Culture Shock Among International Students At Glasgow College - Literature review Example

Culture Shock among International at Glasgow College Moving from one’s place of familiarity to a completely new region where things are done very different presents various difficulties. Glasgow embraces diversity hence it welcomes students from all across the world to participate in its programs. In addition, other institutions are also doing so, therefore, the idea of culture shock is real. Not only are students faced with culture shock but also tourists as well as expatriates who are given assignments in places where the local culture is different from theirs. Culture shock can manifest in various forms. These include, the interactions of the people, the eating habits, dressing habits, people’s conversations, language and the religious views among others. The economic situations in different parts of the world are completely different. Some of the international students who arrive at Glasgow find themselves in a situation where they are mesmerized by different economic aspects. One key aspect is the spending patterns. This occurs because these students are not completely used to these patterns. Feichtinger and Fink (1998), observed that cultural shock emanates from disorientation that has basis in cultural inadequacy, this happens to be what hails international students. Another aspect is income generation; it is true that some of the students come from backgrounds where studies are not accompanied by any other undertaking. They have found the case to be different at Glasgow; they are obliged to engage in some part time income generating activities on part-time basis. The other economic aspect is the cost of goods and services, getting to adopt buying trends from another culture have not been easy for international students. Most of the students from third world countries are the ones that are adversely affected. They bring the mentality of the cost of certain products, which may be far from the real amount. This affects them greatly, especially in planning their finances. Finally, another shocker is in the way individuals are paid. It is true that the payment patterns differs with countries, hence they find it strange especially when they realize the high wages. A number of aspects linked to learning in a different cultural environment as opposed to one’s background present challenges in the studies. Issues related to prior learning background, the attitude towards the staff, language mastery, communication and the ability to interact with other students are pertinent issues that affects studies. Kingston and Forland (2008), conducted a study among East African students in the UK and established that tensions arose from the student’s expectations that emanated from their collectivism culture as opposed to that of the educators which took a more individualistic approach. On the other hand, Sovic (2008) through a qualitative study in UK found that there was a major difference in teaching skills in UK with their former schools, which adopted a more superficial learning approach. International students have therefore demonstrated unpreparedness to engaging in learning activities. The different methods of learning as well as teaching expose the students to academic shock. Language and communication competence is a key aspect that presents a cultural shock to many of the students at Glasgow. Language forms the foundation of socialization among individuals, failure to which a person will feel out of place (Ramburuth and Tani, 2009), this is a major source of shock to the international students here at Glasgow. Since their communication, skills are deficient of the accent and other language skills that they are used in the foreign culture; they get to a state of confusion. Language influences the confidence of students especially when the people they are dealing with have a different opinion of language use (Hirsch, 2007). A confession from a Thailand student who had come for studies in the UK makes stamps the position of communication in developing a good study pattern (Twigg, 2005). Some of the issues that students confront include the assent, the fluency of the language and the general command of the language. To facilitate the learning process and eliminate these barriers, Briguglio (1998) observes that skill development initiatives as well as support from the institution should be accorded to these students. At some instances, the students do not participate in class activities because they are ashamed of their language skills. Another aspect that Glasgow international students community confronts based on culture shock is the limited interactions between students from different cultures. Quite often, the cultural shock among the international students becomes their unifying factor while building an interaction barrier with individuals that are used to the local culture here in UK. Volet and Ang (1998) observe that the interactions between the Asian students and other cultures are quite limited. A number of studies have pointed out that the ability to break the cultural divide is a daunting task for students for international students (Smart et al, 2000). Through these studies ethnocentrism, differences in the way of doing things, differential lifestyles, and negative stereotyping were found to be the major contributors of the student’s inability