Maturity and Interculturality: Chinese students' experiences in UK higher education

Abstract

Increasing global competition for students has witnessed an ever more rapid internationalisation of higher education. In the case of the UK, there has been a major influx of Chinese students to British universities since the launch of the British Government's long-term worldwide educational campaign in 1999. Drawing upon evidence from an extensive review of the literature on the internationalisation of higher education, this article will explore variations in Chinese students' intercultural adaptation to the British higher education environment. Discussion of their experiences will be based upon a synthesis of findings of three studies, led by the author, investigating the pedagogical, sociocultural and psychological challenges that they have encountered when studying in British universities.

Evidence from these studies suggests that despite various challenges and struggles, most students have managed to survive the demands of the learning and the living environment and to adapt and develop. Analysis of their learning experiences suggests that this learning process spans a developmental continuum involving the students in overcoming emotional tensions arising from changes in their cognition, their sense of identity and sociocultural values. A holistic and developmental perspective is thus required to understand changes in students' perceptions and values as part of their wider adaptation to the academic conventions of their host countries. The findings will make an original contribution to understandings of the impact of the internationalisation of higher education on individuals' learning, change and development.

Introduction

The late 20th and early 21st centuries have witnessed unprecedented change as the volume and speed of global flows of people, information and images, financial capital, policies, knowledge and expertise have increased exponentially (Appadurai, 1996; Friedman, 2005). This phenomenon is nowhere better represented than in the dramatic rise of the internationalisation of universities in the developed world. In 2004, more than 2.5 million tertiary students studied outside their home countries compared to 1.75 million in 1999 – a 41% increase (UNESCO, 2006). The Global Student Mobility 2025 report (Böhm et al., 2002) foresees that the demand for international education will increase to 7.2 million in 2025.

The significant increase in East-West and South-North student mobility (OECD, 2007a; Seddoh, 2001; Uvalić-Trumbićet al., 2007) has major implications for the generation of economic and social capital in the host nations. The largest exporter of cross-border higher education is the US, followed by the U K and Australia; and international students and their dependents have made considerable contributions to the national economy of these industrialised countries. The total value of American education exports was $14.5 billion in 2007, compared to $12 billion in 2004 (NAFSA 2006; 2007). The UK economy benefits from earnings of £12.5 billion per year (British Council, 2008). In 2007–08, Australian education exports enjoyed a massive increase of 23.4% to $13.7 billion (National Liaison Committee for International Students in Australia, 2008).

The part played by the internationalisation agendas of universities, however, is not yet clear. On the one hand those in the developed world are providing opportunities for study and accreditation at all levels for those from so called less developed countries. On the other, the existing scarce supply of empirically grounded knowledge fails to offer a nuanced account of how the proliferation of new forms and modes of cross-border higher education (OECD, 2004a; 2004b; 2007b) is influencing the lives of individuals (including international students and academics) over time.

The current skewed expansion of internationalised higher education is most likely to witness a continued increase in the scale of the international migration of skills in the world of work. In the case of the UK, there has been a major influx of Chinese students to British universities since the launch of the British Government's long-term worldwide educational campaign in 1999. Their number rose to a record level of 25,000 in 2003, surging to top of the list of overseas applicants (The Independent, 2003). By 2007, approximately 60,000 Chinese students were studying in the UK (China Economic Review, 1^st November 2007). The studies upon which this article is based are placed in this context of the internationalisation of (UK) higher education.

Drawing upon evidence from an extensive review of the literature on the internationalisation of higher education, it will explore the nature of Chinese students' intercultural experiences. Discussion of Chinese students' experiences will be based upon a synthesis of findings of three studies, led by the author, investigating different aspects of Chinese students' study and living experiences in UK higher education. The first study was set out in 2004 and the last ended in October 2008. A distinctive strength of the studies is the holistic and developmental perspective that the author and her colleagues adopt to probe into a learning process that is itself holistic and developmental in nature. The purpose of the paper is to offer pedagogical implications, including the need for increased awareness amongst the faculty of the different phases of change and development that Chinese students (and other international students) experience in their adaptation and adjustment to a ‘foreign’ living and studying environment.

