EXPLORING INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES IN ONE UNIVERSITY IN JAMBI
A THESIS
Submitted as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in Obtaining the Degree of Sarjana Pendidikan in English Education Study Program
BY:
ISTIFADA A1B219076
ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF JAMBI 2022
iii
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY
I, Istifada, (A1B219076) declare that Exploring International Students Challenges and Strategies in One University in Jambi is my own work, that has not been submitted before for any degree or examination in any other university, and that all the sources I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledge as complete references.
Jambi, 30 December 2022
Istifada A1B219076
iv MOTTO
“If you think education is expensive, try estimating the cost of ignorance.”
(Howard Gardner)
“Not how long, but how well you have lived is the main thing.”
(Seneca)
I would like to dedicate this thesis to all my family members, especially my late father and my beloved mother.
v ABSTRACTS
Istifada, 2022, Exploring International Students Challenges in One University in Jambi. Thesis. English Education Study Program. Faculty of Teacher Training Education of Universitas Jambi in Academic year 2021/2022. The first supervisor is Dr. Mukhlash Abrar, S.S., M.Hum. The second supervisor is Dr Sri Wachyunni, S.S., M.Hum.,MA.
The purpose of this qualitative research was to explore international students’
challenges during their study in one university in Jambi and explain their strategies to overcome those challenges. This research employed qualitative method with case study approach because it helped the researchers to do in-depth investigation. Nine international students from Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand took part in the research. In collecting the data, the researchers employed semi-structured interview, with the help of interview protocol, and audio diary. Then data were analyzed by using thematic analysis (Braun & Clark, 2006). The findings showed that the participants, international students, experienced expected and unexpected challenges, including language, academic issues, individual issues and living style issues. The findings also pointed out that the participants used several strategies to overcome their challenges, including self-management strategies and seeking help strategies.
Keywords: International students, challenges, strategies, qualitative, case study
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, I would like to express the most immense gratitude to Allah SWT. for the blessings that have been given, so that I can finish this thesis.
Without his guidance, I would not have had the strength to face any challenges to finish my study. Furthermore, I express my deepest gratitude to several parties that have given me a great amount of help, support, and guidance to help me finish this thesis. Therefore, I would like to address my gratitude and appreciation to:
1. My late father, Fajar Anwar, thank you for being such a great father, I hope I can make you proud. My parents, Turman and Mutmainah, thanks to their unconditional love, support, and effort that I can stand at this stage of my life. My sisters, Fathinati, S.Pd. and Nurfadilatunni’mah, and all my family members, there is nothing I can do to pay back all of their love and support besides to make them proud.
2. Dr. Mukhlash Abrar, S.S., M.Hum as my first thesis supervisor as well as my academic supervisor. Thank you so much for the opportunities and invaluable experiences that have been given to me during my study. Thank you for your patience and kindness in guiding me so that I can finish this thesis.
3. Dr Sri Wachyunni, S.S., M.Hum., MA. as my second thesis supervisor as well as the head of International Office Universitas Jambi. Thank you so much for the advice and guidance that have been given to me, and for your time and kindness in helping me finish this thesis.
4. Drs. Marzul Hidayat, M.A., Ph.D., Indri Anastasia, S.S., MA., and Dedy Kurniawan, S.S, M.A. as the examiners team in the seminar and
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examination of this thesis. Thank you for all the advice and suggestions that have been given to make this thesis better.
5. All lecturers, thank you for all the priceless knowledge and experiences that have been shared during my study in the English Language Education department.
6. All research participants, thank you so much for your priceless time and kindness in allowing me to hear about your experiences and get to know you better. This thesis would not be finished without the help of all of you.
7. All of my great friends that I cannot mention one by one, thank you so much for always being by my side and supporting me. My closest friends, Indri Nilam Atika and Sutiowati, thank you so much for everything. I have been given such a great blessing to have all of you in my life.
Lastly, I would like to thank myself for finishing this thesis and I hope this thesis can be useful for all related parties.
Jambi, December 06st 2022 Istifada
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
APPROVAL ... i
LETTER OF RATIFICATION ... ii
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY ... iii
MOTTO ... iv
ABSTRACTS ... v
ACKNOWLDGEMENT ... vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... viii
LIST OF TABLES ... x
CHAPTER I ... 1
INTRODUCTION ... 1
1.1 Research Background ... 1
1.2 Research Question ... 3
1.3 Purposes of the Research ... 4
1.4 Limitation of the Research ... 4
1.5 Significance of the Research ... 4
1.6 Definition of the Key Terms ... 5
CHAPTER II ... 6
REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE ... 6
2.1 International Students ... 6
2.2 International Students Experiences: A Review of Challenges ... 7
2.2.1 Language Issues ... 9
2.2.2 Academic Issues ... 11
2.2.3 Individual Issues ... 15
2.2.4 Living Style & related Issues ... 16
2.3 International Students Experiences: A Review of Strategies ... 18
2.3.1 Self-Management Strategies ... 19
2.3.2 Seeking Help Strategies ... 22
2.4 Berry’s Model of Acculturation ... 24
2.5 Previous Study ... 27
CHAPTER III ... 30
RESEARCH METHOD ... 30
3.1 Research Design ... 30
ix
3.2 Participants of the Research ... 31
3.3 Data Collection ... 32
3.4 Research Instrument ... 33
3.5 Data Analysis ... 34
3.6 Trustworthiness and Ethical Consideration ... 36
CHAPTER IV ... 38
FINDINGS & DISCUSSIONS ... 38
4.1 Research Findings ... 38
4.1.1 Challenges ... 38
4.1.2 Strategies ... 58
4.2 Research Discussions ... 68
4.2.1 International students’ challenges in one university in Jambi ... 68
4.2.2 International students’ strategies to overcome their challenges ... 74
CHAPTER V ... 77
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ... 77
5.1 Conclusion ... 77
5.2 Suggestion ... 78
REFERENCES ... 80
APPENDICES ... 85
x
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 The Categories of Literature Review of International Students Challenges ... 8
Table 2 The Categories of Literature Review of International Students Strategies ... 19
Table 3 Acculturation Strategies (Berry, 1980) ... 26
Table 4 Specification of Interview Question ... 34
Table 5 Themes and Sub-themes of Participants’ Challenges ... 39
Table 6 Themes and Sub-themes of Participants’ Strategies ... 58
1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents several main points, namely research background, research question, purposes of the research, limitation of the research, significance of the research, and definition of the key terms.
