\ufeffAdjustment of International Students\u2019 Social Relationships in Australia<\/p>\n
Submitted to: Mr Sami Wilson<\/p>\n
President<\/p>\n
Corporate Social Responsibility<\/p>\n
Submitted by: Faisal Alqsaer<\/p>\n
Senior Partner<\/p>\n
Global Organisation of Students<\/p>\n
16 September 2011<\/p>\n
AbstractThis report observes the social relationship experiences of QUT international students in Australia, and identifies several factors that negatively affect the ability of international students to form meaningful social relationships while in Australia. Both primary and secondary sources were used in the production of this report. The primary information was collected through the use of a ten-question survey delivered to a targeted sample of twenty QUT international students, while secondary information was collected from library holdings and other credible resources. The results provide a valuable overview of participants\u2019 experiences of social relationship adjustments in Australia. Some recommendations for improving international students\u2019 social relationships, such as providing a friendly social environment, encouraging more contact between Australian students and international students, and some social activities, are discussed in the report.<\/p>\n
Table of content TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc303824326″Abstract2<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_Toc303824327″Table of content3<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_Toc303824328″List of figures4<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_Toc303824329″1Introduction5<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_Toc303824330″1.1 Background5<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_Toc303824331″1.2 Objectives5<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_Toc303824332″1.3 Method5<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_Toc303824333″1.4 Scope6<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_Toc303824334″2 Discussion6<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_Toc303824335″2.1 Sociability of QUT international students in Australian6<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_Toc303824336″2.2 QUTIC International students\u2019 friends7<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_Toc303824337″2.3 QUTIC International students\u2019 barriers to being sociable in Australia8<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_Toc303824338″2.4 Requirements in terms of social relationships9<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_Toc303824339″3Recommendations10<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_Toc303824340″Reference list11<\/p>\n
AHYPERLINK l “_Toc303824341″ppendix A: Completed Questionnaires12<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_Toc303824342″Appendix B: Tally sheets13<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_Toc303824343″Appendix C: Report Project: Part A14<\/p>\n
List of figures TOC h z c “Figure” HYPERLINK l “_Toc303823927″Figure 1: Assessments of international student\u2019s social relationships PAGEREF _Toc303823927 h 2<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_Toc303823928″Figure 2: Nationality of friends of QUTIC international students PAGEREF _Toc303823928 h 3<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_Toc303823929″Figure 3: Negative effects on international students’ social relationships PAGEREF _Toc303823929 h 4<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_Toc303823930″Figure 4: Important activities for social relationship development PAGEREF _Toc303823930 h 5<\/p>\n
IntroductionBackgroundCorporate Social Responsibility, (CSR) and Global Organization of Students, (GOS) are both involved in this report. The president of Corporate Social Responsibility, Mr Sami Wilson, has authorised the Global Organization of Students (GOS), a company that cares about international student\u2019s affairs, to do a report about QUT international students\u2019 social relationship adjustments in Australia. He has also produced numerous reports that advocate on their behalf. Indeed, the issue of international students\u2019 adjustment is very important because international education industry is becoming a major source of growth in the Australian economy. ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Heffernan<\/Author><Year>2005<\/Year><RecNum>3<\/RecNum><DisplayText>(Heffernan & Farrell, 2005)<\/DisplayText><record><rec-number>3<\/rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=”EN” db-id=”eaezz2f209rx94epz5gvfz5m5azp55wwd0wx”>3<\/key><\/foreign-keys><ref-type name=”Journal Article”>17<\/ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Troy Heffernan <\/author><author>Mark Farrell<\/author><\/authors><\/contributors><titles><title>The Impact of Culture on Early International Relationship Development in the Education Sector<\/title><secondary-title> Business And Economics–Marketing And Purchasing<\/secondary-title><\/titles><volume>4<\/volume><number>1<\/number><dates><year>2005<\/year><\/dates><work-type>Scholarly Journal<\/work-type><urls><\/urls><\/record><\/Cite><\/EndNote>( HYPERLINK l “_ENREF_1” o “Heffernan, 2005 #3” Heffernan & Farrell, 2005) state that the growing competition for international students has improved the marketing concentration of universities in Australia. Thus, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) aims to improve its business by achieving its goals by this report. In addition, QUT international students might provide a good sample about international students\u2019 social relationship adjustments in Australia. This report will be submitted to CSR on 16th September 2011.<\/p>\n
ObjectivesTo determine students\u2019 experiences of social relationship adjustments in Australia<\/p>\n
To examine how the campus social environment impacts QUT international students\u2019 social relationships in Australia<\/p>\n
To support CSR president Sami Wilson by providing some recommendations to improve QUT international students\u2019 social relationships in Australia.<\/p>\n
MethodData for this report was collected through the administration of a 10-question survey, which was comprised of dichotomous, multiple choice, scale, rank-order, mixed search, and open questions. An example of this survey can be seen in Appendix A. A targeted sample method was used to distribute the questionnaires to twenty QUT international students. It was distributed on 1st September 2011, in the P Block Residence of Kelvin Grove campus. The surveys were then collected and the information analysed. The findings are presented in graphs and tables.<\/p>\n
ScopeThe investigation constituted of two parts. First, the international students were asked about their experiences of social relationships in Australia. Secondly, the students were asked to discuss how the Australian social environment affects QUT international students. The primary research is based on the results of the aforementioned questionnaires, while secondary research was conducted through library databases and other credible sources. Some data was not included in the final report as the results were insignificant. However, this report has reliable restrictions in terms of the sample size and time but, the data collected is good enough for a number of key conclusions to be drawn.<\/p>\n
Discussion Sociability of QUT international students in Australian <\/p>\n
Figure SEQ Figure * ARABIC 1: Assessments of international student\u2019s social relationshipsDiscussion<\/p>\n
Figure 1 shows the quality of participants\u2019 social relationships in Australia. Most of the participants are satisfied with their social life in Australia. However, a minority of participants\u2019 social relationships need improvement, while others consider theirs to be poor.<\/p>\n
Conclusion <\/p>\n
These findings suggest that the wealth of cultural diversity and social sophistication that international students convey to Australian\u2019s universities and society are valued by Australian themselves. As a result, Australia appears to be a respectable social relationship environment for QUT international students.<\/p>\n
QUTIC International students\u2019 friends<\/p>\n
Figure SEQ Figure * ARABIC 2: Nationality of friends of QUTIC international studentsDiscussion<\/p>\n
Figure 2 shows the results collected in the survey with regard to where the friends of the participants came from. As seen above, the \u201cdifferent countries\u201d option was chosen by 50% of participants; the option of \u201csame as mine\u201d was chosen 35% while those of \u201cAustralia\u201d and \u201cNo friends\u201d are represented by 10% and 5% respectively.<\/p>\n
Conclusion<\/p>\n
From the results above, it is seen that most QUT international students seem to be social, despite their nationality. These results reflect positivity on the international students\u2019 social relationship adjustments in Australia. However, the majority of QUT international students appear to have some difficulty in socializing with Australians. This may suggest that intercultural communication might remain a challenge for international students. Obstacles to interaction between the host country and international students may include differing ideas of friendship among different cultures.<\/p>\n
QUTIC International students\u2019 barriers to being sociable in Australia<\/p>\n
Figure SEQ Figure * ARABIC 3: Negative effects on international students’ social relationshipsDiscussion<\/p>\n
Figure 3 shows the barriers in the Australian social environment that affect the participants. As seen in figure 3, language difficulties appear to be the most significant obstacle on participants\u2019 social relationships. However, being busy with the study is also another important factor that influences participants\u2019 relationships. Other factors are also significant but do not have a severe effect on participants\u2019 social relationships as the first two.<\/p>\n
