A Study On Intercultural Adaptation Of International Students In China

With the context of global economic integration, the internationalization of higher education based on the principles of international exchange and cooperation has become a world trend in the development of higher education. During the internationalized process of higher education in China, the number of international students is increasing, which has been up to260,000. It is estimated that the number of international students in China will reach500,000by2050. Such a large population of international students also brings a series of problems and challenges. How to help international students better adapt to and integrate into Chinese culture and to promote and enhance the educational quality become an imperative issue for the Chinese educational system.Based on the theories of Sverre Lysgaard’s U-Curve Pattern, Young Yun Kim’s Stress-Adaptation-Growth Dynamic Model, Anderson’s Dialectical Model and Young Yun Kim and Ruben’s Transformative Learning Model, five research hypotheses are proposed in this thesis:(1) International students’intercultural adaptation might be related to international students’motivation of studying in China. International students who have clear motivations could adapt to a new culture more quickly;(2) International students’intercultural adaptation might be related to international students’personal elements and the ways of involving into the activities held by Chinese. International students who have positive attitudes could adapt to a new culture more quickly;(3) International students’intercultural adaptation might be related to social elements. International students who get more social supports could adapt to a new culture more quickly;(4) International students’ intercultural adaptation might be related to the methods of Chinese university management. International students who study in more highly internationalized universities could adapt to a new culture more quickly;(5) International students’ intercultural adaptation might be related to the city where the international students study. People in highly internationalized cities have higher awareness of intercultural communication, could help international students adapt to a new culture more quickly.Questionnaires centering on intercultural adaptation are adopted in the study and96international students from Beijing University of Technology and77international students from Capital University of Economics and Business respectively are investigated. SPSS17.0is used to analyze the reliability test, descriptive, correlative, mean value and significance of the collected data. The following results are concluded:Firstly, international students’intercultural adaptation is related to their motivation. International students who have clear motivations can adapt to a new culture more quickly; Secondly, international students’intercultural adaptation is related to their personal elements such as the ways of involving into the activities held by Chinese. And international students who have positive attitudes can adapt to a new culture more quickly; Thirdly, international students’intercultural adaptation is related to social elements. International students who get more social supports can adapt to a new culture more effectively; Fourthly, international students’intercultural adaptation is related to the methods of Chinese university management. International students who study in more highly internationalized universities can adapt to a new culture more quickly; Fifthly, international students’intercultural adaptation is related to the degree of the internationalization of the city where international students study. People in highly internationalized cities tend to have higher awareness of intercultural communication, can help international students adapt to a new culture more quickly.The research results may provide reference for international students’ adaptation in China and for improvement of intercultural management skills and education quality of Chinese universities’faculty and staff.