中国学生在美国的困难

Dimensions of Difficulties Mainland Chinese Students Encounter in the United States* Wei Sun Guo-Ming Chen Howard University University of Rhode Island Abstract This study was designed to investigate the difficulties Mainland Chinese students encountered in the process of adjusting to American culture. In-depth interviews were conducted in this study to collect information from 10 Mainland Chinese students. From the recurring themes of answers of each question three dimensions of difficulties Mainland Chinese students encountered in the United States were identified: language ability, cultural awareness, and academic achievements. Directions for future research and limitations of the study were discussed. With hundreds of Chinese students go abroad to pursue their higher education every year, the study of how these students adjust to a new culture has become a popular topic. However, most studies on Chinese students overseas focus on those from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Since late 1970s more and more Chinese students from Mainland have begun to join the trend of studying abroad. Many of them came to the United States. This group of mainland Chinese students provides a new opportunity for intercultural communication scholars to study how they adjust to the American culture. It is the purpose of this study to investigate the adjustment process of Mainland Chinese students in the United States. Furnham (1987) defined people who temporarily stay in foreign places for academic or business reasons as "sojourners." Sojourners experience "culture shock" when their cultural beliefs clash with the host culture. Due to not being able to understand and predict the norms of the host culture, sojourners tend to 2 develop a unusual and unfamiliar pattern of behaviors. The lack of familiarity towards the host culture extends to both the physical and the social environments. In a broad sense, business people, diplomats, foreign workers, students, and voluntary workers are usually classified as sojourner groups. However, the group of foreign students shows a distinction from other sojourner groups, because foreign students are people in transition. Most of them come to accomplish an educational goal. According to Thomas and Althen (1989), they “are in phase of their lives that will presumably end in the fairly near term, and most plan to return to their home countries" (P. 206) The number of foreign students in the United States increases every year. Foreign students are highly motivated to do well and are prepared for their experience. The study on the cultural adjustment of foreign students has formed an important research area in the field of intercultural communication. Three aspects of cross-cultural adjustment are discussed here: (1) culture shock,(2) factors negatively affect cross-cultural adjustment, and (3) coping strategies employed by foreign students. Culture shock is a form of "alienation" (Adler, 1975). It is a psychological disorientation aroused from a lack of knowledge, limited prior experience, personal rigidity (Redden, 1979). Culture shock is generally regarded as a negative aspect of cultural adjustment. For instance, David (1976) considered it as a punishment process. Adler (1975), however, argued that culture shock could be an important aspect of cultural learning, self-development and personal growth. According to Oberg (1960): Culture shock is precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse… Now when an individual enters a strange culture, all or most of these familiar cues are removed. He or she is like a fish out of the water. No matter how broadminded or full of good will you may be, a series of props have been knocked from under you, followed by a feeling of frustration in much the same way." (pp. 177) Culture shock is also perceived as part of cross-cultural adaptation process. In order to assimilate to the host culture sojourners have to go through the stage of culture shock. Lysgaard (1955) first proposed, based on the study of 200 Norwegian students studying in the United States, a three-phase "U" curve hypothesis of intercultural adjustment. During the first phase of adjustment, sojourners are fascinated with the experience in the new culture in which more positive factors of host culture are perceived. The second phase is the "crisis" stage of adjustment. Sojourners experience the impact of loneliness and other symptoms of maladjustment. Negative perception towards encounterings characterizes this phase. Whenever individuals become more involved in social life, they will feel 3 more comfortable living in the host culture. This is the third phase of cross-cultural adjustment. Then Gullahorn and Gullahorn (1963) developed the W-curve hypothesis to extend the U-curve model. The authors argue that after sojourners come back to their home countries they may experience the similar readjustment process. Adler (1975) further developed a five-phase model of transitional experience: (1) contact stage - in which sojourners are still attached to their home culture. In this phase the experience in the new culture tends to be excited; (2) disintegration stage - in which sojourners begin to show confusion and disorientation in behaviors due to cultural differences. Feelings of isolation emerges in this phase; (3) reintegration - in which sojourners strongly reject the new culture. Hostility and withdrawal are signs of this period; (4)autonomy stage - in which personal flexibility increases. Sojourners begin to develop cultural sensitivity and show improvement in coping skills that make them more comfortable and secure in both cultures; and (5) independence stage - in which sojourners show a remarkable change of attitudes, emotionality, and behaviors due to the understanding of cultural differences. They are able to create meanings for the transitional experience in this period. This model represents a more complete study of intercultural adjustment. Furthermore, Yoshikawa (1988) regarded the cross-cultural adaptation process as a creative process which includes five stages: contact, disintegration, reintegration, autonomy, and double swing. The author argues that cross-cultural adaptation should be conceived as an outcome of individuals’ transcendence of double perception of the world. Yoshikawa identifies five patterns of perception in double-swing stage: ethnocentric perception, sympathetic perception, empathic perception, mirror-reflect perception, and metacontextual