peras, lariosa chap 2(comments in parentheses in between sentences)
CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the research design, the method of research, research environment, sampling procedure, participants of the study, instruments and data analysis. This research study intends to determine the factors affecting the adjustment period of UPCC foreign students to their new school environment. The researchers want to know whether factors like language, cultural differences and teaching style really affect the adjustment period of UPCC foreign students to their new school environment. In addition, the researchers want to know the respondents’ view of the Filipino culture and how do they find it compared to their own culture. The researchers want to know whether foreign students have any interest towards the Filipino culture or they do not bother learning the host country’s culture.
RESEARCH DESIGN
This study entitled “Factors Affecting the Adjustment Period of UPCC Foreign Students to their New School Environment” is a qualitative research that attempts to gather information and data concerning the factors that affect the foreign students in adjusting to their new school environment. Descriptive method of research that uses surveys andgathers information about the present existing situation will be used. The purpose of using this method is to show the nature of the foreign students adjusting in their new schools, as it is still happening at the time of the study and to discover the reasons for this. The researchers agree to use this kind of research to obtain first hand data from the respondents.(define what is descriptive method, purpose…)
RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT
This study will be conducted at the University of the Philippines Cebu College (UPCC) Gorordo Avenue Lahug Cebu City. The place is readily accessible for the researchers. The researchers choose UPCC since the respondents are studying in the said school and are more available when it comes to distributing the survey questionnaires.
RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS
The research participants comprise all the foreign students studying in the University of the Philippines Cebu College (UPCC). There are only 7 foreign students and all of them are under the Humanities Division. Some are taking up Mass Communication and the others are taking up Fine Arts.4 of them are Korean, 2 are Japanese and 1Australian.
RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
The researchers are going to use the two most common types of research tools, surveys and interviews. The researchers will be making survey questionnaires about the foreign students and the new situation they are facing, the culture shock they are experiencing and the difficulties that they have encountered with it, as well as the things that made their adjustment easier in order to point out what factors mainly affected their adjustment to the new school environment The survey was divided into four 3 parts (what is It), Education, Language, and Culture. Under Education are about the foreign students’ situation towards their new school environment, including the physical factors and as well as the social treatment of the students, teachers and faculty staff towards the foreign student. On the Language part (weak, change) will be the experiences and difficulties met in communicating with the Filipino people using the language they chose to use. And lastly, under Culture are the cultural differences of the foreign students’ country and the host country, how they did find the differences, and how did they adopt and adjust towards the differences (use active verb.rephrase). In addition, since the respondents are foreign and the researchers have no idea of the respondent’s proficiency in English, the researchers will make the questions as simple as possible.
The researchers think that the information that will be gathered from the foreign students will be limited to their point of view only so the researchers decided to interview their classmates. The researchers also will conduct an interview to the foreign students’ classmates in order to gather more data, not just from the foreign students, but also from the observation of their classmates.
DATA COLLECTION
The survey questionnaires and the interviews will be used to collect the data that will be conducted by the researchers. In order for the data not to be biased, where in the foreign students might copy from another student’s answer, the researchers are going to be around during the answering of the survey sheets. Moreover, there will be no time limit in order not to pressure the respondents.
Additionally, there will be questionnaires and guide questions prepared for the interview of the foreign students’ classmates. In the process, the interviewer will not give side comments or share her own opinions that might influence the interviewee’s answers.
By the time the survey sheets will be given and the respondents will be interviewed, the researchers have already asked permissions from the respondents.
DATA ANALYSIS
Data gathered will be collected and analysed in order to allow the researchers to attain an understanding of the research problem. Afterwards, the researchers will then summarize the information gathered and draw a conclusion from it. (not detailed.explain the process of analyzing your data)
Note: change the tense from future to past tense, since the study is already done.
Posted by giZELLE at 11:20 AM 0 comments
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook
Among the related literature gathered and reviewed by the researchers are theories, concepts, and ideas that would help determine the specific variables of the study. These help specify the primary and most common factors that would affect the adjustment period of the foreign students upon residing into a new country.
