Ruoran Wang

Professor Bethany Keeley Jonker

Capstone project- Senior Paper

Dec 4 2017

How to get international students integrate into a new culture?

My name is Ruoran Wang. I prefer to be called Martha. I am a senior student at

Trinity Christian College, located in Palos Heights, IL. I am majoring in Business

Communication and minoring in Graphic Design. I am from China, Jinan. In 2014, I

came to the United States to study. That was also my first time go to another country

besides China. I was excited about everything that would happen in my college life.

During these three years, there were lots of things happened, some which were exciting,

and some which were depressing. No matter which feeling, I found out the common

reason for these two emotions is cultural differences. In other words, my eastern cultural

background and Chinese identity brought me lots of happy moments, and in the same

time, I felt defensive and targeted in some situations. I would love to share my

experiences, and elaborate on the role of culture in identity formation.

Based on the record, in 2014, the number of international students in the United

States reached 975,000. In the recent years, the United States becomes one of the most

popular destinations for students who want study abroad. High-quality education,

multi-cultural environments, and well-developed economy are the reasons that more

and more students are attracted to the United States. In general, studying abroad makes

students independent in a short time. Now of boarding, that means at least in one
semester, you need to learn how to take care of yourself and build a connection with

strangers in an unfamiliar environment.

That is the starting point for real life. Let us forget racism, political issues, and

culture shocks these kinds of philosophical problems for a moment. Let us talk about

daily small things which help all international students learn how to figure out problems

individually. The first thing that international students need to solve is language barriers.

Most students do not have great English skills when they first arrive in the United States.

Lots of simple things are challenges for them, such as calling the taxi, ordering food,

and finding the train or bus stations etc. It is also a difficult time to make friends with

American students because of different cultures and language barriers. In addition, food

is another factor which students take longer to adapt to. These kinds of small things

become a big problem for students who come from another country.

Studying in a new culture is a very cool experience. It helps students to open their

minds, and have opportunities to know and feel various cultures. In addition, it is a

process that helps international students to break the prejudice they previously formed.

Opening ones mind is the most useful way to increase our acceptance for everything.

At the same time, new cultures allow students to think about their own identities from

a new perspective they never considered before. This new perspective allows students

to have a better understanding of their own positions and values in society, but the

process contains lots of confusion and difficulty. In other words, entry into a new

culture means the existence of cultural shocks, conflicts between ones home culture

and the new culture. Culture shock is a very common problem that most of international
students face, especially for students who come from eastern culture and study in a

western culture.

These daily problems, such as calling a taxi, ordering food, and finding a train

etc, can be overcome after a while. It indicates that time can help us to solve it. However,

there are several problems that international students meet that cant be solved by time,

such as culture shock and forming a clear identity. These kinds of issues require

students to really understand the main reason which caused the problem, and find a

useful method to figure it out. This paper focuses on what culture is, what identity is,

cultures influence on identity forming, and several useful suggestions on how to find

a clear identity as an international student in the United States.

This paper will explain some common problems that international students face too,

such as racism, prejudice, culture shocks etc. It will analyze the real reasons for these

problems. After that, this paper will give several communication theories that can help

international students to face a cope with these problems in a correct attitude. The

references will be used mainly from books that talk about personal identity and culture

shocks. This paper will provide the main ideas for each reference. Besides these, it will

explain the connections between problems international students face and

communication theories. Above all, this paper concludes the main problems that

international students need to configure during daily life, such as the feeling of being a

minority, culture shocks, and wrong self-awareness etc.

From the preface, introduction and personal information, culture be defined by lots

of things. Based on our basic understanding, this is a big and abstract word. It is hard
to explain or express whats our understanding about culture. In somehow, we do not

have a clear acknowledgement about culture, the definition we have in our mind is very

blurred, that is why we cant explain it clearly and simply. So, lets us start from this

word- culture, what it is?

When we were young, we had the experience, or our friend had the experience

when we moved to a new neighborhood. In the first several days, few children would

come to you. After a week, you would get popular. More and more kids were willing

to play with you. Conflicts always came after the happy time. If we did not have a good

understanding about the rules that we need to follow in this neighborhood, we would

lose our popularity in the new neighborhood. The rules which we suppose to follow are

what culture is for this community.

