reminisce the times and

memories they’ve spent in their home country thinking about their friends and families. During

holidays and events are also stated to be the peak of nostalgic feelings, when the things you used

to do with certain people are now a lot different and unable to bring those things back. Nostalgia

is a wistful affection for the past, it’s a part of homesickness wherein missing all the things

you’ve used to do. Coping up with nostalgia can be done in many ways suggested such as to

reconnect with friends and families, or talking it all out and simply take time to think about the

past. It’s what the transferee’s do during homesickness, while others say that they don’t get

homesick, some would like to enjoy the present time rather than just reminisce about the past.

Distinct insights were made from each person and the effects of adaptation were different for

each and every person. The first months was the hardest part for the students, a lot of our

participants struggled to fit in because of their differences and the lack of knowledge for their

new situation or socio-cultural environment. Being different was a lot difficult, a lot of these

transferees had problems in communicating with new people because of language barriers. Some

are able to speak fluent english but some had a lot of trouble when it came to the National

Language, Tagalog. International Transferees are unused to the different ways of socializing with

other people in a different manner. And it wasn’t just about the communication with other
people, some were also burden by the fact to live independently. Unused to their previous

lifestyles in their previous countries with different climate change and population density it

seems to have been hard for these students. It would take months and months of getting used to

before you can finally settle. Though different time ranges were given when asked if how long

would it take for a person to adapt to change, at least how long our participants did. Some says

barely had a hard time, some would say 3-4 months or almost a year, and some would say it’s

still in progress. Noticeably that the people who spent their lives longer in their previous country

took a lot more of adjusting rather than the people who were aware and familiar with the Filipino

Culture. Understandably that each experience and insights is different for everyone person.

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