International Students and the US Culture - Annotated Bibliography Example

International and US culture Major, E. (2005). Co-national support, cultural therapy, and the adjustment of Asian students to an English-speaking university culture. International Education Journal, 6(1), 84-95. The authors of the article study the way support from co-national students as well as cultural therapy are able to help Asian student integrate into university culture of an American university. The research question for it can be formulated in the following way: What factors influence adjustment of Asian students to the American academic culture and what can be done to enhance this process? These are the two important directions in which the researchers developed their study, hoping to find answers that would satisfy them theoretically as well as empirically. Speaking of the research methods, one might points out that the scientists primarily relied on individual interviews which were audio taped. In addition to that, they asked the students to create reflective journals and share their observations about the process of adjustment that they are experiencing. The major findings of the study include the fact that those students who come from Asian cultural background tend to see self reliance as an important trait in their character which shapes their behavior a lot. In addition to that, they would often refuse to accept any assistance which comes from a person of a different race. Finally, they think that differences in culture can be solved only with time. All this leads to logical conclusions: the process of sociocultural adjustment that the Asian students experience is a rather complex one; that is why it should be addressed on multiple levels. In addition to that, these students might need extended orientations so that they would adapt more features that will be helpful for them in life. Lastly, the staff as well as other students is welcome to develop cross cultural awareness to help their Asian counterparts. As for the way the findings of this particular study correlate with other studies on the topic, one might argue that they show the significance of native culture and see it as a platform that can facilitate the effective exchange of the support. I believe that the value of this particular article is rather high as it focuses on important notions that should be taken into account while helping the students to cope with peculiarities of a new culture that they were emerged into. This article is relevant to the research that I am carrying out as it provides valuable insights into the patterns of behavior of the Asian students, outlining the way help can be delivered to them if needed. In addition to that it shows what role their native culture plays while they study abroad. There are many useful lessons that can be learned from the article. For example, it shows that any kind of assistance or intervention should be carried out by a person of the same cultural background. In this case the probability that it will be accepted will be quite high. Otherwise, an Asian student might refuse to accept any help. Wei, M., Heppner, P., Mallen, M., Ku, T., Liao, K., & Wu, T. (2007). Acculturative Stress, Perfectionism, Years In The United States, And Depression Among Chinese International Students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54(4), 385-394. As one can easily understand from the title itself, the article in question is focuses on the phenomenon of depression among Chinese international students. The authors of the study had the following question in their minds while designing their research: What is the connection between three factors, namely acculturative stress, maladaptive perfectionism as well as the time of staying in the United States, when it comes to influencing mood of Chinese international students. The study examines relationships between each factor and their combination. In order to gain a significant amount of answers, the authors decided to use online questionnaires. The number of people who responded to them was relatively big: around 190 students decided to take part on the study. The were asked different questions in order to determine the level of stress they were exposed to, the nature of maladaptive perfectionism as well as the time they spent in the US after arrival. The authors found that there is a direct correlation between all three factors which were mentioned. While there was weak connection between some of them, namely acculturative stress and maladaptive perfectionism, their cumulative influence on the emergence of depression is beyond any doubt. The authors concluded that the positive interventions should be carried out taking into account the above mentioned three factors so that they would achieve maximum effectiveness. Otherwise, their general approach may not be able to address the problem which is likely to make the situation even worse. The findings of the study in question fall in line with the findings of other researches. For example, it is quite understandable that the Chinese community is a closed ethnic group that reacts negatively on any external influence. What is more important is that their values promote self reliance which urged the students to try to cope with their problems on their own, rather then seeking professional help. It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that the article in question is extremely valuable for my research. One of the primary reasons for it lies in the fact that the given article focuses on the peculiarities of Chinese students, making their patterns of behavior more understandable for the researcher. In spite of the fact that the application of the results is somewhat limited by the ethnic group of the students, this can hardly be seen as a disadvantages. The statistic shows that there is a considerable number of Chinese students in the United States; that is why their problems should be addressed adequately, so that they will not feel any discomfort while studying abroad. I learned from this article that it can be very difficult to be an international student and depressions is likely to occur because a considerable number of factors contribute to its formation that can hardly be avoided in the new environment. Yeh, C., & Inose, M. (2003). International students’ reported English fluency, social support satisfaction, and social connectedness as predictors of acculturative stress. