scholarly journals An Investigation of the Experiences of Working with Multilingual International Students among Local Students and Faculty Members in Chinese Universities

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 6419
Author(s):  
Yawen Han ◽  
Wenxuan Li ◽  
Min Bao ◽  
Xinyu Cao

In recent years, as a response to the internationalization of higher education worldwide, China has begun to enroll international students to study at the tertiary level on an increasingly large scale. While the majority of the programs and courses are open to international students via Chinese as Chinese-medium instruction (CMI), there are also an increasing number of programs and courses delivered through English-medium instruction (EMI). In order to understand higher education multilingual contexts, this qualitative study examines how local students and faculty members make sense of their engagement with international students in three Chinese universities. In the study, we conducted in-depth interviews with 11 academics who worked with international students as project supervisors and 25 Chinese university students regarding their experiences of working with international students. The findings that emerged from the thematic analysis revealed that international students’ learning engagement was profoundly mediated by language barriers, cultural assumptions and the academic conventions in host institutions. The study revealed that Chinese academics are concerned about international students’ learning attitudes, their academic progress and a lack of participation due to their language ability. Local Chinese students also reported a lack of satisfaction in working with international students. Some of the local students felt that some international students may have been enabled to enroll in the academic programs as a result of national and university policies, which has led to a ‘dumbing down’ of the curriculum offered in English. The findings indicate that more needs to be done to promote mutual exchanges and better understanding among international students, Chinese faculty members and local students.

Author(s):  
Neal Shambaugh

Attention to the quality issues of distance education in higher education has focused primarily on courses. Entire academic programs are now delivered online, and faculty members must spend a significant amount of resources in addressing curricular-issues of online programs, as opposed to pedagogical issues for the courses they teach. Priorities for instructor interactivity and immediacy can become explicit goals for all learning experiences in academic programs. This chapter is organized in three parts: (1) the value of using interactivity/immediacy in the design of extended learning academic programs, (2) instructional design best practices for developing interactivity and immediacy in online academic programs, and (3) recommendations for different level of academic programs, including undergraduate, master's, doctoral, and specialized programs, including teacher education, certificates, and professional development.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-27
Author(s):  
John Trent

Abstract The proliferation of English-medium instruction (EMI) in higher education institutions (HEIs) across non-English-speaking Europe has been recently documented in several large-scale surveys. The opportunities and challenges of designing and implementing EMI policies are also widely recognized. However, our understanding of the use of EMI in Russian HEIs is limited. This study responds to this research need by exploring the experiences and perspectives of instructors teaching business-related subjects using the English language in two different Russian HEIs. A contribution of the study is to investigate these perspectives and experiences using the analytic lens of positioning theory. Results reveal the ways in which instructors are positioned by the university, as well how they position themselves, within an EMI environment. Acknowledging the potential antagonism that might result between different EMI stakeholders because of this positioning and repositioning, suggestions are then made as how this outcome could be avoided. Implications for future research are also considered.


2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 467-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeongyeon Kim ◽  
Jinsook Choi ◽  
Bradley Tatar

This case study examined the reactions of local students to the diversity in student population. Specifically, it investigated how the local students’ intercultural sensitivity to the international students is interrelated with their perception of the English-medium instruction (EMI) policy. The quantitative and qualitative analyses of the questionnaire responses of 213 college students and the subsequent interviews with 15 students revealed a lack of intercultural sensitivity which was correlated with their perception of EMI. The findings indicated that the local students’ different perceptions of the policy interplayed, directly and indirectly, with their sensitivity to the cultures of international students. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of cultivating intercultural sensitivity in an English as a lingua franca context.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophia Gorgodze ◽  
Lasha Macharashvili ◽  
Anna Kamladze

In the context of increasing numbers of students enrolling in higher education in the last decade, understanding student expectations of their universities becomes more important. Universities need to know what students expect if they want to keep them satisfied and continue attracting them. On the other hand, it is also important to know whether student expectations are in line with the purpose of the universities and the causes they serve. This research explores students’ expectations and perceptions of the university in post-Soviet Georgia, as well as whether these expectations are in line with the perspectives of university administrators. For the purposes of this research, over 800 bachelor level students of different academic programs were surveyed at five big public universities across Georgia. Additionally, 10 in-depth interviews were conducted with university administrators to learn about the purpose that public universities try to serve and to understand their perspectives on what should be expected of university. After the analysis of the results, two focus groups were conducted with the students in Western and Eastern Georgia to make sense of the findings obtained through the student survey. Finally, 4 in-depth interviews were conducted with experts to understand their perspectives on the actual findings of this research. The results suggest that employment is the main expectation from a university education. Moreover, there is a mismatch between what students identify as their primary expectation and what administrators believe students should expect. Significance and implications of these results for universities are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inga Jekabsone ◽  

Internationalisation is set as a horizontal priority of higher education in the context of the quality assurance by the government of Latvia. However, higher education institutions (hereinafter – HEI) in Latvia find it challenging to attract talented international students and academic staff, especially in the regions, thereby the internationalisation rates in HEI differ. The internationalisation is a complex concept – it is understood not only by the attraction of international students and academic staff, but also by internationalisation of local students and staff as well as by creation of inclusive environment for both – international and local students and staff. Taking into account before mentioned, the aim of the research is to analyse the dimensions of the internationalisation of regional HEI in Latvia. During the research, six regional HEI in Latvia were analysed in the context of diverse aspects of internationalisation. Recommendations to regional HEI were developed based on the analysis of case studies. The analysis showed that the internationalisation in the regional HEI in Latvia are mainly focused on attraction of international students and on student and academic staff mobility. At the same time, some of the regional HEI set the internalisation as a priority while others focus more on local students and regional needs. However, most of regional HEI in Latvia lag behind the average EU un national internationalisation rates.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 41-60
Author(s):  
Heidi A. Smith

