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TOPIC: Cultural challenges encountered by international students studying in universities

Amal Tubaigi

Marymount University

Arlington, Virginia, United State

September 2015

Background information:

There are many areas that international students have difficulties with as they are adjusting to

their lives in their host country. This paper will address the cultural challenges encountered by

international students studying in universities and outline the most helpful things for

international students in different colleges and universities through student services and other

international students departments. The biggest issues that international students have when

making cultural adjustments are language problems, finding housing, finding food to eat, feeling

isolated from the community, encountering cultural misunderstandings and being racially

discriminated against. I will research each of these issues and state what is being done about

them. In this study, a more broader definition of culture coined by Milton J. Bennett in 2001 will

be used. Culture is, “the pattern of beliefs, behaviors and values maintained by groups of

interacting people” (Milton 2001).

Middle Eastern Students in Foreign Universities

Students from all over the world come to study at universities in the US and EU each

year. Universities based in other countries also offer international programs which attract

students from all over the world. Middle Eastern Student have also shown a great interest in

going abroad to study. In fact there has been increased in the number of these students going

abroad.

In 2014/13, 53,919 Saudi student went to US to study (Institute of International

Education 2014). This is a 21% increase compared to the number of students in 2012/13. In the

same way there was a 43% increase for students from Kuwait.

Middle Eastern Students also go to European universities to study college and university

level courses. 27,520 Middle Eastern students went to UK in 2014/13 which is a 4% increase

compared to the year 2012/2013 (Data on students from overseas studying in the UK, 2015).

There have been more Saudi students studying abroad compared to other Middle Eastern

countries. In 2012 62,535 Saudi students went abroad to study at universities in the UK, US,

Australia, Jordan and Canada. They were followed by Iranian students. In 2012 51,549 Iranian

students went abroad to study in Malaysia, US, UK, UAE and Italy (UNESCO 2012).

The Cultural Adjustment Process

There are many difficulties that international students encounter as they adjust to their

new lives in their host countries. According to previous research, "For example, one survey

revealed that many international students encounter language problems, accommodation

difficulties, dietary restrictions, financial stress, social isolation, cultural misunderstandings, and

racial discrimination" (Lin and Yi 1997, p. 473). The problems they face range from basic

human needs such as finding food because of dietary limits based on cultural tradition and

accommodations to social issues that can turn into serious mental and psychological disorders if

left untreated.

Cultural adjustment is very important for international students and different people have

different ways that they adapt and transition to their new lives abroad. The University of

California’s Berkeley International Office provides a clear look into how cultural adjustment

occurs, “The typical pattern of cultural adjustment often consists of distinct phases: Honeymoon,

Crisis, Recovery and Adjustment” (Berkeley International Office 2015). Please see Fig.1 below.

Fig.1 “W” Curve as cited on the Berkeley International Office website

The University of California, Berkeley’s International Office has trained Counsellors at

their Health Services to assist in smoothly passing through the “W” curve ("Cultural Adjustment

| Berkeley International Office,"). The first stage of cultural adjustment is the “Honeymoon

Phase”, which is shown in the Fig.1 “W” Curve above from Oberg (1960) and Gallohorn and

Gallohorn (1963) describes feelings of excitement when someone enters a new culture. In this

stage, the student sees the differences between their culture and their new environment but

usually focuses on the positive things. After this happy case, the “crisis phase” begins when the

student usually feels culture shock, which is described as having anxiety and feelings of

confusion. In this stage, students are trying to figure out what is culturally okay to do and what

isn’t and also feel dislike about some parts of the new culture they find themselves in. In this

stage feelings of disappointed and a sense of failure can appears. The last stage of Cultural

Adjustment is Recovery and Adjustment. In this stage positive effects can be experienced

because of increasing self – confidence, improved self motivation, and cultural sensitivity.

Students often become adjusted once they start learning more about the culture and spending

more time in the country students begin to adjust. Understanding the three stages of Cultural

Adjustment is very important for students so that they can understand what to expect. (University

of California 2015).

