The day Florida International University (FIU) notified me that the Global and Sociocultural Studies Program accepted me, I started planning my journey pursuing my doctoral degree. Full of expectations, I took an English conversation course while I fulfilled all travel requirements and paperwork. While more emails about registration, enrollment and financials came to my e-mail from Miami, I felt unique in this process. However, roughly one million people around the world were planning their first day at a college or a University in the US on 2014. According to the Institute of International Education in partnership with the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the number of international students enrolled in the US colleges and universities, in 2015/2016, was 1,043,839(1). Most of them come from Asian countries, mainly from China followed by India, some from Canada, and a few percentages come from Latin American countries. I assume that the first semester all that number of international students struggled in a similar to what I experienced.
Days before starting classes, the program invite the cohort to a greet meeting. A Haitian student and I were international students in the program. We enjoy the welcoming, and I successfully speak in English with classmates, professors and officers. But my first class was terrible. I could not understand almost 30% of the lecture. Less I could follow the discussions started by other students. Each time I tried to participate, I heard my accent and noticed my lack of vocabulary (mainly adjectives). Also, when the class ended, I have only 15 minutes to walk to my next class, which was located on the other side of the campus. The first week I finished totally exhausted. A tornado of questions arose to my mind: Will I success in grad school? Is my level of English enough? Why I do not understand 100% professor’s lecture, questions and instructions? Why do students argue against the Professor’s argument in a not appropriate manner? Why I do not understand the discussion? What is the difference between a lecture, a seminar or a methods course? Why is it permitted to eat during classes? Where can I buy my traditional breakfast? I talked with my Haitian classmate. He was struggling with the same tornado! Being grad students of a multidisciplinary program in sociocultural studies, we realised two main issues around our situation: Language and Culture in a liberal academic environment.
The Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL)(2) is a core requirement to be accepted in the US post-secondary education system. Without fulfilling TOEFL, an international student cannot be accepted in an undergraduate program. This test in addition to the Graduate Record Examination Test (GRE)(3), are requirements complete the admission process when an international student applies for a Masters o Doctoral Degree in most of the American universities. Indeed, both standardised tests measure English language ability of non-native speakers in different ways. However, studies of international students identify the difficulty in coping with academic English and conversation skills. The challenges are felt especially about speaking and writing. Overall, schools of English as foreign language focus on grammar rather than on communicative competence explained Erlenawati Sawir in his article about language difficulties of international students (4). Most universities in the US offer support in writing. Particularly, FIU has an English Writing Center. It has a valuable online platform with guidance and helps support, such as videos and links. In the office, some graduate students from the school of language volunteer to review other students’ writing. Although the organisation this office has, my struggle was to find an available shift. The schedule is permanently full. I had to wait three weeks for someone to review my essay. But the due date of my article was one week before. I smartly make appointments to midterm and finals. But, I found a lot of students were as smart as I thought. The slots were almost full. Also, the writing centre at FIU offers a time for conversation. The “conversation circles” helped me a lot. I felt more self-confidence with my English conversation abilities. However, the time for practising conversation was shared with some other non-native speakers international students. The instructor lost much time by each student. I looked for alternatives to practice my English. Friends are another good way to practice the language. But, the liberal academic system of the US does not facilitate friendship. All students are running for getting the classrooms, and are stressed by the due dates. The time I chatted with my cohort out of a classroom environment, they started to speak in Spanish, a characteristic in Miami.
Among several US Universities I applied, I chose FIU by its location. It is in Miami, a city known worldwide for its Latin American influence. During my planning time in Ecuador, I thought the cultural shock would be less than attending to northern universities. But I was quiet far from what I will experience. One day in FIU campus, I crossed by a cafeteria, and I saw a signal announcing “pastelito” – in Ecuador, a “pastelito” is a baked or fried pastry turnover filled with a salty savoury. I enthusiastically bought it imagining the salty flavour of a beef “pastelito”. Quite the contrary, it tasted sweet. In Miami, the “pastelito” has a Cuban influence, and it is filled with guava rather than beef, chicken or cheese. By my second year at grad school, I overcame those “meal” issues. That year, in my Sociological Theory course, I met a kind Turkish new graduate student. She had no struggle with language because she lived three years in Australia. However, her face shows the same stress my face showed the year before. Her anxiety was not by the language; she had big cultural crashes. Not only the beautiful as well as meaningful headscarves she wore every day made her feel uncomfortable. We both agree that the shock in class is tremendous. The most surprising for us was seeing some students, and some occasions my professors, eating during classes. We wondered how they discuss a topic while eating; moreover, without noticing how disgusting were some aromas or the noise produced when opening snacks bags. One day, it started to sound a fire alarm. While Vasfiye, the Turkish student, and I were alarmed, other students were waiting to react. We, as international students, were not familiar with disasters prevention routines. Finally, the professor told the group to leave the building. Vasfiye and I thought we were in a movie while running down by the stairs.
The Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL)(2) is a core requirement to be accepted in the US post-secondary education system. Without fulfilling TOEFL, an international student cannot be accepted in an undergraduate program. This test in addition to the Graduate Record Examination Test (GRE)(3), are requirements complete the admission process when an international student applies for a Masters o Doctoral Degree in most of the American universities. Indeed, both standardised tests measure English language ability of non-native speakers in different ways. However, studies of international students identify the difficulty in coping with academic English and conversation skills. The challenges are felt especially about speaking and writing. Overall, schools of English as foreign language focus on grammar rather than on communicative competence explained Erlenawati Sawir in his article about language difficulties of international students (4). Most universities in the US offer support in writing. Particularly, FIU has an English Writing Center. It has a valuable online platform with guidance and helps support, such as videos and links. In the office, some graduate students from the school of language volunteer to review other students’ writing. Although the organisation this office has, my struggle was to find an available shift. The schedule is permanently full. I had to wait three weeks for someone to review my essay. But the due date of my article was one week before. I smartly make appointments to midterm and finals. But, I found a lot of students were as smart as I thought. The slots were almost full. Also, the writing centre at FIU offers a time for conversation. The “conversation circles” helped me a lot. I felt more self-confidence with my English conversation abilities. However, the time for practising conversation was shared with some other non-native speakers international students. The instructor lost much time by each student. I looked for alternatives to practice my English. Friends are another good way to practice the language. But, the liberal academic system of the US does not facilitate friendship. All students are running for getting the classrooms, and are stressed by the due dates. The time I chatted with my cohort out of a classroom environment, they started to speak in Spanish, a characteristic in Miami.
Among several US Universities I applied, I chose FIU by its location. It is in Miami, a city known worldwide for its Latin American influence. During my planning time in Ecuador, I thought the cultural shock would be less than attending to northern universities. But I was quiet far from what I will experience. One day in FIU campus, I crossed by a cafeteria, and I saw a signal announcing “pastelito” – in Ecuador, a “pastelito” is a baked or fried pastry turnover filled with a salty savoury. I enthusiastically bought it imagining the salty flavour of a beef “pastelito”. Quite the contrary, it tasted sweet. In Miami, the “pastelito” has a Cuban influence, and it is filled with guava rather than beef, chicken or cheese. By my second year at grad school, I overcame those “meal” issues. That year, in my Sociological Theory course, I met a kind Turkish new graduate student. She had no struggle with language because she lived three years in Australia. However, her face shows the same stress my face showed the year before. Her anxiety was not by the language; she had big cultural crashes. Not only the beautiful as well as meaningful headscarves she wore every day made her feel uncomfortable. We both agree that the shock in class is tremendous. The most surprising for us was seeing some students, and some occasions my professors, eating during classes. We wondered how they discuss a topic while eating; moreover, without noticing how disgusting were some aromas or the noise produced when opening snacks bags. One day, it started to sound a fire alarm. While Vasfiye, the Turkish student, and I were alarmed, other students were waiting to react. We, as international students, were not familiar with disasters prevention routines. Finally, the professor told the group to leave the building. Vasfiye and I thought we were in a movie while running down by the stairs.