Muslims do not eat pork; Chinese people values relationship; Americans believe

the importance of freedom and human rights; Christians need to dress up for Sundays

service; Indian women cant show their face in public; In business world, people think

hand shaking always is the best way to greet in the first time; All of these, how to talk

with people, how to start a conversation in a casual way, how to follow the

neighborhood rule and how to dress up, that is what we called culture.

Culture is not a big concept. It exists in our daily life. Before we go to school, we

are taught the rules need to follow in the house. That is our family cultures; when we

get to the school age, our teacher teaches us study methods. Friends help us to

understand basic networking knowledge. That is school culture; after we graduate from

college, we will learn a companys culture. These cultural sections build up the big
concept culture. Therefore, different culture means different family styles, school

systems, and social values. From this perspective, we can image how hard it is to get

involve into a new culture. Lots of people who came to the United States more than ten

years ago still feel like an outsider. Therefore, it is not rare to feel isolated in a new

culture. It is also impossible to understand the core value of another culture in several

years. However, that does not mean we should only stay in our own cultures. Having a

clear understanding about what to expect allows us to prepare for those experiences in

the right way.

Culture shock is a sense of confusion and uncertainty sometimes with feelings of

anxiety that may affect people exposed to an alien culture or environment without

adequate preparation (Merriam Webster.com). Culture shock is a feeling of confusion

or frustrating when we do not have enough preparations for the culture or environment

in which we reside. It is not a conflict between two different cultures. Culture shock

tends to be a more personal feeling. It is a process of fighting with our previous

identities. Or, it is a process learning how to adapt a new culture which has different

beliefs than our own cultures. Knowing how to deal with culture shock is very important

for students who study abroad, because this kind of uncertainty could be the potential

reason for psychological issues, such as anxiety. So, how can we solve this necessary

problem?

First, we need to understand that it is very normal to experience culture shock.

Everyone needs time to adjust to a new environment. Some people may need one month

to get involved in a new environment; but in the same situation, others may need several
years. Therefore, do not feel panicked when the process takes a long time. Everyone

has their own timing to adapt or adjust to new things. We cant find a general rule which

applies to everyones situation. Therefore, the first thing we should know is that

experiencing culture shocks is a necessary process for most of international students,

and there is no requirement to adapt the new environment in a certain period of time.

Recognizing the process as necessary and learning be patience are very important.

Even though we understand the process is hard and long, it is not easy to be alone

for the whole process. Handling this situation alone is stressful, but it pushes us to try

a new experience and step out of our comfort zone. So, the most critical step is to have

positive attitude about the issues we met or would meet in this new cultural area.

After having emotion preparation, we should learn to jump out of our own comfort

zone. As an outsider, as Duane Elmer mentions in his book- Cross Cultural

Connections: Stepping Out and Fitting in Around the World., learning how to jump into

the chilly water and swim like a fish is the lesson we need to take. The biggest challenge

for this process is uncertain elements. Charles Berger explains the importance of

reducing uncertainty during communication by proposing a theory called- Uncertainty

Reduction Theory, this theory asserts the notion that when interacting, people need

information about the other party to reduce their uncertainty in gaining information

people are able to predict the others behavior and resulting actions, all of which

according to the theory is crucial in the development of any relationship (Berger,). As

Berger explains we need information about the new environment around us to build a

comfortable zone for ourselves. Humans need information or messages to help them
predict what will happen. When we are not able to predict our future, we will feel

confused and frustrated. Therefore, it makes sense that we are scared when we try to

get involved in a new culture.