The two factors that will be focused in this paper are dietary restrictions and social

isolation that may cause a concern for the international students coming to study at different

universities in the USA. International students belong to diverse cultural and religious

backgrounds and therefore they might have specific dietary preferences. These students may

have challenges in adjusting to the new environment as a result of a cultural shock. Therefore

they could find themselves in a state of social isolation. I would like to discuss these factors in

detail in the below of the discussion.

Dietary Restrictions Information:

Most campus's offer a lot of different food types without considering international

students because they already have to care for demotic students who lead different dietary

lifestyles. Common dietary restrictions for international students include a vegetarian diets or

diets without certain meats such as pork or red meat. Dietary restrictions are a cultural challenge

for international students because a lot of people have certain things that they are not allowed to

eat based on their customs and traditions, and religion. For example, Mormonism restricts

Mormons from having caffeine and alcohol. The exact number of international Morman students

is unknown. Most Buddhists are vegetarians. As well as Hinduism does not allow Hindus to eat

beef. In Islam, Muslims cannot eat pork or have alcohol. In Judaism, Jewish people cannot eat

pork or shellfish and they cannot eat meat and dairy in the same meal. See Appendix.1 for

complete details on religious dietary restrictions from the (The United States National

Agricultural Library 2005).

For most colleges offering different cafeteria options is standard policy. It is standard that

most campus's have at least one place that offers vegetarian meals for students and staff. Since

the campus already offers different food options living on campus for students could mean that

finding food for their dietary restrictions becomes easier than living off campus and finding

options of the meal.

Some universities and colleges are doing a great job trying to make sure that everyone

can eat on campus regardless of dietary restrictions. For example, at McGill University has

started a “Meatless Monday program” where all food options on campus become vegetarian for

the day. They do not limit their vegetarian options at McGill university, “These options include

vegetable stirfries, pizzas, tofu and veggie brochettes on the grill, gourmet paninis, curries,

Asianinspired dishes, and vegetarian lasagnas.” (Hall 2013:18). Other universities can adopt

similar programs to help make sure that they are taking care of the growing needs of all of their

students including international students.

Social Isolation:

Social Isolation is a result of a cultural challenge associated with adapting to a new

culture. There are many examples when international students feel socially isolated while they

are on campus. This isolation can turn into depression and or anxiety from feeling suddenly

alone. According to previous research, "findings suggest that international students frequently

experience cultural isolation, homesickness, and lack of support from their American peers"

(Olivas and Li 2006:220). While there is little social interaction between international students

and American students there are some practices that universities are doing to make the divide

smaller and provide opportunities for all students to get to know each other better. At a

university in the East Coast researchers found that the International Student Services office made

an effort to connect international and American students weekly. "In addition to assisting with

visa issues and other paperwork, the office also arranged a welcome orientation and weekly

coffee hour event" (Redwood 2010:394). This coffee hour was attended by other international

students and very few American students came. However, it is not clear whether American

students were not interested in coming or if they did not receive an email invitation the event.

There are different expectations of friendships from the viewpoint of international

students. According to the functional model of friendship network, “international students

typically form three different types of social networks, co – nationals, multinational, and host”

(Bochner, McLeoud, and Lin 1977:278).

In Australia, a multicultural intervention program proved effective in building

multicultural friendships between international students and later between international students

and local students (Woods, Poropat, Barker, Hills, Hibbins, and Borbasi 2013).The intervention

program was in the form of a field trip taking new international students with senior international

students to a popular tourist attraction in Australia. All students had to ride a bus to get to the

destination and this was helpful in building connections and practicing dialogue in the local

language. Participating in the local language is key to building self confidence and results in

international students gaining more local friends than those who do not feel comfortable

speaking in the local language. “Participating in multicultural programs requires participants to

interact in the local language in a friendly atmosphere, and this can facilitate participants with

nonnative language background to increase their skills and confidence in social interactions”

(Abe et al 1998:543). It was found that such interventions in the long run lead international

students to have more local friends than other international students who did not participate in

the program. The results of the experiment concluded that “the expansion of friendship ties was

greater among the programme participants” (Sakurai, Wolf, and Kashima 2010:179).

