A Study Of Cross-cultural Adaptation On Short-Term International Students

Along with China’s rapid economic development and growth in international status, thedemand for learning the Chinese Language is increasing rapidly. The “Study in China Plan,"promoted by the Ministry of Education of the Peoples Republic of China, sets a goal forChina to become Asia’s leading destination for international study and sets a target of500,000foreign students studying in China by2020. Hence more and more attention currently is beingpaid to China’s Foreign Student Education and Management. This study focuses on factorsinfluencing the cross cultural adaptation of foreign students at a university in southern China.By using a questionnaire to explore various issues of cross cultural communication, this studymakes comparisons between the foreign students who are newly arrived in China and foreignstudents who prepare to return to their home country after a period of staying in China. Theinterpretation of data obtained was made in the context of several existing cross culturaladaptation theories and analyzed by the SPSS (Statistical Product and Service Solutions)software. According to the analysis, we find that intercultural sensitivity is closely related tointercultural effectiveness. Also, after short term trainings, cross cultural adaptability offoreign students differs from countries and districts. Students from countries which are next toChina can adapt to China better than those from countries away from China. Theimprovement of intercultural sensitivity, however, does not improve interculturaleffectiveness necessarily for international students. The improvement of interculturaleffectiveness would be slower because of its need for long term cross cultural adaptabilitytrainings. The study identifies difficulties and problems encountered by students in adaptingto their study environment in China. It attempts to explore differences in cross culturaladaptation among foreign students from different countries, and points to a correlationbetween cultural distance and cultural difference. The study proposes strategies to address themajor problems identified in foreign students’ adaptation.