Conclusion <\/p>\n
From these findings, it seems that language difficulties have an enormous effect on international students\u2019 relationships. Some QUT international students seem to feel isolated from the host culture because of their inability to speak English. According to, major effects on international student adjustment to the host culture include language skills and gender. In addition, state that lack of time plays an important part in hindering students from participating in social activities.<\/p>\n
Requirements in terms of social relationships <\/p>\n
Figure SEQ Figure * ARABIC 4: Important activities for social relationship developmentDiscussion<\/p>\n
Figure 4 represents requirements that participants need in order to participate in the social life, in Australia. Regular conversation with Australians is the most important requirement, while the least important is meeting with student welfare. The perceived value of other requirements was less clear.<\/p>\n
Conclusion<\/p>\n
The above findings indicate that QUT international students need to speak with Australian people so as to improve on their language skills, which could at the same time improve their social relationships in Australia. Barratt and Huba find that students understand that spoken language skills are the most beneficial tool for pursuing their interests and in constructing relationships with people in the host country. As a result, more interactive social events are needed, such as sports, interesting e-mailing events, and museum visits.<\/p>\n
RecommendationsBased on the results of this survey, GOS suggests the following recommendations to the president of CSR, Mr Sami Wilson, in order to improve QUT international students\u2019 social relationships:<\/p>\n
First, CSR should provide a friendly social environment in which participants can make friends and enhance interaction between Australian students and QUT international students. Despite the fact that most participants are satisfied with their social life in Australia, some of them are not satisfied. Most anxieties are indeed related to the environment of the community college campus, as well as to features of the students themselves.<\/p>\n
CSR should also provide extra language lessons for QUT international students because language difficulties are also a barrier to cross-cultural relationships as shown in Figure 3.<\/p>\n
The need for participants\u2019 social activities that help them to share their interests with others and make them more sociable is another recommendation to CSR, and it should provide social activities such as sports or museum visits.<\/p>\n
Reference List<\/p>\n
HYPERLINK l “_ENREF_1” o “Heffernan, 2005 #3” Heffernan T., & Farrell M., (2005). The Impact of Culture on Early International Relationship Development in the Education Centre: Business and Economics-Marketing and Purchasing,4. Retrieved on 14th September 2011 from Queensland University of Technology Course materials Database.<\/p>\n
Appendix A: Completed QuestionnairesAppendix B: Tally sheetsAppendix C: Report Project: Part AGlobal Organisation of Students <\/p>\n
22 Carraways Street<\/p>\n
BRISBANE 4059 <\/p>\n
(04) 2281-5307 Fax (07) 3333-2223 <\/p>\n
16 September 2011 <\/p>\n
Mr Sami Wilson <\/p>\n
President <\/p>\n
Corporate Social Responsibility <\/p>\n
235 Blame Street <\/p>\n
SYDNEY <\/p>\n
Dear Mr Sami Wilson,<\/p>\n
The Global Organisation of Students (GOS) has produced this report at your request. The purpose of the report is to relate the experiences of some Queensland University of Technology (QUT) international students with regard to Australian social life, as well as to provide some recommendations towards improving the quality of QUT international students\u2019 relationships in Australia. <\/p>\n
This report has been produced through the use of primary research, including questionnaires, as well as through secondary research based on database resources. The major findings were taken primarily from four questions of the questionnaires.<\/p>\n
The report presents some recommendations that could improve QUT international students\u2019 social relationships in Australia. These include providing a friendly social environment, encouraging more contact between Australian students and international students, and organizing more social activities. <\/p>\n
It has been a pleasure to work with you and your staff. If you have any remarks, please don\u2019t hesitate to contact me by e-mail at HYPERLINK “mailto:faisal_alqsaer@hotmail.com”faisal_alqsaer@hotmail.com or by telephone at 04-2281-5307. <\/p>\n
Sincerely yours, <\/p>\n
Faisal Alqsaer<\/p>\n
Senior Partner <\/p>\n
Global Organization of Students<\/p>\n
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