perception. In the final stage of cross-cultural adaptation sojourners are able to overcome culture shock by capabilities of openness, sensitivity, and responsiveness towards the environment. Furnham and Bochner (1986) identified three aspects of difficulties sojourners may encounter in the process of cross-cultural adjustment: negative life-events and illness, social support networks, and value difference. Negative life-events, such as the death of a closed family member, divorce, or losing job, can cause depression of sojourners. The more sojourners perceive negative life-events as threatening, challenging, demanding, and frustrating, the more they will suffer from illness. Social supports affect sojourners’ psychological adaptation. Cobb (1976) indicated that social supports are information used to show people that they are cared for and are accepted as a member of the group. According to Lonner (1986), a social support network is sustained by its structure, content, and process. Differences in cultural values often lead to misunderstanding among people. Abundant studies have been devoted to investigating the impact of cultural values 4 on intercultural adjustment (Chen & Starosta, 1996; Lonner, 1986; Triandis, Vassiliou, Vassiliou, & Shanmugam, 1972, Zavalloni, 1980). Feather (1979) pointed out that immigrants have an already established, fairly inflexible set of values and attendant behavioral repertoires. The second generation of immigrants is more likely to adjust to values of the host culture. Feather also indicates that the change of cultural values is a dynamic process that serves as a mutual function to both host and sojourner’s cultures. He further presents three aspects of the change of cultural values: the quality and quantity of differences between the host’s and sojourner’s cultures, the tolerance for variations of cultural value systems in the same culture, and individuals’ cognitive complexity, ability and motivation to change their own cultural values. Furnham and Bochner (1982) proposed four potential problems that may show a negative impact on sojourners’ adaptation in the host culture: (1) problems such as discrimination, language problems, accommodation difficulties, separation reactions, dietary restrictions, financial stress, misunderstanding, and loneliness; (2) the requirement of becoming emotionally independent, self-support, productive, and responsible; (3) academic stresses; and (4) serving as a prominent role of representative of their own culture. Babiker, Cox and Miller (1980) study students' cultural background and life events and conclude that cultural distance and its negative influences lead to symptoms of culture chock. Gudykunst (1994) also explained the potential impact of value differences of individualism-collectivism and low- and high-context cultures on intercultural communication process. He argues that people of individualistic cultures promote self-realization, while collectivistic cultures require individuals to fit into the group. Hall's (1976) low- and high-context schemes delineate that people in low-context cultures tend to communicate directly, while people in high-context cultures tend to communicate indirectly. As to coping strategies used in the process of intercultural adjustment, research has focused on how foreign students cope with difficulties in the host culture. Much research regard communication competence as an important perspective toward cross-cultural adjustment. For example, Chen (1989, 1990, 1992) conceptualized intercultural communication competence as the sojourners’ ability to elicit a desired response in a specific environment. Chen proposes a model of competence that includes four dimensions: personal attributes, communication skills, psychological adjustment, and cultural awareness. Ruben (1976) identified seven categories in evaluating effective intercultural communication: display of respect, interaction posture, orientation to knowledge, empathy, role behavior, interaction management, and tolerance for ambiguity. Hammer, Gudykunst, and Wiseman (1978) identified three factors for successful adjustment: ability to deal with psychological stress, ability to communicate effectively, and ability to establish interpersonal relationships. Finally, Spitzberg 5 (1994) pointed out that the increase of our communication motivation, communication knowledge, and communication skills promotes the degree of communication competence. In other words, the more we are involved in communication context, the more we feel satisfactory when communicating with others. In regard to communication activities in the host culture, Kim (1994) proposed two basic inseparable dimensions: personal communication and social communication. Personal communication refers to the mental process by which we tune ourselves in our socio-cultural environment, develop ways of observing, and understand and respond to the environment. In the intercultural adaptation process, communication competence refers to sojourners’ capability to decode and encode information in accordance with communication rules of the host culture. Kim (1988) also identified the concept of "host communication competence". She analyzes the concept from four dimensions: (1) knowledge of the host communication system, including verbal and nonverbal communication rules; (2) cognitive complexity in responding to the host environment; (3) effectively emotional and aesthetic co-orientation with the host culture; and (4) behavioral capability to perform various interactions in the host environment. To the Chinese students sojourning in the United States, cultural differences seems are the major difficulty in their adjusting process. Chen (1994), for example, found that there are three stages of adjustment for Chinese students in the United: (1) taking for granted and surprise - when Chinese students first enter the new environment, they use Chinese values to evaluate the new experience, and always feel surprised about the culture differences; (2) making sense - Chinese students begin to make sense about unfamiliar experiences, and then (3) coming to understand American culture. Chen (1993) and Xi (1994) also observed that differences of collectivistic and individualistic orientations between the Chinese and Americans affect the adjusting process of Chinese students in the United States. The above literature review shows that research on cross-cultural adjustment tends to take a general rather than a specific