This program proved to be helpful in international students for building friendships

among other international students as well as with local students. Having these friendships are

important because of the feelings of social isolation that international students can have when

adjusting to a new culture.

I personally, am interested to do the research that would focus on two broader questions.

The first question is “what are the best practices used by the universities and colleges to help

their international students to adjust to their new environment?” The second question is “ does

living on campus or off campus make any difference in the way that international student

assimilate into American Culture?” I have discussed these two issues in the coming discussion.

Living On Versus Off Campus:

Pike (2002) conducted a research to assess the effects of living on and off campus settings on the

attitude of students towards diversity in universities. There were 502 participants from a college

at a university in the Midwest. The results of the study suggested that living on campus is

significantly related to openness to diversity . Off campus living was not significantly related to

openness diversity (Pike 2002, p. 368, 384). When students live on campus, there is a greater

chance to interact with students from an international background. This helps In learning about

their cultures and understanding their ways of life. It provides an opportunity to better adjust in a

culturally diverse environment. The majority of students who chose to live off campus share a

residence with students from the same cultural backgrounds hence their opportunity to

experience a diverse culture is limited to their classrooms where there are international students.

Best Practices Supporting Cultural Adjustment:

Crosscultural trainings can assist in a better adjustment to a new environment. Recent research

suggests that cross cultural trainings are organized, factors like the design of the program, the

types of delivery methods and proper evaluation techniques that should be carefully addressed to

make the trainings useful for the participants (Littrell, and Salas 2005, p. 305, 334). In these

trainings participants from different cultural backgrounds are grouped together to perform

different activities to create a cultural awareness. The groups might be asked to list the

stereotypes they have about each other cultures and countries and then in depth discussions are

carried out to look for the reasons behind these stereotypes and it advantages and disadvantages.

Questions to the organization of international students:

Marymount provides a good program of integration for the international students coming

from around the world, creating a good studying environment and an atmosphere of fun,

enjoyment and comfort for students. I am a Senior in the Sociology Department at Marymount

University and I am doing an independent research study about the cultural challenges

encountered by international students studying in American universities.

One part of my project is to summarize the best practices identified by professional

educational organizations and work to create an organizational chart that working to determine

how to access student to these types of services offered on Marymount’s campus. I did an

interview with Professor Aline A. Orfali, the director of the International Student Services, and

I did a survey questions to the Professor Elliot N. Uhl who works in ISS office at Marymount

University. He also had clear answered about the international services.

About the process that Marymount uses to help international students. Prof. Orfali has a

degree in counseling and has a lot experience with international students. Prof. Orfali was very

forthcoming and helpful in her responses to my questions.

I began by asking her about her own experience, what she thought were the most difficult

things facing by international students? Prof. Orfali answered,“The initial adjustment to a new

culture, and being away from their families and support systems. Also, the adjustment to the

United States Education system.” She further added that the most common difference in the

education systems of the home countries of the students and American education system is the

learning by doing techniques used by American educational institutions to provide a practical

perspective to the students about what they are studying in theory. In their home countries, the

international students are engaged, mostly in memorizing and reproducing the course material.

For the survey questions Prof. Elliot N. Uhl answered of the first question: “The things that I

think are most difficult for international students are adjusting to a new culture and academic

system, and doing it in their second or third language. Also being so far from their family and

friends. At the same time of trying to be successful in a new environment they have visa

regulations that they need to learn and be aware of.”

Secondly, I wanted to understand whether Prof. Orafali feels living on campus or off

campus made a difference in the way that international students assimilate into American culture.