to interact freely. The limited interactions make it difficult for the students to align to the culture at Glasgow hence the cultural shock. Culture shock is an aspect that has attracted intense research. Findings from Murphy, Edward and Anderson (2003), indicated that sojourners exhibit disequilibrium that is a common feature when there has never been another interaction of the dame type. They tend to acquire the foreign culture slowly; the learning process is what encompasses culture shock. As mentioned, one key aspect that is learnt by these sojourners is the language and the mode of communication, once this is perfected, there occurs free interactions. Culture shock has also been associated with an individual’s personality. Its effect to the students is seen to reduce with the ability of an individual to be outgoing and sociable (Sims and Schraeder, 2004). This is true since the extent to which individual students undergo through culture shock varies greatly. It is also true that some cultures are more vulnerable to culture shock than others are, for example, the Asians. The magnitude of cultural diversity between the British culture and other cultures determines the extent to which an international student experiences culture shock. The variation of cultures is an important consideration in determining the students’ culture shock (Thompson, Rosenthal, and Russell, 2006). Students from countries such as United States, European Union, and Australia blend in a better way in United Kingdom compared to the rest of the world. This is as a result of the cultural closeness among these groups of students. In contrary, those from Africa, Asia, and South America have difficulties in getting rid of the cultural shock. Glasgow attracts students from all regions and hence there are diverse reactions to the culture around the institution. In conclusion, culture shock has effects on the students at Glasgow. This effect is based on the background from which the student comes from. The variation between the United Kingdom culture and that from which the student comes from determines how fast they cope. However, institutions of learning should develop mechanisms that will see that international students are able to overcome culture shock within the least time possible. The reviewed literature establishes explicitly that key among the cause of culture shock is language and communication, cultural interactions with other students, and the learning approach adopted in the former institutions. References Briguglio, C. (1998). Non-English Speaking Background (NESB) Students Perceptions of their Linguistic and Educational needs. Curtin University, Bentley. Feichtinger, C.,and Fink, G. (1998). The collective culture shock in transition countries - theoretical and empirical implications.Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 19(6), 302-308. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/226913903?accountid=45049 Hirsch, D. (2007). "English language, academic support and academic outcomes: a discussion paper", Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 193-211 Kingston, E. and Forland, H. (2008), "Bridging the gap in expectations between international students and academic staff", Journal of Studies in International Education, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 204-21. Murphy, Edward F ,Jr, and Anderson, T. L. (2003). A longitudinal study exploring value changes during the cultural assimilation of Japanese student pilot sojourners in the united states. International Journal of Value - Based Management, 16(2), 111-129. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195813748?accountid=45049 Phillips, D. J. (1990), "Overseas students and their impact on the changing face of professional education in universities", paper presented at the Australian Association for Research in Education Annual Conference: The Changing Face of Professional Education, Sydney University, Lidcombe. Ramburuth, P., and Tani, M. (2009). The impact of culture on learning: Exploring student perceptions. Multicultural Education & Technology Journal, 3(3), 182-195. Sims, R. H., & Schraeder, M. (2004). An examination of salient factors affecting expatriate culture shock. Journal of Business and Management, 10(1), 73-87. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/211524383?accountid=45049 Smart, D., Volet, S. and Ang, G. (2000), Fostering Social Cohesion in Universities: Bridging the Cultural Divide, Australian Education Foundation, Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Canberra. Sovic, S. (2008). Lost in Transition? The International Students Experience Project, Creating Learning in Practice, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, University of the Arts, London. Thompson, G., Rosenthal, D., & Russell, J. (2006) Cultural stress among international students, Australian International Education Conference. Retrieved from http://www.aiec.idp.com/pdf/Thomson%20%28Paper%29%20Fri%201050%20MR5.pdf Twigg, C. (2005), "Overseas students in higher education", in Cullingford, C. and Gunn, S. (Eds), Globalisation, Education and Culture Shock, Ashgate, Aldershot, pp. 86-106. Volet, S.E. and Ang, G. (1998), "Culturally mixed groups on international campuses: an opportunity for inter-cultural learning". Higher Education Research and Development, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 5-23. Read More