1.1 Research Background
The ease of connecting to other people in this globalization era is affecting numerous fields, including education. Yamada (2021) stated that educational institutions are strongly affected by globalization, particularly higher education. As a result, internationalization in higher education is unavoidable. Internationalization in higher education is the process of integrating international, intercultural, or global dimensions into the objectives, functions, or delivery of higher education (Knight, 2003). Therefore, international components are integrated into the learning process and higher education environment.
The process of internationalization has several positive aspects, such as improving academic quality, internationally oriented staff and students, diversifying and improving the learning environment, increasing public access, and establishing international networks (Jibeen and Khan, 2015). One of the attempts done by the government and institutions to internationalize higher education is by recruiting international students. OECD (2007), classified international students as students that left their home country and moved to another country for the reason to study. Moreover, Andrade (2006) defined international students more specific, as his study is in the context of English-speaking universities, by emphasizing the
2
characteristics of international students as individuals who are non-native English speakers, on temporary student visas, and registered in higher education institutions. Both definitions have something in common that international students are students who are receiving education and temporarily residing in another country. In conclusion, international students refer to people who go to another country with the intention to pursue education whether in the short-term or long- term, for instance, for an exchange program or to complete a degree. In this study, international students are defined only to people who go to another country to study for the long term, which is to pursue undergraduate education and get a bachelor's degree.
Becoming an international student means getting many opportunities to gain knowledge and new experiences from another country. International students are expected to be able to gain relations with the people in the host country, become more tolerant, appreciate other cultures, and improve both their soft and hard skills.
Nonetheless, coming to another country that has a different language, culture, and environment, can be quite difficult. As stated by Hechanova-Alampay et al. (2002), in adjusting to the university, international students are likely to face more challenges compared to local students who are also away from home. International students might find themselves in uncomfortable situations due to the differences from their home country. International students need to adjust and cope with them before those challenges become an obstacle to their studies.
The topic of international students’ adjustment has received a lot of attention from researchers, it can be seen by many studies that investigate this topic.
Nonetheless, most of these studies were conducted in English-speaking countries,
3
such as New Zealand (Alsulami, 2018), the United States (Rabia, 2017), Australia (Jackson, 2017), the United Kingdom (Abrar & Mukminin, 2016), and Canada (Liu, 2016). Still, international students who study in non-English-speaking countries are also important and need the same attention because they have the possibility to face the same or more problems. Therefore, this research is trying to fulfill the gap by exploring the challenges and strategies of international students who study in non- English-speaking countries, particularly in Indonesia.
The researcher focused on investigating the challenges and strategies on the first batch of international students during their study in one university in Jambi.
The international students are coming from different countries namely Malaysia, Thailand, and Myanmar. As the opportunity to become international students is a first experience for most of them, there is a possibility that they face several challenges in adjusting to the host country. Therefore, the researcher did the study entitled “Exploring International Students Challenges in One University in Jambi”, with the aim to explore the challenges and strategies of international students experienced during their study in Jambi and how they are overcome the challenges.
1.2 Research Question
Based on the research background stated above, the researcher formulates the research questions as follows:
1. What are the challenges faced by international students during their study in one university in Jambi?
2. How do international students overcome their challenges?
4 1.3 Purposes of the Research
Based on the research questions above, there are two purposes of the research as follows:
1. To explore the challenges that international students faced during their study in one university in Jambi.
2. To explore the strategies used by international students to overcome their challenges.
1.4 Limitation of the Research
The research is limited by two points. First, the participants were the first batch of international students who are pursuing undergraduate education at one university in Jambi. Second, the challenges that were investigated are focused on language issues, academic issues, individual issues, and living style and related issues, as indicated by several literatures that described in chapter two.
1.5 Significance of the Research
The result of this research is expected to be useful for several parties. First, this research can provide additional information for prospective international students who will come to Indonesia, particularly Jambi, to have better preparation.
Second, this research can be used as a reference by the host university and university staff, to improve the preparation for hosting the international students and having a better administration system to accommodate them. Last, this research can be additional information for the lecturers to know the problems of international students that affect their studies and assist them to be able to follow the teaching and learning process properly.
5 1.6 Definition of the Key Terms
To clarify the terms used in this research, the researcher provides the definition below:
1. Internationalization in higher education is the process of integrating international, intercultural, or global dimensions into the objectives, functions, or delivery of higher education (Knight, 2003). In this research, internationalization in higher education is the process of integrating international, intercultural, or global dimensions into the objectives, functions, or delivery in one university in Jambi.
2. International students are students that left their home country and moved to another country for the reason to study (OECD, 2007). In this research, international students are students who move from their home country to pursue an undergraduate education at one university in Jambi.
3. Challenges are difficult situations or issues that may affect international students, physically or mentally, to study in one university in Jambi.
4. Strategies are actions or efforts used by international students to overcome their challenges in one university in Jambi.
6 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter presents a literature review of several points related to the research: international students, international students' challenges, international students' strategies, Berry’s model of acculturation, and previous studies.
2.1 International Students
The term “international students” refers to individuals who receive education in another country. This description is similar to the OECD (2007) which classifies international students as students that leave their home country and move to another country for the reason to study. Andrade (2006) defined international students more specifically by emphasizing their characteristics as individuals who are non-native English speakers, on temporary student visas and registered in higher education institutions. Although Andrade's definition is more specific due to his study being in the context of English-speaking universities, both definitions have something in common: international students are students who are temporarily residing and receiving education in another country. These two definitions refer to international students who go to another country both in the short and long term, either to complete a degree or join a student exchange program.