Prof. Orfali responded from her experiences with the international department she said that,

“Students who live on campus tend to get more involved and meet more American students,

therefore (she) encourage students to live on campus. Sometimes however, the black and white

rules and regulations on US campuses can be confusing for international students and may cause

them some conduct issues.” She further said that “some international students might get help

from other students in completing their assignments. This sometimes raises their plagiarism

percentage. The American educational institutions are strict in this regard and take immediate

actions on plagiarism. The students complain that they are not provided with enough opportunity

to clear their names and explain the reasons for the high percentage of plagiarism.”

As the survey questions Prof. Elliot N. Uhl wrote of the second question: “I think living on

campus is beneficial for international students' adjustment to the United States and integration

into the campus community as they are around students from all different backgrounds 24 hours

and are able to participate in university events. In addition, living on campus helps students

continue to improve their English skills compared to if they lived at home with non English

speaking family.”

Then we started talking about if there are programs at Marymount that offered students

help with adjusting to dorm life and cultural difference among student from all countries.

Helping the student recognize cultural differences and create better more comfortable

relationships between student from various countries. So I asked “are there any programs or

events that are on campus that help international students adjust and learn american culture?”

Orfali replied that, “Marymount offers student lots of opportunities to get involved, there are

several student clubs and organizations that students can get involved in, as well as cross cultural

programs coordinated by the International Student Services office, such as the International

Thanksgiving dinner, weekly coffee hours and the International Banquet in the Spring.”

As the survey questions Prof. Elliot N. Uhl answered of the third question: “The International

Student Services office provides opportunities for students to engage and adjust through

International Student Checkin, Peer Assistants, and events put on through the International

Club. The university also puts on an Orientation to help all students adjust to the university and

meet their peers.”

I also wanted to know about whether there are programs in place that help international

students who face difficulties with studying, I asked “what are some programs that help

international students to adapt in studying with other students at Marymount?” She confirmed

that they place great care through helping the international students and replied, “The

International Student Services office works very closely with the Center for Teaching and

Learning to provide academic support to international students. Peer tutors meet with new

international students at the beginning of the semester during the immigration check in

appointment and go over the services provided at the CTL and show the new students how they

can make an appointment with tutor. ISS also has Peer Advisors who help new international

student when they are facing difficulty maneuvering the US academic system.”

Of the survey questions Prof. Elliot N. Uhl wrote in this question: “The Center for

Teaching and Learning does a great job of offer free tutoring sessions on a wide range of topics

and English writing sessions for non native speakers. Meeting with faculty members and

academic advisors also benefit international students to learn more about their expectations

studying in the U.S.”

I tried to see what other departments worked with international students and I asked

Orfali “Who else works closely with international students?” She answered, “Their Academic

Advisor, and students can take advantage of several support offices on campus including the

Office for Student Engagement, the Career Services Center, the Student Health Center and the

Counseling Center.”

Of the survey questions Prof. Elliot N. Uhl wrote of this question: “International Student

Checkin Peer Assistants

Events through International Club

Immigration advising

Student outreach

University adjustment”

Prof. Elliot N. Uhl mentioned on the survey questions that: “There are different group of

people who work closely with ISS office at Marymount such as: Academic advisors and faculty

members, Student Accounts, Admissions and the Registrar's Office. Everyone else at the

university works with International Students through their day to day business.”

Elliot N. Uhl

Assistant Director

International Student Services

Marymount University

Finally, It was an interesting interview and survey answered, that I gathered a lot of

knowledge on benefits through both of it about the services for international students at

Marymount University.

Fig.2 Student Affairs, University of Florida

Student Access to Services at universities

Public and private universities have developed organizational structures to help their

students access different services offered at their universities. These structures have well defined

roles for the specific people who can be contacted by students in case they need support and

guidance in their academic or personal issues at the university. Fig.2 shows the organizational

chart provided by the office of student affairs to guide their student’s access different services at

the university (University of Florida Student Affairs 2015). The university has designated

people for specific student services. For example the students can contact the Assistant Vice

President for multicultural and diversity affairs if they need to discuss issues related to ethnicity

related issues.The reason I chose student affairs of the University of Florida is, because this is

one of the easy and clear organizational chart to follow. It has clear responsibilities and specific

people to perform these responsibilities. It also the University of Florida is a big university that

has so many international students.

