Syftet med uppsatsen är att presentera internationella studenters perspektiv och tolkningar på hur hierarki och auktoritet kan utrycka sig inom det svenska universitet. För att synligöra detta kontrasteras den svenska kontexten med informanternas tidigare erfarenheter utomlands. Faktorer som informanterna anser påverkar de sociala strukturerna inom universitetet är studiebakgrund, finansieringsutformning och samhällets symboliska syn på högre utbildning. Några skillnader som kontrasteras av informanterna återfinns inom områdena tid, organisation, värdering, ansvar och tävlingsmentalitet. Andra skillnader som uppkom är hur man tilltalar och hälsar på varandra, rollfördelning och skillnaderna mellan personlig och professionell interaktion. Summerat beskriver generellt informanterna den svenska kontexten som mer jämlik, mindre auktoritär och att de sociala relationerna mellan student och lektor kan tolkas som vänskapliga. / The purpose of this paper is to present international students' perspectives and interpretations of how the hierarchy and authority will be expressed in the Swedish university. To make the structures visible will the Swedish context be compared to the informants' previous experiences abroad, to visualise the contrasters. Factors that the informants thinks may will affect the social structures within the university can be found in areas of educational background, financing, responsibility and the society approach to higher education. Some differences that are contrasted by the informants can also be found in the areas of time, organisation, evaluation, accountability and competitive mentality. Other social differences that arose is greetings, academic roles and the differences between personal and professional interaction. In summary the informants overall describes the Swedish context as more equal, less authoritarian and the social relations between the student and the lecturer can be interpreted as amicable.

Abstract : In the contemporary world, English has become the international language in which most intercultural communication is conducted (Seidlhofer, 2011). The number of speakers using English as a foreign or second language (L2) outnumbers the number of native speakers of the language six times (Crystal, 2003) and, accordingly, English is used more commonly as a Lingua Franca in the international context than to communicate with its native speakers (Jenkins, 2007). Because of the global spread of English, there are more people who speak English with a non-native accent. Such accents often trigger a set of stereotypes insofar as it could have negative consequences for the speaker in terms of academic success and employability (Lippi-Green, 1994). From decades of research in social psychology and sociolinguistics, it has been established that accent plays a significant role in how native speakers perceive non-native speakers of English (Garrett, 2010). However, little has been done in exploring how non-native speakers of English view their own accent and judge acceptability of other non-native English accents. Therefore, this study addressed the need for further research focusing on non-native students’ attitudes towards Arabic- and Chinese-accented English in an English Intensive Program at an English-speaking university in Montreal. This study employed the verbal guise technique from the field of social psychology to elicit spontaneous reactions to L2 accented speech with two levels of first language (L1) influence. Unlike other verbal guise studies, this study did not include a native speaker sample for comparison. We believed our participants’ potential negative attitudes to L2-accented speech would be attenuated by the reference frame effect. To explain and clarify verbal guise test results, we also conducted semi-structured interviews. The results show that the respondents displayed a relatively low level of solidarity with Chinese and Arabic accents in English. Notwithstanding relatively low solidarity ratings given to the accented voices, they were still higher than the evaluations documented in the literature. In addition, high status ratings were found for non-native speakers despite the fact that they were recognized as such. This suggests that in addition to the positive effect triggered by the lack of inclusion of native speaker accents, there might be some contextual factors at play. We found that the participants were harsher in their ratings when the voices represented the more formal domain of higher education but more lenient when they referred to informal settings. From our data, it is also evident that non-segmentals play an important role in language attitudes. The female speakers who approximated their rhythm patterns and intonation contours to those of a native speaker received higher ratings on all the traits in our data. We believe that, if we want them to serve the needs of international students, these often ambivalent attitudes should be considered in the choice of a classroom pronunciation model, and in the development of pronunciation materials. / Résumé : Dans le monde contemporain, l’anglais est devenu la langue internationale utilisée pour la plupart des communications interculturelles (Seidlhofer, 2011). Le nombre de locuteurs utilisant l’anglais comme langue étrangère ou langue seconde est six fois plus important que le nombre de locuteurs natifs (Crystal, 2003). L’anglais est plus souvent utilisé comme Lingua Franca dans un contexte international que pour communiquer avec des locuteurs natifs (Jenkins, 2007). A cause de cette diffusion globale de l’anglais, la plupart des gens qui parlent anglais ont un accent non-natif. Ces accents déclenchent souvent une panoplie de stéréotypes qui peuvent avoir des conséquences négatives sur l’employabilité ou la réussite professionnelle des locuteurs (Lippi-Green, 1994). Des décennies de recherche en psychologie sociale et sociolinguistique ont reconnu que l’accent joue un rôle significatif sur la perception des locuteurs non-natifs par les locuteurs natifs (Garrett, 2010). Cependant, peu d’études se sont penchées sur la façon dont les locuteurs non-natifs perçoivent leur propre accent et jugent l’acceptabilité des autres accents non-natifs. Par conséquent, la présente étude se concentre sur les attitudes des étudiants internationaux du programme d’anglais intensif d’une université anglophone montréalaise envers les accents arabes et chinois en anglais. Cette étude utilise la technique de locuteur masqué employée dans le domaine de la psychologie sociale pour déclencher des réactions spontanées à un discours de langue seconde accentué par deux niveaux d’influence de la langue maternelle. Contrairement aux autres études utilisant la technique de locuteur masqué, cette étude n’inclus pas de discours de locuteurs natifs à des fins de comparaison. Nous pensons que les attitudes négatives potentielles pourraient être atténuées par l’effet de cadre de référence. Pour expliquer et clarifier les résultats de la technique de locuteur masqué, nous avons également mené des entrevues semi-dirigées. Les résultats montrent que les participants expriment un niveau de solidarité relativement faible envers les accents arabes et chinois en anglais. Pourtant, ce niveau de solidarité est tout de même plus haut que les études reportées dans la littérature. D’autre part, le statut social des locuteurs non-natifs a été évalué positivement malgré que les locuteurs aient été reconnus comme non-natifs. Ceci suggère qu’en plus d’un effet positif déclenché par l’exclusion des accents natifs, certains facteurs contextuels peuvent avoir influencé les résultats. Nous avons trouvé que les personnes interrogées notaient plus sévèrement les voix suggérant un niveau d’éducation élevé, mais étaient plus clémentes envers les voix faisant référence à un contexte informel. De l’analyse des données, il apparait que les non-segmentals jouent un rôle important dans les attitudes langagières. De plus, les locutrices se rapprochant du rythme et de l’intonation des natifs ont reçu des évaluations supérieures sur tous les traits. Nous pensons que ces attitudes souvent ambivalentes devraient être considérées dans le choix du modèle d’enseignement et dans le développement de nouveaux supports d’apprentissage de la prononciation pour les étudiants internationaux.