Now, Vasfiye and I welcome new international graduate students at the Program. We identify those stressed faces and share with them our previous experiences as international students. First, we introduce them the link 27 Struggles Every International Student At An American College Knows Too Well, a Buzzfeed post that in a funny manner explains some familiar situations. We facilitate their first-year path by giving them tips on how to improve English conversation and writing. We highly recommend to making appointments in the Writing Center webpage in advance. We show some cafeterias and restaurants in Miami according to their country of origin or custom. And we talk with them about class behaviour. C. Wright Mills(5) in 1959 wrote: “ trouble is a private matter” but are “public issues of a social structure.” In my program, my Haitian and Turkish friends and I - coming from Latin America - had similar struggles being international students in Miami. Can you imagine more than one million people feeling similarly?
1254 words.
(1) Institute of International Education n http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data
(2) TOEFL is a registered trade mark. Webpage https://www.ets.org/toefl
(3) GRE is a registered trade mark. Webpage https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about
(4) Sawir, E. (2005) Language difficulties of international students in Australia: The effects of prior learning experience. In International Education Journal V 6(5), 567-580.
(5) Wright Mills, C., (1959). Chapter One: The Promise. In The Sociological Imagination. Oxford: Oxford University Press
1254 words.
(1) Institute of International Education n http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data
(2) TOEFL is a registered trade mark. Webpage https://www.ets.org/toefl
(3) GRE is a registered trade mark. Webpage https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about
(4) Sawir, E. (2005) Language difficulties of international students in Australia: The effects of prior learning experience. In International Education Journal V 6(5), 567-580.
(5) Wright Mills, C., (1959). Chapter One: The Promise. In The Sociological Imagination. Oxford: Oxford University Press
REVIEWED DRAFT
International Students struggles in U.S. Universities
The day Florida International University (FIU) notified me that the Global and Sociocultural Studies Program accepted my application I started planning my journey pursuing my doctoral degree. My days teaching at an Ecuadorian University were postponed and I became an international graduate student in Miami.
Days before starting classes, the program invite the cohort to a greet meeting. A Haitian student, and I were international students in the program. We enjoy the welcoming, and I successfully speak in English with classmates, professors and officers. But my first class was terrible! I could not understand almost 30% of the lecture. I was not able to follow some discussions brought into account by other students. Each time I tried to participate, my accent and my lack of vocabulary (mainly adjectives) denied my confidence in expressing my thoughts correctly. The first week I finished totally exhausted. A tornado of questions arose to my mind: Will I success in grad school? Is my level of English enough? Why I do not understand 100% professor’s lecture, questions and instructions? Why do students argue against the Professor’s argument in a not appropriate manner? Why I do not understand the discussion? What is the difference between a lecture, a seminar or a methods course? Why is it permitted to eat during classes? Where can I buy my traditional breakfast? I talked with Jean, my Haitian classmate. He was struggling with the same tornado!
The Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL)(1) is a core requirement to be accepted in the US post-secondary education system. Without fulfilling TOEFL, an international student cannot be accepted in an undergraduate program. This test in addition to the Graduate Record Examination Test (GRE)(2), are requirements complete the admission process when an international student applies for a Masters o Doctoral Degree in most of the American universities. Indeed, both standardised tests measure English language ability of non-native speakers in different ways. However, studies of international students identify the difficulty in coping with academic English and conversation skills. The challenges are felt especially about speaking and writing. Overall, schools of English as foreign language focus on grammar rather than on communicative competence explained Erlenawati Sawir in his article about language difficulties of international students (3). Most universities in the US offer support in writing. Particularly, FIU has an English Writing Center. It has a valuable online platform with guidance and helps support, such as videos and links. In the office, some graduate students from the school of language volunteer to review other students’ writing. Although the organisation this office has, my struggle was to find an available shift. The schedule is permanently full. I had to wait three weeks for someone to review my essay. But the due date of my article was one week before. I smartly make appointments to midterm and finals. But, I found a lot of students were as smart as I thought. The slots were almost full. Also, the writing centre at FIU offers a time for conversation. The “conversation circles” helped me a lot. I felt more self-confidence with my English conversation abilities. However, the time for practising conversation was shared with some other non-native speakers international students. The instructor lost much time by each student. I looked for alternatives to practice my English. Friends are another good way to practice the language. But, the liberal academic system of the US does not facilitate friendship. All students are running for getting the classrooms, while they are stressed by the due dates. The time I chatted with my cohort out of a classroom environment, they started to speak in Spanish, a characteristic in Miami.
