Intercultural encounters: PR China students in Singapore

Abstract

There are more than a billion people learning English as a second language around the world, and the majority of those language learners are in China. However, so many go overseas to learn English that Chinese learners of English is probably the largest national group of language students in the world. This huge learner population of students of the English language has thus made phenomena such as those of study-abroad, sojourner and intercultural adjustment all the more important, and its implication for Singapore is also significant. The purpose of this research, therefore, investigates the adjustment of PR China students to life in Singapore. It attempts to elicit those factors that affect the study's 18 students and examines to what extent those factors promote and hinder their adjustment to the new environment. While most empirical studies of intercultural adjustment were conducted on students adjusting to host cultures that were very different to their own, this study looks at the adjustment of students whose culture shares more similarities than differences with the host country. This research of intercultural adjustment is therefore unique, especially when the complex of attitudes, beliefs and practices may reveal that adjustment can be problematic despite cultural and even ethnic similarities. It also attempts to relate to other studies where considerable research on the intercultural adjustment of students has already been done, and intends to link, where possible, to general and interaction adjustment domains that represent those factors that most confront student sojourners. Studies in the Asian region are also scrutinized for relevant and related areas that could directly inform this study. The findings show that the students found their adjustment to life in Singapore problematic, and that there are many physical aspects in the environment, ranging from food to the weather, that have affected their adjustment. Only a quarter of the students reported some adjustment but the rest found it difficult to adjust to those physical aspects.