Nevertheless, the concept of transnational education has grown. Apart from study abroad, there are other models of transnational education that do not require the physical mobility of international students. The models are branch campus, franchising or partnership, articulation, and distance/online learning (Alam et al., 2013). Therefore, Killick (2018) also includes the students who are studying in
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these programs as international students. Even if the students never go and live abroad, they may enroll in an online learning program or at a branch of a foreign university in their country.
The definitions above show that each definition has its own categorization.
However, for the purposes of this study, international students refer to individuals who are physically moved to another country and received education to complete a degree.
2.2 International Students Experiences: A Review of Challenges
This section provides an overview of the challenges international students face in adjusting to their host country. To get an overview, the researcher reviews several journals related to the challenges of international students. The researcher selected journals that were published within the last 10 years. The researcher searched the related journals from Google Scholar which is connected to some platforms and typed several keywords such as International Students Challenges, International Students Issues, International Students Problems, and International Students Adjustment.
The journals show that there are many challenges faced by international students. The researcher identifies and divides the challenges into four major types, each consisting of sub-themes. The challenges include language (vocabulary, grammar, fluency, and accent), academic (courses, pedagogy, academic culture, and lack of academic support), individual issues (personality, loneliness, and time management), and living style & related issues (food, fashion, and weather). The following table provides the summary of the review results.
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Table 1 The Categories of Literature Review of International Students Challenges
No. Key Points Articles
1. Language Issues
Vocabulary Abrar & Mukminin (2016); Liu (2016); Li (2016)
Grammar Abrar & Mukminin (2016)
Fluency Baklashova & Kazakov (2016); Li (2016) Accent Abrar & Mukminin (2016); Li (2016)
2. Academic Issues
Courses Hussain & Shen (2019); Calikoglu (2018)
Pedagogy Alsulami (2018); Liu (2016); Li (2016);
Zhang (2016) Academic
Culture
Hussain & Shen (2019); Baklashova &
Kazakov (2016); Liu (2016); Li (2016)
Lack of
Academic Support
Li (2016); Zhang (2016)
3. Individual Issues
Personality Baklashova & Kazakov (2016); Abrar &
Mukminin (2016)
Loneliness Alsulami (2018); Calikoglu (2018);
Baklashova & Kazakov (2016); Li (2016) Time
Management (Alazzi & Al-Jarrah, 2016); Zhang (2016)
4.
Living Style &
related Issues
Food Alsulami (2018); Rabia (2017); Alazzi & Al- Jarrah (2016)
Fashion Alsulami (2018) Weather Rabia (2017)
9 2.2.1 Language Issues
The first section of international students' challenges is language. Language is an important communication tool because one of its functions is to convey such information from one person to another. Conversation can be unsuccessful if the interlocutors do not share the same understanding, especially in the language.
Therefore, language can be one of the biggest issues for international students as most international students are not native in the host country's language. They may be less proficient in the language which sometimes makes them unable to understand the conversation. In this section, the language issues are divided into four categories, namely vocabulary, grammar, fluency, and accent.
2.2.1.1 Vocabulary
A qualitative study conducted by Abrar & Mukminin (2016) explored the challenges and strategies of international students in the experience of engaging in classroom discussions. The participants are eight international students who are from Indonesia and pursuing a master's degree in one public university in the United Kingdom. The results showed that vocabulary is one of the main problems that hindered participants from being active in discussion activities. They have a limited vocabulary in English and it affects their confidence to speak and participate in the discussions. The participants were sometimes confused to choose the right words hence it prevented them from actively engaging in classroom discussions as they were afraid to make a mistake.
Moreover, Liu (2016), who conducted a study to examine Chinese students' experiences in Canada, found that his participants were experiencing language difficulties. They were frustrated in understanding some classes where lecturers use
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humor and culture topics for teaching. The hindrance for participants is they do not understand many terms about the culture of the host country. Similar to Liu, Li (2016) reported that his participants had difficulties understanding lecturers who used New Zealand slang and expressions. Some participants have mentioned that prior to arrival, they were confident in their language skills. However, when they are already in the host country, they still encounter language issues.
2.2.1.2 Grammar
A qualitative study conducted by Abrar & Mukminin (2016) explored challenges and strategies of Indonesian international students in the experience of engaging in classroom discussions. The participants are eight international students who are from Indonesia and pursuing a master's degree in one public university in the United Kingdom. The results showed that the participants faced some speaking challenges in engaging in discussion, including grammar. The participants reported structure is an influencing factor which makes them reluctant to speak. It indicated that one of the factors that affects their participants in discussions is the lack of proficiency in grammar.
2.2.1.3 Fluency
A study conducted by Li (2016) showed that participants faced language issues in English due to the speed of the lecturers. A participant explained that she had difficulties understanding some classes in which the lecturers spoke very fast.
Likewise, a study conducted by Baklashova & Kazakov (2016) in Russia showed that some participants had difficulty in listening due to the speed of local people.
One participant from China reported that he took courses both in his home and host country with the hope of improving his language skills. Nevertheless, he sometimes
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misunderstood something because the local people spoke very quickly. Another participant shared that he needed to ask the speaker to repeat and speak more slowly as he rarely understood the conversation. It can be concluded that international students have language barriers due to the fluency of local people.
2.2.1.4 Accent
Li (2016) reported that one participant in his study was anxious when talking to local students due to their accents. While another participant felt that his listening skills were poor because he could not understand the lecturers who have strong accents. Moreover, Abrar & Mukminin (2016) also concluded that one of the external challenges that hindered participants from participating more actively was the accent of their classmates. Some participants stated that they did not know what their classmates were discussing because of their accents. While another participant felt the discussion was fine but not when he had to engage with other international students who had a strong accent of his native language when speaking English. Therefore, it can be concluded that international students face challenges in language due to the accents of local people and fellow international students.
2.2.2 Academic Issues
The second section of international students' challenges is academic issues.
The literature review shows that many international students face some difficulties related to academics. Academic issues involve the issue related to the courses, lecturers, learning activities and strategies in the classroom, and other issues related to academics. Academic issues are divided into four categories, namely courses, pedagogy, academic culture, and lack of academic support.