Among several US Universities I applied, I chose FIU by its location. It is in Miami, a city known worldwide for its Latin American influence. During my planning time in Ecuador, I thought the cultural shock would be less than attending to northern universities. But I was quiet far from what I will experience. One day, at FIU campus, I crossed by a cafeteria, and I saw a ad announcing “pastelito.” In Ecuador, a “pastelito” is a baked or fried pastry turnover filled with a salty savoury. I enthusiastically bought it imagining the salty flavour of a beef “pastelito”. Quite the contrary, it tasted sweet. In Miami, the “pastelito” has a Cuban influence, and it is filled with guava rather than beef, chicken or cheese. By my second year at grad school, I overcame those “meal” issues. That year, in my Sociological Theory course, I met a kind Turkish new graduate student. She had no struggle with language because she lived three years in Australia. However, her face shows the same stress my face showed the year before. Her anxiety was not by the language; she had big cultural crashes. Not only the beautiful as well as meaningful headscarves she wore every day made her feel uncomfortable. We both agree that the shock in class is tremendous. The most surprising for us was seeing some students, and some occasions my professors, eating during classes. We wondered how they discuss a topic while eating; moreover, without noticing how disgusting were some aromas or the noise produced when opening snacks bags. One day, it started to sound a fire alarm. While Vasfiye, the Turkish student, and I were alarmed, other students were waiting to react. We, as international students, were not familiar with disasters prevention routines. Finally, the professor told the group to leave the building. Vasfiye and I thought we were in a movie while running down by the stairs.
Responding to those language and cultural shocks we overcame, Jean, Vasfiye and I welcome new international graduate students. We identify those stressed faces and share with them our previous experiences as international students. First, we introduce them the link 27 Struggles Every International Student At An American College Knows Too Well, a Buzzfeed post that in a funny manner explains some familiar situations. We facilitate their first-year path by giving them tips on how to improve English conversation and writing. We highly recommend to making appointments in the Writing Center webpage in advance. We show some cafeterias and restaurants in Miami according to their country of origin or custom. An this is an endless chain: each new international student becomes a new host for next academic year.
Now I am more sensitive. With this experience I reflect that troubles is a private matter but they are public issues of a social structure(5). I assume that, every year, roughly a million of international students struggle likewise I did(4). I will return to my country with my Ph. D. Degree, but this experience left a footprint in my scholar career. I will be aware about what struggles students confront while pursuing a diploma and I will try to be a link between them and the university.
1161 words.
(1) TOEFL is a registered trade mark. Webpage https://www.ets.org/toefl
(2) GRE is a registered trade mark. Webpage https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about
(3) Sawir, E. (2005) Language difficulties of international students in Australia: The effects of prior learning experience. In International Education Journal V 6(5), 567-580.
(4) Institute of International Education n http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data
(5) Wright Mills, C., (1959). Chapter One: The Promise. In The Sociological Imagination. Oxford: Oxford University Press
International Students struggles in U.S. Universities
The day Florida International University (FIU) notified me that the Global and Sociocultural Studies Program accepted my application I started planning my journey pursuing my doctoral degree. My days teaching at an Ecuadorian University were postponed and I became an international graduate student in Miami.
Days before starting classes, the program invite the cohort to a greet meeting. A Haitian student, and I were international students in the program. We enjoy the welcoming, and I successfully speak in English with classmates, professors and officers. But my first class was terrible! I could not understand almost 30% of the lecture. I was not able to follow some discussions brought into account by other students. Each time I tried to participate, my accent and my lack of vocabulary (mainly adjectives) denied my confidence in expressing my thoughts correctly. The first week I finished totally exhausted. A tornado of questions arose to my mind: Will I success in grad school? Is my level of English enough? Why I do not understand 100% professor’s lecture, questions and instructions? Why do students argue against the Professor’s argument in a not appropriate manner? Why I do not understand the discussion? What is the difference between a lecture, a seminar or a methods course? Why is it permitted to eat during classes? Where can I buy my traditional breakfast? I talked with Jean, my Haitian classmate. He was struggling with the same tornado!
The Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL)(1) is a core requirement to be accepted in the US post-secondary education system. Without fulfilling TOEFL, an international student cannot be accepted in an undergraduate program. This test in addition to the Graduate Record Examination Test (GRE)(2), are requirements complete the admission process when an international student applies for a Masters o Doctoral Degree in most of the American universities. Indeed, both standardised tests measure English language ability of non-native speakers in different ways. However, studies of international students identify the difficulty in coping with academic English and conversation skills. The challenges are felt especially about speaking and writing. Overall, schools of English as foreign language focus on grammar rather than on communicative competence explained Erlenawati Sawir in his article about language difficulties of international students (3). Most universities in the US offer support in writing. Particularly, FIU has an English Writing Center. It has a valuable online platform with guidance and helps support, such as videos and links. In the office, some graduate students from the school of language volunteer to review other students’ writing. Although the organisation this office has, my struggle was to find an available shift. The schedule is permanently full. I had to wait three weeks for someone to review my essay. But the due date of my article was one week before. I smartly make appointments to midterm and finals. But, I found a lot of students were as smart as I thought. The slots were almost full. Also, the writing centre at FIU offers a time for conversation. The “conversation circles” helped me a lot. I felt more self-confidence with my English conversation abilities. However, the time for practising conversation was shared with some other non-native speakers international students. The instructor lost much time by each student. I looked for alternatives to practice my English. Friends are another good way to practice the language. But, the liberal academic system of the US does not facilitate friendship. All students are running for getting the classrooms, while they are stressed by the due dates. The time I chatted with my cohort out of a classroom environment, they started to speak in Spanish, a characteristic in Miami.
Among several US Universities I applied, I chose FIU by its location. It is in Miami, a city known worldwide for its Latin American influence. During my planning time in Ecuador, I thought the cultural shock would be less than attending to northern universities. But I was quiet far from what I will experience. One day, at FIU campus, I crossed by a cafeteria, and I saw a ad announcing “pastelito.” In Ecuador, a “pastelito” is a baked or fried pastry turnover filled with a salty savoury. I enthusiastically bought it imagining the salty flavour of a beef “pastelito”. Quite the contrary, it tasted sweet. In Miami, the “pastelito” has a Cuban influence, and it is filled with guava rather than beef, chicken or cheese. By my second year at grad school, I overcame those “meal” issues. That year, in my Sociological Theory course, I met a kind Turkish new graduate student. She had no struggle with language because she lived three years in Australia. However, her face shows the same stress my face showed the year before. Her anxiety was not by the language; she had big cultural crashes. Not only the beautiful as well as meaningful headscarves she wore every day made her feel uncomfortable. We both agree that the shock in class is tremendous. The most surprising for us was seeing some students, and some occasions my professors, eating during classes. We wondered how they discuss a topic while eating; moreover, without noticing how disgusting were some aromas or the noise produced when opening snacks bags. One day, it started to sound a fire alarm. While Vasfiye, the Turkish student, and I were alarmed, other students were waiting to react. We, as international students, were not familiar with disasters prevention routines. Finally, the professor told the group to leave the building. Vasfiye and I thought we were in a movie while running down by the stairs.
Responding to those language and cultural shocks we overcame, Jean, Vasfiye and I welcome new international graduate students. We identify those stressed faces and share with them our previous experiences as international students. First, we introduce them the link 27 Struggles Every International Student At An American College Knows Too Well, a Buzzfeed post that in a funny manner explains some familiar situations. We facilitate their first-year path by giving them tips on how to improve English conversation and writing. We highly recommend to making appointments in the Writing Center webpage in advance. We show some cafeterias and restaurants in Miami according to their country of origin or custom. An this is an endless chain: each new international student becomes a new host for next academic year.
Now I am more sensitive. With this experience I reflect that troubles is a private matter but they are public issues of a social structure(5). I assume that, every year, roughly a million of international students struggle likewise I did(4). I will return to my country with my Ph. D. Degree, but this experience left a footprint in my scholar career. I will be aware about what struggles students confront while pursuing a diploma and I will try to be a link between them and the university.
1161 words.
(1) TOEFL is a registered trade mark. Webpage https://www.ets.org/toefl
(2) GRE is a registered trade mark. Webpage https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about
(3) Sawir, E. (2005) Language difficulties of international students in Australia: The effects of prior learning experience. In International Education Journal V 6(5), 567-580.