The Internationalisation of Higher Education: the context

Internationalisation is the most revolutionary development of higher education in the 21st century (Seddoh, 2001). The scope and complexity of this phenomenon have expanded and deepened at an unprecedented pace over the past decade, fuelled by the process of economic, social and cultural globalisation and localisation (Rizvi, 2006). Rizvi says that in the past two decades, the idea of ‘internationalisation of higher education’ has become so ubiquitous that ‘it can now be regarded as part of a global slogan system designed to steer educational reform in a particular direction’ (Rizvi, 2008, p. 20).

Some writers try to differentiate between ‘symbolic’ and ‘transformative’ internationalisation (Turner & Robson, 2008), aimed at promoting the internationalisation of higher education as a means and precursor of the transformation of the curriculum in the face of globalisation. It is argued that at the ‘symbolic’ end of the institutional spectrum, universities are becoming ‘active players in the global marketplace’ (De Wit, 2002, p. 227) and are concerned primarily with the revenue generated by international students. This is predicated on a thin understanding of internationalisation and is associated with a prescriptive approach to institutional change, based on doing the least that the market will bear (Schweisfurth & Gu, 2009, in press). A ‘transformative’ approach, on the other hand, is concerned with knowledge sharing and cooperation and integrating ‘an international/intercultural dimension into the teaching, research and service functions of academic institutions’ (Knight, 1999, p. 16; Knight, 1994).

More recently, Knight (2004) broadened the breadth and depth of the concept of the internationalisation of higher education by stratifying it into national, sector and institutional layers, which were then developed further by Sanderson (2008). He argues that two additional dimensions should also be taken into account in defining the dynamic processes of internationalisation, i.e. the supranational dimension and the within-institutional dimension (Figure 1). In his framework of internationalisation, different acting forces spanning a local-global continuum reciprocally ‘reflect, reinforce, express and create internationalisation outcomes in a dynamic fashion’ (2008, p. 279). However, despite the fact that the literature on the internationalisation of higher education is growing, there have been few systematic, rigorous enquiries that provide empirically grounded evidence which informs our understandings of the nature, forms and key components of the ‘international, intercultural and global dimension’ in the delivery of quality higher education (OECD, 2007b, p. 22; Knight, 2004, p. 11). To deliver quality higher education, it is essential that we understand the purposes, practices and experiences of key stakeholders at all levels of the processes of internationalisation.

Figure 1. The actual extent of the depth and breadth dimensions of the reach of internationalisation (Sanderson, 2008, p. 280)

The studies upon which the article is based adopt a bottom-up approach which explores the phenomenon of the internationalisation of higher education at the level of individual students. International students are a group of key consumers of this rapidly growing phenomenon. Burslem (2004), Chair of the Board of Trustees of UK Council for International Education (UKCISA), acknowledged that ‘international students are vital to the current and future health of UK further and higher education’. The part that international students play in the business of cross-border education has academic, cultural and financial significance for the development of UK higher education (Burslem, 2004). Thus, it is important that their voices be heard, particularly because experiences of this group of individuals testify to the provision of quality education. In this sense, the internationalisation of higher education is not an end in itself, but a means to an end, ‘with the end being the improvement of the quality of education’ (Knight, 1999, p. 20).

For international students, the quality of their intercultural experiences plays a central part in their journeying into a different, and sometimes ‘alien’, learning and living environment in their countries of study.

The Nature of Students' Intercultural Experiences

The notion of intercultural, as opposed to cross-cultural experiences which inherently stresses differences and diversity, ‘encompasses both domestic and international contexts and implies cultures interacting’ (Landreman, 2003, cited in King & Baxter Magolda, 2005, p. 572). However, they are not mutually exclusive. Berger and Luckman (1966) and Paulston (1992) observe that some aspects of cultural beliefs and values are beyond modification or ‘integration’ and will never be completely abandoned for another (see also Byram, 2003). Thus, the degrees of adaptation – the process through which an actor changes to fit in with the host culture – differ depending upon personal and situational factors and their interaction. Individuals may develop ‘proficiency in self-expression and in fulfilling their various social needs’ in the host culture (Kim, 2005, p. 391), whilst continuing to experience a sense of boundary or ‘otherness’ when confronted with conflicting values and beliefs.