Services offered to International Students at Marymount

American Universities offer services to international students that help them adjust to the

new environment. These universities provide many kinds of food at their canteens that are

suitable to students from different cultural and religious backgrounds. Student counseling

services are also available to students. The counselors present at these services provide the

students career counseling and coping strategies that help the international students adjust to the

new social setup.

At Marymount campus, approximately 9% of the university’s student consists of international

students. Marymount’s International Student Services (ISS) guides the international students in

terms of personal, academic and professional growth. Following is a list of services provided by

the ISS to the international students:

1. Immigration information

Marymount offered works together with government through the service database to keep track

of the visa students of international students.

● Programs :

a. Maintaining your F1 status. So Marymount give information about Maintaining the

F1 status and changing visa status.

b. They offered international students advisors.

2. Cultural programs and Event major program supported by ISS office

● International Education week

● Weekly coffee hours

● Thanksgiving banner

● International week

● International semiformal Banquet

3. Academic support

● CTL

● Tutors

● Advisors

In this section I could mentioned my own personal experience as a student at Marymount

University for my first year as a freshmen student. I found difficulty in mathematics as an

international student in terms of language and difference on curriculum. The CTL

program was working to reduce my fear as a first time student studying at a US

university. I also found many friendly people who worked to give students the help to

succeed. To tell the truth, I did not imagine that I will be successful easily in mathematics

but since I got help through this successful program, I can say CTL centre is an important

supportive program that seeks to facilitate the study in Marymount University.

4. Confidential crosscultural counseling

5. Global Thinkers

● They offered one floor for students to share the cultures and can engage together with

American students.

6. New international students

● Provide guidelines for visa & classes

● International students check in services

● New students orientation

7. Pamphlets & handouts explaining us of MU policies procedures

References

Abe, J., D. M. Talbot, and R. J. Geelhoed. 1998. “Effects Of a Peer Programme on International

Student Adjustment.” Journal of College Student Development 39:53947.

Austell, David B. 2013. “What College Counselors Need To Know About International Student

Advisers: Field Notes on the Professionals, the Clients, and the Challenges.” Journal of

College Student Psychotherapy 27(3):22637.

Bennett, M. J. 2001. “Developing intercultural competence for global leadership.”

Interkulturelles Management. KonzeptionBeratungTraining, Wiesbaden, 205226.

Bochner, Stephen, Beverly M. Mcleod, and Anli Lin. 1977. “Friendship Patterns Of

Overseas Students: A Functional Model.” International Journal of Psychology

12:27794.

Cultural Adjustment Berkeley International Office. (n.d.). Retrieved from (http://

internationaloffice.berkeley.edu/cultural_adjustment).

Data on Students from Overseas Studying in The UK at HE Providers; HESA Student Record

2015. “Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).” Retrieved from

(https://www.hesa.ac.uk).

UNESCO Institute for Statistics. 2015. “Global flow of tertiarylevel students.” Retrieved

from (http://www.uis.unesco.org).

Hall, M. 2013. “Campus Dining, More Universities Are Serving Healthier Cuisine To

Students.” Today's Dietitian 15(5):1818.

https://www.hesa.ac.uk/

International Student Totals by Place of Origin, 2012/132013/14. “Open Doors Report on

International Educational Exchange.” Institute of International Education (IIE).

Retrieved from (http://www.iie.org/opendoors).

Lin, J., and J. Yi. 1997. “Asian International Students' Adjustment: Issues and Program

Suggestions.” College Student Journal 31(4):473-479.

Littrell, L. N., and Salas, E. (2005). “A review of crosscultural training: Best practices,

guidelines, and research needs.” Human Resource Development Review 4(3),

305334.

