judith lamie & stephen issitt university of birmingham

Living up to expectations:

A survey of international students’ concerns and their

perceptions of change on a UK departmental presessional

programme

Judith Lamie &

Stephen IssittUniversity of Birmingham

Our universities and colleges are second to none. Their world-class reputation means that they are among the most popular for international students. I am determined to build on this great strength with a long-term strategy to attract many more. The institutions, their students and our economy will reap considerable rewards.

(Blair, 1999)

Outline

Introduction Background Methodology Data and analysis

Demographics Reasons for study Expectations and concerns Changes in attitudes and

practice Recommendations Conclusion

Introduction

There has been a dramatic increase in recent years in the numbers of international students undertaking undergraduate and postgraduate study in the United Kingdom. This has been as a direct result of the huge influx of mainly postgraduates from the Far East, and in particular from China. This presentation introduces the expectations of students on a university presessional course and investigates the multidimensional student experience during this period. It is intended to address a knowledge gap between our expectations as course providers and the students’ realities, both anticipated and actual.

Introduction

Background: Educational context The presessional programme Research focus and methodology Questionnaires 1 and 2

Q1: 250 students [85% 2003 intake] Q2: 110 matched responses

Data and analysis Implications and recommendations Conclusion

Background

Over 300,000 international students at UK colleges and universities Influx of students from Far East

China is in a phase of industrial, scientific and commercial expansion which will make it the world’s largest economy by the early years of the next century. In order to function efficiently in this role, it needs to bring large numbers of its people to high levels of proficiency in the use of English for a wide variety of functions. (Maley, 1995: 47)

Country % changeSpain -25%Germany -17%France -13%Japan +5%

China +92%(UKCOSA, 2003)

Different cultural backgrounds Different expectations of the teaching and learning

process implications for provision

English for International Students Unit

[EISU]

University of Birmingham 1958 - 40 students 1974 - 169

[91 Science & Engineering; 39 Commerce & Social Science; 31 Turkey; 11 Greece; 0 China]

2003 - 4,200[Business and economics; 1000 China]

EISU 1964: included a four-day induction course;

two-week pressessional; insessional programme

1990: 10 and 6 week presessionals: 81 students – Indonesia (12), Pakistan (10), Turkey (6), China (0)

2003: 20, 15, 10 and 6 week Business and Management presessionals; 20, 15, 10 and 6 week MDP presessionals: 304 students – 84% from the Far East

EISU presessionalIn 2003 the key academic skills taught on these courses included: how to write an academic essay; how to participate in group discussion and debate; oral and written presentation skills; listening to lectures; how to develop and support an academic argument; strategies for reading and summarising texts; and how to critically review data and evidence. The 20 week course concentrated on language improvement for the first 10 weeks. The remaining courses included:

supplementary classes in grammar regular individual tutorials specialist lectures from different academic

disciplines library and reference skills IT tuition (including word processing skills) preparation for the International English

Language Testing System (IELTS) examination

Methodology

Questionnaires_____________________________________________________

Sample size 95% confidence range_____________________________________________________

100 +/- 10% 250 +/- 6% 1000 +/- 3%

_____________________________________________________

Procedure1. Define objectives: 2. Select sample: presessional students 20033. Construct questionnaire(s)4. Pretest: international students 20025. Amend6. Administer: lecture hall7. Analyse results

Questionnaires Objectives:

Establish the current student profile Discover the reasons why the students had

come to study in the UK Determine the expectations and concerns

of the students with regard to living and studying at Birmingham (Q1) and ascertain how far these had been realistic (Q2)

Explore the students’ notions of, and attitudes to, change

Q1:A. General InformationB. Reasons for Study and ExpectationsC. Changes in Attitudes and Practice

Q2:A. Expectations and ConcernsB. Changes in Attitudes and Practice

General Information

256 Q1 [85%]

110 Q2

12/5 (under 20) 203/91 ( 20-30 years) 38/14 (31-40 years) 3 (over 40 years)

