The social and cultural life of non-native English speaking international graduate students at a Canadian university

Abstract It is generally believed that international graduate students have difficulties adapting to a wide range of social and academic situations within the university community. This paper reports on an interview study that addresses the social and cultural life of 12 non-native English speaking (NNES) international graduate students in the following four aspects: (1) relationships with supervisors and instructors; (2) experiences as teaching assistants; (3) communication with colleagues and friends; and (4) social life. Results are illustrated with the students' own words. The findings indicate that student experiences are varied and the adaptation process depends on both internal and external factors. Many of the students we interviewed seemed very well adapted to the university life despite the fact that they had not made an intentional effort to contact native English speaking (NES) students. These students seemed to have learned about the host culture mostly through a network of students with similar cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Implications of the findings for effective communication in intercultural interactions among NNES and NES students, faculty and staff, and future research on intercultural adaptation are discussed.

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