However, overcoming the feeling of fear and uncertainty is a hard and necessary

thing. Self-disclosure is the most useful way to have a closer intimate relationship with

others. Self-disclosure requires people to expose and share. When we get into an

environment that we are not familiar with, the most common way that we pick to protect

ourselves is to hide ourselves. In other words, we are not willing to do self-disclosure

when we do not have cumulative messages about people and places around us. Based

on Messages- the communication skills book, the biggest reason which block self-

disclosure is fear. We often dont disclosure ourselves out of fear: fear of rejection,

fear of punishment, fear of being talked about behind our back, or fear that someone

will take advantage from us (Matthew, 29). All of these fears impede us from exposing

ourselves. Under these fears, withdrawing becomes the way that we protect ourselves.

However, withdrawing also causes a boring or dead conversation. When we cant trust

the person or community we are working with, it is hard to have a deeper conversation

or form tight relationships. During conversations, withdrawing causes the death of

intimacy.

Relationship building or immersing ourselves into a new environment requires us

to overcome our fears, and take the risks. We need to open our heart to get the same

respect or information sharing from others. At the same time, it represents that we give

people the right to hurt our feelings. As an outsider of a culture, this situation forces
international students to take the risks to get involved in the culture. The result of taking

risks are not always bad. Taking risks do not indicate that everyone will hurt us. In most

situations, we always can receive useful information, or surprising moments after we

take risks.

Michael Tye explains that unity is the base of human consciousness, which means

that everyone can reach similar conclusions based on their own experience. For

example, from the semiotics perspective, when we saw the stop sign, we know that

the red meaning and the word means stop. We can exact the same signifier meaning

from the sign we saw in the different time and places. No matter what we value, as

humans, we share a similar consciousness, which brings people who have different

cultural backgrounds together. This unity of consciousness assimilates the relationship

between diverse cultures. It is true that adapting to a new environment requires a long

time, and it is hard. Fortunately, we do share some common consciousness, which can

help us to break the ice.

We have a unified consciousness because of our humanities. However, based on

different backgrounds, life experiences, and times, people will have different feelings

responding to the same situation. When we start to build a relationship from the same

consciousness we share, we must clearly understand that there is no rule that promises

this theory works in all situations. Therefore, understanding this allows us to start

involving ourselves in the new culture, unfortunately, knowing that we do not always

share the same consciousness in all of situations is more important. So, when we build

a connection with someone, what should our next step be?

 Gudykunst William explains how to communicate with strangers who have

different cultural background with us in Bridging Differences. He points out that there

is no big difference between intercultural communication and intracultural

communication. We can apply the methods we use to communicate with people who

have the same cultural background with us to strangers we are not familiar with. In

other words, every community has a special way of communicating, but as we share

some common consciousness, diverse communities also have some common

communicating ways. Therefore, the way that we talk with people who have the same

cultural background with us also applies to communicating with various groups in many

situations.

Stereotypes are the first thing we need to avoid during intracultural communication.

The biggest different point between intercultural communication and intracultural

communication is the culture background. People who have the same cultural

background with us can understand the way we communication; however, others who

have different cultural background cant express their meaning as clearly. So, as an

outsider, we need to open our heart for other cultures. In other words, we should know

how to respect and accept different culture values. Stereotypes are the big issue that

limit our understanding about another culture. As a human being, we prefer to form a

positive impression about something we have basic acknowledgement; for something

we never had a chance to experience before, we usually have a defensive attitude to

protect ourselves. These reactions or emotional differences make complete sense.

However, to build a relationship with strangers, we need to understand how to break

out these single stories, and have an effective conversation.

Understanding how to break our stereotypes for the foreign culture has a critical

role in embracing another culture. International students need to have a deeper

acknowledgement about own culture, at the same time, they should know how to accept

and find the valuable information from another culture. In other words, learning how to

bridge differences between cultures is very crucial. The process of bridging differences

is to start find the overlapping parts of the two identities. In other words, before starting

study aboard, every international student only has one identity. After they have the

chance to get in touch with someone in another country, some of the values formed

from their previous environment may be challenged. This is the process of realizing the

difference. The hardest part is how to bridge this differences, and form a new identity.

Identity is our social position and worldview. It defines our personalities and value

systems. Our identity always changes after it formed a basic skeleton. When we get into

a new environment, the new ideas we heard, the new topics people discuss, and the new

languages people use to communicate all have an effect on the formation of our identity.