Studies on international students' intercultural adaptation have reported a range of transitional and adaptive challenges that they face. Cushner and Karim (2004, p. 292) describe a study-abroad experience as ‘a significant transitional event that brings with it a considerable amount of accompanying stress, involving both confrontation and adaptation to unfamiliar physical and psychological experiences and changes’. Particular stresses that confront overseas students include culture shock (Adler, 1975; 1985; Oberg; 1960; Ward, et al., 2001), learning shock (Gu, 2005) or education shock (Hoff, 1979; Yamazaki, 2005), language shock (Agar, 1996; Smalley, 1963) and role shock (Byrnes, 1966; Minkler & Biller, 1979). Cushner and Karim (2004) maintain that international students' intercultural experiences are moderated by the interaction of multiple, positive or negative, individual (e.g. age, gender, ethnicity) and environmental (e.g. social and academic support systems) factors. Nonetheless, when successful, intercultural experience can be a transformative learning process which leads to a journey of personal growth and development (Adler, 1975; Anderson; 1994, Byrnes,1965; Furnham, 2004).

However, important though it may be, culture is not the only determinant of teaching and learning practices, preferences and experiences. All too easily we can fall into the trap of cultural stereotyping. The phrase ‘the Chinese learner’ (Watkins & Biggs, 1996; 2001) carries the implication that this group of learners is homogeneous, and that their needs for and responses to education (and life) are totally culturally determined. However, it is clear that other factors are at least as influential: the backgrounds and aspirations of learners, their specific motivation for learning, the settings in which the interactions take place, and the nature of the relationship between teachers and learners. In particular, the cultural blinkers may screen out the importance of the individual personality of learners. Thus, while ‘the Chinese learners’ may have certain identifiable characteristics, some of them related to culture, they may also learn and behave differently in different contexts, in ways related more to personal needs and situational demands.

It also important to keep in mind that cultural encounters are not invariably negative in nature. In the following section, the author will demonstrate in more detail, by synthesising evidence from three different studies, patterns of Chinese students' positive adaptation and the influences that promote it.

The Studies

Study 1 This small-scale study functioned as a pilot (2004–2005) for Study 3 which is a mixed-method research project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) (Gu & Schweisfurth, 2006). This pilot study involved the collection of both qualitative interview data and quantitative questionnaire survey data. The study investigated the challenges that Chinese students had faced in their adaptation to the British higher education environment. A total of 163 questionnaires were collected from Chinese students on undergraduate and postgraduate courses in four universities in England. Interviewed subjects included 13 undergraduate and postgraduate students in 10 universities and 2 focus groups from the questionnaire sample. Further triangulation was provided by semi-structured interviews with 10 British lecturers, probing their personal impressions and experiences of the Chinese students they had taught.

The research sample size, particularly the quantitative data, would not enable the author to arrive at generalised conclusions, but there were indicative patterns emerging from early analysis. These patterns complement findings from the other two studies, revealing a change process in the learners, affected by a range of inter-related personal, cultural, social, psychological and contextual factors.

Study 2 The second study investigated change and adaptation in Chinese students' learning, with a specific focus upon their plagiarising behaviour which appeared to have received increased attention amongst British teaching staff, particularly those in the field of English language teaching (ELT) in the last few years (Gu & Brooks, 2008).

Drawing upon the experiences of ten Chinese students on a pre-sessional course and subsequently their postgraduate courses, this study investigated change in their perceptions of plagiarism in a different academic community over a period of 15 months (2004–2006). Three English tutors who taught the students on the pre-sessional course were also interviewed to compare their judgment of plagiarism with the students' own accounts of their writing experience. These people are at the forefront of the internationalisation of British higher education, often working with international students shortly after their arrival in the UK, and thus may have formed a strong impression about the difficulty of teaching Western academic conventions, of which academic integrity plays an essential part, to their Chinese students.

Study 3 This two-year ESRC funded mixed-method research (2006–2008) was designed to provide an investigation of the experiences of first-year international students during their undergraduate studies at four UK universities¹.

