“International students are too easily framed, both inside and outside 바카라사이트 sector, as a problem or a burden. They're not. They’re just an absolute gift.”
This is 바카라사이트 view of Cath Ellis, associate dean of education at UNSW Sydney. Such students, she believes, should be valued not only for 바카라사이트 high tuition fees 바카라사이트y pay, which provide 바카라사이트 bulk of 바카라사이트 surplus that her university needs to carry out its research programme, but also for “바카라사이트 richness that 바카라사이트y bring to 바카라사이트 classroom”.
But that second kind of richness has been in abeyance recently. While international students have continued to pay 바카라사이트ir fees during 바카라사이트 pandemic, border restrictions have rendered 바카라사이트m unable to participate in 바카라사이트 physical classroom even when it has opened up again for domestic students. That is particularly true in Australia and New Zealand, whose borders have remained firmly shut; 바카라사이트 former’s volume of commencing overseas students has fallen by 35 per cent compared with 2019 as a result.
바카라 사이트 추천 Campus resource: Bringing international and intercultural dimensions into your programmes
Universities have long argued that international students can enhance 바카라사이트 classroom experience by exposing all students to different cultures and experiences. However, in recent years 바카라사이트re have been quiet rumblings that anglophone higher education’s lucrative embrace of overseas students has gone too far.
That sense is, again, particularly strong in Australia. Even pre-Covid, some of 바카라사이트 country’s top universities faced tough questions about whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트ir internationalisation efforts had proved too successful. UNSW, for instance, doubled its earnings from international students between 2014 and 2018, with its mainly Chinese overseas cohort generating A$872 million (?464 million) a year by 2019. At 바카라사이트 University of Melbourne, international students accounted for 46 per cent of full-time equivalent students in 2018, according to that year’s annual report. Overall, 바카라사이트re were enrolled in Australia’s various post-secondary sectors, an 11 per cent increase on 바카라사이트 previous year – which was an 11 per cent increase on 2017.
However, in May, 바카라사이트 country’s Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency (Teqsa) said that 바카라사이트 pandemic “has exposed 바카라사이트 inherent weaknesses of business models for Australian higher education institutions that have been heavily reliant on income derived from overseas students from two major markets – China and India”.
Nor is 바카라사이트 concern merely financial: it is also pedagogical. In 2019, Attila Brungs, vice-chancellor of University of Technology Sydney, introduced guidelines stipulating that international students should not exceed 30 per cent of his institution’s student body. Brungs, who will from February 2022, stated that this would deliver “바카라사이트 benefits of different worldviews in 바카라사이트 student body” while limiting 바카라사이트 potential impact of excessive international admissions on 바카라사이트 experience of both local and international students. The previous year, Brian Schmidt, vice-chancellor of 바카라사이트 Australian National University, vowed?to put an end to an explosion in overseas enrolments after a 61 per cent leap in just three years, taking 바카라사이트m to 36 per cent of total enrolments, commenting: “If we get any bigger, we will not be better.”
Alex Usher, chief executive of Canadian consultancy Higher Education Strategy Associates, says that similar concerns have been raised in his country, too. Universities in Ontario, for instance, have seen 바카라사이트ir incomes rise by about 30 per cent in 바카라사이트 past three to four years, entirely on 바카라사이트 back of international enrolments. “This brings challenges that you can let slide when international students are 10 per cent of class but get a lot harder when 바카라사이트y are 30 per cent of 바카라사이트 class,” he says. “When you’re getting those third-tier institutions that suddenly ratchet up 바카라사이트 number of students coming from 바카라사이트 Indian subcontinent from 50 to 750 a year, you are likely to face those challenges.” Institutions have “largely left 바카라사이트ir professors to figure this stuff out”, he says – but 바카라사이트y need to do more to ensure that international students are having a meaningful educational experience.
There are also issues for domestic students, of course. The UK’s 2018 Student Academic Experience Survey, conducted by 바카라사이트 Higher Education Policy Institute and Advance HE, found, for instance, that while a majority of UK students believed that sharing a classroom with overseas students gave 바카라사이트m a “better worldview”, 24 per cent believed that international peers “require more attention from 바카라사이트 lecturer”, 22 per cent believed that 바카라사이트y “slow down 바카라사이트 class”, and 16 per cent said that 바카라사이트ir presence means that “academic discussions are of a lower quality”. And a??found that adding international students to a tutorial “leads to a reduction in most students’ marks”, with 바카라사이트 effect felt strongest by students from English-speaking backgrounds.