These new items will challenge our previous identity formed in another culture. During

this adapting process, we will experience culture shocks, false self-awareness and

emotional sensitivity. These are the necessary process during clarifying our identity.

Be a minority leads to emotional sensitivity. For example, you go to a market in

your own country to buy some vegetables. You are looking for market workers help to

find one of the vegetable that you could not find. However, that worker ignores you
with a bad attitude. At that moment, we will be mad, and complain about their service

attitude. Let us change this environment little bit. Lets imaging that we go to a market

in another country and meet the same thing. What will we think about at that moment?

we will feel mad, but after that, we will start to find reason from ourselves. Does that

worker understand my language? Is that because I did not express what I want clearly?

Is that worker racist? These questions will come out from our mind instead of

complaining their service attitude. These are two totally same situations, but why we

can get two different feelings?

Gudykunst explains how to make theoretical predictions, how to deal with isolating

effects, and cultures effect in expression and emotions. The most interesting part is the

connection between culture and emotions. Emotions are the way we express ourselves

to strangers. So, emotions are a great tool for strangers to have a better understanding

about ourselves. Emotional sensitivity is the challenge that some international students

may meet. As a minority group, this feeling of uncertainty and powerless can affect the

way we express ourselves, and understand things in a wrong way.

Culture differences lead people to have some emotion changing. These changes

sometime show in an extreme way. For instance, lots of international student told me

that when they have a hard time talking in front of the class, it is not because they do

not know the answer. They just worry about their English accent, and that their

classmates will judge and make fun of them because of their accent. When we do not

have the main position in a group, it is easy to fear about everything. In the end, it may
turn to emotional sensitivity. This emotional sensitivity causes students to always blame

themselves instead of thinking objectively when something goes wrong.

In most situations, speculations are our downfall. They lead us to view the situation

as more complex than it really is. From the example mentioned above, the right way is

to ask again or find another person to ask instead of starting to make speculations just

based on one person. Speculations cant really help us to solve problems. It is not a

good tool to become a good communicator. Even though speculations allow people to

avoid taking risks, it allows people to stay in their comfort zone. However, as this paper

mentioned in the beginning, learning how to jump into the chilly water and swim like

a fish is the most important lesson all international students need to take. So, learning

effective and useful communication skills is more important than hiding ourselves in

our shell to get involved in the new culture.

To enlarge the human conversation by comprehending what others are saying

Carey questions the function of social media and mass communication in

communication as culture. Carey explains that communication is not just a process of

exchanging information. It is a way to bring people together and build a connection

with each other. Communication is tool to share information with surrounding people,

and this information builds a potential opportunity for everyone to connect with each

other. Therefore, the real function of communication is to build relationships instead of

delivering messages. In addition, Carey relinks the communication with community.

Community has own communication system; at the same time, communication defines
a communitys culture. Therefore, knowing the communication styles for the

community is the quickest way to integrate into it.

There are several ways to improve integration into a culture. First, doing research

about the normal habit people have during communication, for instance, how do they

greet each other? Do they shake hands, hug each other, or kiss? How people usually

dress during their daily life, such as business casual or jeans and T-shirts? These details

we should have a clear direction. In addition, we need know to use the right words to

use during the conversation. In some cultures, salary, family information, and personal

marriage status are considered the conversation trap. In other words, understanding

which type of question is the best way to start a conversation and matching it to the

culture values is very crucial. Furthermore, we should know how to express our

opinions impartially. As an outsider we know that we will not have the same views on

some issues. In these situations, we should express our thoughts with a respectful heart.

Reading facial expression during the conversation is another useful tool to have an

effective conversation. Non-verbal communication has a critical role in relationship

building.

Be careful about word choice and how it can cause misunderstandings in many

situations. Riggins explains how to apply critical discourse analysis to texts and

speech that contribute to the marginalization of minority groups. In the language

politics of exclusion, it mainly uses the linguistic perspective to solve discrimination,

social prejudice, and inequality. Using the right word and right tones have a critical

position in daily communication. Using the right words to make sure we express our
thoughts clearly, and building a comfortable atmosphere. This relaxing environment

helps people to have a better conversation which can facilitate the relationship

building.