Language use and communicative behaviors are important indicators of sojourners' adjustment. The current research was conducted to understand international students' communication behavior on Facebook during their adjustment period in the US and its relationship to the students' acculturative attitude (identification with heritage and mainstream culture), current psychological adjustment level, socio-cultural adaptation level, and target audience on Facebook. Two main theories provided the theoretical framework of the study: Giles' communication accommodation theory (1973) and Berry's acculturation model (1984). Snowball and convenience samples were used to recruit 178 international students from different universities across the US. A mixed approach of online survey and content analysis was used to test the hypotheses and research questions. The results showed that during the stay in the US, international students accommodate their language and topic choice towards their American peers on Facebook. Particularly, it was found that language accommodation levels increase as the students' length of stay in the US increases. The results also demonstrate that international students use Facebook mainly to communicate with friends who reside in the US. When students had higher levels of mainstream identification, they were likely to target American friends as their audience on Facebook and thus have more language and topic accommodation. Additionally, acculturation attitude (heritage and mainstream identification) predicted the students' language accommodation level. Lastly, the study showed that there is a positive relationship between language accommodation and sociocultural adjustment. The findings of the study not only expand the scope of communication accommodation theory and acculturation model, but also enhance understanding of international students' online communication patterns, their purposes, and practical consequences upon their adjustment in the US. This is important because it can be useful in finding ways to improve the students' experience in the US.

Previous research studies have demonstrated that international graduate students experience various challenges adapting to academic situations within a new university community. This thesis reports on an interview study with six international graduate students who use English as a second language studying Master’s degree at one Canadian university. This study addresses the academic assessment and evaluation experience of international graduate students in the following four aspects: (1) their enjoyable and challenging assessment practices; (2) understanding of assessment expectations; (3) reflections on previous educational experience; and (4) psychological and physical factors in relation to assessment and evaluation. The findings indicate that these students’ experiences of assessment and evaluation procedures are varied and the academic acculturation process towards assessment depends on different yet interrelated factors: English language competence, cultural and educational awareness, and assessment literacy. All six research participants adapted to the host academic assessment practices and procedures fairly well despite the fact that they were not familiar with the expectations and requirements regarding assessment and evaluation at the beginning of their studies. These students learned about the host academic culture regarding assessment and evaluation through their own examination failure, instructors’ feedback, and peers’ observation. The findings also indicate that international graduate students need more coordinated support from university supportive services and easier access to information about assessment and evaluation expectations and requirements. Implications of the findings for effective learning and positive academic experience for L2 international graduate students, faculty and supportive staff, and for future research are discussed. It is suggested to organize workshops and seminars devoted to assessment literacy for international and domestic graduate students, instructors and supporting staff in order to enhance learning experience and outcomes. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2012-10-09 17:43:27.833

