The Role of Language and Culture in Postgraduate International Students’ Academic Adjustment and Academic Success
Qualitative Insights from Malaysia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v12i2.2351Keywords:
Malaysia, postgraduate international students, academic success, challengesAbstract
How do language and culture pose adjustment challenges that hinder the academic success of postgraduate international students? This article answers this question based on a thematic analysis of 55 semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted with postgraduate international students and academic and professional staff members at a Malaysian research-intensive public university. The results show that language and culture are influential in a range of academic (language, supervision, research training) and social (group work, friendship) adjustment challenges. The analysis highlights how these challenges hinder academic success as a result of limited or frustrated pathways for students’ linguacultural development. We conclude that future academic research and university policy to support postgraduate international students may pay greater attention to crosscultural, linguistic, and linguacultural issues.
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Ismail, A., & Abiddin, N. Z. (2009). The importance of graduate students’ needs on supervisory contribution in a Malaysian public university. The Social Sciences, 4(4), 355-365.
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Kim, Y. (2007). Difficulties in quality doctoral academic advising: Experiences of Korean students. Journal of Research in International Education, 6(2), 171–193.
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Author (2018a). What are the factors that contribute to postgraduate international students’ academic success? A Malaysian qualitative study. Higher Education Research & Development, 37(5), 1035-1049.
Novera, I. A. (2004). Indonesian postgraduate students studying in Australia: An examination of their academic, social and cultural experiences. International Education Journal, 5(4), 475-487.
Nyland, C., Forbes-Mewett, H., Marginson, S., Ramia, G., Sawir, E., & Smith, S. (2009). International student-workers in Australia: A new vulnerable workforce. Journal of Education and Work, 22(1), 1-14.
Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Sandberg, J. (2000). Understanding human competence at work: An interpretative approach. The Academy of Management Journal, 43(1), 9-25.
Sherry, M., Thomas, P., & Wing, C. H. (2010). International students: A vulnerable student population. Higher Education, 60(1), 33-46.
Sidhu, G. K., Kaur, S., Fook, C. Y., & Yunus, F. W. (2014). Postgraduate supervision: Comparing student perspectives from Malaysia and the United Kingdom. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 123, 151-159.
Author (2018b). The benefits of overseas study for international postgraduate students in Malaysia. Higher Education, 75(4), 607-624.
Trahar, S. (2014). ‘This is Malaysia. You have to follow the custom here’: Narratives of the student and academic experience in international higher education in Malaysia. Journal of Education for Teaching: International Research and Pedagogy, 40(3), 217-231.
Trice, A. G., & Jin, Y. E. (2007). International graduate students’ perceptions of their academic experience. Journal of Research in International Education, 6(1), 41-66.
van Manen, M. (1990). Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. Ontario: Althouse Press.
Xu, M. (1991). The impact of English-language proficiency on international graduate students’ perceived academic difficulty. Research in Higher Education, 32(5), 557-570.
Yue, Y., Lê, Q., & Terry, D. R. (2014). Transition to an unfamiliar environment: International students’ living experiences in an Australian regional area. Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Student Services Association, 23(April), 10-20.
Alsahafi, N., & Shin, S. C. (2019). Factors affecting the academic and cultural adjustment of Saudi international students in Australian universities. Journal of International Students, 2017 Vol. 7 (1), 7(1), 53-72.
Al-Zubaidi, K. O., & Rechards, C. (2010). Arab Postgraduate Students in Malaysia: Identifying and overcoming the cultural and language barriers. Arab World English Journal, 1(1), 107-129.
Andrade, M. S. (2006). International students in English-speaking universities: Adjustment factors. Journal of Research in International Education, 5(2), 131-154.
Asgari, M., & Borzooei, M. (2014). Evaluating the perception of Iranian students as educational tourists toward Malaysia: In-depth interviews. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 5(9), 81-109.
Auty, N., Holes, C., & Harris, R. (1993). Just listen ’n learn Arabic. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101.
Brown, L. (2008). Language and anxiety: An ethnographic study of international postgraduate students. Evaluation & Research in Education, 21(2), 75-95.
Campbell, J., & Li, M. (2008). Asian students’ voices: An empirical study of Asian students' learning experiences at a New Zealand university. Journal of Studies in International Education, 12(4), 375-396.
Campbell, N., & Zeng, J. (2006). Living in the west: A study of Chinese international students’ adaptation. Communication Journal of New Zealand, 7(1), 43-73.
Creswell, J. W. (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Denscombe, M. (2007). The good research guide for small-scale social research projects (3rd ed.). England: Open University Press.
Desa, A., Yusooff, F., & Kadir, N. B. Y. A. (2012). Acculturative stress among international postgraduate students at UKM. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 59, 364 – 369.
Devi, B., & Nair, V. (2008). First year experience of international students in Malaysia: A private higher education viewpoint. In S. Kaur, M. Sirat & N. Azman (Eds.), Globalisation and internationalisation of higher education in Malaysia (pp. 178-209). Penang, Malaysia: Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Ismail, A., & Abiddin, N. Z. (2009). The importance of graduate students’ needs on supervisory contribution in a Malaysian public university. The Social Sciences, 4(4), 355-365.