12 2.2.2.1 Courses
In this section, the courses cover all the challenges associated with the international students’ majors or courses. A qualitative study conducted by Hussain
& Shen (2019) investigated the academic challenges of international students in China. The results showed that there are some challenges in academics related to the courses that international students took. Most of the participants are sponsored by the government so they have to fulfill the degree requirements within a certain period of time. One of the requirements is conducting a research thesis, which causes a pressure on international students who do not have knowledge about it.
Some of the international students come from countries that allow students to choose courses as substitutes for a thesis. Hence, compared to local students, they face more difficulties in understanding thesis and research material due to the lack of experience and background knowledge.
Moreover, another issue was found in a study conducted by Calikoglu (2018) which explored the experience of international students in Finland. The results show that the lack of supervision and courses is one of the issues in academic challenges. One participant shared that in his faculty, there is only one supervisor who offered seminars and supervision in English. The same issue was also expressed by other participants who are studying in a doctoral program, that there are not many English courses in their faculty. They had a hard time because at first, they could only take a few courses.
2.2.2.2 Pedagogy
A study conducted by Liu (2016) found that the participants experienced difficulties in adapting to the curriculum and pedagogy of the host country. The
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reason is, that in the host country there are quizzes, assignments, and finals, and each of them has a portion in the final score. While in their home country, they only need to think about the final test. The difference puts more pressure on participants who usually just have to give their all in the final. Moreover, Li (2016) reported the participants had many assignments related to the social and culture of the host country. These assignments become an issue because it requires them to conduct research in a local organization, which is difficult because, unlike local students, their relationship with the local community was limited.
Li (2016) also reported that the participants in his study expressed their dislikes of group discussion activities. They said that the discussion was unproductive because they could not learn anything. Local students did not want to mingle with international students and many students were playing with their smartphones. In line with that, Zhang (2016) also mentioned the differences between the two classroom cultures in the discussion activities. In this study, it affects the participation of international students. They tend to be quiet while local students seem more active. In addition, Alsulami (2018) reported that some participants had bad experiences with lecturers. One participant shared that some teachers had bad lesson plans and sometimes repeated the same lessons every two weeks. While another participant felt that studying at home by himself is better than studying with some lecturers.
2.2.2.3 Academic Culture
Liu (2016) reports that the learning culture in the host country can be a challenge for international students. As told by the participants, the pace of learning in the host country puts more pressure because the learning rhythm is very fast, and
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it is hard for them to follow. This may not be a problem for local students because they are used to this rhythm. However, it can be another problem for international students because they have to get used to it and keep up with the pace.
In his study, Li (2016) also reported that academic culture is one of the challenges, particularly in academic writing. One participant shared that he had struggled in academic writing because he never had any writing essays in his country and only answered tests based on the textbook. In the host country, he is expected to write based on his own arguments that are supported by evidence and references. He experienced this issue because he lacked basic knowledge of academic writing. Another participant stated that his first assignment got sent back by the lecturer because he used the writing style of his country, and his lecturer considered it not relevant to the assignment requirements.
A study conducted by Hussain & Shen (2019) mentioned the grading system as one of the factors that contribute to the academic challenges of international students. Some participants stated that they were not familiar with the scoring system in the host country because they had never experienced it and did not understand it. In line with that, Baklashova & Kazakov (2016) found a participant who did not understand the scoring system because it was different from what he was used to in his country.
2.2.2.4 Lack of Academic Support
A study conducted by Zhang (2016) included the lack of support for ESL learners as one of the challenges. The reason why he specifically mentions an ESL student is because his studies focus on international Chinese doctoral students in the United States. Participants stated that the university lacked support resources
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for ESL students in doctoral programs. While in a study conducted by Li (2016), the university provided the Student Learning Center to support students in academics. However, the participants were not satisfied with the service because the staff could not help much with the knowledge and subject matter issues.
2.2.3 Individual Issues
The third section of international students' challenges is individual issues.
The literature review shows that many international students also face some difficulties related to individual issues. Individual issues involve four categories, namely personality, anxiety, loneliness, and time management.
2.2.3.1 Personality
The literature review indicates that the international students face challenges due to their personality. As indicated by the result findings in a study conducted by Baklashova & Kazakov (2016), a participant reported that she had difficulty making friends because she did not know how to make friends. She just waits for other people to approach and start the conversation first. Moreover, in a study conducted by Abrar & Mukminin (2016), the participants’ personality prevented them from participating in discussions. A participant explained that she is not confident to speak in front of people, while another participant admitted that one of the biggest challenges for her to participate in the discussion is that she is shy and not confident.
2.2.3.2 Loneliness
The literature review indicates that many international students experienced feelings of loneliness (Alsulami, 2018; Calikoglu, 2018; Baklashova & Kazakov, 2016; Li, 2016). These studies identified there are some factors that may trigger loneliness. In a study conducted by Alsulami (2018), one participant shared that he
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experienced loneliness because he always had the same activities every day and rarely saw his cousin who used to live with him. In addition, other international students pointed to difficulty meeting new people as one of the reasons (Calikoglu, 2018). In line with that, Baklashova & Kazakov (2016) reported that most participants experienced social isolation and loneliness because they did not have friends or relatives in the host country. Meanwhile, they find it difficult to form new relationships with local students. In addition, feelings of loneliness also can come from the situation in the classroom or the classmates (Li, 2016). When they are not close with their classmates, they have no one to talk to and feel treated as invisible in class.
2.2.3.3 Time Management
A study conducted by Zhang (2016) reported the issue of balancing school work and social life as one of the challenges for international students. Many participants admitted that they had difficulty participating in social activities because they had to prioritize their academics. One participant shared that he struggled with his homework, research responsibilities, and lab experiments, which left him barely having enough time to eat and sleep properly. Other participants also expressed similar issues; they always prioritize academics even though they want to spend more time meeting new friends. Moreover, international students always feel that they have to perform at the same level as local students which consequently makes them spend more time studying (Alazzi & Al-Jarrah, 2016).