In the writings of Hammer (1992), he implied that international students have several difficulties as they reside to a new environment. He pointed out four general areas to be covered: “the problems of sojourners to encountering a new cultural environment, the influence of social interaction and communication on sojourner adaptation, and the culture learning process apparent in the cross-cultural sojourn.” With this statement and with the chosen subject of the study, the foreign students would be the center of the framework. As analyzed by the researchers, the top of the framework consists of three factors that would most likely give the foreign students a difficult time to adjust.(don’t introduce your variables or study first.discuss only the theories. Develop the theories)
Torbiörn (1942) defined culture shock as the failure in interacting with the local environment. Until the foreign students gain the confidence to interact with the local students comfortably would they be considered being able to adjust to their new environment. The third variable of the framework therefore is the adjustment period of the foreign students their new environment.
(theories not well explained.theories on factors?)
Conceptual Framework
Considering the theories combined, the researchers came up with a conceptualized and more specified framework. Above the foreign students to whom the study is conducted for, are the factors which affect their adjustment period towards the new country. The factors were more specified into communication, culture and education. (not yet. Match and relate the theories first to your concepts/variable before pointing at the diagram)
As shown in this framework, a foreign student would try to learn the new ways of communication, the new culture, and the new ways of education as he/she resides to a new country. The foreign student would then experience the differences of the factors (i.e., communication, culture and education) in his/her home country and the host country. These factors then determine the adjustment period of the foreign students towards the new country.
The framework is organized in such a way that the factors which the foreign students go through as they reside to a new country would determine their adjustment period.
(conceptual is made shortcut)
Operational Framework
The operational framework now shows a more detailed and more specified background course of the research study. It now presents the target and focus of the study.
The target of this study is the group of foreign students studying in the University of the Philippines Cebu College which is found at the center of the framework. Above them are the obvious factors which will probably give them a hard time as they encounter the differences in their home country and the host country. And below the focus is the adjustment period of the foreign students towards their new school environment.
First among the factors is the language used in communication. Language is the primary factor in interacting and communicating towards the other students. Therefore it affects the social life of the foreign student. It is a big possibility that a foreign student speaks a different language in his/her home country. And another big possibility is that not all foreign students can speak or understand the English language fluently.
The second factor is the cultural differences in the students’ home country and the host country (i.e., the Philippines). The second factor is branched into two: the national norms and the social roles. The researchers would investigate as to how the foreign students cope up to the behaviors prescribed by the society (i.e., the national norms), and the behaviors that the society expects from them (i.e., the social roles).
The third factor is the teaching style of the foreign students’ new school. There is a possibility that the teaching style familiar to the foreign student is different from the teaching style of the University of the Philippines.
After the three factors, the foreign students will be investigated and analyzed. And since they are students, their adjustment towards their new school environment – the University of the Philippines Cebu College – is very crucial.
The course of the study which is represented by the operational framework is based on the concepts and ideas pointed out by the theories and resource studies provided in the previous pages.
(good. Your theoretical and conceptual should be like your operational.detailed and well explained)
Posted by giZELLE at 9:55 AM 0 comments
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook
Review of Related Literature
This chapter discusses the parameters of this study (what do you mean by parameters?vague). In order to give more accurate results, the researchers explored further related studies as additional information and basis. The purpose of this study is to know the factors that would affect the adjustment period of UPCC foreign students. The literature about culture shock, its psychological effects on students who study abroad, adapting to the new environment, and learning the alien culture of the host country are discussed. This chapter ends with a summary of the literature review.
Hammer (1992) pointed out that the writings about international students generally cover four areas: “the problems of sojourners to encountering a new cultural environment, the influence of social interaction and communication on sojourner adaptation, and the culture learning process apparent in the cross-cultural sojourn.”
Problems of Sojourners to Encountering a New Cultural Environment
A person moving from one country to another country takes his own beliefs and culture with him and worse is that none of his culture would fit in the new country, as stated by Torbiörn (1942). The person’s “frame of reference” would still be insufficient in the new setting. Torbiörn (1942) assumed that the person’s actions, thoughts and his way of understanding the world would be very visible, but still, in his own culture’s perspective. The person may then think of this “frame of reference” of his to be correct, and therefore would not ask about the validity of it. So when the person arrives, he might still feel pleased with his “frame of reference” but he would be lacking on how he would apply it to the new setting.