128/58 female 128/52 male

General Information

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

General Information

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Reasons for Study Reasons for coming to Birmingham

Reputation (149) Recommendation (18) Course (56) English language development (21) Birmingham city (18)

There are a lot of good universities in England, Birmingham is one of them (#48)

Birmingham is one of the famous universities in the world and it has a warm welcome for international students (#100)

Reasons for Study Reasons for choosing course

Career development (130) Interest (76)

I am interested in this course. It is useful for the future (#30)

The course is very good for my career path (#25)

I believe MSc in Marketing fits my academic needs in an excellent way. I am very interested in the subject. I expect to be able to learn not only from lectures, but also from my classmates and my experience in the UK generally (#66)

Expectations & concerns

In 2003 the British Council advised that:Major new developments in course delivery methods and the UK’s marketing approach must take place to cope with the number of students and their changing demands.

(British Council, 2003: 1)

The British Council specifically referred to the need to ‘manage student expectations’ (5).

Two sides of the same coinconcerns = negative expectations

What I expect from my course is to get an overall understanding of Business learning methods (#39)

How to be familiar with living and studying customs in the UK (#41)

I care about my future study (#59)


Presessional Students Expectations (Q1)

Acclimatisation6%IELTS

11%

Academic English12%

English28%

Technology4%

Future16%

Professional Knowledge

23%


I’m a board member so I need to up date my knowledge of business in this rapidly changing world (#67)

I will get more information, learn as much as I can take, and I would bring it to my country and use it to have a better life (#76)

To be able to speak English as a native speaker (#80)

To communicate with people from various countries (#61)

How I can have more chances to speak with native speakers (#119)


Presessional Student Concerns (Q1)

49

44

25

14

16

21

18

17

44

Language

Food

Culture

Cost of living

Communicating

Studying

Safety

Accommodation

Living Conditions


My main concern is that I am unable to get used to the British food (#127)

I’m concerned about my accommodation (#25)

I worry about safety (#101) There are many Chinese

speakers so I’m afraid that I can’t improve my English (#183)

Everything is so expensive compared to China (#145)


Did the course satisfy your expectations? Yes - 79%

Yes/No – 12% No – 6%

It helped me to enhance my English ability as expected (#41)

It’s completely different. I thought the course focused on language but it was for academic skills, which is where I really need to improve myself, so it helped me a lot (#99)

You gave me a precious memory (#124) I wanted to learn to write academic essays

more (#216) I thought the 10-week course was not

interactive (#222) Too many contents were writing (#116)


Were the concerns you had at the start of the course accurate?

Yes – 63% Yes/No – 9%

No – 19%Accommodation; computer difficulties; banking; homesickness; communicating with native speakers

I had to go to housing services several times to

check my accommodation (#40) Living in the University accommodation was a

problem (#232) Computer problems seem to happen quite

frequently in the university (#6) Apart from class, many people tended to use

their own language, nasty (#165) Sometimes I can’t understand what people say

off campus (#246)

Changes in attitudes and

practiceExamples can be found from a wide variety of sources, from C18th historians to C21st independent management consultants, of change being viewed of as a potentially negative force incurring resistance, concern and even fear:

It’s because many of us fear the unknown. We are afraid that the proposed change may involve loss. We may lose power, prestige, or position. We may fear loss of our ability to perform our assigned tasks. We may fear losing our place in the group, as an accepted member of the community of our fellows. When we perceive this potential loss, maybe even loss of our job itself, we feel threatened. It is this threatening change that we fear.

(Howardell, 2001: 1)

Change, however, may also be regarded as a positive force:

Change always comes bearing gifts

(Pritchett, 1994: 10)

More frequently there are those that see change as being both positive and negative:

Change is painful, yet ever needful

(Thomas Carlyle, 1795 - 1881)

The world hates change, yet it is the one thing that has brought progress.

(Charles F. Kettering, 1876 - 1958)

What is change? Something from the original situation being altered:

Change is to be different from the original (#1)

It means that one thing becomes another thing (#52)

Positive aspects: Change is wonderful (#62) Change is a beneficial thing (#87)Negative: Change is a difficult processBoth: Sometimes is good. Sometimes bad (#61) Change is both a good thing and a bad thing.

