scholarly journals Retaining International Faculty: Meeting the Challenge

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Lois Spitzer ◽  
Jiangyuan Zhou
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
English Language ◽  
Campus Life ◽  
International Faculty ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
Language Support ◽  
Cultural Affinity ◽  
Faculty Meeting

<p><em></em><em><em>The benefits of the presence of international faculty on university campuses are widely acknowledged. Their integration into campus life creates a global atmosphere and provides rich resources to encourage globalization efforts on campus. We set out to explore the perceptions of the challenges faced by our international faculty, with the further goal of meeting these challenges and increasing their retention. To probe these perceptions and address the challenges they identified, we created and disseminated a survey and interviewed our international faculty. The results of the study will be used to increase the retention of international faculty at our institution. The actions we propose will be to create more opportunities to socialize, provide more legal support, recruit more international students, offer mentorship based on cultural affinity, and make English language support and speech modification services available to international faculty and encourage them to take advantage of these services.</em></em><em></em></p>

scholarly journals Decentering Expected Voices and Visibilities through Connective Learning in a Feminist Transnational Bridging Pilot

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-83
Author(s):  
Sarah York-Bertram ◽  
Marie Lovrod ◽  
Lisa Krol
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Power Systems ◽  
English Language ◽  
Knowledge Building ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Learning Conversations

This paper outlines the learning opportunities that emerged when international students acquiring English for Academic Purposes joined Canadian undergraduates fluent in English for an Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies. Critical reflections provided by students, course facilitators, and the graduate student researcher were gathered through surveys, interviews, and focus groups that examined experiences of academic internationalization in feminist and language acquisition classrooms, co-designed to engage difference as a valuable resource in community and knowledge-building. Results included development of mutual mentoring relationships across a wide range of educational and cultural backgrounds; honing of international students’ English-language skills through structured, intentional learning opportunities with others fluent in English; deepening awareness of non-western and Indigenous contexts as sites of critical knowledge production; and evidence that international and local newcomers to university campuses have much to offer one another. For everyone involved, there were opportunities to reflect critically on both subject matter and pedagogies of community building; use accessible language to build connections; interrogate knowledge claims emerging from the many contexts that instructors and students brought with them into learning conversations; and practice collaborative knowledge-building by probing the effects of local and global power systems in the learning pathways of students, instructors and institutions.

scholarly journals International Students' Perceptions of Shelter-In-Place Notifications: Implications for University Officials

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-261
Author(s):  
Thomas C. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
International Student ◽  
English Language ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
College And University ◽  
Local Practices ◽  
University Officials

Emergency notifications and shelter-in-place warnings on college and university campuses are generally issued in English and presuppose either a common shared language and culture or the adaptation of the warning system to a multilingual and multicultural social structure. This study examined the roles that language, culture, and emergency literacy played in international students’ perceptions of shelter-in-place notifications on a college campus. Students from Sweden, Bulgaria, and Kenya were recruited to participate in a focus group shortly after they had experienced shelterin-place warnings after an armed robbery occurred near their campus. These students were interviewed about their perceptions of emergency notification and shelter-in-place warnings. The study’s results suggest that, while an international student may be proficient in the English language, cultural issues, local practices and customs, and emergency illiteracy may hinder international students from understanding and appreciating the need to shelter-in-place or engage in self-protecting actions during a violent crime. 

Female Saudi International Students Daily Practices on Social Media in Australia

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. 39-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanan MOHAMMED ALSHEHAB
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
International Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Social Life ◽  
English Language ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Digital Identity ◽  
English Language Acquisition

The effect of Social Media (SM) technology on human life in the 21St century cannot be denied; the use of SM platforms can be seen in various fields, such as education, medicine, politics, social life, communication methods, and daily life. The research aimed to investigate SM’s impact on Female Saudi International Students’ (FSIS) English language learning and creation of identities. This study utilized a qualitative method to obtain in-depth knowledge of FSIS’ practices on SM and the effects on their learning and identity. The semi-structured interview was used to collect the data from eight FSIS. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Three main themes were generated: FSIS’ daily practices, FSIS’ digital identity, and FSIS’languages on SM. The findings show that FSIS is active on SM, having accounts on different SM platforms. They communicate with people from Saudi Arabia and of different nationalities. Also, the findings assert that FSIS has a strong digital identity on SM. Moreover, the findings emphasized that using SM helps some of the FSIS to improve their English language proficiency. They use SM as a learning tool for English language acquisition. The limitations and the implications of the study are stated in the Conclusion. For further research, suggestions are made to investigate more phenomena regarding Saudis’ using of SM.

scholarly journals What happens to international students’ english after one semester at university?