Because what is important to the person is that he experiences satisfaction to his environment, he would likely choose norms that he is familiar with and ones that are less unknown to him over the host country’s norms that would seem alien to him. He would already be accustomed to this one-sidedly (is there such a word?) and this is where culture shock would arise. As defined by Torbiörn (1942), culture shock is the failure in interacting with the local environment. According to Hall (1995) as cited by Torbiörn (1942), the reasons of culture shock are the “loss of familiar stimuli” and their substitute that seems odd. He (who?)went past the merely social display and the other “spatial” portion between other things. He stated examples like the design of homes, offices and ship, and the pattern of spatial interaction as expressed in the distance between people in conversation, in queues, and so on. He also added time dimension that may also present uniqueness to the sojourner, like the mealtimes or the attitude to time-keeping may not be what the sojourner is used to.
Speaking of culture shock, Poedjiastutie (n.d) concluded from his study on foreign students studying in Indonesia, that the foreign students had experienced culture shock. He said that the culture shock the foreign students encountered belongs to two classifications: “in academic atmosphere and in social life.” He had the foreign students evaluate the Indonesian teachers’ roles and attitudes, and most of them rated the teachers below satisfactory. Aside from that, he found out that the organized programs and the local students’ attitudes shocked the foreign students. Regarding this matter, Poedjiastutie (n.d) recommended the department or institution to choose the teachers who are going to handle the foreign students. In relation to our study, UPCC foreign students are going to be interviewed for us to be able to comprehend if they had experienced culture shock in the Philippines just like the foreign students who studied in Indonesia.
Poedjiastutie (n.d) then figured out three points in each of the two classifications, student’s academic and social life, that causes them to experience culture shock. Poedjiastutie (n.d) wrapped up that in the academic life of a foreign student, the teacher’s role and attitude, the attitude of the local students and the inadequately structured program are the main sources of their culture shock while in their social life, it is the relationship between women and men and their different mindset and habits.
Influence of Social Interaction
With that said, a foreign student, who is unknowingly experiencing culture shock, may start to feel unsatisfied with his state and might try to reach out or adjust with the locals. Even though the foreign students would try to do the move, there would always be obstacles that they might encounter in the process. This is because every person is different whether he or she is ready to adjust flexibly, according to Ward, Bochner, Furnham (2005). They further added that the people who interact or are “socially skilled” tend to be conscious as to how the others respond to them and what others think about them. People, as what they had stated, obtain an adjustable behavior which enables them to respond appropriately towards various social environments.
On the other hand, Ward, et al., (2005) stated in comparison with the former that those who are socially insufficient may not have understood the society’s international la,(check) either because they don’t know the rules of social behaviour which creates interaction with other people, or, if they do know, are unable or unwilling to adjust.
In social situations that a foreign student might experience, Gordon (n.d.) believed that as problems start to gather, the student may seek for help. He said that the foreign student may conclude that the students of the host country are either unable to understand his troubles or are just apathetic to him. He thought that this is where it prompts the emotion, which is one of the clearest signs of culture shock: aggression to the new environment. He then added that the foreign student may start to think that the native students of the country do not care or know what he is going through and that they are numb, and may eventually create a poor judgment of them.
Now, in relation to school environment, Mcleod (2008) explained that the differences were most obvious in student-teacher relationship. For example, the foreign students generally preferred more error connection and believed that they have to be in agreement with the teacher. The foreign students believe that their teachers own the authority above all. On the other hand, the teachers are more likely to believe that students should have an internal intention of academic control. Nevertheless, it is clear that some of the most relevant problems that foreign students encounter occur in the school environment. The foreign students still need to learn the culture of the host country and the country’s academic activities in order to achieve academic success. “Student and teacher expectations, the patterns of classroom interaction, and even perceptions and definitions of intelligence,” differ in various cultures. Although the host country is trying to understand the challenges imposed by “intercultural education,” the burden to adjust to the new school environment is placed hugely on the foreign students.
So in connection with classroom participation, Ward, et al., (2005) implied that in general, students from individualist cultures are more likely to stand out in class, to ask questions, give answers and engage in debate. They are competitive in a sense. In contrast, students from collectivist cultures focus more in fitting in the crowd. They are not that participative in classes and are usually reluctant to draw attention to themselves. Collectivism is strongly related to power distance, and those students who are from high power distance cultures are also less likely to question and debate. These students are more prompted to show respect to the teachers and to maintain a formal and distant relationship with them.
Even though international students in general would like to have intercultural contact, their capability and eagerness to intermingle with the local peers are still mainly based on their cultural differences. Barker et al.,(1991) affirmed that generally, overseas students find it harder creating friendships than the local students. They are also likely to find their relationships less pleasing.