Communication has a crucial position in clarifying own identity in a new culture.

Right communication method allows people to learn the core value of a culture in a

short time. Choosing the right words gives people the quickest access to realizing

what a culture values most. Having a respectful attitude allows people to get involved

in a community easily. As an international student, breaking up own stereotypes and

stepping out from own comfort zone is the hardest and a useful way to learn a new

culture.

Culture is not a big concept. It exists everywhere in our daily life. Because it is

small things during daily life, these details are always the hardest thing to get used to.

It is very normal to take time to adjust to a new culture. Culture shocks are also

common. Almost everyone needs to experience the struggles caused by cultural

differences. During this process, we should have a positive attitude, and realize there

is no specific time line which forces us to get used to another culture. Everyone has

own timing; therefore, it is fine if this process takes longer than what we expected.

We need to know getting involved in a new culture is not an easy process.

However, that does not mean that there is no way to conquer this hard process. As

Elmer explains, getting involved in a new culture is a process of jumping into a chilly

water and learn how to swim like a fish. To achieve this, we need to face our fears

first. Uncertain situations are the most common reason we have the feeling of fear.
Uncertainty will not disappear with time. Communication is the only way to diminish

the feeling of fear.

As mentioned before, communication is not just a process of information

exchanging, it is a process to build relationships. When communicating with others,

we are required to express or share our feelings with someone we are not familiar

with. This process we call self-disclosure. Self-disclosure leads to intimate

relationship building. This is a sign which indicates the formation of a trusting

relationship. When we are willing to disclose ourselves to someone, that means we

trust and care for that person.

Consciousness is another element which allows international students to

assimilate in a new culture. As a humane being, we share some similar consciousness

because of humanities. In other words, we will have similar emotional changing and

reaction under some situations. For example, we will feel happy when we achieve

some goals; we will feel sad when our friends or family members meet accidents; we

will feel disappointed when the real situation does not match with our expectations.

These common consciousness help outsiders opening a door, which can lead to

insiders world.

As this paper mentioned, consciousness is not always unified. Therefore,

knowing how to bridge differences become very important when we do not have

similar consciousness. Finding the common group between two different cultures is

crucial. In other words, there are no two totally same things in this world. Therefore,

we need to learn how to use communication skills to bridge differences between two
cultures. Effective Intergroup Communications explains how applying intercultural

communication methods on communicating with people who have different cultural

backgrounds with us. In other words, based on our logic, we can use the same way to

communicate with different people.

Even though it is true that one communication method can help us to

communicate under different situations, we still need to know several tips which can

avoid some unnecessary situations, such as misunderstandings. First, understanding

the difference between discrimination and speculations, which means minority leads

to emotional sensitive. In other words, as I mentioned above, the feeling of minority

will lead people to have emotional changes. The feeling of lacking support from this

society causes people to lose their confidence, which means humans will over-

protected themselves to avoid hurt or judgment from others. This emotional

sensitivity makes people overthink situations, that is the reason of having speculation.

So, what is the connection between discrimination and speculation?

Let us use the same example again- the foreign market example. If we ask

another server the same question with a clear explanation, however, they still ignore

us. Under this situation, we can define this as discrimination or racism. But if the

second person answers our questions with a better attitude, we can define the thoughts

that we had after taking with the first server as speculation. During the

communication process, if the issue caused by speculation, there are always a way to

solve it. Unfortunately, if the problem happened because of discrimination, that

requires us to use another way and perspective to deal the whole relationship building.
 If the problem caused by speculation, the first thing we can do is to break single

story. Single story indicates the prejudice we formed before we really had a chance to

know the culture or community. Breaking the single story is one of the necessary

steps we should take to decrease our speculations. Single story limits our

imaginations. In other words, we are not willing to predict the things to the right and

good direction when we withhold some judgements in our mind. Judgements are

usually cause by superiority and lacking information. Studying enough about a culture

helps us to break our judgements, and at the same time, have a clear self-

acknowledgement.

