Improving the first-year experience of Chinese international students through responsive pedagogy: Insights from F&M in Shanghai
Insights from F&M in Shanghai
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32674/jcihe.v14i3b.4468Keywords:
pedagogy, international students, chinese students, study abroad, remote education, student support, linguistic development, belongingAbstract
This article discusses lessons learned from the development and execution of F&M in Shanghai, a hybrid residential-remote program created for Franklin and Marshall College’s first-year Chinese students in Fall 2020. The F&M Office of International Programs worked with the Institute for Study Abroad (IFSA) to develop the residential portion of the program, and coordinated the curriculum and remote engagement framework. F&M in Shanghai represented an opportunity to craft a constructive environment for first-year Chinese students by intentionally considering and meeting their specific needs. Utilizing creative, well-designed pedagogy, thoughtful programming, and a multipronged approach to student support, we were able to operate the program with great success. Assessments of F&M in Shanghai resulted in a great deal of data, and some results we observed run counter to received wisdom. This article discusses how these results suggest avenues for future research.
References
Chao, C.-N., Hegarty, N., Angelidis, J., & Lu, V. F. (2017). Chinese students’ motivations for studying in the United States. Journal of International Students, 7(2), 257–269. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v7i2.380
Chen, J. & Zhou, G. (2019). Chinese international students’ sense of belonging in North American postsecondary institutions: A critical literature review. Brock Education Journal, 28(2), 48-63. https://doi.org/10.26522/BROCKED.V28I2.642
Dai, K. & Garcia, J. (2019). Intercultural learning in transnational articulation programs: The hidden agenda of Chinese students’ experiences. Journal of International Students, 9(2), 362-383. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v9i2.677
Dovchin, S. (2020). The psychological damages of linguistic racism and international students in Australia. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 23(7), 804-818. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2020.1759504
Freeman, K. & Li, M. (2019). “‘We are a ghost in the class’: First year international students’ experiences in the global contact zone.” Journal of International Students, 9(1), 19-38. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v9i1.270
Gallagher, C. E., & Haan, J. E. (2018). University Faculty Beliefs About Emergent Multilinguals and Linguistically Responsive Instruction. TESOL Quarterly, 52(2), 304–330. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44986993
Gallagher, C, Haan, J, Lovett, S. (2020). Faculty and international student perceptions of language performance and instructional support: A mismatch of expectations. TESOL Journal, 11(1), e462. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.462
Gong, X., & Huybers, T. (2015). Chinese students and higher education destinations: findings from a choice experiment. Australian Journal of Education, 59(2), 196–218. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004944115584482
Haan, J. E. & Gallagher, C. (Eds.). (2021). Linguistically responsive instruction in higher education [Special issue]. TESOL Quarterly, 55(4). https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.603
Haan, J. E., Gallagher, C., & Varandani, L. (2017). Working with Linguistically Diverse Classes across the Disciplines: Faculty Beliefs. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 17(1), 37–51. https://doi.org/10.14434/v17i1.20008
Habib, A. S. & Mallet, K. E. (2011). Diversity at Mason: The Pursuit of Transformative Education. George Mason University Diversity Research Group.
Halic, O., Greenberg, K. & Paulus, T. (2009). “Language and academic identity: A study of the experiences of non-native English speaking international students.” International Education, 38(2), 73-93. https://trace.tennessee.edu/internationaleducation/vol38/iss2/5
He, Y., & Bagwell, D. (2022). Supporting teachers working with English learners: Engagement and impact of a professional development program. TESOL Journal, 13(1), e632. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.632
Heng, T. T. (2017). Voices of Chinese international students in USA colleges: “I want to tell them that … ”. Studies in Higher Education, 42(5), 833-850. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2017.1293873
Heng, T. T. (2018). Chinese international students’ advice to incoming Chinese freshmen: Involving students in conversations with them, not about them. Journal of College Student Development, 59(2), 232-238. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/csd.2018.0020
Heng, T. T. (2020). “Chinese students themselves are changing”: Why we need alternative perspectives of Chinese International Students. Journal of International Students, 10(2), 539-545. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v10i2.958
Hsieh, M. (2007). Challenges for international students in higher education: One student's narrated story of invisibility and struggle. College Student Journal, 41, 379-391.
Institute for International Education. (2021). Open Doors 2021 International Student Census. Open Doors. https://opendoorsdata.org/press/
Lee, J. J. (2020). Neo-racism and the criminalization of China. Journal of International Students, 10(4), i-vi. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v10i4.2929
Lee, J.J., Rice, C. (2007). Welcome to America? International student perceptions of discrimination. Higher Education, 53, 381–409. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-005-4508-3
Ma, Y. (2020). Ambitious and Anxious: How Chinese College Students Succeed and Struggle in American Higher Education. Columbia University Press.
Mamiseishvili, K. (2012). International student persistence in U.S. postsecondary institutions. Higher Education, 64(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-011-9477-0
Mejri, S. (2019). Examining the correlation between American students’ cultural intelligence, political affiliations, and their social distances from their international peers. Journal of International Students, 9(3), 873-895. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v0i0.81
Meng, Q., Zhu, C., & Cao, C. (2018). Chinese international students’ social connectedness, social and academic adaptation: the mediating role of global competence. Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education Research, 75(1), 131–147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0129-x
O’Dowd, R. (2021). Virtual exchange: moving forward into the next decade. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 34(3), 209-224. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2021.1902201
Rubin, J. (2017). Embedding collaborative online international learning (COIL) at higher education institutions. Internationalisation of Higher Education, 2, 27-44.
