Multifaceted Problems of Intercultural Adaptation: A Case Study of Chinese Students in Ukraine

Abstract

The paper is aimed to indicate the multifaceted problems that international students, in particular, those who belong to non-European intellectual traditions, meet at Sumy National Agrarian University, Ukraine. The authors examined the scientific works concerning Chinese students’ intercultural adaptation experience in foreign universities. It was found out that successful intercultural adaptation process depends on effective interpersonal communication, which improves language proficiency, motivation, and promotes students’ interaction with representatives of foreign cultures. Interviews and questionnaires with the international students were compiled and processed to determine the main problems of adaptation from physiological, socio-psychological, socio-cultural, academic points of view. The data for the survey was collected through observation over the participants, focusing on students’ ability to keep the norms and rules of behaviour in Ukraine; ability to establish and maintain ties with the representatives of other cultures; ability to overcome intercultural tension in the process of communication. Thus, it has been concluded that intercultural adaptation can be successful only in the process of psychological, social, and cultural accommodation of international students, which can be gained with the following strategies: social facilitation, cultural awareness, psychological and pedagogical support, effective organization of interpersonal communication of students in the academic group, dormitories, communication with lecturers both at classes and outside the university.