Right communication skills allow people to have an effective conversation.

Picking the right vocabulary has a critical role in building a good conversation. Bad

word choice can mislead the original meaning we want to deliver. For example, when

using you to describe or criticize something, this word can cause the listeners to feel

attacked. If we can pay attention to these details, we will have an easier process.

Besides this basic point, appropriate timing is very important. Sometimes, we will

find out that same questions can have different answers at different times. Therefore,

we need to understand the perfect time to start a conversation, and knowing when we

should stop. In addition, face to face communication is extremely important, and it

allows people to build a trustworthy relationship in a shorter time compared with

indirect communication. Face to face conversation indicates the value that both parties

have for communication.

 Furthermore, being honest is what we all need to focus on. People think that is

fine if we tell some white lies during the conversation. Based on researching, no

matter real lies or white lies, telling truth is always the best way to communicate with

people. We believe white lies or lies allow us to create a better picture during

conversations. In other words, lies can help us to build an ideal situation which meets

listeners expectations. However, conversation is not a one-time business, cutting the

connection after finishing our mission. Building relationships is a persistent process,

therefore, being honest becomes critically important during this long process.

The last tip is called 48 hours rule. It means if we feel targeting or hurt when we

talk with someone, holding our feeling for 48 hours. After 48 hours, if we still feel

hurt, we can say something to explain our feelings and our real thoughts. Why we

need to use 48 hours rule during intercultural communication? First, as this paper

mentioned, the feeling of minority leads emotional sensitivity. Because of this, we

should calm down when we feel attacking, and think the situation again after 48

hours. This policy avoids communication issues which caused by irrational reasons.

Learn how to integrate ourselves into a new culture is a long and hard process.

There are lots of issues which need us to open our eyes, and expose ourselves. The

right attitude can make the process easier for us. Having a positive attitude when

preparing to face uncertain situations we will meet in this new culture is very

important. Even though it is scary to get into a new culture or new country, the

outcomes and benefits we can get will surprise us and benefit us for the whole life,

such as clear self-acknowledgment, positive attitude, and courage to face uncertainty.

 It is helpful to know that we share similar consciousness as human beings in

some situations, therefore, this similar consciousness will become the bridge between

us and the new culture we need to integrate. However, understanding the

consciousness are not always united are also important. Fortunately, great

communication skills can help us go through this hard process. Using the right words,

having the right timing, being aware of our own body languageand remembering

the 48 hours rules are the several tips which can be very helpful when encountering a

new culture.

In conclusion, integrating into a new culture is a hard process for everyone. It is

important to understand own position with a positive attitude. This is no specific rule

which can teach us how to put ourselves into a new environment, because

understanding a new culture has a different process with solving a math question.

Therefore, all of communication tips can bring us an easier way instead of figuring

the whole difficulty situation for us. Holding a willingness heart to open for all of

possibilities, knowing necessary communication skills to avoid unnecessary conflicts,

having a positive attitude to encourage ourselves under any hard times will help

international students to integrate into American culture easier and quicker.

Work Cited:

Elmer, Duane. Cross Cultural Connections: Stepping Out and Fitting In Around The

World. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2002. Print.

Gudykunst, William B. Bridging Differences: Effective Intergroup Communication.

Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1991. Print.

Gudykunst, William B., eds. Cross-cultural and Intercultural Communication.

Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 2003. Print

Carey, James W. Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society. Boston:

Unwin Hyman, 1989. Print.

Tye, Michael. Consciousness and Persons: Unity and Identity. A Bradford Book,

2003

Riggins, Stephen Harold, eds. The Language and Politics of Exclusion: Others in

Discourse. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1997. Print.

Culture Shock. Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/culture%20shock.

Uncertainty Reduction Theory. Communication Studies, 27 Sept. 2012,

www.communicationstudies.com/communication-theories/uncertainty-reduction-

theory.

McKay, Matthew, et al. Messages: the communication skills book. New Harbinger

Publ., 2011.

How Can We Communicate Better? Loveisrespect.org,

www.loveisrespect.org/healthy-relationships/communicate-better/.