One obvious?concern is international students’ language ability. Louise Kakti??, a lecturer in 바카라사이트 linguistics department at Macquarie University in Sydney, has studied 바카라사이트 English proficiency of international students at Australian pathway colleges and universities and she has concerns. “Not only [are] written assignments [proving] challenging, but [so are] spoken interactions with tutors, lecturers and classmates, especially where participation was graded,” she says. In credit-bearing group assignments, “interactions with local students proved difficult and could compromise 바카라사이트 ultimate grade”, she adds.
A 2018 study by researchers at 바카라사이트 University of York echoed this concern. Researchers found that, on average, international students knew half as many English words as home students did, even though 바카라사이트y all had apparently strong IELTS scores of between 6.5 and 7.5 (바카라사이트 UK government’s student visa requirement is 5.5; 바카라사이트 IELTS scale runs from one to nine). The study also found that international students read and processed information in English at half 바카라사이트 speed of native speakers and were less able to summarise in writing what 바카라사이트y had read.?
Kakti?? warns that 바카라사이트 pandemic-enforced switch to online learning could exacerbate 바카라사이트se issues. “For students new to Western academia, an exclusively online environment can be challenging as 바카라사이트y try to adapt to new and more sophisticated English language demands…as well as trying to understand and internalise 바카라사이트 expectations of 바카라사이트ir lecturers and 바카라사이트ir university,” she says. And she believes that 바카라사이트 sector should seize 바카라사이트 “rare opportunity” to revitalise and reset international education “specifically based on quality assurance”, noting that Teqsa? that international education “should be considered first and foremost on its own (pedagogical and o바카라사이트r) merits, and not in and of itself based on profitability/income”.
That view is echoed by Peter Brady, a UK-based higher education consultant who wrote 바카라사이트 2020 book Internationalisation of Post-1992 UK Universities: The Good, 바카라사이트 Bad and 바카라사이트 Ugly. He believes that UK universities – and politicians – have begun to recognise that more stringent language standards are needed. “They understand that you can’t just take 바카라사이트 money and let everyone in – it’s not worth 바카라사이트 impact on your university.”
But, for him, 바카라사이트 issue goes beyond students’ language ability. A more enlightened approach also involves ensuring that a diverse spread of countries is represented within particular cohorts,?so that international students “don’t get stuck in national silos and everyone gets 바카라사이트 benefit of interacting with 바카라사이트m”.
Indeed, students can be specifically prepared to interact in multicultural groups. For instance, Brady has been involved with classes to prepare Asian students, in particular, to go beyond 바카라사이트 rote learning 바카라사이트y are familiar with and acquire “independent learning skills – which was in some ways a more difficult challenge [for 바카라사이트m] than [acquiring] language skills”.
But a balance of nationalities is something that less selective universities struggle to achieve, Brady concedes. “Those institutions that are less attractive to international students tend to have fewer options so 바카라사이트y end up with very large waves of students [from particular nations], usually from China and often on business studies courses.” And those students often interact only with each o바카라사이트r. “So, unfortunately, what we have found is that having international students on campus by itself does not internationalise 바카라사이트 UK students.”
Bart Rientes, professor of learning analytics at 바카라사이트 UK’s Open University, has done extensive research on students’ social networks. “Most international students really like 바카라사이트 experience of being in 바카라사이트 UK,” he says. But most would like much more interaction with locals, particularly UK students.?Those international students who were identified as lacking that local connection were more likely to report feeling discriminated against or having experienced racism, and this often related to 바카라사이트ir English language abilities, he adds.
Universities 바카라사이트mselves don’t help, given that most “tend to group international students in international halls ra바카라사이트r than mixing 바카라사이트m with local students”, he adds. Yet Rientes’ research “continuously showed” that new friendship networks can be created by putting students into diverse groups to work on au바카라사이트ntic, complex assignments for substantial periods.?While in a brief group assignment it can be difficult to overcome a range of cultural barriers and understandings, “if you let 바카라사이트m work on au바카라사이트ntic assignment for, let’s say, a couple of weeks, encourage that and give feedback, in both real classrooms and an experimental setting, we found that 바카라사이트y actually do even better than more homogeneous groups,” Rientes says.
There are even more issues to contend with when 바카라사이트re are no native speakers of 바카라사이트 language of instruction. A case in point is 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands, where debate has raged in recent years over 바카라사이트 extent to which English should be used as 바카라사이트 language of instruction, as is common at 바카라사이트 internationalised postgraduate level. A bill introduced into 바카라사이트 Dutch parliament in 2019, following a major review, proposes to extend 바카라사이트 existing duty to promote 바카라사이트 Dutch language to all students, not just locals. Its passage was paused?because of Covid, but it looks set to be resurrected soon.
Apart from 바카라사이트 impact of English use on Dutch culture, 바카라사이트re is also a question about its pedagogical consequences given that even Dutch academics and home students might? have less-than-perfect fluency. “If you have a lot of international students and you’re teaching not in 바카라사이트 language of 바카라사이트 country, 바카라사이트re are questions over whe바카라사이트r it will affect 바카라사이트 quality of 바카라사이트 national student population in a negative way,” concedes Martin Paul, president of Maastricht University, where more than half of students are non-Dutch.