There is a breadth of literature on educating international students. The typical foci are on international students as economic contributors to foreign countries, or on challenges they face. Canadian educational institutions have the most rapidly growing population of international students, yet literature on how to create successful and health-promoting experiences and campus environments is lacking. The purpose of this study was to break new ground by using a mixed-method, secondary analysis approach guided by settings-based health promotion and Health Promoting University theories to explore and understand the health-related experience of international students. The secondary analysis drew on international student data generated from a CB-PAR guided study, The VOICE Study 2012: Revisiting healthy campus development at UBC’s Okanagan campus (UBCO). The two research objectives were: (a) to identify and understand health-related experiences of international students on post-secondary campuses; and (b) recommend strategies for enhancing health-promoting change in campus communities, particularly UBCO, that take into account the international student health-related experience. Responses to 378 community dialogue questionnaires, transcripts from two focus groups (4 participants) and one interview were analyzed. Quantitative analysis was done using descriptive and frequency statistics, and Pearson’s Chi-square test was performed to further understand the statistical findings. Qualitative analysis was done to identify over-arching categories related to participants’ health-related experiences. A synthesis of the qualitative and quantitative findings identified fourteen categories that encompassed the health-related experience of international students at UBCO, and are consistent with the principles of health promotion. The fourteen categories are policy/rules, cleanliness, campus environment, sense of community, orientation, discrimination, food, water, activity, transportation, services, substance use, expenses, and cheating. Of the fourteen categories, international students most frequently selected food, study spaces, and physical activity. Each category was discussed in detail and linked to relevant literature when possible. In the end, this Master’s thesis reflects the health-related interests and experiences of international students, and suggests ways to create a university that promotes health and well-being. / Graduate / 0680 / 0569 / 0745 / robyndwiebe@gmail.com

This study discusses the experiences of international students studying in English-medium business programmes in three countries: the United Kingdom, Germany and Taiwan. The purpose of this comparative study is to investigate how the students’ identity is constituted in the multicultural business classroom and on the multi-cultural campus, the role in this of cultural components of the curriculum in international business programmes, the ways in which the wider student experience operates in such multi-cultural settings and the implications of each of these facets for teachers and institutional managers. Inter-/cross-cultural competence is held to be a vital skill that business graduates should be equipped with in order to be capable of working in an increasingly diverse global village, and it is believed that such competence can be developed through frequent communication and negotiation with people from other cultures. Sojourners in this study attempted to negotiate new identities in the multicultural learning environment in the alien context in ways that were strongly influenced by individuals’ biographical and life experiences. There were several influential factors in these sojourners’ processes of learning and transition, including: interpersonal and intrapersonal factors; motivations for studying abroad; the nature of the learning environment they encountered; and the settings in which these interactions took place. Holliday’s (1994) “small cultures” theory and Wegner’s (1998) “communities of practice” are concepts used to help explain sojourners’ experiences in terms of where and with whom they interacted, and how this influenced their perception of the learning experience in the international contexts. The three institutes were selected through the purposive sampling method, with pre-set criteria such as the percentage of courses taught in participants’ second or foreign language(s) and the percentage of international students in the student population of the university. The sample of twenty-two student participants was obtained by using opportunistic sampling and snowball sampling methods. The qualitative data set comprised 18 individual interviews, 3 group interviews and 40 diary entries. Data analysis took the form of typological analysis (LeCompte & Preissle, 1993) by dividing the overall data set into categories or groups based on predetermined typologies. One of the main findings of this study is that international students experienced high levels of isolation and marginalisation, which affected their academic confidence and social involvement. The universities concerned were aggressively recruiting international students and making efforts to internationalise curricula, yet the academic and social support on offer was perceived as narrow and very marginalised.

