Faculty Views on International Students: A Survey Study

Abstract

This article investigates perceptions of international students among faculty at a university in the United States. Based on data collected from a large-scale online survey (n=261), the study explores four issues: 1) faculty perceptions of international students’ positive attributes; 2) faculty perceptions of international students’ academic and social challenges; 3) faculty perceptions of their own challenges when teaching international students; and 4) statistically significant relationships between faculty views and their own background characteristics, including ethnicity, academic status, multilingual skills, birth place, and experience studying or living abroad. Results offer new insights on faculty beliefs and highlight key considerations in the hiring, training, and support of faculty to promote positive learning experiences for international students.

Investigation into the Professional Culture of a Foreign Language Teacher in a Multicultural Classroom from Faculty and International Students’ Perspectives

“…The results of the survey showed that students considered listening (62%), speaking (49%) and writing (32%) to be the most difficult aspects for them (Table 4). The obtained result slightly differs from the previous study on international students [58], which claimed that the majority of Chinese students, studying in the U.S., struggle with speaking and writing aspects of English, and [2], which reported writing to be the most difficult aspect and listening the least difficult one. Among the reasons why these particular types of tasks seemed complicated, students named a high level of foreign language (48%), not enough knowledge to cope with the task (46%) and lack of interest in the task (11%) (A1).…”

“…Another important quality that a foreign language teacher has to develop while working with international students is the ability to involve international students in a discussion and in a lesson in general. Both students and teachers consider lack of language proficiency to be the greatest obstacle on the way to involving international students in a discussion, which corresponds to [2]. While doing it, the teacher must not only provide students with necessary conditions to participate in a discussion by giving simple and univocal instructions and sharing with students the necessary knowledge to encourage them to speak on the topic, but also has to reveal a certain amount of empathy, realizing the difference in students' background knowledge, detecting their level of interest, anxiety and involvement.…”

“…Climate changes, economic crises, growth of the population, processes of migration and increasing social and cultural diversity are transforming countries and communities [1]. These modern trends are already affecting our individual lives and bring their influences in the life of society as a whole, making all its spheres respond to the current claims [2]. Education is not an exception.…”

“…However, an extensive literature review showed that previous studies have mostly concentrated on surveying either faculty or international students' views on the topic. For example, researchers discussed the successful integration process of international students and its fostering [23]; teachers' views on international students and their challenges [2], and vice versa, international students' academic, social and cultural needs [47,48]; and only very few of them have explored it from both perspectives. A good example is the research by Claudia P. Nieto, where the author investigated the relationship between cultural competence and the teaching and learning of international students [49].…”

University professors’ perceptions of international student needs

“…According to Barber and Morgan (1984), 87% of faculty reported that their academic expectations were the same for both domestic and international students. Jin and Schneider's (2019) findings revealed 76% of faculty reported that international students contributed to the diversity of the university, and 28% said that international students did better in their classes than other students. In response to the challenges faculty faced, the findings showed that 45% indicated international students had low language skills and 24% reported international students were not accustomed to the U.S. academic culture (Redden, 2018).…”