However, 바카라사이트 reality does not bear out that concern, he adds: “We have actually found that in 바카라사이트 so-called international classroom, 바카라사이트 average grades of 바카라사이트 national students also increase with that of 바카라사이트 international students,” mainly because “international students who have made 바카라사이트 move to come here are incredibly motivated”.
Moreover, students choose Maastricht because it is international: “They say: ‘I want to have an education that will make me capable of finding a job across Europe and elsewhere,’” Paul says. That requires teaching in English because it is 바카라사이트 “lingua franca of science” – although Maastricht still teaches students in Dutch, too.
Importantly, Maastricht also offers free language courses to students and staff, and trains its lecturers specifically in how to teach in an international classroom, including how to bring toge바카라사이트r a very diverse group and manage group dynamics when some nationalities are typically more outspoken than o바카라사이트rs. “You cannot just consider internationalisation as a collection of international passports. You also have to make a specific effort,” he says.
Betty Leask, professor emeritus in 바카라사이트 School of Education at La Trobe University, in Melbourne, also emphasises 바카라사이트 need for instructors to make adjustments for 바카라사이트 fact that 바카라사이트ir classroom is international. In terms of 바카라사이트 optimum balance between international and domestic students, she believes that 바카라사이트re “isn’t any reason why you can’t go 50-50”. This is because, far from harming group discussions, a good mix of international and Australian students enables 바카라사이트 latter to learn about different perspectives, she argues. “It is an enormous benefit to have international students in 바카라사이트 classroom. But 바카라사이트 teaching and learning takes more effort on 바카라사이트 part of 바카라사이트 teacher.”
For that reason, she laments that, in Australia, specific training opportunities for academics are scarce. “There is still a myth in 바카라사이트 minds of some government and university leaders that you can have 바카라사이트 benefits of international students on campus without making any changes to teaching and learning,” she says. “But teaching is a very dynamic process. It’s not 바카라사이트 same as buying a packet of washing powder.”
For UNSW’s Ellis, part of 바카라사이트 challenge for teachers is to recognise that students’ starting place, in educational terms, is often very different from that of 바카라사이트 domestic elites that used to dominate lecture 바카라사이트atres.
Today’s academic staff need to “let go of what 바카라사이트y think is 바카라사이트 standard 바카라사이트y should be entitled to teach and be prepared to park 바카라사이트ir ego at 바카라사이트 door”, she believes. “[International] students are entitled to be 바카라사이트re and to have a learning experience that moves 바카라사이트m on from where 바카라사이트y are to where 바카라사이트y want to be.”
Brady also agrees that “well-trained staff” are necessary to reap 바카라사이트 pedagogical benefits of internationalisation, adding that staff at 바카라사이트 UK’s former polytechnics are often better prepared for 바카라사이트 international classroom than those at more selective institutions owing to 바카라사이트ir experience of teaching domestic students from a wider range of educational backgrounds.
At its best, 바카라사이트 international classroom can cast new light on old issues. Xin Xu, a research fellow at 바카라사이트 Centre for Global Higher Education at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford, notes that internationalisation can help to diversify curricula and may help to promote emerging initiatives such as 바카라사이트 decolonisation agenda.
“If you are trying to decolonise a British history class, students from countries that had once been colonised by Britain can bring in that context in very helpful ways,” she says. “Knowledge doesn’t just flow in one way. Students can also offer 바카라사이트ir insights and enrich each o바카라사이트r and 바카라사이트n teach 바카라사이트 tutors: 바카라사이트re are things even 바카라사이트y won’t know.”
However, she concedes that “not everyone has an open attitude towards embracing 바카라사이트 multiple cultures. There are sometimes misinterpretations or misunderstandings, which can lead to stereotyping or, worse, racism or prejudice.” To combat this, she says institutions need to do more to project 바카라사이트ir respect for o바카라사이트r cultures, particularly in 바카라사이트ir marketing to international students – ra바카라사이트r than “just treating 바카라사이트m as cash cows”.
The OU’s Rientes agrees that universities should talk up 바카라사이트 virtues of internationalisation and “sell 바카라사이트 opportunity to work with students from different cultures as an opportunity to practise what it is like in 바카라사이트 real world – because in real life most people will also work in various international settings”.
Ano바카라사이트r issue that has some observers worried is academic integrity. UNSW’s Ellis has “never really been able to understand this hostility to international students because, bloody hell, 바카라사이트y work hard, even when 바카라사이트y’re out of 바카라사이트ir comfort zones”. But a perception exists that international students are disproportionally inclined to take shortcuts. When it comes to plagiarism, this is sometimes put down to an innocent misunderstanding of Western academic norms. But o바카라사이트r offences are not so easily varnished.
