Language Skills and Adaptation: A Study of Foreign Students in a Canadian University

Three Levels of Push-Pull Dynamics Among Chinese International Students’ Decision to Study Abroad in the Canadian Context

“…In earlier studies, Selltiz, Chirst, Havel, and Cook (1963) and Heikinheimo and Shute (1986) reported that more interaction with NES students led to better social adjustment and there was a positive link between contact and adaptation. As would be expected, more advanced English skills, especially speaking skills, corresponded to both social and overall satisfaction (Fletcher & Stren, 1989;Lee, Abd-ella, & Burks, 1981;Yeh & Inose, 2010). Selltiz and team (1963) found that the subjective level of confidence was the most important predictor of academic achievement; that is, how confident the student perceived him/herself to be with communicating in English.…”

“…Of those studies that focus on IGSs, many look at acculturative stress (Constantine, Okazaki, & Utsey, 2004;Lee, Koeske, & Sales, 2004;Mori, 2000;Sandhu & Asrabadi, 1994;Yeh & Inose, 2010), and come from a psychological/counseling perspective rather than a linguistic one. These studies have identified causes for this stress, such as perceived discrimination (Dao, Lee, & Chang, 2007;Lee & Rice, 2007), language deficiencies (Fletcher & Stren, 1989;Lee, Abd-ella, & Burks, 1981), social connectedness (Yeh & Inose 2010), and financial stress (Mori 2000), but little has been done to track and analyze language development through the critical transitional period that occurs in the first quarter of graduate school. Constantine, Okazaki, and Utsey (2004) found that language proficiency negatively correlated with acculturative stress, and Lee, Koeske, & Sales (2004) found that social support helped mitigate the effects of acculturative stress.…”

International Graduate Students: Social Networks and Language Use

“…In earlier studies, Selltiz, Chirst, Havel, and Cook (1963) and Heikinheimo and Shute (1986) reported that more interaction with NES students led to better social adjustment and there was a positive link between contact and adaptation. As would be expected, more advanced English skills, especially speaking skills, corresponded to both social and overall satisfaction (Fletcher & Stren, 1989;Lee, Abd-ella, & Burks, 1981;Yeh & Inose, 2010). Selltiz and team (1963) found that the subjective level of confidence was the most important predictor of academic achievement; that is, how confident the student perceived him/herself to be with communicating in English.…”

“…Of those studies that focus on IGSs, many look at acculturative stress (Constantine, Okazaki, & Utsey, 2004;Lee, Koeske, & Sales, 2004;Mori, 2000;Sandhu & Asrabadi, 1994;Yeh & Inose, 2010), and come from a psychological/counseling perspective rather than a linguistic one. These studies have identified causes for this stress, such as perceived discrimination (Dao, Lee, & Chang, 2007;Lee & Rice, 2007), language deficiencies (Fletcher & Stren, 1989;Lee, Abd-ella, & Burks, 1981), social connectedness (Yeh & Inose 2010), and financial stress (Mori 2000), but little has been done to track and analyze language development through the critical transitional period that occurs in the first quarter of graduate school. Constantine, Okazaki, and Utsey (2004) found that language proficiency negatively correlated with acculturative stress, and Lee, Koeske, & Sales (2004) found that social support helped mitigate the effects of acculturative stress.…”

International student-athlete adjustment experience at community colleges in the Midwest

“…Among many international students, the underlying concern behind the many issues they face is language. Fletcher and Stren (1989) and Abadzi (1984), along with Senyshyn, Warford, and Zhan (2000) and Leong (2015), found parallels between language proficiency and adjustment experiences for college students. In the classroom, instructors have agreed that one of the most difficult factors in international students' academic adjustment is language challenges.…”