International students' academic performance in relation to acculturation levels and perceived communication problems

This study was used to (a) determine what communication problems international students perceived to exist in their classes, (b) determine if international students' level of acculturation into American society had any effect on their academic performance, and (c) test the research hypothesis. The sample of international students were comprised of a population of 83 students from a variety of cultural backgrounds enrolled at a land-grant institution in the Mid South region of the United States. The International Students Communication Questionnaire (ISCQ) was used. The subjects' responses to the ISCQ were placed into two categories: language barriers and cultural barriers. In addition, the American-International Relations Scale (AIRS) was used to determine the level of the subjects' acculturation.;A Spearman rho correlation analysis indicated that a moderate significant negative relationship did exist between the mean scores on total acculturation, perceived prejudice, and language usage and the subjects' GPA scores. A multiple linear regression analysis indicated that the mean scores on the perceived prejudice subscale were significant predictors of the subjects' GPA scores. An independent samples t-test indicated that there was no significant difference between the mean scores of high GPA (4.0--3.51) subjects' total acculturation and the mean scores of moderate GPA (3.50 and lower) subjects' total acculturation.