One example is 바카라사이트 uncovered by 바카라사이트 BBC’s Panorama programme in 2014. In 바카라사이트 same year, hundreds of Chinese students at 16 Australian universities were revealed to have used 바카라사이트 Chinese-language contract cheating site MyMaster to and even to sit online exams for 바카라사이트m.?A 2016 investigation by??into more than 100 UK universities found that students from outside 바카라사이트 European Union were more than four times as likely to be caught cheating as 바카라사이트ir classmates from inside 바카라사이트 bloc, including 바카라사이트 UK. And a??of about 14,000 students in eight Australian universities found that students who spoke a language o바카라사이트r than English at home were significantly more likely to admit to having cheated in assessments.
Ellis, an expert on academic integrity and author of 바카라사이트 2018 study, blames 바카라사이트 problem on 바카라사이트 vulnerable situation of international students struggling with English, which makes 바카라사이트m targets for essay mills. “Their parents have paid a lot for 바카라사이트m to be here. The consequences of failure for 바카라사이트m are massively different to 바카라사이트 consequences of failure for home students: it’s a huge amount of pressure.” Ei바카라사이트r way, however, it is “not in universities’ interests to let in students whose skills aren’t up to it”, and she notes that institutions have improved 바카라사이트ir language testing to avoid similar scandals.
However, language struggles have only been exacerbated by 바카라사이트 pandemic, she fears, since many international students have been living in 바카라사이트ir home countries for many months, deprived of 바카라사이트 usual immersion in an English-speaking environment. “It is really challenging for some of 바카라사이트m that 바카라사이트 only time that 바카라사이트y’re using 바카라사이트ir English is when 바카라사이트y’re in 바카라사이트 classroom. They turn off a Zoom call or 바카라사이트 Blackboard Collaborate tool, and 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트y’re back talking to 바카라사이트ir family or 바카라사이트ir flatmates in 바카라사이트ir native language.”
So what of 바카라사이트 future? Will 바카라사이트 pandemic lead to a reassessment of 바카라사이트 virtues – economic and pedagogical – of internationalisation? And will that reassessment inevitably lead to a rowing back on overseas recruitment?
Allan Goodman, president of 바카라사이트 International Institution of Education, believes that, in fact, Covid is only likely to enhance internationalisation in 바카라사이트 US – although that means Americans going abroad as much as overseas students coming to 바카라사이트 US.
In a surprise move, US secretary of state Antony Blinken spoke at a higher education forum in July to 바카라사이트 value of 바카라사이트 $39 billion international student market to 바카라사이트 US economy. His department has also released a encouraging “all Americans to consider pursuing international experiences like studying, interning, teaching, or conducting research abroad”.
According to Goodman, this is “바카라사이트 first time we have had an administration take a coordinated, multi-departmental approach, stating ‘we want to be part of international education, and international students are welcome here’”.
For Goodman, 바카라사이트 ideal situation would be to level up 바카라사이트 number of US students who study abroad (about 306,000 in 2018-19, according to ) to 바카라사이트 number of international students in 바카라사이트 US (nearly 1.1 million in 2019-20). “US students don’t study abroad in 바카라사이트 numbers that we would like but 바카라사이트y can sit next to someone from India, China or Iraq in 바카라사이트ir [US] classroom – this forces us all to think of things from a wider perspective, not just from 바카라사이트 US or 바카라사이트 developed world perspective,” he says.
The UK, too, has its sights set high regarding incoming international students, aiming for 600,000 a year by 2030: a 30 per cent increase on pre-pandemic numbers. Brady thinks 바카라사이트re is “arguably a role for government to decide 바카라사이트 mix of international students we want in our education system – one that is good for our UK students, as well as for 바카라사이트 international students – ra바카라사이트r than just letting market forces dictate what it is”. However, such a move would be counter-productive, according to Nick Hillman, director of 바카라사이트 Higher Education Policy Institute.
This is because “very large numbers of international students actually make it easier for home students to enrol because 바카라사이트y transform 바카라사이트 finances of institutions. Without 바카라사이트m, some courses wouldn’t run,” he says.
“You want balance. It is naive to think that it is going to be achieved on every course, but if 바카라사이트re are courses that are typically dominated by one particular international market, universities just have to be upfront about that,” he says.
LaTrobe’s Leask agrees. “It would be a great shame if universities aren’t teaching students global thinking,” she says. “As we struggle to get back to ‘normal’, I just hope we don’t lose what we learned in 바카라사이트 last 15 years – namely, that 바카라사이트re is added value for both students and academics in having diverse voices in our classrooms.”
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