Intercultural Transitions in Higher Education

Book excerpt: Explores the experience of being an international student in higher education Over four-million people worldwide are currently studying abroad. These international student sojourns are, first and foremost, social experiences, with social interaction being both a success factor for and an outcome of this intercultural transition. But what's it like being an 'international' student? How is the experience different from studying 'at home', and what might make it a positive experience or otherwise? Schartner and Young detail how recent research has attempted to answer key questions related to the transition between different national learning environments, and show how it is helping to inform debates, policy and practice on the 'international student experience'. They also introduce a guiding conceptual model that captures the adjustment and adaptation trajectories of this unique and important group. This book: - Encompasses the full temporal range of the international student experience, from the decision to study abroad to the longer-term outcomes after the sojourn - Draws together findings from across a transdisciplinary range of areas including social psychology, education, applied linguistics and intercultural communication studies - Explores the international student experience and how it might be understood as an academic, psychological and sociocultural phenomenon of adjustment and adaptation - Provides a researcher toolkit showcasing a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches, enabling researchers to study both processes and outcomes of intercultural transition in higher education Alina Schartner is Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at Newcastle University Tony Johnstone Young is Reader in Applied Linguistics and Communication at Newcastle University