2.2.4 Living Style & related Issues
The last section of international students’ challenges is living style and related issues. The literature shows that many international students also face some
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difficulties related to their lifestyles in the host country. Living style and related issues involve the issues about several aspects of their everyday life. This section is divided into three categories, namely food, fashion, and weather.
2.2.4.1 Food
A study conducted by Rabia (2017) reported that some participants showed feelings of homesickness. Many factors trigger homesickness, and one participant stated that food is one of them. In line with that, Alazzi & Al-Jarrah (2016) reported that many participants missed their native food. One participant stated that he felt he had lost his favorite food, because he could not find this type of food in the host country. Moreover, Alsulami (2018) raised the issue of food because of the participants’ religion. His participants are mostly Muslim and under their religious law, certain types of food or ingredients are prohibited. Therefore, they need to look for foods that do not contain these types of foods or ingredients, usually called halal food. The difficulty is they always need to check the ingredients before buying food because not all food in the host country is halal. Therefore, some participants always preferred to buy food from Arabic shops and did not try to adapt to the host country's food.
2.2.4.2 Fashion
A qualitative study conducted by Alsulami (2018) explored the challenges of male Saudi students enrolling in Australian universities. The results show that one of the challenges faced by international students is cultural differences, including fashion. One participant shared that when he went to a public space with his wife, people tended to stare at them because his wife is wearing a hijab. He felt it was their negative response toward the hijab. Especially in summer, many people
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asked why his wife wears a hijab. The participants found it annoying because many people did not understand that it was a religious belief.
2.2.4.3 Weather
An exploratory study conducted by Rabia (2017) examined the processes and issues of Arab international students in the United States. The results show one of the challenges faced by international students is homesickness. One participant said that he had homesickness, especially in the wintertime. He felt the weather in the winter is very cold and long. The excitement at first arrival he felt decreased due to being unfamiliar with the weather and being away from his family.
2.3 International Students Experiences: A Review of Strategies
This section provides an overview of strategies used by international students to overcome the challenges. The researcher reviews several journals relating to the international students' coping strategies. The researcher selected the journals which were published within the last 10 years. The researcher searched related journals from Google Scholar that connected to some platforms and typed several keywords such as International Students Strategies, International Students Coping Strategies, and International Students Adjustment Strategies.
The journals indicate there are many strategies used by international students. The researcher identifies and divides into two major types of strategies, and each consists of sub-themes. The strategies include self-management strategies (practicing, positive activities, and leisure activities) and seeking help strategies (university staff, friends and relatives, and technology application). The following table provides the summary of the review results.
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Table 2 The Categories of Literature Review of International Students Strategies
No. Key Points Articles
1. Self-Management Strategies
Practicing Gong et al. (2020); Cao et al. (2018)
Positive Activities
McLeod et al., (2021); Saravanan et al., (2019); Steve (2018); Jean- Francois (2017); Yan, (2017); Park et al., (2016); Fan & Yeoh, (2012) Leisure
Activities
Saravanan et al. (2019); Yan (2017);
Fan & Yeoh (2012)
2. Seeking Help Strategies
University Staff
Gong et al. (2021); Cao et al. (2018);
Jean-Francois (2017); Park et al (2016)
Friends &
Relatives
McLeod et al. (2021); Abrar (2019);
Saravanan et al. (2019); Tsevi (2018); Yan (2017); Park et al (2016); Fan & Yeoh (2012)
Technology
Applications Cao et al, (2018) Fan & Yeoh (2012)
2.3.1 Self-Management Strategies
The first section in the international students' strategy is self-management strategies. Self-management strategies include all strategies used by international students in which they rely on themselves to overcome challenges. In this section, the strategies include practicing, positive activities, and leisure activities.
2.3.1.1 Practicing
The literature review indicates that several participants tried to overcome the challenges by practicing on their own. A qualitative study by Gong et al. (2020) examined the challenges and strategic responses of New Zealand students in China.
The results showed that the participants who had language difficulty tried to overcome the challenges by practicing and learning vocabulary especially used in
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daily conversations. It helps them to develop their daily communication. Others attempted to improve their language knowledge by repeating, writing, and memorizing the vocabulary.
Furthermore, a qualitative study by Cao et al. (2018) explored coping strategies of Chinese international students in dealing with academic issues. The results showed that some of the participants overcome the language barrier in classes by doing note-taking. Participants also stated that they faced difficulties in academic writing. One participant managed to overcome the problem through a lot of reading, writing, and memorizing practice. While others mentioned memorizing sentence structures and imitating journal articles.
2.3.1.2 Positive Activities
Most international students experience psychological symptoms in adjusting to a new culture, such as stress, loneliness, and sadness. These issues can affect their academic performance and activities. The literature review shows that international students overcome this issue by engaging in several positive activities.
Positive activities include all useful activities that help international students divert their negative thoughts or emotions. The activities are religious activity (McLeod et al., 2021; Saravanan et al., 2019; Park et al., 2016), exercise (McLeod et al., 2021;
Saravanan et al., 2019; Yan, 2017; Fan & Yeoh, 2012), and volunteering (Tsevi, 2018; Jean-Francois, 2017).
One participant in a qualitative study conducted by McLeod et al. (2021) stated that his religion has a role to overcome some psychological symptoms, especially stress. Similarly, Park et al. (2016) conclude that religion and the religious communities help international students to see other perspectives in
21
dealing with stressful environments. In a study conducted by Saravanan et al.
(2019), participants said that they went to a religious hall to pray, read and pick important words to get positive messages from the religious book. These activities help them to increase their self-confidence, relieve their negative thoughts and think positively.
The literature review indicates that some participants mentioned exercise as a strategy for managing and relieving stress (McLeod et al., 2021; Yan, 2017).
Moreover, in a study conducted by Saravanan et al. (2019), participants stated that physical exercise such as jogging, walking, and indoor games is effective to reduce the sad mood and homesickness. Furthermore, Fan & Yeoh (2012) pointed out that exercise helped the participants to maintain their health. Maintaining a healthy body is very important especially when they are away from home.