Ward, et al., (2005) implied that an individual’s performance may also be affected by fear about whether their behaviour is readily accepted by the society. They further explained that individuals in this situation, such as foreign students, business people, or diplomats, often tend to excel in the customs of their own society, while they find the customs of the new culture to be frustrating. “Competent adults in their home culture come to feel like helpless children in the other.” In relation to the study, a certain UPCC foreign student’s behavior may be categorized as either of the two: “socially skilled” or the “socially inadequate”.
Communication on Sojourner Adaptation
In addition to the usual problems of adjustment to university,cinternational students (check)also must face the difficulties associated with coming to a new country. In an early review (comma) Church (1982) identified loneliness, homesickness, depression, arrival confusion, the maintenance of self- esteem, somatic complaints, family problems or the loss of loved ones, time pressure, adjustment to food and climate, finances, and employment to be major problems facing international students. Uehara and Hicks (1989) singled out finances, lack of friendships, loneliness, culture shock, educational communication, lack of understanding, and language acquisition as the greatest concerns of international students.
“Communication is such an encompassing process that it filters through all human activities. No living person is unaffected by communication. Learning is, at heart, the expression of communication”. A quote from Howell and Howell (1979), as cited by Bickel (1985), says how communication mainly affects almost everyone. (faulty citation. Join the source to the quoted line.check apa.)For, it is the main root of all interaction. (choppy sentence)
(transition) According to Bickel (1985), language is the primary means of communication between the teacher and the student and therefore greatly influences the teacher’s choose of decisions. He stated that most of the time, a confrontation between a teacher and a foreign student is a consequence of the teacher’s wrong interpretation of the student’s vocal actions. He further said that there is a severe problem between teachers that deal with students who are not that fluent in English.
Grayson and Stowe (2005) found out that in many instances, it appears that relative lack of involvement of international students in formal and informal activities in the university is related to their lack of facility in English. They realized from their study that not having English language proficiency means that students have difficulty in understanding much of the content of their courses as well as learning the norms of their host country through interaction with their peers. They also found out in a study of students at the University of Windsor, Antonio (1991) that international students who spend considerable amounts of time with other international students reported more distress, anxiety and depression than other international students while it may be thought that maintaining contacts with fellow nationals may help offset some of the negative effects of limited interaction with individuals from the host country. They then hypothesized that students such as these are minimally exposed to situations that would assist them in learning norms of the host society. English ability was one of the most significant factors affecting the social and academic satisfaction of international students.
Culture Learning Process Apparent in the Cross-Cultural Sojourn
McLeod (2008) establishes that the connection between culture and language is complicatedly connected. He asserted that both are semiotic systems that depend on signs and symbols to convey and obtain messages, but when those traditional signs and symbols are altered or detached totally, especially for foreign students in a new environment, culture shock can surface. As quoted by McLeod (2008) (no year for secondary source) from Chapdelaine & Alexitch (2004), the “…multiple demands for adjustment that individuals experience at the cognitive, behavioral, emotional, social, and physiological levels, when they relocate to another culture” are indisputably significant for the adjustment of foreign students and often draw out preliminary devastating intrapersonal and interpersonal issues. However, Adler (1975) and Anderson (1994) (remove year) said, as cited by McLeod (2008), that these strains are neither inevitable for all foreign students nor are they essentially the only consequences of this likely positive transformation.