The first stage was a four-page 70-item questionnaire given to 1,288 first-year undergraduates at four UK universities – two ‘old’ universities (institutions which pre-date 1992) and two ‘new’ ones (former polytechnics) – aimed at exploring the nature of the initial challenges and needs that international students encountered shortly after their arrival in the UK. The survey resulted in a 19% rate of return. In the second stage, ten case study students were chosen from among those who volunteered (including one student from Mainland China and one student from Macao). A series of individual interviews and one group meeting to explore their experiences were carried out over a fifteen-month period, with special attention to critical incidents, changes over time, and respondents' explanations for how their experiences were unfolding. The final data gathering took the form of a second survey of the same set of undergraduates as in the first stage. This explored changes over time, and tested the qualitative findings from the case studies, to examine whether they had wider validity.

For the purpose of this article, results related to Chinese students will be selected from the general findings for discussion.

Change as Transition and Development: managing challenges

By bringing together patterns and themes identified in all the three studies, it becomes clear that, despite various intercultural challenges and struggles, most students have managed to survive the demands of the learning and living environment and to adapt and develop.

Managing Academic Challenges

All studies adopted a holistic and developmental perspective to probe into students' learning process, which is, itself, holistic and developmental in nature. Evidence suggests that the challenges of adapting to a different academic culture can be more acute and overwhelming than settling into a different cultural and social environment on students' arrival. There existed a widely acknowledged initial learning shock by the Chinese students involved in the studies.

Learning Shock

Learning shock refers to some unpleasant feelings and difficult experiences that learners encounter when they are exposed to a new learning environment. Such unpleasant feelings can be intense and may impose a deeper psychological and emotional strain on learners when they study abroad. The psychological, cognitive and affective struggles that learners experience primarily result from their unfamiliarity with different teaching and learning traditions and a lack of confidence of using the English language for communication in the new learning environment. For example:

When I first started studying here, I was not used to either the study or the life here. I did not know where to start. In class, I did not understand the purposes of the teaching, and sometimes I did not quite understand the teacher.

(Hui, Male, Undergraduate student)

Lewthwaite (1986) argues that the experience of crossing cultural borders is a learning process in which there are many obstacles to overcome. Central to this changing process is psychological and socio-cultural adjustment (Ward & Kennedy, 1993, p. 222):

Psychological adjustment, then, is interwoven with stress and coping processes whereas sociocultural adaptation is predicated on culture learning.

Experiences of the following postgraduate student indicate that differences in cultural, social and historical roots between the societies from which students are drawn and in which they are currently based are most likely to lead to an uphill struggle for them to participate fully and comfortably in class activities, particularly in the initial phase of their studies. In addition, their stress to cope with an unfamiliar linguistic learning environment would have further contributed to the intensity of their initial struggles. In this sense, learning shock cannot be separated from cultural shock; it is indeed an important aspect of cultural shock.

When I first started my MA, I felt very strongly that I was not used to the teaching and learning environment at all. . . . The teaching style was very different from that in China. Chinese students were taught like stuffed ducks in China, whilst here students are encouraged to take part in group discussions. . . . I also found that language could be a barrier, particularly in listening. I could not quite understand students from countries like Malaysia. A particular teacher had a very strong local accent, which I could hardly understand.

(Zhang, Male, Postgraduate Student)

Chinese students' learning shock and academic stresses were also noted by their tutors:

Yes, they have serious difficulty adjusting to expectations of the British education system. . . . We are trying to encourage an autonomous approach to study. . . . Understanding that difference [in teaching] is extremely challenging to learners when they come on the course, because they are expecting to be told what to learn, what to read, the answers to produce, and they are ready to work hard doing that. . . . Some students welcome that. Some students are worried, intimidated, confused by that shift of responsibility. . . . Yes, the language can be a problem. But I think cultural issues are far more important.

(Sam, Postgraduate lecturer)

Despite the growing criticism of Hofstede's (2001) ‘stereotypical’ conclusions with regard to the consequences of cultures on individuals' behaviour and societal values (2001), his four cultural dimensions continue to shed light on the problems that people tend to experience when crossing cultural borders. When applying his cultural dimensions to teaching and learning, Hofstede (1986) observed that in collective societies (such as China) students are expected to learn ‘how to do’ whilst in individualist societies (such as the UK), students are expected to learn ‘how to learn’. Table I (Hofstede, 1986, p. 313) below illustrates different expectations of teachers and students in different power distance societies which point to the important role of culture in the formation of teaching and learning traditions.