One way in which higher education has responded to globalisation and the emergence of transculturality has been to expand its focus on internationalisation at an unprecedented rate. Traditionally this occurred through international students and their contact with local students. A longitudinal case study into the student experience of transculturality in the Erasmus Mundus Transcultural European Outdoor Studies Masters programme found transcultural self-growth and transcultural capabilities of resilience, intelligence and the ability to work through fatigue to be central to their experience. Using Kemmis and Smith’s (2008a) themes related to praxis (doing, morally committed action, reflexivity, connection, concreteness and a process of becoming) this theoretical article explores the place of critical transcultural pedagogical praxis in supporting transcultural learning experiences of higher education students.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-65
Author(s):  
Farouk Abdelnabi Hassanein Attaalla

Purpose of study: Educational tourism is one of the best ways to help students and adults to gain a good perspective around the world. In Egypt, there are some challenges facing international students to study in Egypt as well as the absence of academic or formal studies to assess the role of educational tourism in Egypt so far. This research aims to evaluate educational tourism in Egypt. Methodology: through a critical study of the researcher based on work experience and responsibility for international students, as well as in light of international experiences of educational tourism. Main findings:  Among the important results highlighted by the study are that the Ministry of Higher Education in Egypt has a new vision for educational tourism through which it seeks to attract more international students to study in Egypt and the medical sector has acquired a large proportion of international students. Limitations: There is no current specific information gained by higher education experts or responsibility, so the researcher depends on his own review of available limited published information and his own work responsibility. Originality of study and implications: The study provides some recommendations, including increasing the proportion of joint academic programs with international universities, and granting incentives and benefits to tourism companies that provide educational tourism services and facilities.


Author(s):  
Inga Kaija ◽  
Inga Laizāne

Latvian as a foreign language is being learned both inside and outside Latvia. It is done in higher education institutions as well as various group language classes and individual lessons. The goals of learners range from professional and research-driven needs to personal interests. A significant part of Latvian language learners in Latvia are international students who study in higher education institutions in Latvia. Those are not exclusively exchange students. There is a considerable number of international students who study full-time academic programs in universities of Latvia. The first adult-oriented textbook of Latvian as a foreign language came out in 1960s. Since then, quite a lot of various learning materials have been created with 11 intermediary languages. However, the contents of almost all textbooks are targeted to people who have either a general or philological interest in Latvian, because in the higher education institutions outside Latvia, Latvian is often learned for research purposes as a part of philology studies. The authors of the present paper – Inga Kaija and Inga Laizāne – teach Latvian to international students who study dentistry at Riga Stradiņš University in Latvia. These students have a specific goal when learning Latvian, namely, they have to be able to communicate to their patients in Latvian, which is using the language in a professional environment. The pre-existing textbooks are not suitable for reaching this goal in a relatively short time. Thus, a new textbook had to be created to support the learners’ needs. The textbook “Latvian for dentistry students” has been created to support acquisition of the basics of Latvian with the purpose of enabling a conversation between a dentist and a patient. The needs of the language learners have been acknowledged by employing the communicative approach but also including explanations on grammatical topics. A grammar overview is included in the end of the book. It could be useful for any adult learner of Latvian as a foreign language as well as teachers. Its target user is the practically, rather than academically inclined learner. This kind of grammar overview has not been included in any textbooks of Latvian before.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 132
Author(s):  
Siti Maziha Mustapha ◽  
Nabilah Abdullah ◽  
Karthiyaini Devarajoo ◽  
Faridah Ibrahim ◽  
Suhida Hani Suid ◽  
...  

Abstract: Embracing internationalization is the reality in Malaysian tertiary education in this century. Various endeavors and research collaborations have been and are still carried out to achieve the government’s vision to position Malaysia as a tertiary education hub in the region. Using phenomenological approach, this study attempts to highlight challenges and strategies towards achieving internationalization of Malaysian higher education. Twelve lecturers from public and private universities were purposively sampled to discuss issues on internationalization of Malaysian tertiary education. Focus Group Discussions using semi structured interview protocol were undertaken. Data analysis and interpretation were carried out through thematic development. The findings revealed all participants are aware of the pedagogical approaches to be in practice to embrace the dynamics of global cultures convening in Malaysian lecture rooms. They highlighted the advantages of having international students from academic and social perspectives. Also included are ways how local students benefit with the presence of international students. These benefits emerged as participants discussed the consequences of Malaysian campus bereft of international students. In-class challenges and strategies to overcome them were deliberated. The findings also informed lecturers, administrators, and policy makers of relevant aspects to consider when dealing with international students at the tertiary level in Malaysia.   Keywords: global education, internationalization, international students, tertiary education, phenomenology


Author(s):  
Yukari Takimoto Amos

Higher education institutions welcome international students because of their status as resources for fostering intercultural competencies among college students and because of financial benefits the institutions receive. The author in this ethnographic case study investigated the level of academic expectations undergraduate international students from Japan received from faculty members in a U.S. teacher education program. Findings reveal that the program's faculty members had low expectations of these international students. Their expectations were reflected in the participants' receiving good grades, praise, and advice which told them not to worry, but failed to address their academic weaknesses. It appears that the faculty members' niceness ironically contributed to a trajectory of academic inequity and produced negative educational outcomes.


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