Wan (1999) (remove year) cited Pusch (1979) that in living together and influencing each other, people have developed culture, a sum of total ways of living, including values, beliefs, aesthetic standards, linguistic expression, patterns of thinking, behavioral norms, and styles of communication. On the other hand, it is the sum of total ways that assures people’s survival in a particular physical and human environment as still stated by Pusch (1979), cited by Wan (1999). Pusch (1979) affirmed theresult that people would take their culture for granted because they have been used to it, but he strongly believed that to know a culture, it would take time, so when people are introduced to a new culture with an unusual value and beliefs, the old way of interpretation of the world would be questioned and the new way is still forthcoming. He further added that this problem would make people feel bewildered and lost and consequently, culture shock takes place. (correct double year in citation)
Other times, (awkward) the effect of culture shock to the victim may not really be positive. Some victims would surrender his/her own individuality and would try to copy all the traditions and mindsets of the host culture. It could also be the other way around. The foreign student would try to resolve the problem by retreating secretly, decline to study the host country’s language, would not try to attempt in looking for friends among the native people, and would not show interest in any field of the local culture. (source?) While the victim’s mind thinks this way, he would show a diversity of unpleasant symptoms that he is fully oblivious of the degree of it. The victim would tend to exaggerate insignificant frustrations or hassle annoyance or madly pour it all out to the cause. Other symptom (the other symptom) is to excessively be apprehensive and would think that people are just going to fiddle and deceive because he or she is an outsider. As McCleod cited that as stated by anthropologist George M. Foster , (faulty; year?) "Culture shock is a mental illness, and is as true of much mental illness, the victim usually does not know that he is afflicted." (sources not acknowledged in this paragraph)
According to Young (2004) (check year again) as cited by Yu, cross-cultural adaptation is “the entirety of the phenomenon of individuals who, on relocation to an unfamiliar sociocultural environment, strive to establish and maintain a relatively stable, reciprocal, and functional relationship with the environment” (p.339). But for Hodge (2000) as cited still by Yu (same problem), the familiarity and the extent of settling in a foreign country can not assure better perceptive of another culture. Yu cited Young (2004) again that “a successful intercultural adaptation requires sensitivity to cultural differences, openness, and positive attitudes, other than excessive dependence on ethnic support systems”. That is why Wagner & Magistrale persist that the most efficient way of adjusting to a new culture is to experience trial and error.(faulty year citation.some authors do not have years)
According to Banks and Banks (1995), as cited by Ward, et al., (2005), the school environment is just a small reflection of the larger society. They said it mirrors the society’s values, traditions, and practices. Banks and Banks (1995) also stated that the foreign students are not only tasked to learn and adapt to the new culture, but they must also be able to apply these to their personal objectives and success. They explained that these foreign students must focus on their educational setting. And they further added, all of these cited by Ward, et al., (2005), that although intercultural education is already widely spread and training materials are developed in order to enhance the social relationship among the foreign and local students and teachers, the responsibility for adjusting successfully into a new environment falls on the foreign students themselves. (correct year citation)
(transition) Pyvis and Chapman (2004) believed that it is important for the student to create new friendships to provide comfort to him/her. Based on Oberg’s second characteristic of culture shock as described in terms of a sense of deprivation as a result of removal of friends, they understood from their study that most of their participants’ desire to make new friendships is because they are deprived from it (dull sentence). They proposed that faking a new character as a part of a group does not greatly lessen the difficulty in fitting in. They even believe that creating an identity with a group made it hard for the student to see themselves that they really belong to the group. As what Pyvis and Chapmen (2004) said, “Again, these difficulties can be read in terms of Oberg’s characteristics of culture shock, especially perhaps in terms of rejection fears, feelings of helplessness and anxiety and confusion in role definition.”
(transition) As cited by Ward, et al., (2005), Bochner, McLeod and Lin (1977) stated that studies of the “friendship patterns” of foreign students show that they tend to belong to three different social networks, each representing a particular psychological purpose. As what they had stated, the main network consists of bonds with the people of the same nationality. The purpose of this is to go over, convey, and confirm the values of their original culture. The second network contains the associations with host nationals. The purpose of this network is greatly helpful to the foreign students. It is to assist the foreign students with school matters and proficient aims. Usually, the people involved in this network will be other local students, teachers, counselors, university administrators, and government officials. The relationships of this network would tend to be professional and formal rather than personal. The third network consists of links and friendships with other foreign students, regardless of what nationality. The purpose of this network is to give the feeling of belongingness. They share the same sentiments as a foreign student, thus providing mutual support to each other. (connect sentences here for coherence.correct year citation)
Students studying in other countries encounter problems upon exposure to a new cultural environment. They experience culture shock because of the differences between the culture of their home country and the host country. Recalling what Torbiörn (1942) said, the culture of the host country has nothing in common with the country of origin. He emphasized that what is worse of them residing in other countries is that they still practice their own culture and find it hard to let go of it. From the related literature gathered above from different sources, the major problems of the foreign students deal with social relationships and interactions. One factor that hinders the foreign students to communicate well is language barrier. Language and culture, as stated above, are connected. In order to adjust to their new environment, it is inevitable for the foreign students to learn the host country’s culture. (so how will you relate your study here? Connect)
1 Comments:
quality sources.you still need to work on transition/coherence between paragraphs. fix faulty citation of sources esp year.
40/50
12:46 AM
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home