A Study On The Cross-cultural Adaptation Of The International Students In China

With the improvement of China’s comprehensive national strength andinternational status, the number of foreigners learning Chinese is increasinglygrowing. According to the report issued by Ministry of Education in November,2013,the total number of international students was0.29million in2013, which is expectedto reach0.5million by the end of2020. In view of this, international students’cross-cultural adaptation in China has been paid more and more attention by scholars.This thesis attempts to apply the cross-cultural adaptation theory, cross-culturaladaptation dimensions, and cross-cultural adaptation strategies to carry on anempirical research on the cross-cultural adaptation of the international students inHangzhou Dianzi University.This thesis will adopt quantitative and qualitative methodologies in the form ofquestionnaires with SPSS17.0software to study the cross-cultural adaptation status ofinternational students from the perspective of socio-cultural adaptation, psychologicaladaptation, and cultural integration and to explore the internal and external factorsinfluencing the cross-cultural adaptation and then come up with some suggestions.Through the data analysis for questionnaires, the author reached the followingconclusions:(1) In terms of their major motivations, the learning experience in China willhelp their future career; For their interpersonal relationship, students with explicitinternal motivations generally adapt better than those with uncertain motivations;(2) For the psychological adaptation, male international students adapt betterthan females. In addition, the longer international students stay in China, the betterpsychological adaptation they will enjoy;(3) As far as the life satisfaction is concerned, international students who getscholarship or more social support are reported with a higher level of satisfaction thanthose who get less support;(4) As for the problems international students are experiencing in socio-culturaladaptation, academic adaptation such as grades or academic achievements(postgraduate) are the main ones;(5) In terms of the level of education international students accepted and theinterpersonal relationship, their educational level has great impact on their interpersonal relationship. That is to say, students with higher education show a betterinterpersonal relationship.In conclusion, the author comes up with some recommendations to solve theproblems of international students:(1) Instruct international students understand the cultural and value differencesbetween west and east in the process of learning.(2) Help international students improve their cross-cultural adaptation andovercome the cross-cultural barriers they will come across.(3) Strengthen international students’ cross-cultural training which enables themto study, live and work successfully in such a different cultural environment.