(4) Institute of International Education n http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data
(5) Wright Mills, C., (1959). Chapter One: The Promise. In The Sociological Imagination. Oxford: Oxford University Press
FINAL DRAFT
The day Florida International University (FIU) notified me the Global and Sociocultural Studies Program accepted my application I started planning my journey pursuing my doctoral degree. My days teaching at an Ecuadorian University were postponed while I became an international graduate student in Miami. Since then I have not only advanced as a social scientist, rather I have a better understanding of students’ experiences pursuing a post-secondary diploma.
Days before starting classes on Fall 2014, the program invited the cohort to a greet meeting. A Haitian student and I were international students in the program. We enjoyed the welcoming, and I successfully spoke in English with classmates, professors and officers. But my first class was terrible! I could not understand almost 30% of the lecture. I was not able to follow some discussions brought into account by other students. Each time I tried to participate, my accent and my lack of vocabulary (mainly adjectives) diminished my confidence to expressing my thoughts correctly. The first week I finished totally exhausted. A tornado of questions arose to my mind: Will I success in grad school? Is my level of English enough? Why I do not understand 100% professor’s lecture, questions and instructions? Why do students argue against the Professor’s argument in a not appropriate manner? Why I do not understand the discussion? What is the difference between a lecture, a seminar or a methods course? Why is it permitted to eat during classes? Where can I buy my traditional breakfast? One day, I talked with Jean, my Haitian classmate. I was surprised knowing that he was struggling with a similar tornado. Although we passed the admission tests, we were overwhelmed with the language.
The Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL)(1) is a core requirement to be accepted in the US post-secondary education system. Without fulfilling TOEFL, an international student cannot be accepted in an undergraduate program. This test in addition to the Graduate Record Examination Test (GRE)(2), are requirements complete the admission process when an international student applies for a Masters o Doctoral Degree in most of the American universities. Indeed, both standardised tests measure English language ability of non-native speakers in different ways. However, studies of international students identify the difficulty in coping with academic English and conversation skills. The challenges are felt especially about speaking and writing. Overall, schools of English as foreign language focus on grammar rather than on communicative competence explained Erlenawati Sawir in his article about language difficulties of international students (3). Most universities in the US offer support in writing. Particularly, FIU has an English Writing Center. It has a valuable online platform with guidance and helps support, such as videos and links. In the office, some graduate students from the school of language volunteer to review other students’ writing. Although the organisation this office has, my struggle was to find an available shift. The schedule is permanently busy. I waited three weeks for someone to review my essay. But the due date of my article was one week before. After that, I smartly make appointments to midterm and finals. But, the shifts were almost full. The writing centre at FIU offers, in addition, a time for improving conversation skills. The “conversation circles” helped me a lot. I felt more self-confidence with my English conversation abilities. However, the time for practising conversation was shared with some other non-native English speakers students. Then, the instructor lost much time by each student. I looked for alternatives to practice my English. Friends are another good way to practice the language. But, the liberal academic system of the US does not facilitate friendship. All students are running for getting the classrooms, while they are stressed by the due dates. The time I chatted with my cohort out of a classroom environment, they started to speak in Spanish, a characteristic in Miami.
Among several US Universities I applied, I chose FIU by its location. It is in Miami, a city known worldwide for its Latin American influence. During my planning time in Ecuador, I thought the cultural shock would be less than attending to northern U.S. universities. But I was quiet far from what I will experience. One day, at FIU campus, I crossed by a cafeteria, and I saw an ad announcing “pastelito.” In Ecuador, a “pastelito” is a baked or fried pastry turnover filled with a salty savoury. I enthusiastically bought it imagining the salty flavour of a beef “pastelito”. Quite the contrary, it tasted sweet. In Miami, the “pastelito” has a Cuban influence, and it is filled with guava rather than beef, chicken or cheese. By my second year at grad school, I overcame those “meal” issues. That year, in my Sociological Theory course, I met a kind Turkish new graduate student. Although she had no struggle with language because she lived three years in Australia, her face showed the same stress than mine during first semester. Her anxiety was not by the language but she had big cultural crashes. Not only the beautiful as well as meaningful headscarves she wore every day made her feel uncomfortable in a Western society. In our chats, We agreed about the terrible shock in classes. The most surprising one was seeing some students, and sometimes professors, eating during classes. We wondered how can they discuss a topic while eating; moreover, without noticing how disgusting were some aromas or the noise produced when opening snacks bags. In other ocassion, it started to sound a fire alarm. While Vasfiye and I were alarmed by the sound, other students were waiting to react. We, as international students, were not familiar with disasters prevention routines. After that, Vasfiye and I thought we were in a movie while running down by the stairs. Absolutely, we had different approaches to cultural habits.