Another positive activity used by international students is participating in on-campus and off-campus activities. In a study conducted by Tsevi (2018), several participants involved themselves in the activities outside the classroom. One participant worked part-time on campus and it improves his communication skills as he can interact with many people. Another participant volunteered for a number of activities related to his major. In line with that, Jean-Francois (2017) found that the strategies of social integration by the participants are volunteering or participating in student organizations and other events. Participating in on and off- campus activities provide opportunities for international students to interact with more people, especially local students, and understand more about their culture.
22 2.3.1.3 Leisure Activities
Another strategy used by international students is leisure activities, where the international students entertain themselves with various activities. Saravanan et al. (2019) reported that the participants engaged in various activities to entertain themselves, such as watching movies, listening to music, dancing, and going out with friends. Similarly, Yan (2017) reported the same activities used by his participants but one participant added a short break or vacation as an effective one.
In a study conducted by Fan & Yeoh (2012), one participant also mentioned outdoor activities such as fishing, hiking, and gardening. These activities helped international students to keep themselves busy, avoid negative thoughts and sad moods, and reduce their sadness.
2.3.2 Seeking Help Strategies
The second section in the international students' strategy is seeking help strategies. Seeking help strategies include all strategies used by international students in which they seek help and assistance from others to overcome challenges.
The researcher categorizes the party that helps international students into three categories, namely university staff, friends & relatives, and technology applications.
2.3.2.1 University Staff
A study conducted by Gong et al. (2021) found that one participant sought help from a teacher to improve his language proficiency. In another study, the participants asked the teacher for guidance directly in dealing with communication and academic workloads (Cao et al., 2018). Moreover, in a study conducted by Park et al (2016), several participants identified that their supervisors are very helpful
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because they are concerned about the academic and personal concerns of international students. Apart from the mentors, participants also mentioned campus resources such as the university's writing center which assist the international students with their academics. Jean-Francois (2017) also mentioned that the international faculty on campus gave additional motivation to the participants, especially in facing difficult times.
2.3.2.2 Friends & Relatives
The literature review indicates that seeking out help from friends is one of the most common ways that international students use. Saravanan et al. (2019) found that some participants like to talk and share problems with their friends because they provide encouragement and feedback that helps them to stay positive.
Likewise, Yan (2017) explained that some participants get help from their friends when they talk about academic or personal problems. In both of these studies, the participants mentioned their friends that came from the same country or ethnicity.
In a study conducted by Tsevi (2018), one participant mentioned that keeping in touch with local friends helped improve his language. Moreover, local friends can help them understand the norms and social system of the host country (Park et al, 2016). In addition, Abrar (2019) conducted narrative research with Indonesian graduate students in a United Kingdom university about their speaking experiences. Participants ask for clarification and repetition from their friends to overcome difficulties in understanding the conversations.
Apart from their friends, family is an important factor for international students to overcome culture shock (McLeod et al., 2021). A study conducted by Fan & Yeoh (2012) indicated that family is one of the main supports for
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international students when they are emotionally unstable. In a study conducted by Saravanan et al. (2019), one participant stated that talking to his parents helped them reduce the feeling of homesickness. Meanwhile, Park et al (2016) stated that one of their participants still received financial support from his family though he had a scholarship. The participant said this was his family's way of helping him reduce the financial burden and showing their support.
2.3.2.3 Technology Applications
The literature review indicates that international students are also seeking and getting help from technology. A qualitative study conducted by Cao et al, (2018) showed that to overcome language issues in class, some participants recorded the class sessions so that they could listen to them again. Furthermore, Fan
& Yeoh (2012) found that one participant reduces his homesickness by reading websites about his home country. These strategies help international students overcome some issues and survive in their host country.
2.4 Berry’s Model of Acculturation
Acculturation is a common term that has been widely used in discussions related to immigrants. According to Berry, the concept of acculturation grew because the people and the natives were concerned about the influence of European domination on the native people. Furthermore, it focused on the changes of immigrants after entering and settling in the receiving community. Many fields have been involved in how ethnocultural groups relate to each other, and change.
These changes are the result of their means to live together in a diverse society (2005). In the simplest sense, Sam and Berry view acculturation as a concept that includes all changes that occur as a result of contact between individuals and groups
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of different cultural backgrounds (2006). Moreover, the purpose of Berry's acculturation model was to investigate what happens to individuals who have developed in one cultural setting when they try to reestablish their lives in another (Berry 1997).
Sam and Berry (2006) stated that the acculturation process takes place according to the extent to which individuals simultaneously participate and mingle in the life of a receiving community that has a different culture and maintains its home cultural identity. The participation and maintenance of these two cultures can lead to several outcomes. There are four distinct outcomes that Berry categorizes as assimilation, integration, separation, and marginalization. These outcomes are referred to as acculturation strategies (2006). The categories of acculturation strategy depend on the degree to which the individual balances the maintenance of the original culture and contact with the new culture (Sam & Berry, 2010). The following is the definition of each strategy described by Sam & Berry (2006).
1. Assimilation
Assimilation refers to a strategy when individuals from different cultures do not want to maintain their cultural identity and seek daily interactions to adopt a new culture.
2. Integration
Integration refers to a strategy when individuals maintain their original culture while at the same time they seek and have daily interactions with other cultural groups.
3. Separation
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Integration refers to a strategy when individuals hold on to their original culture and retain it while avoiding interaction with other cultural groups.
4. Marginalization
Marginalization strategies are defined when individuals have little possibility or lack of interest in maintaining their original culture and little interest in interacting with other cultural groups.