Table I.  Large/Small Power Distance Societies and Teaching and Learning Cultures

Large Power Distance Societies	Small Power Distance Societies
▪ a teacher merits the respect of his/her students (Confucius)	▪ a teacher should respect the independence of his/her students
▪ teacher-centred education	▪ student-centred education
▪ students expect teacher to initiate communication	▪ teacher expects students to initiate communication
▪ students speak up in class only when invited by the teacher	▪ students may speak up spontaneously in class
▪ effectiveness of learning related to excellence of the teacher	▪ effectiveness of learning related to amount of two-way communication in class

Beyond Frustration

Whilst cultural differences may play a crucial part in Chinese students' initial struggle and frustration when adjusting to a ‘foreign’ academic environment, conclusions from all three studies indicate that the large majority of Chinese students (like most other international students) has experienced positive adaptation and development in their academic studies over time. This can be seen in their improved linguistic competence, greater self-confidence and involvement in class activities and a strong sense of independence in learning. Thus, by the end of their studies, it is unlikely that culture will continue to function as ‘a source of conflict’, as Hofstede states on his website (http://www.geert-hofstede.com), or a source of stress and struggle. Rather, different fabrics of the host culture of learning and teaching will have been absorbed, integrated and personalised by individual students to take on different forms which enable them to perform well in their studies and fuel them with strength, confidence and power.

The development of students' ability to manage independent learning abilities and greater responsibility for their own study is evidenced in the following quote:

I have become more independent in my life here. As for study, I enjoy my studying because I like my subject very much. . . . I have a lot of spare time at university. But I am mostly doing my own stuff in my spare time, something about my subject Art and Design. Due to the nature of my subject, I often make connections of what I encounter in my spare time with my subject.

(Zheng, Male, Undergraduate student)

British lecturers have also noticed their Chinese students' conscious and reflexive change towards more independent learning. For example:

I had an interesting example of a Chinese student who started a degree with us and she had problems. Very often the Chinese students have problems finding themselves extending from one to two years. But she went from a student who in her first year suffered all sorts of problems to a student who in her second year took a piece of research which she found, challenged it, researched it and actually came up with some original research data disputing quite an important article which she based her research on.

(Brian, Postgraduate lecturer)

Students' change, adaptation, improvement and ‘rebirth’ experience in their studies can also be seen in their enlightened understanding of the notion of plagiarism over time. Results of Study 2 suggest that learning to write in an unfamiliar academic discourse requires, at the deepest level, the students' cultural appropriation of their conceptual understanding of the way of writing and of the meaning of using the literature to develop their written argumentation (Gu & Brooks, 2008). This learning process spans a developmental continuum involving the learners overcoming emotional tensions which arise from changes in their cognition, senses of identity and socio-cultural values. Ample evidence from the experiences of the case study students shows that the intercultural learning experience is also a transitional and rebirth experience. Thus, change in students' perception of plagiarism is indeed part of their wider adaptation to the academic conventions of their host countries. For example, Cui, the female student in English Literature, commented:

But now [on Master's course] the situation is very different. I have been reading materials in my subject as the course goes along. So I have, consciously and subconsciously, gained some understanding in the field. Sometimes when I come across something interesting in a book, I put it down in my notebook. So when I am writing up my essay, I can use my old notes which are very useful. I also look for more references according to the specific subject of my essay. So the process of preparing for my essays is very different from before.

This is a student who used to wonder what other students were doing in the library when she first started her pre-sessional English course in the UK. It is clear that what she had acquired over time was not only a better understanding of her subject. She had also acquired a deeper understanding of ways of writing in the host, dominant academic community. However, the most profound change in her goes beyond her improved understanding and ability to write in a way that is deemed as ‘normal’ in the dominant academic community. She managed to engage confidently with the academic conventions as an active and competent learner. What shines through is her successful development and adaptation.