Responding to those language and cultural shocks we overcame, Jean, Vasfiye and I welcome new international graduate students. We identify those stressed faces and share with them our previous experiences as international students. First, we introduce them the link 27 Struggles Every International Student At An American College Knows Too Well, a Buzzfeed post that in a funny manner explains some familiar situations. We facilitate their first-year path by giving them tips on how to improve English conversation and writing. We highly recommend to making appointments in the Writing Center webpage in advance. We show some cafeterias and restaurants in Miami according to their country of origin or custom. We are glad to know that this is an endless chain: each new international student becomes a new host next academic year. We become more sensitive confronting international students struggles.
This experience made me to reflect on a reading from the book The Sociological Imagination, written on 1959 by Charles Wright Mills. In the first chapter, titled The Promise, he discusses how a trouble, as a private matter, is really a public issue of a social structure (5). Thus, I assume that every year roughly a million of international students struggle likewise I did (4). Many professors may not be aware about the overwhelming experiences those international students confront during first semester. When I come back to my country Ph. D. Degree I will continue teaching, but, I promise being aware about what struggles students confront while pursuing a diploma and I will try to be a link between them and the university.
1228 words.
(4) Institute of International Education n http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data
(1) TOEFL is a registered trade mark. Webpage https://www.ets.org/toefl
(2) GRE is a registered trade mark. Webpage https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about
(3) Sawir, E. (2005) Language difficulties of international students in Australia: The effects of prior learning experience. In International Education Journal V 6(5), 567-580.
(4) Institute of International Education n http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data
(5) Wright Mills, C., (1959). Chapter One: The Promise. In The Sociological Imagination. Oxford: Oxford University Press
The day Florida International University (FIU) notified me the Global and Sociocultural Studies Program accepted my application I started planning my journey pursuing my doctoral degree. My days teaching at an Ecuadorian University were postponed while I became an international graduate student in Miami. Since then I have not only advanced as a social scientist, rather I have a better understanding of students’ experiences pursuing a post-secondary diploma.
Days before starting classes on Fall 2014, the program invited the cohort to a greet meeting. A Haitian student and I were international students in the program. We enjoyed the welcoming, and I successfully spoke in English with classmates, professors and officers. But my first class was terrible! I could not understand almost 30% of the lecture. I was not able to follow some discussions brought into account by other students. Each time I tried to participate, my accent and my lack of vocabulary (mainly adjectives) diminished my confidence to expressing my thoughts correctly. The first week I finished totally exhausted. A tornado of questions arose to my mind: Will I success in grad school? Is my level of English enough? Why I do not understand 100% professor’s lecture, questions and instructions? Why do students argue against the Professor’s argument in a not appropriate manner? Why I do not understand the discussion? What is the difference between a lecture, a seminar or a methods course? Why is it permitted to eat during classes? Where can I buy my traditional breakfast? One day, I talked with Jean, my Haitian classmate. I was surprised knowing that he was struggling with a similar tornado. Although we passed the admission tests, we were overwhelmed with the language.
The Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL)(1) is a core requirement to be accepted in the US post-secondary education system. Without fulfilling TOEFL, an international student cannot be accepted in an undergraduate program. This test in addition to the Graduate Record Examination Test (GRE)(2), are requirements complete the admission process when an international student applies for a Masters o Doctoral Degree in most of the American universities. Indeed, both standardised tests measure English language ability of non-native speakers in different ways. However, studies of international students identify the difficulty in coping with academic English and conversation skills. The challenges are felt especially about speaking and writing. Overall, schools of English as foreign language focus on grammar rather than on communicative competence explained Erlenawati Sawir in his article about language difficulties of international students (3). Most universities in the US offer support in writing. Particularly, FIU has an English Writing Center. It has a valuable online platform with guidance and helps support, such as videos and links. In the office, some graduate students from the school of language volunteer to review other students’ writing. Although the organisation this office has, my struggle was to find an available shift. The schedule is permanently busy. I waited three weeks for someone to review my essay. But the due date of my article was one week before. After that, I smartly make appointments to midterm and finals. But, the shifts were almost full. The writing centre at FIU offers, in addition, a time for improving conversation skills. The “conversation circles” helped me a lot. I felt more self-confidence with my English conversation abilities. However, the time for practising conversation was shared with some other non-native English speakers students. Then, the instructor lost much time by each student. I looked for alternatives to practice my English. Friends are another good way to practice the language. But, the liberal academic system of the US does not facilitate friendship. All students are running for getting the classrooms, while they are stressed by the due dates. The time I chatted with my cohort out of a classroom environment, they started to speak in Spanish, a characteristic in Miami.
Among several US Universities I applied, I chose FIU by its location. It is in Miami, a city known worldwide for its Latin American influence. During my planning time in Ecuador, I thought the cultural shock would be less than attending to northern U.S. universities. But I was quiet far from what I will experience. One day, at FIU campus, I crossed by a cafeteria, and I saw an ad announcing “pastelito.” In Ecuador, a “pastelito” is a baked or fried pastry turnover filled with a salty savoury. I enthusiastically bought it imagining the salty flavour of a beef “pastelito”. Quite the contrary, it tasted sweet. In Miami, the “pastelito” has a Cuban influence, and it is filled with guava rather than beef, chicken or cheese. By my second year at grad school, I overcame those “meal” issues. That year, in my Sociological Theory course, I met a kind Turkish new graduate student. Although she had no struggle with language because she lived three years in Australia, her face showed the same stress than mine during first semester. Her anxiety was not by the language but she had big cultural crashes. Not only the beautiful as well as meaningful headscarves she wore every day made her feel uncomfortable in a Western society. In our chats, We agreed about the terrible shock in classes. The most surprising one was seeing some students, and sometimes professors, eating during classes. We wondered how can they discuss a topic while eating; moreover, without noticing how disgusting were some aromas or the noise produced when opening snacks bags. In other ocassion, it started to sound a fire alarm. While Vasfiye and I were alarmed by the sound, other students were waiting to react. We, as international students, were not familiar with disasters prevention routines. After that, Vasfiye and I thought we were in a movie while running down by the stairs. Absolutely, we had different approaches to cultural habits.
Responding to those language and cultural shocks we overcame, Jean, Vasfiye and I welcome new international graduate students. We identify those stressed faces and share with them our previous experiences as international students. First, we introduce them the link 27 Struggles Every International Student At An American College Knows Too Well, a Buzzfeed post that in a funny manner explains some familiar situations. We facilitate their first-year path by giving them tips on how to improve English conversation and writing. We highly recommend to making appointments in the Writing Center webpage in advance. We show some cafeterias and restaurants in Miami according to their country of origin or custom. We are glad to know that this is an endless chain: each new international student becomes a new host next academic year. We become more sensitive confronting international students struggles.
This experience made me to reflect on a reading from the book The Sociological Imagination, written on 1959 by Charles Wright Mills. In the first chapter, titled The Promise, he discusses how a trouble, as a private matter, is really a public issue of a social structure (5). Thus, I assume that every year roughly a million of international students struggle likewise I did (4). Many professors may not be aware about the overwhelming experiences those international students confront during first semester. When I come back to my country Ph. D. Degree I will continue teaching, but, I promise being aware about what struggles students confront while pursuing a diploma and I will try to be a link between them and the university.
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(4) Institute of International Education n http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data
(1) TOEFL is a registered trade mark. Webpage https://www.ets.org/toefl
(2) GRE is a registered trade mark. Webpage https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about
(3) Sawir, E. (2005) Language difficulties of international students in Australia: The effects of prior learning experience. In International Education Journal V 6(5), 567-580.
(4) Institute of International Education n http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data
(5) Wright Mills, C., (1959). Chapter One: The Promise. In The Sociological Imagination. Oxford: Oxford University Press