Strategies for Achieving Greater Acculturation among International Students (Essay Sample)

Strategies for Achieving Greater Acculturation among International Students
Name
Institution
Introduction
Acculturation is the process through which individuals and groups undergo integration and assimilation into a new/alien culture. Acculturation usually takes place through immersion, that is, an individual adopts the cultural characteristics of a foreign culture by living and functioning in that culture. For instance, a Middle Easterner can learn and adopt a western lifestyle, such as clubbing and dancing, by living in a western country and interacting with westerners. In addition to adopting a new lifestyle, acculturation also takes place at a psychological level through the internalization of new attitudes, beliefs and mannerisms consistent with the host culture. For example, a person from a Muslim culture will adopt a new worldview about gender roles and dress codes by getting used to females wearing trousers and sharing household chores. Whereas these behaviors are inappropriate in a Muslim country, a person who has lived in a western country will begin to see them as normal and acceptable. The research questions that this paper seeks to answer include:
How is acculturation important to international students?
What strategies can international students employ to achieve greater acculturation?
Rationale for achieving acculturation
Successful acculturation into the host culture is important in enabling individuals to “fit in” and function effectively in a foreign environment. With respect to education, international students experience difficulties adopting into the learning culture and social environments of foreign institutions. Chinese students, for instance, experience adaptation challenges due to the stark differences between Chinese and Western cultures and educational social norms (Bertram, 2014). For instance, Chinese students are brought up in a cultural environment that encourage compliance with institutional rules, observing silence in the classroom, and withholding expressing their own ideas or raising questions until the teacher invites them to do so. As a result of this cultural conditioning that requires students to maintain respectful silence and attention in the classroom, Chinese international students often find it challenging to adapt to social and academic differences they experience in western learning settings. For example, American teachers favor a learner-focused teaching approach in which students are active participants in the learning process. Accordingly, it is common for students in Western classrooms to ask questions and express their thoughts without necessarily waiting for the teacher’s invitation (Bertram, 2014). The passiveness of Chinese students as a result of the social norms that encourage silent attentiveness in Chinese classrooms becomes a learning obstacle in western classrooms where learning takes place through discussions, question-answer sessions, and other forms of active learning.
At the same time, professors in western learning institutions expect their students to take the initiative in bringing up new ideas and asking question related to the topic being taught. Students from cultures that require silent attention may need to “temporarily abandon the classroom behavioral and norms appropriate in their home countries and quickly find ways to adapt to new Western norms of academic behavior” (Hawk, 2014, p. 5). For instance, Chinese international students are socially conditioned to “save face” by avoiding making direct and assertive statements, or giving answers that might be wrong. As a result, they may find it difficult to fit in “American style conversations,” which are characterized by direct expression of feelings and sharing of personal information. This attitude may also extend to academic writing whereby they experience difficulties writing argumentative and critical essays. This is because given their upbringing in a conflict-avoidance oriented culture, Chinese students may be reluctant “to apply criticality in English-language academic argumentation” (Hawk, 2014, p. 9). Consequently, failure to achieve effective acculturation into the new culture can prevent one from adjusting into the social and academic life of the host country.
In this regard, learning acculturation strategies will help international students adjust to different social and academic norms in their host countries. Learning acculturation strategies will help them to adjust to their new social and academic environments, as well as avoid social exclusion in and out of college. This topic is of great significance considering that there are hundreds of thousands of foreign students studying in West European countries, America and Canada, especially form non-English speaking countries in Asia and Latin America. In addition, the conclusions of this research paper will provide useful recommendations for policy makers in higher learning institutions to implement programs aimed at helping international students to adjust into their host cultures more easily. Towards this goal, this paper explores the various strategies international students can employ to achieve greater acculturation into the culture of their host countries not only as a means of improving their participation in the learning process, but also improving their social life.
What I already know
As a Chinese international student, I have first-hand experience on the need to adjust into the culture of the host country, and practical ways of achieving acculturation. This includes living wit the local people, sharing meals, and participating in social events.
Acculturation Strategies
Separation from home and family causes many students to experience loneliness and isolation (Wang & Mallinckrodt, 2006). Effective acculturation strategies should aim to reduce such feelings of isolation when living in a foreign country. International students relocating to new countries in which the dominant culture is intolerant to cultural diversity can experience pressure to conform to the norms of the host culture, which may lead to social and cultural alienation. Fortunately, the cultural diversity of Canadian and American as well as other western European countries provide an accommodative social environment in which foreigners can learn about and adjust into the new culture at their own pace.
Learning the language of the host culture
Language ability helps individuals to overcome acculturative stress (Wang & Mallinckrodt, 2006). This is because language skills enable one to fit into and function in social and academic conversations. In addition, language skills enhance social-cultural adaptation by enabling one to “acquire and perform culturally social skills and behavioral competence to fit in the host culture” (Mallinckrodt, 2006, p. 23). Language also acts as a medium through which one can learn and absorb the culture of the host country. Cultural knowledge of the host culture will allow international students to avoid culture shock and adapt to the social norms of their new environment.
Assimilation
When immigrating into a new country, one of the issues that immigrants have to deal with is deciding whether it will serve them to maintain their cultural identity or to adapt the culture of their country of residence. Rejection of the host culture will inevitably lead to social marginalization as the individual will find it stressful participating in social activities appropriate to the new culture. For instance, international students who come to America may find it necessary to participate in American sports like American football as a means of creating social contacts and avoiding social exclusion. Assimilation, which involves abandoning one’s original cultural and national identity and embracing those of the host culture, can help one to adjust social-culturally in new cultures. However, individuals should seek to balance between their adoption of new cultural traits and marinating their original identities to avoid losing their national identities completely. Assimilation is necessary when one is planning to stay in a new culture for a prolonged period, during which time they will be required to participate in various social and cultural activities, such as celebrating national holidays.
Integration
Integration is the most effective acculturation strategy as it enables one to simultaneously maintain their cultural and national identities and adopt the cultural traits of the host country. Integration is also beneficial as it enhances psychological well-being since one avoids feeling guilty for abandoning their original identities as is the case with assimilation.
An effective acculturation strateg...