Kim, J. (2019). International students’ intercultural sensitivity in their academic socialisation to a non-English-speaking higher education: a Korean case study. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 1-17.
Kim, Y. (2007). Difficulties in quality doctoral academic advising: Experiences of Korean students. Journal of Research in International Education, 6(2), 171–193.
Knight, J. (2014). Introduction. In J. Knight (Ed.), International education hubs: Student, talent, knowledge-innovation models (pp. 1-12). Dordrecht: Springer.
Krauss, S. E., & Ismail, I. A. (2010). PhD students' experiences of thesis supervision in Malaysia: Managing relationships in the midst of institutional change. The Qualitative Report, 15(4), 802.
Kvale, S. (2007). Doing interviews. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Lacina, J. G. (2002). Preparing international students for a successful social experience in higher education. New Directions for Higher Education, 117(Spring), 21-27.
Langdridge, D. (2007). Phenomenological psychology: Theory, research and method. England: Pearson Education.
Lashari, S. A. (2019). Home Away from Home-The Role of Social Support for International Students’ Adjustment. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction, 15(2), 33-54.
Li, G., Chen, W., & Duanmu, J.-L. (2009). Determinants of international students’ academic performance: A comparison between Chinese and other international students. Journal of Studies in International Education OnlineFirst, 1-17.
Li, J., Wang, Y., & Xiao, F. (2019). East Asian international students and psychological well-being: A systematic review. Journal of International Students, 2014 Vol. 4 (1), 4(4), 301-313.
Malaklolunthu, S., & Selan, P. S. (2011). Adjustment problems among international students in Malaysian private higher education institutions. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 15, 833-837.
Marginson, S., Nyland, C., Sawir, E., & Forbes-Mewett, H. (2010). International student security. New York: Cambridge University Press.
McClure, J. W. (2007). International graduates' cross-cultural adjustment: Experiences, coping strategies, and suggested programmatic responses. Teaching in Higher Education, 12(2), 199-217.
McGinty, S. (2010). Supervision and cultural issues in thesis production: A survey of Australian and international students at James Cook University. Global student mobility in the Asia Pacific: Mobility, migration, security and wellbeing of international students, 141-151.
Ministry of Education Malaysia. (n.d.) Malaysian higher education indicators 2011-2012. Ministry of Education, Kuala Lumpur.
Ministry of Higher Education. (2011a). Internationalisation policy for higher education Malaysia 2011. Kuala Lumpur: Ministry of Higher Education.
Ministry of Higher Education. (2011b). National higher education strategic plan 2: Malaysia’s global reach: A new dimension. Kuala Lumpur: Ministry of Higher Education.
Ministry of Higher Education (2018). 2017 Higher Education Statistics. Kuala Lumpur: Ministry of Higher Education.
Mori, S. C. (2000). Addressing the mental health concerns of international students. Journal of Counseling and Development, 78(2), 137-144.
Author (2018a). What are the factors that contribute to postgraduate international students’ academic success? A Malaysian qualitative study. Higher Education Research & Development, 37(5), 1035-1049.
Novera, I. A. (2004). Indonesian postgraduate students studying in Australia: An examination of their academic, social and cultural experiences. International Education Journal, 5(4), 475-487.
Nyland, C., Forbes-Mewett, H., Marginson, S., Ramia, G., Sawir, E., & Smith, S. (2009). International student-workers in Australia: A new vulnerable workforce. Journal of Education and Work, 22(1), 1-14.
Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Sandberg, J. (2000). Understanding human competence at work: An interpretative approach. The Academy of Management Journal, 43(1), 9-25.
Sherry, M., Thomas, P., & Wing, C. H. (2010). International students: A vulnerable student population. Higher Education, 60(1), 33-46.
Sidhu, G. K., Kaur, S., Fook, C. Y., & Yunus, F. W. (2014). Postgraduate supervision: Comparing student perspectives from Malaysia and the United Kingdom. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 123, 151-159.
Author (2018b). The benefits of overseas study for international postgraduate students in Malaysia. Higher Education, 75(4), 607-624.
Trahar, S. (2014). ‘This is Malaysia. You have to follow the custom here’: Narratives of the student and academic experience in international higher education in Malaysia. Journal of Education for Teaching: International Research and Pedagogy, 40(3), 217-231.
Trice, A. G., & Jin, Y. E. (2007). International graduate students’ perceptions of their academic experience. Journal of Research in International Education, 6(1), 41-66.
van Manen, M. (1990). Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. Ontario: Althouse Press.
Xu, M. (1991). The impact of English-language proficiency on international graduate students’ perceived academic difficulty. Research in Higher Education, 32(5), 557-570.
Yue, Y., Lê, Q., & Terry, D. R. (2014). Transition to an unfamiliar environment: International students’ living experiences in an Australian regional area. Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Student Services Association, 23(April), 10-20.
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2021-09-06
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The Role of Language and Culture in Postgraduate International Students’ Academic Adjustment and Academic Success: Qualitative Insights from Malaysia. (2021). Journal of International Students, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v12i2.2351