The UK has been amongst the leaders in providing higher education for both home and international students, especially from developing countries such as Malaysia. The recent budget cuts on the UK higher education sector implemented in the academic year 2012/13 have increased the competition for UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to secure home [UK and EU] students as the opportunity cost is greater compared to starting a career. Therefore, it is almost imperative for UK HEIs to attract more international students to fill the gap left by home students to remain financially sustainable. Previous researches on the decision making process for higher education destinations looked extensively at rational factors such as financial viability, size of institutions and availability of programmes as well as reputation related factors, such as university ranking and league tables. The question is: Are these the factors - rational factors - that influence the decision making of prospective international students' evaluation and selection of the UK as a possible host country for higher education migration? This research aims to elicit and understand the non-rational factors that may intrinsically influence the decision making behaviour of Malaysian students when selecting the UK as the destination for HE migration. Interpretive phenomenology was utilized as the research approach and the Ethnographic principle of cultural interpretation was enhanced by the researcher's reflexive stances. Data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Six emergent constructs were revealed which then led to the emergence of three core themes reflecting the intrinsic influences hidden within Malaysian students' HE migration decision behaviour. Twelve ZMET interviews and two focus group conversations with participants whom were recruited using the stratified random sampling method - covering three geographical regions of the UK, eleven UK universities within four main university groups. ZMET, short for Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique, is an eleven-step in-depth interview technique that elicits both conscious and unconscious thoughts by exploring metaphoric expressions. Findings from previous researches employing ZMET as data collection method showed that data saturation is achievable with just four to five interviews, providing 90% validity. Focus group conversations functioned as methodology triangulation to validate findings. Both of these data collection methods were guided by two overarching questions: (1) why do you choose a UK university? and (2) what and how does being a UK university student make you feel? The six emergent constructs: (1) Egotism; (2) Self-concept; (3) Current security; (4) Future security; (5) Freedom and independence; and (6) Future opportunities, were then interpreted through the researcher's reflexive stances - personal and epistemic - to signify the insights of the three emergent themes: (1) Fulfilling their emotional needs for acceptance; (2) Satisfying their spiritual pleas for freedom and independence; and (3) Providing a promise for a greater self-worth. These six emergent constructs were embedded into the conceptual framework of this research - Consumer Decision Making model underpinned by Push/Pull Theory of Migration - resulting in a revised conceptual framework depicting Malaysian students' HE migration behaviour. This research contributes to academic knowledge, research methodology, practitioners and policy makers of HEIs - both in Malaysia and the UK. Suggestions for further research are longitudinal study, geographical extension study, comparison study and a study using this research's revised conceptual framework as the research model.

The purpose of this study was to determine if significant differences existed in attitudes of international students concerning college withdrawal. Data collection involved 200 freshmen international students from two universities in Texas. Two questionnaires were distributed to the students to determine attitudes toward college withdrawal. The instrument used to score the attitudes was the Purdue Master Attitude Scale. The analysis of variance was used for the statistical evaluation. The statistics indicated there was no significant differences between the students tested in the study and that the students had favorable attitudes toward college and unfavorable attitudes toward college withdrawal. Based on the findings of this study, universities should devise an extensive counseling and orientation program in order to provide students opportunities to complete their college education.

This study applied proactive coping theory (E. R. Greenglass, 2002; R. Schwarzer, 2000) to the domain of career development in domestic and international student transition-to-university. Participants were recruited from a large southeastern state university. No significant between-group differences were identified in the present study. Within both groups, proactive coping, work hope, and career planfulness were positively correlated. The role of work hope as a mediator between proactive coping and career planfulness was tested in domestic and international students respectively. For domestic students, a partial mediation model was established with a direct effect of proactive coping on career planfulness and an indirect effect through work hope. However, work hope fully mediates the effects of proactive coping on career planfulness for international students. Potential implication of the findings and future research directions are discussed.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe and analyze the mechanisms of social support for international students in Ph.D. programs during an academic transition. Purposive sampling was used to identify participants, two each from the People's Republic of China, India, and Africa. This study employed a phenomenological research method to explore the social support networks that these six students established, the nature of their interactions with the host culture and the effect of social support on academic success. Data collection methods included individual interviews with international students and two staff members from the Office of International Education, one focus group with students and observations in classroom or cultural setting.Three theoretical underpinnings guided this study: cultural dimensions theory (Hofstede, 2001), social capital theory (McClean, Schultz, & Steger, 2002) and the transition theory of Schlossberg, Waters and Goodman (1995). Participant narratives revealed that international students in Ph.D. programs gravitated toward co-nationals because of their common language and culture. Other international students served as an important mechanism of social support because they provided information on how to navigate the university system. Faculty advisors were supportive because they understood the needs of international students while providing opportunities for socialization away from the university setting. Relationships were not occurring with the host culture because cultural differences contributed to the nature of the interactions and there was a perceived lack of empathy from the host culture, both in and out of the classroom. Programs offered through the Office of International Education, including the English Language Program, conversation and friendship partner programs and academic success seminars helped contribute to academic success. This study raises questions such as to what universities can do to promote global awareness and how universities can foster relationships with the host culture.