Table 3 Acculturation Strategies (Berry, 1980)
Acculturation strategy
Intent to maintain one’s original culture
Intent to maintain relationship with one’s
new culture Integration
Assimilation Separation Marginalization
Yes No Yes
No
Yes Yes No No
Sam & Berry argue that these four outcomes are not the end of the acculturation process. They are considered strategies, because acculturation itself is a continuous process. Individuals may use one strategy at a time, then use other strategies at different times, or deal with different problems. Therefore, these strategies can be considered as phases that an individual can go through over and over again (2006). Each of the four strategies can be (a) voluntary, when individuals from a weaker cultural group perceive that their acculturation strategies were developed by choice, and (b) involuntary, when individuals from weaker cultural group perceive that their acculturation strategies were the choice of the dominant cultural group (Krsmanovic, 2020). In this inquiry, the researcher used this theory as the umbrella of the study.
27 2.5 Previous Study
In the previous study, there are summaries of the previously published research related to the topic of this research. This previous research also investigated the challenges of international students.
Emehinola et al. (2020) conducted research entitled “International Students’
Adjustment Challenges in Indonesia”. The purpose of this research is to identify the types of problems faced by international students in Indonesia, particularly at the University of Pendidikan Indonesia. This research is qualitative research with a case study approach. The participants were five international students from Europe, Africa, America, and Asia. They vary from undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs. The researchers used interviews to collect the data. In addition, member checking was used to determine the accuracy of the findings. The results showed that participants had difficulty adjusting due to several challenges. First is language barriers, such as how their classmates cannot speak English and mostly speak in Sundanese so they do not understand. Second is isolation from classmates, such as how the participants felt that their classmates do not want to be in the same group with them when they have group assignments. Third is financial and technical problems, participants felt that the scholarship money is not enough because of accommodation and book needs while they also had difficulties in managing it.
Fourth is cultural differences, such as how local people perceive being direct as impolite and giving too much attention to anyone. Fifth is problems with punctuality, local people are very relaxed and flexible regarding time. They tend to come late for appointments which makes the participants feel annoyed because they waste too much time waiting.
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Rhein (2018) conducted research to explore the adjustment process of African American international students in Thailand. The title of the research is
“African American Student Sociocultural Adjustment to Thai International Higher Education”. The participants were fifteen international students from the Midwest, Northeast, and South of the United States. This research is case study research that uses semi-structured interviews to collect the data. The results showed that the participants found several issues. First is the sense of uniqueness, such as how the participants are not used to and felt weird being the only black man in the class.
Second is the excessive attention from local people, the participants perceived the attention in a positive way but there were several situations that reminds them of similar attention for a different reason when they were in the United States. Third is responding to the attention appropriately, the participants react differently to the attention because of their experiences and this has caused issues among them. When one participant responds to the attention inappropriately, the others would scold him for making them look aggressive. Lastly are academic and cultural differences, such as how the participants felt studying in the host country is harder because they have to know a lot of information at one time and they only have a midterm and final.
Furthermore, Basri (2015) conducted research about international students in Malaysia entitled “Multicultural Benefits and Challenges for International Students during Period of Their Study: Case Study in Malaysia”. The main purpose of the research is to identify the multicultural benefits and challenges of international students during their study in Malaysia. This research is qualitative research and was conducted at the University of Putra Malaysia. The participants
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were twenty international students from the postgraduate program. The researcher employed semi-structured interviews by face-to-face to collect the data. The result showed that studying overseas offers benefits in terms of career perspective, cultural familiarity, and self-development. While there are several challenges faced by the participants. First is related to facilities, such as how the participants did not feel secure in the university’s dorm at night because it is located at the end of the academic area and quite isolated. Second is cultural difficulties, which are related to difficulties in communicating because of the lack of English proficiency which affects their communication with the lecturers and other students. Third is education challenges, such as how the education systems are more focused on practical and research issues thus making it hard for the participants who do not have any background related to research. Fourth is financial problems, the participants who reported this problem are some participants who are self-paid and not supported by any scholarship. Lastly are international office programs, such as how they are not informed well about any events or facilities.
The similarity between the previous research and this research is on the topic of the research, that is the challenges faced by international students in the host country. The research was also conducted in a non-English-speaking country.
Nevertheless, there are differences between the previous research and this research.
The focus of this research is on the challenges and strategies used by international students who are pursuing undergraduate programs at one university in Jambi.
Moreover, the researcher used interviews and audio diaries to collect the data.
30 CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD
This chapter consists of several sections related to the method of the research, namely research design, participants of the research, data collection, research instrument, data analysis, and trustworthiness and ethical consideration.
3.1 Research Design
This research investigated the challenges and the strategies of international students. The researcher explored the information from the participants to collect the data, hence the qualitative method is used in this research. According to Creswell (2009), qualitative research is a research method to describe and obtain a deeper understanding of the meaning that comes from individuals and groups concerning social or individual problems. In addition, Castleberry & Nolen (2018) states that the aim of qualitative research is to gain a better understanding of a phenomenon through individuals who have experienced it. Therefore, the researcher employed qualitative research to get in-depth information regarding participants’ challenges and strategies.
There are several types of qualitative approaches, namely narrative research, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and case study (Creswell, 2013).
In this research, the researcher used case study. Case study is a qualitative approach in which the researcher explores a program, event, activity, process, or one or more individuals in a real-life context (Creswell, 2009). In accordance with Yin (2009), the focus of case study research is to study cases on contemporary phenomena and within a real-life context. Hence, case study is a method to investigate a case that takes place in a real-life context.
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The researcher employed case study because this research investigated a special interest which is the challenges and strategies of the first batch of international students during their study in one university in Jambi. These international students came from different countries namely Malaysia, Thailand, and Myanmar. As it is the first time for most of them to study in another country and also the first time for the university to host international students, it is unavoidable that international students face some challenges in living and studying in Jambi. Therefore, the researcher was interested in exploring the international students’ challenges and strategies.
3.2 Participants of the Research
The participants of this research were all the first batch of international students in one public university in Jambi. The participants came from different countries, two participants from Malaysia, five participants from Thailand, and two participants from Myanmar. Seven participants in their early twenties, one participant in her mid-twenties and one participant is teenager. In total, there are nine participants and they are all in the class of 2021. They were enrolled in several departments, four participants in English Education, three participants in Indonesian Education, one participant in Law, and one participant in Islamic Economics. Of nine participants, six participants had experience studying in higher education for several semesters in their home countries. The researcher contacted them and asked their willingness to participate in this research by explaining the purpose and the process of the research.