Olivas, M., and C. Li. 2006. “Understanding Stressors Of International Students in Higher

Personnel Need to Know.” Journal of Instructional Psychology 33(3):217–22.

Pike, G. R. (2002). “The Differential Effects of Onand OffCampus Living Arrangements on

Students' Openness to Diversity.” Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice

39(4), 368384.

Redwood, Cindyann. 2010. “The Challenge of Fostering CrossCultural Interactions: A Case

Study of International Graduate Students' Perception of Diversity Initiatives.” College

student Journal 44(2):389400.

Sakurai, T., F. Mccall Wolf, and E. s. Kashima. n.d. “Building Intercultural Links: The Impact of

a Multicultural Intervention Programme on Social Ties of International Students in

Australia.” International Journal of Intercultural Relations 34:176–85.

University of Florida Student Affairs, Organization Chart. 2015. Retrieved from (http://

www.ufsa.ufl.edu/about/organization_chart/).

http://www.ufsa.ufl.edu/about/organization_chart/

University of California., Berkeley International Office. 2015. “Cultural Adjustment.” Retrieved

from (http://internationaloffice.berkeley.edu/cultural_adjustment). Woods, P., Poropat, A., Barker, M., Hills, R., Hibbins, R., and Borbasi, S. 2013. “Building

friendship through a crosscultural mentoring program.” International Journal of Intercultural Relations 37(5), 523535.

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College Student Psychotherapy 67–78.

Appendix 1

WORLD RELIGIONS, FOODS PRACTICES AND RESTRICTIONS, AND RATIONALE

FOR BEHAVIOR

Type of religion Practice or restriction Rationale

Buddhism • Refrain from meat, vegetarian diet is desirable • Moderation in all foods • Fasting required of monks

• Natural foods of the earth are considered most pure • Monks avoid all solid food after noon

Eastern Orthodox Christianity

• Restrictions on Meat and Fish • Fasting Selectively

• Observance of Holy Days includes fasting and restrictions to increase spiritual progress

Hinduism • Beef prohibited • All other meat and fish restricted or avoided • Alcohol avoided • Numerous fasting days

• Cow is sacred and can't be eaten, but products of the "sacred" cow are pure and desirable • Fasting promotes spiritual growth

Islam • Pork and certain birds prohibited • Alcohol prohibited • Coffee/tea/stimulants avoided • Fasting from all food and drink during specific periods

• Eating is for good health • Failure to eat correctly minimizes spiritual awareness • Fasting has a cleansing effect of evil elements

Judaism • Pork and shellfish prohibited • Meat and dairy at same meal prohibited • Leavened food restricted • Fasting practiced

• Land animals that do not have cloven hooves and that do not chew their cud are forbidden as unclean (e.g., hare, pig, camel) • Kosher process is based upon the Torah

Mormonism • Alcohol and beverages containing caffeine prohibited • Moderation in all foods • Fasting practiced

• Caffeine is addictive and leads to poor physical and emotional health • Fasting is the discipline of selfcontrol and honoring to God

Protestants • Few restrictions of food or fasting observations • Moderation in eating, drinking, and exercise is promoted

• God made all animal and natural products for humans' enjoyment • Gluttony and drunkenness are sins to be controlled

Rastafarianism • Meat and fish restricted • Vegetarian diets only, with salts, preservatives, and condiments prohibited • Herbal drinks permitted; alcohol, coffee, and soft drinks prohibited • Marijuana used extensively for religious and medicinal purposes

• Pigs and shellfish are scavengers and are unclean • Foods grown with chemicals are unnatural and prohibited • Biblical texts support use of herbs (marijuana and other herbs)

Roman Catholicism

• Meat restricted on certain days • Fasting practiced

• Restrictions are consistent with specified days of the church year

Seventhday Adventist

• Pork prohibited and meat and fish avoided • Vegetarian diet is encouraged • Alcohol, coffee, and tea prohibited

• Diet satisfies practice to "honor and glorify God"

(Source: The United States National Agricultural Library)