‘Halls is not lonely…it is very lonely’

1. Welcome! Please read, think about and discuss with a neighbour the following quotes from what students say about some of their experiences. • ‘Halls is not lonely…it is very lonely’ • ‘I am friends with my friends because they speak my language, I do not know them as people’ • ‘The weather. It was hard to adapt to it. I was sick for a long time’ • ‘I have a problem which is local like within Brighton university which is people in the university don’t really socialize with others. They like just being with people who are either from the same country or from the same school’ • ‘A feeling of not being able to cope with the academic work. At this stage I am finding it hard.’ • ‘The weather. It was hard to be adapted to it. I was sick for a long time but it became ok.’ • ‘Homesickness, I've missed my family and friends and thinking about them all the time can have an affect on me.’ • ‘Knowledge gaps because it not only affect my study but also it make me feel different to chat with other students which are not come from HK.’ • ‘Everything is a challenge because no gain…no pain.’ • ‘I don't easily understand the English language because it is more advanced than in my country.’

2. Facing Change: international students’ experiences of acculturation and transitions to a UK university Jonathan Dunn and Caroline Challans Internationalisation and Student Experience Conference , Plymouth, 18th December 2013

3. Literature Review • Too much (academic) work/adjusting to UK HE academic expectations(Jones & Fleischer, 2012) • Problems with language(Jones & Fleischer, 2012) • Not making friends (with native speakers)/isolation(Zhou & Todman, 2008)(Dunne, 2009) • Sickness/Homesickness/stress (Dunne, 2009) • Different learning styles (Jones & Fleischer, 2012) • Disconnect between academic staff and international students (Hellsten and Prescott, 2004)

4. Case study findings- Challenges

5. Literature Review: What should priority be in the transition period? • Bridging programmes – developing English skills (Jones & Fleischer, 2012) • Student orientation week should promote interaction (Dunne, 2009) • Mentoring programmes (Dunne, 2009) • Host institutions should encourage intercultural contact, inclusivity (Dunne, 2009)(Hellsten & Prescott 2004) • Flexibility for staff to understand cultural differences (Hellsten & Prescott, 2004)

6. Session Review • What have discussed today? • What can we conclude from today’s session?

7. Questions and Comments jdunn2@kaplan.com; caroline.challans@kaplan.com

8. References • Bibliography • Anon., n.d.International Students in UK Higher Education: Key Statistics. [Online] Available at: http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/about/statistics_he.php#table1[Accessed 18 February 2013]. • Dunne, C., (2009). Host Students' Perspectives of Intercultural Contact in an Irish University. Journal of Studies in International Education Vol 13 No. 2, pp. 222-239. • Hellsten, M. &. Prescott. A., (2004). Learning at University: The International Student Experience. International Education Journal, 5(3), pp. 344-350. • Jones, J. &. Fleischer. S., (2012). Staying on course: factors affecting first year international students' decisions to persist or withdraw from degrees in a post-1992 UK university. Practice and Evidence of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Vol 7, No.1, pp. 21-46. • Jordan, R., (1997). English for Academic Purposes. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Zhou, Y. &. Todman. J., (2009). Patterns of Adaptation of Chinese Postgraduate Students in the UK. Journal of Studies in International Education Vol 13 No. 4, pp. 467-486.