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.

Integration har på senare år fått stort utrymme i den samhälleliga såväl som den politiska debatten. Integration är en dubbelriktad process som betonar det ömsesidiga ansvaret och tillmötesgåendet mellan etablerade svenskar och nyanlända. Den sociala integrationen kan således ses som en förutsättning för nyanländas integrationsprocess, då den sociala aspekten innefattar tillgång till det svenska språket och ett socialt nätverk, samt interaktion med majoritetssamhällets invånare. Däremot skiljer sig förutsättningarna mellan män och kvinnor, då kvinnor generellt sett har mindre personlig frihet och sämre förutsättningar än män i sin integrationsprocess. Utifrån ett integrationsprojekt riktat till föräldralediga kvinnor kommer den här studien att undersöka deltagares erfarenheter av social integration och dess betydelse för nyanländas integrationsprocess. Sex semistrukturerade intervjuer, varav två med föräldralediga kvinnor och fyra stycken med så kallade etablerade svenskar, kommer att ligga till grund för det empiriska materialet. Det insamlade materialet kommer att analyseras gentemot Diaz integrationsmodell som betonar den sociala aspekten av integration, samt Berrys ackulturationsmodell och deras förståelse av integration för att skapa en djupare förståelse för respondenternas erfarenheter och uppfattningar. Resultatet visar att språket har en avgörande betydelse för de nyanländas integrationsprocess, där mötet med etablerade svenskar utgör både en huvudsaklig förutsättning för att lära sig språket och en huvudsaklig utmaning i deras integrationsprocess. Utifrån resultatet inser vi att ett ömsesidigt tillmötesgående och en öppenhet också utgör en förutsättning för en lyckad integration. / During recent years the issue of integration has gained increased attention in the public, as well as the political, debate. Integration is described as a two-way process that emphasises mutual responsibility between newcomers and established swedes. Therefore, social integration can be seen as a precondition for the integration process of newcomers, as the social aspect involves knowledge of the Swedish language and access to a social network, as well as interaction with the residents of the majority society. However, when it comes to the individual integration process women tend to have less personal freedom than men. This study will focus on an integration project aimed at favouring newly arrived women on parental leave as a part of their integration and will research experiences of social integration and its importance among the project participants. Six semi structured interviews, including two interviews with newly arrived women and four with established swedes, will lay the ground for the empirical materialof this study. The collected material will then be analysed through Diaz’s integration model thatemphasises the social aspect of integration, and Berry’s acculturation model, as well as theirunderstanding of the concept of integration. The theoretical concepts of this study are thought to help us gain a more nuanced understanding of the experiences and views of the participants. The result shows that the language is of crucial importance for the integration process of newcomers, whereas the interplay with established swedes constitutes both a principal precondition in order to learn the language, as well a main challenge to their integration process. Based on the results we acknowledge the importance of a mutual recognition and openness as prerequisites for successful integration.

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