Investigating The Intercultural Adaptation Of Hong Kong, Macao And Taiwan Students Studying In Shanghai's Universities

With the development of globalization, more attention has been given to the study of intercultural communication, especially in intercultural adaptation. Due to the large number and distinctive circumstances, international students have always been a key group studied by scholars. The present study, although focusing on intercultural adaptation of college students, does not involve"cross-border"issues: they are students from Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan province to study in mainland China.Due to the close distance both geographically and in culturally, the adaptation process of this group of students hasn't been given much concern. However, the close distance doesn't guarantee a successful adaptation. Instead, they also face challenges, and the veiled nature of these challenges might tend to make the challenges more salient if they individual is unprepared.Based on this, the author discusses these students'adaptation in Shanghai in a mixed method of qualitative and quantitative study, attempting to answer the following questions:1. What are the motivations of the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan students for pursuing further education in mainland China?2. What is the general situation of these students, including the most distinctive problems and achievements?3. Is there any difference in adaptation among the three regions?4. What can be done to improve their adaptation process?Mainly based on Colleen Ward's two dimensions in intercultural adaptation (psychological and sociocultural) and other works in"similar culture adaptation", the author carried out interviews with 7 students and designed a questionnaire of 125 items. A sample of 105 cases was successfully collected. After processing reliability test, descriptive analysis, t-test, analysis of variance, multivariate analysis of variance and factor analysis, it is concluded that the general sociocultural and psychological adaptation of the students are not bad, but they are suffering more from their academic life. The data also shows that there are several variables showing significant differences among respondents in their adaptation, among which region is the most influential one.The present study, to some extent, reveals the status quo of students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan studying in Shanghai's college. And these results will provide useful guidance for helping this group, as well as people coming with other purposes, to adapt more effectively in the future.