Ruble, R. A., & Zhang, Y. B. (2013). Stereotypes of Chinese international students held by Americans. International Journal of Relations, 37, 202– 211. https://doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2012.12.004
Ryan, J. & Viete, R. (2009). “Respectful interactions: learning with international students in the English-speaking academy.” Teaching in Higher Education, 14(3), 303-314. https://doi.org.10.1080/13562510902898866
Sato, T., Burge-Hall, V., & Matsumoto, T. (2020). American undergraduate students' social experiences with Chinese international students. International Journal of Educational Reform, 29(4), 354–370. https://doi.org/10.1177/1056787920927682
Spack, R. (1988). Initiating ESL students into the academic discourse community: How far should we go? TESOL Quarterly, 22(1), 29-51. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587060
Su, Z., McDonnell, D., Shi, F., Liang, B., Li, X., Wen, J., Cai, Y., Xiang, Y. T., & Yang, L. (2021). Chinese international students in the United States: The interplay of students' acculturative stress, academic standing, and quality of life. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, article 625863. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.625863
Suspitsyna, T., & Shalka, T. R. (2019). The Chinese international student as a (post)colonial other: an analysis of cultural representations of a US media discourse. Review of Higher Education, 42, 287–308. doi:10.1353/rhe.2019.0053.
Tomaš, Z. and Shapiro, S. (2021). From crisis to opportunity: Turning questions about “plagiarism” into conversations about linguistically responsive pedagogy. TESOL Quarterly, 55(4), 1102-1113. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3082
Wang, X. (2017). Transnational Chinese students’ literacy and networking practices. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 60(6), 687–696. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.623
Wilson, S. R., Billotte Verhoff, C., Yue, C. A., Dorrance Hall, E., & McNallie, J. (2020). Chinese International Undergraduate Students’ English Language Ability, Advice From Domestic and International Friends, and Psychosocial Adjustment to College. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 39(2), 260–270. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X19872791
Yan, K. (2017). Chinese International Students’ Stressors and Coping Strategies in the United States. Springer.
Yan, K., & Berliner, D. C. (2009). Chinese international students' academic stressors in the United States. College Student Journal, 43(4), 939–960.
Yan, K., & Berliner, D. C. (2013). Chinese international students' personal and sociocultural stressors in the United States. Journal of College Student Development, 54(1), 62–84. http://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2013.0010
Yao, C. W. (2016). Unfulfilled Expectations: Influence of Chinese international students’ roommate relationships on sense of belonging. Journal of International Students, 6(3), 762-778. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v6i3.355
Yeo, H. T., Mendenhall, R., Harwood, S. A., & Huntt, M. B. (2019). Asian International Student and Asian American Student: Mistaken Identity and Racial Microaggressions. Journal of International Students, 9(1), 39–65. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v9i1.278
Yu, J. (2021). Lost in lockdown: The impact of COVID-19 on Chinese international student mobility in the US. Journal of International Students, 11(2), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v11iS2.3575
Zamel, V. (1995). Strangers in academia: The experiences of faculty and ESL students across the curriculum. College Composition and Communication, 46(4), 506–521. https://doi.org/10.2307/358325
Zawacki, T. M., Hajabbasi, E., Habib, A., Antram, A., & Das, A. (2007). Valuing Written Accents: Non-native Students Talk about Identity, Academic Writing, and Meeting Teachers’ Expectations. George Mason University Diversity Research Group.
Zawacki, T. M. & Cox, M. (2014). WAC and Second Language Writers: Research towards Linguistically and Culturally Inclusive Programs and Practices. WAC Clearinghouse.
Zhang-Wu, Q. & Brisk, M.E. (2021). “I must have taken a fake TOEFL!”: Rethinking Linguistically Responsive Instruction Through the Eyes of Chinese International Freshmen. TESOL Quarterly, 55(4). 1136-1161. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3077
Zhu, Y. & Bresnahan, M. (2018). “They make no contribution!” versus “We should make friends with them!”—American domestic students’ perception of Chinese international students’ reticence and face. Journal of International Students, 8(4), 1614-1635. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1467817
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The findings, interpretations, conclusions, and views expressed in Journal of Comparative and International Higher Education (JCIHE) are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed in any manner to CIES, HESIG, or the sponsoring universities of the Editorial Staff. These works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License. Readers are free to copy, display, and distribute articles that appear in JCIHE as long as the work is attributed to the author(s) and JCIHE, it is distributed for non-commercial purposes only, and no alteration or transformation is made in the work. All other uses must be approved by the author(s) or JCIHE. By submitting a manuscript, authors agree to transfer without charge the following rights to JCIHE upon acceptance of the manuscript: first worldwide serial publication rights and the right for JCIHE to grant permissions as its editors judge appropriate for the redistribution of the article, its abstract, and metadata associated with the article in professional indexing and reference services.