Managing Social and Cultural Challenges

Furnham and Bochner (1986) argue that ‘foreign students face several difficulties, some exclusive to them (as opposed to native students)’ (cited in Furnham, 2004, p. 17). In addition to the need to adjust academically to the local teaching and learning culture, students who travel abroad also encounter problems of adapting socially to the local society. The experience of a different living style and the confrontation of contrasting traditions, values and expectations can be emotionally and psychologically challenging. Lewthwaite (1986) observes that ‘the differences in values, attitudes and beliefs between home and host cultures were seen as great and coupled with the sense of loss of the familiar (including food) put considerable pressure on the student’.

‘Enjoying Loneliness’

‘Enjoy’ and ‘loneliness’ do not logically collocate well together. However, when they were put together by a postgraduate student to summarise his social life in the UK, the term conveyed a powerful and profound psychological frustration that he had coped with in his student life. This frustration was additional to the learning shock related stress and tensions that he might also have suffered.

Leading a boring and lonely social life and feelings of a lack of sense of belonging contribute to Chinese students' sense of alienation in the host society. For example:

I was just wondering why I didn't feel lonely at all when I first came here. Because I didn't know what was going to happen. So every day was a new day. . . . But this time I came back [after Easter break] I know what is going to happen to me. I know I'm going to have a presentation and lots of study . . . and every day is normal. To be honest, I don't like my personal life here. I enjoy my study life but my personal life is kind of boring. . . . Everyone [friends in England] has got their [own] stuff to do. . . . I just felt that I didn't belong here. It's not my place. I'm the guest and the guest is always less powerful; and also they are the host or something like that.

(Jiayi, China)

This student's story is not, unfortunately, unique. Her experience reflects certain aspects of cultural shock, typically characterised by ‘a sense of loss and feelings of deprivation with regard to friends, status, profession and possessions’, ‘being rejected by, or rejecting, members of the new culture’, and ‘feelings of impotence due to not being able to cope with the new environment’ (Oberg, 1960, cited in Furnham, 2004, p. 17).

Friendship Patterns

Jiayi's journeying into her student life in England was accompanied by her constant intention to retain friendships and seek a sense of belonging within her class, her accommodation and the local society. She talked about her friendships with the Japanese and French students whom she met on her pre-sessional English course. In order to keep the friendships she went to the campus student club with them regularly, despite the fact that she did not like clubbing: ‘I sometimes feel lonely when everyone else is dancing.’ Towards the end of her first academic year, she began to feel strongly that she wanted to have a close Chinese friend — someone who could share a deep understanding of her cultural values.

More than three decades ago, Bochner (1977) had already expressed a contrasting view to those who were against the co-national friendship network in a ‘foreign’ context:

Thus mono-cultural (conational) bonds are of vital importance to foreign students, and should therefore not be administratively interfered with, regulated against, obstructed, or sneered at. On the contrary, such bonds should be encouraged, and if possible, shaped to become more open to bi-[foreign student-host national] or multi-cultural [bonds between non-compatriot foreign students] influences.

(Bochner 1977, p. 292)

The following quote provides further evidence that supports the important role of co-national friendship patterns in students' social and cultural adjustment to the host society:

I realised my weaknesses when I had to independently deal with everything in life, things like communicating with people and solving problems. When I was in China, I had my parents, relatives and good friends with me. . . . When I came here, I strongly felt that this country was a strange place to me. So naturally I had made some Chinese friends. I was a little worried that staying with my Chinese friends all the time might not help me to improve my English quickly. But then I found it rather difficult to communicate with English people.

(Mei, Female, Postgraduate Student)

Identity Change: maturity and interculturality

Analysis of the data from the three studies upon which this article is based suggests that it is important to adopt a holistic and developmental lens to view and interpret Chinese students' experiences while they are studying in the UK. This is because change at the deepest level is related to their perceptions of self, i.e. identity change. Given the distinctive intercultural environment in which they live and study, the process of their identity change has been interwoven with the growth in their maturity (i.e. human development) and interculturality.

One has to cross cultural boundaries to experience the development of their intercultural competence and awareness. In this process, ‘identity is constructed in transactions at and across the boundary’ (Jenkins, 2004, p. 22). Jenkins asserts that during these transactions, ‘a balance is struck between (internal) group identification and (external) categorisation by others’ (Jenkins, 2004, p. 22). To achieve such balance, the social actor is constantly engaged in a process of identity negotiations: in terms of how they perceive themselves and how they would like to be perceived by others each time they cross the boundary. ‘I've got two sets of values: one is for here and one is for China’, Yijia, the undergraduate student tells the author, because ‘I don't want to be treated as a foreigner in either context’.