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 16(1), 15-28. The authors of this article dedicated their efforts to studying the phenomenon of acculturative stress that all international students are exposed to. The former acknowledge the necessity to address this particular problem; that is why the study was designed in such that would allow it to gain a valuable insight in to the causes of it. Thus, the research question that guided the work of the researchers can be formulated in the following manner: What factors can be seen as predictors of acculturative stress? In the course of the study, they identified several, including reported English fluency, social support satisfaction as well as social connectedness. Speaking of the methods of the research, one might say that it included roughly 370 students that were of different levels. All of them belonged to universities that were located in the northeastern part of the US. It was found that the participants represented around 80 countries. That is why the researchers had to combine their ethnic origins into large groups. It was found that the above mentioned factors have a decisive influence on the emergence of acculturative stress. For examples, the lower is English fluency, the higher is the probability that a person is likely to experience stress as a result of dealing with a foreign culture. That is why the researchers pointed out that it is quire realistic to predict the kind of experience one is likely to gain in the United States based on these factors. For example, those who values social connectedness at home are likely to develop close ties with their co-nationals abroad. These findings are related to the findings of the previous studies in the following way: they show the way different ethnic groups react to the same set of conditions. Indeed, all the students that participated reside in the same part of the country and, therefore, face similar challenges. It is my strong belief that the article in question will be a valuable contribution to the literature of my research. One of the major advantages of it lies in the fact that it provides a comprehensive set of evidence that can be further explored and analyzed. In other words, one is able to come to more conclusions based on this information. This research is also relevant to my research as it shows the issue from a different perspective which engages experience of people who come from different cultural backgrounds. As a result, it may be easy to cover the problems that are faced by international students in the US in general. There is much useful information that was presented in the article in question. For example, it shows that there is a tremendous difference that exists between international students. This can be used to address the needs of each group specifically, taking into account the kind of issues that they have to face. Reid, J. (1987). The Learning Style Preferences of ESL Students. TESOL Quarterly, 21(1), 87-11. The author of this article paid a considerable amount of attention towards various variables that an influence academic performance of international students. Age, language, TOEFL score, time spent in the US as well as time spent on learning English, field of study as well as sex – these are the factors that were taken into account. This was done primarily in order to develop a better understanding of learning styles that different international students have. Indeed, academic performance is closely connected to learning styles as the latter shape the way in which a student received the information. That is why the research question for the study can be formulated in the following way: What factors influence the choice of learning styles of ESL students. The sample of this study is truly tremendous: the researcher was able to engage roughly 1400 students in the research. They had to report some information about their background and answer a series of simple questions that would shed light on their learning style preferences. The author divided the styles into several categories, such as visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile as well as group versus individuals ones. It was found that a cultural background of a person has a major effect on the way one processes the information. For example, the Japanese students were more prone to visual style as their culture promotes the significant of observation. All this lead to the following logical conclusion: the preferences in choosing learning styles are largely conditioned by one’s culture. That is why the teacher should understand the peculiarities of their students and try to adjust the information accordingly. As for the relation between the finding of this article as well as the other studies, one might suggest that the former focuses on the nature of differences that international students who come from different background feature. In other words, it engages some of the factors that explain the choice of learning styles which largely affect academic performance. It would not be a mistake to point out that the article in question is a valuable source that should be engaged while exploring the issue in question. The biggest advantage of it lies in the fact that it provides a detailed examination of the factors that influence academic performance of students and outlines those that have the decisive meaning. In other words, it helps to understand that nature of differences and the peculiarities that each international student features. As a result the success of difficulties in one’s academic performance can be explained with a higher degree of certainty which allows one to make valid predictions about future experience that an international student will get. An important lesson that can be learned from this article focuses on the need to use relevant ways to address the peculiarities of the students taking into account their learning styles which are conditioned by the cultural background where they come from. References Major, E. (2005). Co-national support, cultural therapy, and the adjustment of Asian students to an English-speaking university culture. International Education Journal, 6(1), 84-95. Reid, J. (1987). The Learning Style Preferences of ESL Students. TESOL Quarterly, 21(1), 87-11. Wei, M., Heppner, P., Mallen, M., Ku, T., Liao, K., & Wu, T. (2007). Acculturative Stress, Perfectionism, Years In The United States, And Depression Among Chinese International Students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54(4), 385-394. Yeh, C., & Inose, M. (2003). International students’ reported English fluency, social support satisfaction, and social connectedness as predictors of acculturative stress. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 16(1), 15-28. Read More