2008 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 4.1-4.17
Author(s):  
Neomy Storch ◽  
Kathryn Hill
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Language Test ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
The Impact

There is a common expectation, particularly amongst international students, that studying in an English-medium university should automatically produce a significant improvement in their English language skills. However, there is growing evidence to suggest that this is not necessarily the case.This paper reports on a study which investigated the impact of one semester of study at a university on the English language proficiency of a sample of 40 international students. This was measured by comparing the students’ scores on a diagnostic English language test at the beginning and end of their first semester. A comparison of discourse measures of writing in terms of fluency, complexity and accuracy was also undertaken. Background information, including details of ESL support, if any, was collected for all participants via questionnaires, and interviews were conducted with a subset of the participants.It was found that studying in an English-medium university generally led to an improvement in English language proficiency. The paper identifies a number of factors which appear to support language development, as well as factors that may inhibit it.

scholarly journals The Lived Experiences of Chinese International Students Preparing for the University-To-Work Transition: A Phenomenological Qualitative Study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Lertora ◽  
Jeffrey Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
The United States ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Chinese International Students ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
College And University ◽  
Work Transition ◽  
The University

Chinese international students have been the largest growing number of international students on U.S. college and university campuses for the last ten years. However, there is minimal research literature that pertains to Chinese international students’ experiences on U.S. campuses and currently no research literature that reflects the entirety of their experience studying in the U.S. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to give a voice to Chinese international students who are preparing for the university-to-work transition to better understand their experiences as international students in the United States, specifically the types of transitional stressors they experienced and how they coped with these stressors. Five major themes and the essence of the participants emerged from the data analysis and are presented, discussed, and implication for campus based mental health professionals are provided.

scholarly journals Addressing the Need for Language Support for the Migrant and Refugee Community in the East Midlands, U.K.

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 61-73
Author(s):  
Cora Lindsay ◽  
Renata Seredyńska-Abou-Eid
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Government Funding ◽  
Doctoral Study ◽  
Language Support ◽  
Refugee Community ◽  
East Midlands ◽  
Speakers Of Other Languages ◽  
Language Needs

For migrants and refugees, language is essential for dealing with officials, engaging with employment, receiving healthcare and feeling comfortable in a new environment. Despite this, there is no uniform approach to English language support for incoming migrants or refugees to the East Midlands. This paper discusses the situation regarding language provision for these communities and identifies the gaps in current language provision which derive from reductions in government funding over recent years. It looks at a mixed methods doctoral study that sought to identify the language needs of the Polish community in the region and describes a University of Nottingham initiative to address the gap in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision for adult learners, both migrants and refugees, in the Nottingham area.

Drifting Houses, Shifting Anchors

2016 ◽  
pp. 136-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyunyoung Cho ◽  
David W. Haines ◽  
Karen E. Rosenblum
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
English Language ◽  
Student Mobility ◽  
Language Education ◽  
International Experience ◽  
College Campus ◽  
English Language Education ◽  
Free Economic Zone ◽  
International Setting ◽  
Academic Faculty

Based on a new American college campus in Korea's Incheon Free Economic Zone, the authors in this chapter examine the experience of a set of students who challenge the traditional categorizations of “international” students and are often not counted in standard statistics on transnational student mobility. The authors discuss the changing nature and value of English-language education in this international setting, the increasing number of these students who already have international experience, and how these students themselves navigate a range of national and international identities. The authors also identify challenges these new international students pose for academic faculty and staff, particularly how to reconcile the different claims that students, staff, and faculty make about the meaning of being international.

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