The experience of studying abroad is a personal journey which may take different forms and have different endings. For some, this journey is filled with happiness, joy and enjoyment of personal, academic and social achievements, despite many ups and downs. For others, however, it is a bitter journey which ends in frustrations and failures. Coleman argues that as a result of the ‘huge range’ of internal and external factors, many of which are not associated with culture, the outcomes of study abroad vary considerably from one individual to another:

In each individual case, biographical, affective, cognitive and circumstantial variables come into play, with students' previous language learning and aptitude impacted upon by their motivation, attitudes, anxiety, learning style and strategies, as well as by unpredictable elements such as location, type of accommodation, and degree of contact with native speakers.

(Coleman 2004, p. 583)

Nonetheless, it is encouraging to observe an overall positive message from the three studies regarding Chinese students' intercultural experiences in the UK. For the large majority of the students, the study-abroad experience has provided them with an excellent opportunity for personal growth, which Anderson (1994) describes as a ‘reborn’ experience (see also Montuori & Fahim, 2004). They enjoyed the achievement of personal independence, broadened life experiences and interests and improved interpersonal and communication skills. For example:

I think the biggest change is my ability to independently manage my life. I have to think everything for myself. It is a feeling that there is nobody around to help me with all this. My life in the UK has improved my ability to communicate with people. I came here on my own. I realised that I had to get used to a completely different environment and meet different people. Sometimes when I come across problems, I need to learn to ask for help from those new friends. I feel that my interpersonal abilities have greatly increased. And, I have had some part-time working experience.

(Wei, Female, Postgraduate Student)

For Bao, in addition to change in his authorial self, he also demonstrated a personal identity change, refining and modifying his ‘ideological’ (values that he acquired from his social and cultural background) and ‘logical’ identities (the ‘natural’ way he used to organise and express his thoughts in Chinese writing) (Shen, 1989, p. 459).

I think the biggest change for me is that my way of thinking has changed drastically. I begin to feel that my personal views are equally importantly. I seem to have developed a stronger personality. . . . I wouldn't take someone's views for granted any more.

(Bao, Male, Postgraduate Student)

Conclusion

This article has examined the border crossing experiences of different cohorts of Chinese students in the UK. The three studies upon which it is based were set out in the wider context of the internationalisation of higher education. A synthesis of key findings from the three studies has identified distinctive patterns of struggles, changes and achievements that different groups of Chinese students have experienced over time. Through these, the article sends messages to academics, administrators and policy makers, reminding them that the experience of international students' intercultural adaptation ‘takes on the shape of a personal expansion’ (Murphy-Lejeune, 2003, p. 113). The driving force and essential qualities that learners require to achieve such ‘personal expansion’ transcend the boundaries of cultural models. The findings all suggest that it is the interaction of these learners with their particular living and studying environments that facilitates change. This suggests not only that constructs shaped by culture can be changed, but that the nature of each individual's motivations and experiences is a major factor. This is in contrast to deterministic notions of culture and learner.

In ‘Lost in Translation’, Eva Hoffman (1989, p. 273) describes her present ‘self’ as fragmented but empowered, an image mirrored by the Chinese students’ experiences as discussed in this article:

No, there's no returning to the point of origin, no regaining of childhood unity. Experience creates style, and style, in turn, creates a new woman. Polish is no longer the one, true language against which others live their secondary life. Polish insights cannot be regained in their purity; there's something I know in English too. The wholeness of childhood truths is intermingled with the divisiveness of adult doubt. When I speak Polish now, it is infiltrated, permeated, and inflected by the English in my head. Each language modified the other, crossbreeds with it, fertilizes it. . . . Like everybody, I am the sum of my languages – the languages of my family and childhood, and education and friendship, and love, and the larger, changing world – though perhaps I tend to be more aware than most of the fractures between them, and of the building blocks. The fissures sometimes cause me pain, but in a way, they're how I know that I'm alive.

NOTE

• 1

  I wish to thank Dr Michele Schweisfurth and Professor Christopher Day for their professional contributions to the successful development of this ESRC research project.