Study On Cross-cultural Adaptation Of International Students

Culture is an important feature of human beings different from animals.When individuals coming from home culture enter into host culture,their in-adaptation will be shown due to the culture shock.In this thesis,the author studies from three dimensions namely psychological adaptation,sociocultural adaptation and academic adaptation of the international students in Nanchang Hangkong University(NCHU).As the intercultural sojourners,international students may experience three cross-cultural adaptation living and studying in China.This study adopts the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale,the Sociocultural Adjustment and the Academic Adjustment Scale which are used in the research on psychological adaptation,sociocultural adaptation and academic adaptation of seventy-one international students in NCHU based on the theories of Lysgaard’s U-Curve model,Kim’s stress-adaptation-growth dynamic model,Hofstede’s cultural value orientation and Berry’s acculturation strategies.Through variation analysis in demographic information,study motivation and related social support by questionnaire and interview,the results indicate that the cross-cultural adaptability of international students is at a medium level.And the the main findings of the research are as follows:Firstly,psychological adaptability of international students was good and most students had little depression in general.The author analyzed the differences in the age,gender,nationality,study motivation,and the level of understanding of China and NCHU,which had a significant impact on psychological adaptation of international students.The results of psychological adaptation scale found that the psychological adaptability of female students studying was stronger than that of male students;the higher the level of Chinese,the stronger the ability of psychological adaptation.Secondly,sociocultural adaptability of international students was at a medium level.Some students had some difficulties in dietary habits,Chinese proficiency,and cultural identity.Through the analysis of variation differences,the higher the level of international students was,the stronger their sociocultural adaptability would be and the stronger cultural identity would be.Thirdly,international students was at a medium level in the degree of difficulty in academic adjustment.Some international students had poor ability to acquire knowledge in class.When international students faced some difficulties in academicadaptation,they were more likely to choose an integration strategy that sought help from Chinese friends,teachers and the staff at international office.Finally,they may gradually overcome the difficulties in the process of academic study.According to the current state of international students,management should take some measures to solve the cross-cultural adaptation problems such as exploring effective and appropriate teaching methods.Setting Chinese corner and volunteer organizations,which are expected to help improve Chinese language proficiency and enhance the Chinese cultural identity and they will enjoy their life and study in China.