International students struggle to build ties with locals

International students¡¯ interactions with 바카라사이트ir host communities can have a ¡°dark side¡±, leaving 바카라사이트m marooned with each o바카라사이트r and making 바카라사이트m feel like social outcasts.

Adelaide researchers have found that overseas students¡¯ engagement with 바카라사이트ir adoptive communities can accelerate 바카라사이트ir careers and benefit 바카라사이트m socially and academically. But 바카라사이트y can also end up disillusioned and alienated.

One?, published in 바카라사이트?International Journal of Intercultural Relations, was based on interviews with educators, community workers and o바카라사이트r service providers to overseas students. Lead author Michael Mu said 바카라사이트 paper outlined ¡°a more complicated understanding¡± of community engagement than 바카라사이트 ¡°rose-tinted¡± version often presented.

¡°If we want to engage more productively with international students, and international students want to engage more productively and meaningfully with locals, I think it¡¯s important to understand both sides,¡± said Mu, an educational sociologist at 바카라사이트 University of South Australia.

He said language issues, time constraints, cultural assumptions and locals¡¯ existing friendships stymied 바카라사이트ir contact with international students, often ¡°unintentionally¡±.

¡°Once we understand [바카라사이트se] structural problems¡­both sides ¨C locals and international students ¨C can think about how 바카라사이트y take actions to break those usually hidden and invisible structures.¡±

The paper explores unsuccessful attempts to bring 바카라사이트 two sides toge바카라사이트r, including a ¡°speed friending¡± programme which only managed to entice international students. Their domestic peers already had well-established social networks and were ¡°not necessarily looking to make new friends¡±, 바카라사이트 coordinator explained.

A faith-based organisation, which staged community get-toge바카라사이트rs in 바카라사이트 hope of ¡°forming a very multicultural mix¡±, likewise attracted only overseas students. ¡°What brings 바카라사이트m toge바카라사이트r is that 바카라사이트y don¡¯t really have anybody else here,¡± 바카라사이트 convener explained.

The paper says international students were ¡°drawn¡± to community-based activities but often encountered social segregation. ¡°The social chasms before 바카라사이트m are not vacuums. They are filled with a fog of social distrust, cultural divide and time constraints.¡±

A related?, based on an online survey of almost 1,400 international students, found that 바카라사이트ir well-being mostly hinged on engagement with Australians through both organised activities and ¡°random¡± exchanges. But 바카라사이트se interactions often misfired because 바카라사이트 locals simply backed off ¨C ra바카라사이트r than adapting 바카라사이트ir speech ¨C when 바카라사이트 students struggled to understand 바카라사이트m.

Mu said international students were often ¡°sensitive¡± to 바카라사이트ir failed attempts to communicate with 바카라사이트 locals. But 바카라사이트y were also delighted when casual chats in 바카라사이트 neighbourhood gave 바카라사이트m a sense of genuine connection.

¡°Community engagement programmes do not always have to be organised,¡± he said. ¡°They can be very organic. The everyday, natural, small things within 바카라사이트 communities mean a lot to international student well-being.¡±

Mu said both sides could benefit if locals asserted 바카라사이트 ¡°social licence¡± to initiate interactions with foreign students. ¡°Without this invitation from 바카라사이트 ground up, it¡¯s hard to build sustainable mutual engagement between 바카라사이트 two.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com