<p>In
order to comfortably and effectively function in U.S. classrooms, both
international students and domestic students benefit from the development of
interactive and intercultural communication skills. At Purdue University, a
large, public, R1 institution with a substantial international population, the
internationalization of the student body is a priority. To examine the relationship between academic and
social integration of international and domestic students on campus,
international (ESL) undergraduate students (L2 English, n=253) from the Purdue
Language and Cultural Exchange Program (PLaCE), and domestic undergraduate
students (L1 English n=50) from the first-year composition program (ICaP),
participated in a voluntary survey. The framework for investigating
students’ interaction with peers and teachers was derived from Severiens and
Wolff (2008). Four aspects of new, incoming students’ adaptation (Global
Perspective, Intercultural Competence, Acculturation Mode, and Willingness to
Communicate) were addressed by the survey. Although there were similarities between international and
domestic students, the results revealed international students had more
opportunities to interact with peers from diverse language backgrounds in
formal academic contexts, including classroom activities, peer-group work in
first-year programs and language programs. However, in informal, social
contexts, neither international nor domestic students took advantage of
opportunities to interact with each other. The tendency to prefer social
interactions with co-nationals may contribute to social isolation and limited
integration of international and domestic students within broader social
contexts outside of classrooms. Yet, rather than resisting this trend,
instructors and administrators might enhance opportunities for interaction in
academic contexts where both groups are most willing to participate. Findings from this study can contribute to
the development of first-year programs that provide realistic solutions for the
enhanced internationalization of both domestic and international students on
campus. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/8024828 |
| Date | 14 May 2019 |
| Creators | Kyongson Park (6368462) |
| Source Sets | Purdue University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis |
| Rights | CC BY 4.0 |
| Relation | https://figshare.com/articles/Being_Connected_Academic_Social_and_Linguistic_Integration_of_International_Students/8024828 |
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