approach. Very few studies have directly focused on a specific group of sojourners in the process of cross-cultural adjustment. In order to improve this problem this study, therefore, aims to examine the dimensions of difficulties Mainland Chinese students encounter in the process of cross-cultural adjustment in the United States. Method Participants Ten Mainland Chinese students enrolling in a mid-size public university were invited to participate in this study. Among them, eight are females and two 6 are male. The length of time they stay in the United States is from ten months to three years. The average age of them is 27.9. Six of them are married. Procedure Structured in-depth interviews were conducted in this study. A questionnaire containing 13 open-ended questions was used to collect information about participants and their adjustment process. Those questions about cross-cultural adjustment include the hardest thing to adjust, the most frustrating and embarrassing experience, major cultural clashes, understanding of the host nationals, language proficiency, making American friends, food, clothing, transportation, recreation, and finance. All interviews were taped. English is the main language used in the interview. However, Mandarin was used whenever the situation requires. The interviews were conducted either in interviewer’s or interviewee's place. The interview process lasts three months. The interviewing time ranges from 30 to 150 minutes. The average time for each interview is 76 minutes. Data Analyses In order to find out the dimensions of difficulties Mainland Chinese students encounter recurring themes from each question were organized and coded. Based on the recurring themes, the dimensions were then identified. Results From the answers provided by the 10 participants several recurring themes were identified under each major question: Question 1: The hardest thing to adjust in the United States. Recurring themes: 1. Hard to make American friends due to cultural differences. 2. Have problem to understand the language. 3. Feel uncomfortable in classroom communication. Question 2: The most frustrating experience. Recurring themes: 1. Misunderstanding caused by poor language ability. 2. Misunderstanding caused by different cultural values towards friendship. 3. Unable to use the university facilities, especially computer. 4. Unable to follow classroom discussions. Question 3: The most embarrassing moment. Recurring themes: 1. People misunderstood what I said. 2. Get lost in classroom discussion. 3. Could not understand instructor's requirements for class assignment. 4. When was greeted in American way by an opposite sex friend. 7 Question 4: Major cultural clashes. Recurring themes: 1. Different attitudes and values towards life. 2. Relationship between female and male in the United States. 3. Relationship between professors and students in the United States. Students don't show respect to their professors as expected. Question 5: Does American friend fully understand you? Recurring theme: 1. It is impossible to fully understand each other due to cultural differences. 2. Do not expect Americans to understand me. Question 6: English proficiency. Recurring theme: 1. Comprehension of English affects academic life, communication, and better understanding of American culture. Question 7: Social interaction with Americans. Recurring themes: 1. Have no closed American friends 2. Have no common topics with Americans. 3. Seldom involved in American community. Question 8: Food. Recurring theme: 1. Prefer to have Chinese food, but it is okay to deal with American food. Question 9: Making American friends. Recurring theme: 1. No closed American friends at all. Question 10: Clothing. Recurring themes: 1. No difference between China and America. 2. American style tends to informal in campus. Question 11: Transportation. Recurring themes: 1. No car is difficult to do daily affair. 2. Greyhound is convenient for long trip. 3. It is easy to be picked up by friends who have cars. Question 12: Recreation. Recurring themes: 1. Go to movie with friends. 2. Listen to the music. 3. Go to gym. 8 Question 13: Finance. Recurring themes: 1. Only buy necessary things. 2. Seldom spend money. Discussion After carefully examined recurring themes of the 13 questions three dimensions of difficulties Mainland Chinese students encountered in the process of cross-cultural adjustment can be identified: language ability, cultural awareness, and academic achievements. These dimensions are mainly embedded in questions 1-7 and 9. Other items, including food, clothing, transportation, recreation, and finance apparently have no negative impact on their adjustment to the host culture. The first dimension is language ability. Most Chinese students came to the United States with high scores in TOEFL and GRE tests. However, as soon as they arrived the United Stated, they immediately found that their English ability is not good enough for them to appropriately use the language in speaking and writing. The lack of language proficiency was perceived as the major obstacle in the process of cross-cultural adjustment by the Mainland Chinese students. The problem deters the understanding of communication with Americans academically and socially. It is the first problem the Mainland Chinese target to improve. One of the interviewees illustrated an example of language problem she experienced. She said that one night she went to a comedy talk show, the comedian unexpectedly picked her as a target of his joke. All other audiences laughed violently, but only she couldn’t understand what was happening. Other interviewees also expressed that they were always lost in the classroom when the instructor and American students used slang or discussed non-course related issues. The second problem is cultural awareness, especially to deal with cultural differences between China and America. Most participants indicated that differences derived from cultural values, attitudes, and beliefs severely affect their academic and daily life. Communication is often put to an end due to cultural differences. For example, how to deal with friendship is one of the most difficult things to adjust due to cultural differences. In China, the collectivistic life style in school and workplace provides people with an opportunity to develop an intimate interpersonal relationship. Frequent interactions with friends in China are common. In contrast, American people tend to be much more individualisti