How Does a Foreign Student Deal With Culture Shock？

【Abstract】As the contemporary theories are considering the different components of response when people are exposed to a new culture， the study of 'culture shock' has come to draw more from social psychology and education. Now we need to think more about acculturation and mental adaptation. Culture shock is not an illness， but it does have symptems. This paper will cover those symptoms， as well as the causes of culture shock and affective， behavioural， cognitive （ABC） aspects of shock and adaptation. Four stages of culture shock will also be suggested， which are honeymoon stage， crisis， recovery and adjustment.

【Key words】culture shock； foreign students； adaptation； communication

【作者簡介】段泽瑾（1998.12- ），女，汉族，湖南岳阳人，西安工程大学人文社会科学学院2015级本科生在读，研究方向：二语习得，跨文化交际。

When you are living abroad to other countries， do you have a feeling of confusing， nervous， or homesickness？ Obviously， the answer is yes！ Its natural to have difficulty adjusting to a new culture. People from other cultures may have grown up with values and habits that are different from you. Culture shock is a result of not adapting to the environment of different language and pedagogical adaptation. As defined by Kohls （1984）， is “the term used to describe the more pronounced reactions to the psychological disorientation most people experience when they move for an extended period of time into a culture markedly different from their own.” However， the good news is the culture shock is temporary.

Culture shock is not a kind of illness but a common phenomenon to most foreign students. It usually performs like someone who loses fluency in the familiar ways of interacting in daily social situations. As Oberg （1986） said “We rely on these cues in order to carry on our daily routines efficiently， and most people are not conscientiously aware of these important in daily life.” Actually， when we go to another country we soon have a concern over the climate， food ， communicating ways with the people of the host country. Then we will have an uncomfortable feeling of loneliness and want to depend someone from ones own country， a weary feeling of not wanting to learn the language of the host country， or a strong willing to back to his or her own country in order to enjoy good food， live in a familiar environment， be able to talk to people who can really understand us.

Language and pedagogical adaptation are external causes of culture shock. “If language shock and culture shock are not overcoming and if the learner does not have sufficient and appropriate motivation and an open mind to others， then he will not fully acclurate and hence will not aquire the second language fully.” （Schumann，1981） There are indeed two motivational orientations for second-language learning—an integrative motivation and an instrumental motivation as reported in Schumann （1981）. As for me， I have an integrative motivation with my second language—English but an instrumental motivation with my target language—Korean. That is most because I have much study experience with English but none in Korean. When I came to Korea， language becomes one of biggest factors of culture shock. I have to use the Chinese every time every day and English for most of time， but this circumstance puts me into an unfamiliar surrounding because I grow up in China 19 years and I have just stayed here for two or three months. In that case， Im afraid that when I sometimes try to look up some words， people are impatient to listen to me with my answers and want to change the subject. This will cause great pressure which can lead to culture shock. Another factor is the pedagogical adaptation， as Cortazzi （1997） indicated that “A good teacher should be a knowledge model who teaches students what and how to learn with clear guidence， and even a moral model who sets an example for students to follow and takes good care of students.” However， when I came to Korea， I found that the pressure from competition is too much. Korea students have a complete different opinion with teaching methods. What they think is a good teacher should be a facilitator and an organizer， helping students to develop creativity and independence. Students are expected to participate and engage in dialogue and critical analysis instead of just absorbing what the teachers say. To take the opposing view as a concept， it deeply influences me that this proposed concept of culture synergy has many advantages. And the focus here is the interaction between both teacher and student perspectives.

Another external cause includes strange environment. When you study in a group and need to talk some topics， you will soon find that because you are the only one foreigner in group and you cant say their native language， so when they use some examples or want to make the communication easier， they usually choose to speak their own language and then you will have a strange feeling of isolation. The result is “I dont like them.” You become aggressive and angry with the host country. And you may think that the embarrassment you experienced was created by the people of the host country for your special discomfort.

As various causes and types exist， students must deal with three different aspects of culture shock： the university， the faculty， and themselves. In the perspective of university， they need to improve services offered to the international students because they usually have no opportunity to get information or conseling. And they need a variety of different activities because in the classroom with the same class program seems too boring， they need a brand-new program besides class like going hiking or playing sports. “Attitude may be the biggest barrier， and it can be changed. To achieve their goals， international education professionals will need to enter far more into discussion of the process with one another on their own campus and among campuses.” as Cunningham （1991） stated. On the other hand， its also the same to the teacher that at least they should try to know and understand something about the students and then they can react to each other. The students will feel very satisfied and very safe. They can rely on the teacher and can feel very comfortable with the teacher. At that time， he can learn very well from the teacher and the teacher will also have a very good influence on the students. They can train personnel not in a routine way but order them to be patient and responsive to the needs of international students. And regarding to ourselves， communication is the most important aspect when dealing with culture shock. You can talk with someone that you can trust and let out your feeling to someone who will listen. Also this one will be better if he or she is not experiencing culture shock.

There are many symptoms of culture shock and numerous reasons for it. Culture shock is showed up differently according to language， pedagogical adaptation， strange environment and climate. Besides these external causes， the ABC aspects also share a part. As long as there are works we have to do， culture shock is unavoidable trouble we have to face. To deal with it appropriately， we need to find out what stage we are being according to the Obergs U-Curve. It is suggested to have confidence in yourself， make more friends and talk with someone you can trust and let out your feelings. Since we live in a big surrounding with both home country people and host country people or even non-compatriot foreign students， university and teachers could make much more effort on that. As John Gardner claimed， What you must try to do is to understand what problem a society faces； why this society has certain characteristics rather that we know； why the new society does some things so well and other things very badly. （1968）

References：

[1]Kohls，L.（1984）.Survival kit for overseas living.Yarmouth： Intercultural Press Inc.

[2]Schumann，J.（1981）.The acculturation model for second-language acquisition.Library of Congress：Washington，D.C.

[3]Cortazzi，M.Jin，L.（1997）.Communication for learning across cultures.In D.McNamara R.Harris（Eds.），Overseas students in higher education，76-90.London：Routledge.

[4]Sodowsky，G.R.Plake，B.S.（1992）.A study of acculturation differences among international people and suggestions for sensitivity of within-group differences.Journal of Counselling and Development， 71，53-9.

[5]Cunningham，C.（1991）.The integration of international students on post-secondary campuses.Ottawa CBIE.

[6]John Gardner（1968）.No Easy Victories，165.