It can improve and destroy (#244)

Principles of change

Principle 1: Change involves the statement of an aim

Principle 2: Change is problem-solvingPrinciple 3: Change is client-user focusedPrinciple 4: Change involves a variety of

actorsPrinciple 5: Change is part of a complex

systemPrinciple 6: Change is part of a social and

economic contextPrinciple 7: Change is part of a personal

context, evokes a variety of emotions and involves attitudes and beliefs

Principle 8: Change is a process and involves training, practice and time.

What is change?

A process Complex Involves attitudes

Change is a process of adjusting yourself (#51)

To change your culture or attitudes to cope with a new environment (#117)

Change is the kind of thing that makes you feel different, maybe the way of life or the attitude to the outside world (#152)

Changes in attitudes and practice

In what ways do you think you’ll change living and studying in the UK?

Personal: acclimatisation, adaptation to a ‘new environment’ (#26), living conditions, food, attitudes to British way of life, more independent, confident, flexible and open-minded Professional: attitudes towards types of learning, ELT methodologies and materials Get used to life in the UK (#14) Adapt to habits in terms of eating and communication (#50) The way of thinking and learning habits (#11)

Changes in attitudes and practice

Complex process Problem-solving Changes in attitudes towards the

British people and culture, other nationalities and aspects of language teaching and learning This course changed my mind

about English teaching (#4) I have changed the way I think

about other foreign students (#226)

I think I have become more flexible to change (#232)

Changes in attitudes and

practice

Changes in practice centred on learning styles, study methods and living conditions I was not used to talking and

exchanging my opinions during class, but now I can do that quite freely (#12)

I am more comfortable writing essays and arranging my time (#22)

At the beginning I have no confidence about my study. After the course I believe I can do better and better in my future (#17)

Recommendations

Affirm the status of the UK as a tolerant and relatively safe place for international students to live and study, but also give students a realistic and practical assessment of possible difficulties and risks.

Be sensitive to the importance that students place on housing and accommodation, especially in the early weeks of arrival.

Be aware of the need to provide computer access and sound IT facilities, particularly in the first few weeks of the programme.

Liaise closely with the range of support services available across the university with an emphasis on the help available to international students.

Develop an effective relationship with banking and other financial service providers, especially those on campus, to ensure that students can open accounts as early as possible.

Recommendations

Inform the students of the availability of East Asian food and suggest to campus-based retail outlets that they stock a wider variety of groceries from the Far East

Promote contact with native speakers of English, either from the university or from the local environment.

Encourage student engagement with the host social environment and provide opportunities for cultural acclimatisation either within the academic programme, or as an add-on component.

Be aware of the changing nature of the international student profile and undertake regular monitoring and fine tuning of course content

Be sensitive to changing student expectations and maintain a strong determination to provide a high quality level of service.

ConclusionBallard and Clanchy (1997: viii) state:Many of the difficulties international students experience in their study derive not from ‘poor English’ (though lack of language competence is in many cases a real problem), but from a clash of educational cultures.

In seeking to promote a better understanding of the expectations and concerns of international students embarking upon study at a UK university, this research has tended to emphasise the non-academic aspects of the student experience. In drawing attention to the students’ resilience as they embark upon what must seem to be a fairly daunting challenge, the study highlights those areas, which may be in need of attention, by us as course designers and by our parent institutions. From the perspective of international students, who are rational, intelligent and sensitive to the fact they are studying in another academic culture, it might be more accurate to refer to a difference of priorities. The vast majority of international postgraduates and undergraduates, complete their courses and return to their countries of origin with higher qualifications from UK universities. It is not necessary to view the students solely as customers, but if UK higher educational institutions are sensitive to the needs of their students, then they will be in a better position to provide a context for rewarding experiences. This will be of benefit to us all.

judith lamie & stephen issitt university of birmingham

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