32 3.3 Data Collection
The researcher chose interviews and audio diaries to collect the data for this research.
3.3.1 Interviews
An interview is a method of collecting information from participants by asking questions regarding the phenomena to be studied. It can be carried out face- to-face, by telephone, or in group discussions (Creswell, 2009). The purpose of using interviews is to gain deeper knowledge and understanding regarding the participants’ perspectives or opinions. In this research, the researcher employed semi-structured interviews to give more opportunities for the participants to fully express themselves.
In conducting interviews, the researcher prepared the questionnaire beforehand, but the researcher also asked further questions based on the participants' answers. The interviews were carried out individually and face-to-face, while one participant was interviewed via Zoom meeting due to his schedule. The researcher used English to some participants who could not speak Indonesian, and used Indonesian to the others. Each participant was interviewed for approximately 20-60 minutes. During the interview sessions, the researcher recorded all conversations between the interviewer and participants by using a handphone.
3.3.2 Audio Diary
Another data collection method in this research is audio diary. Audio diary is a method of data collection used in qualitative research that enables researchers to explore individuals' experiences, thoughts, and conditions within a specific context over time (Verma, 2021). In this research, audio diaries served as an
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additional technique to collect the data within the specified duration. The researcher can get updates from the participants about their challenges and strategies after the interview was held. By using this method, the researcher expects new data because participants may face new challenges or strategies that have not been mentioned in the interview, within that period of time.
In conducting this method, the researcher explained the audio diary guideline that has been prepared. The audio diary guideline consists of several points such as what kind of topic they should share in the audio diary, where they can send the audio, how much audio they should send, and when they should send each audio. Then, the researcher asked about the participants’ willingness to send the audio diary through WhatsApp every week for two months after the interview.
On each deadline date, the researcher reminded them to send the audio diary. A participant sent four audio recordings, another participant sent two audio recordings, four participants reported that they did not have any challenges, and the others did not give any responses. The duration of each audio that has been sent is approximately 1-3 minutes.
3.4 Research Instrument
According to Creswell (2013), the researcher as a key instrument is one of the characteristics of qualitative research. He explains that qualitative researchers collect the data by themselves through examining documents, interviewing the participants, and other methods. It means that the researchers have an important role in conducting qualitative research. In this research, the researcher was accompanied by a device to record the interviews. The second instrument is the interview protocol. According to Creswell (2012), an interview protocol is a guide
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designed by the researcher that contains instructions for conducting the interview, the questions that need to be asked to participants, and a place to take notes on participants’ responses. He also stated that the purpose of the interview protocol is to remind the researcher of the questions.
In the interview protocol, there are items questions that have been prepared by the researcher (see appendix 2 for interview protocol). These questions were constructed by looking at previous study conducted by Alazzi & Al-Jarrah (2016) and the literature review described in chapter two. These questions were asked to answer two research questions about the challenges and strategies of international students. The specification of the questions can be seen in the following table.
Table 4 Specification of Interview Question
No. Research Question Question Item
1. Greeting Question no. 1
2. General experiences Question no. 3
3. First research question Question no. 4, 5, 6, & 7 (Challenges)
4. Second research question Question no. 8, 9, 10, & 11 (Strategies)
3.5 Data Analysis
In this research, the researcher employed thematic analysis to analyze the data. According to Braun and Clarke (2006), thematic analysis is a method to analyze data by identifying and analyzing patterns (themes) within the data that has been obtained. They also stated that the benefit of using thematic analysis is its flexibility, which has the potential to provide rich and detailed data. Therefore, this
35
method is in accordance with the aim of the researcher which is to construct and describe patterns that are able to represent the participants’ challenges or strategies.
Moreover, the researcher used Braun and Clarke’s guidelines in conducting a thematic analysis. They stated that this guideline is not a rule that needs to be followed strictly. Instead, it can be carried out back and forth as researchers need.
Braun and Clarke’s guidelines consist of six phases, namely:
1. Familiarizing oneself with the data
During this phase, the researcher listened to the recordings several times and transcribed them. Afterward, the researcher checked the accuracy of the transcripts, read the transcripts several times, and highlighted the important sentences.
2. Generating initial codes
In the first phase, the researcher already highlighted the important sentences in the transcription. These sentences or information need to be coded. After all the important information was coded, the researcher organized them into groups. In this phase, the researcher conducted the coding manually by writing notes and using highlighters.
3. Searching for themes
The researcher searched and analyzed the themes based on the result of the synthesized literature in chapter two. In this phase, the researcher also found several new themes.
4. Reviewing themes
The researcher reviewed the themes resulting from the previous phase. In this phase, some themes were removed or combined with other themes.
36 5. Defining and naming themes
After reviewing the themes, the researcher defined the themes by identifying the points and information of each theme. Then, the researcher named the themes with names that are easy to understand but also represent the themes. In this phase, the researcher also discussed the result with the supervisors.
6. Producing the report
In this final phase, the researcher started writing the findings and discussion.
3.6 Trustworthiness and Ethical Consideration
Most qualitative researchers use the term validity or trustworthiness to refer to the quality of qualitative research (Johnson & Christensen, 2014). In this research, the researcher used the term trustworthiness. One of the attempts that can be done to improve the quality of qualitative research is to ensure the accuracy of findings. This is in line with Creswell (2012) who pointed out that the researcher needs to make sure that the findings and the interpretation of the research are accurate throughout the process of collecting and analyzing the data. There are several techniques to determine the accuracy of the findings and improve trustworthiness. In this research, the researcher chose member checking. Member checking is a process in which the researcher asks the participants of the research to check the accuracy of the findings (Creswell, 2012). In conducting the member checking, the researcher asked each participant to check the transcription of their interview before the researcher analyzed the data.
In order for participants to feel protected and not harmed when participating in this study, the researcher ensures to comply with ethical considerations throughout the research process. As stated by Orb et al. (2001), the protection of
