International Students

Language is not the only problem faced by international students in the UK. To what extent do you agree with this statement? International students are very important for the economic growth of the UK. Number of international students in UK was about 405,910 in 2009 and in 2010 it increased up to 428,225 (which is about 6%). These students play a very important role in UK’s economy and bring huge income to the country. Shane Spiers, managing director of UNITE says “The UK’s higher education sector-and, indeed, the UK economy-rely heavily on the income derived from international students”. As the research from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills called Estimating the value to the UK of Education Experts (June 2011) says that in 2008-2009 income of the tuition fee to the UK was oven than ? 4 billion where ? 2. 4 billion for HE, ? 139 million for FE and ? 880 million for english language. The same BIS research noticed that in 2025 this number could rise as high as ? 26 billion. Another income for UK income comes from science, technology, engineering and mathematics’: 40% of UK postgraduates, 50% of those doing full-time research degrees. English language became an international language and this is one of the main reasons why many students travel to UK to learn english. Another reason is that education in UK is recognized as high level or “world-class education”. International students in UK can face many problems and the most common one is the language barrier. Even for students who know english it may be hard for them to understand dialect of UK citizens. For example: In class teacher speaks academic english and uses special words which depend on the subject that they are learning.

This is a common problem, but teachers are always ready to help students, so in a way, this issue is solved. There are many other problems that could be more serious for the students. International students are living in a foreign country where they could be victims of racial discrimination or they could face financial difficulties or just feel homesick of their country. Most of the students are inexperienced in living away from their home, so this is their first experience in an unfamiliar environment with different culture and traditions, trying to adapt and co-exist with the others.

Evidently at the beginning they can face problems such as culture shock and the difficulties in communication. Two general issues are very popular for most of the international students which are finance managing and making/finding/building friendship. This essay will define three very popular problems that international students may face. Life and education in UK is very expensive and it might be hard for some students to afford it, so they have to borrow large amount of money from their parents or relatives in order to pay for education and life in UK. Students must be very good in managing finances.

Comparing cost of products in UK with the cost of products in their home country will be different, so it might be hard for them at the beginning to manage their finances. Mis-allocation of finance can lead to large loss of money and at the end of year students may be left destitute. Apart from this overseas education represents a huge investment by family and students may feel that they have to return this money or at least to make a profit by working in part-time job and limit their expenditures. Students probably may try their best to reduce the pressure on their family.

Students will try to concentrate more spend more time looking for work rather than concentrating on studying. Many university activities require membership fees to enter the society and may have further expenses for some trips or extra activities. This could keep away the students from joining the societies or clubs and isolating them from the social part of the university life. This could lead to loneliness and depression. Finance problems can push student to reduce the time at work available for study and this can cause academic consequences.

According to the managing finances, problems with communication and friendship can happen. The satisfaction level of living in UK is very important and makes a positive impact on academy. This satisfaction can be provided by friendship with other students and more likely with British people. Friendship with local students could be more useful than friendship with co-national by several reasons the main one is the language improvement. However, international students may find it difficult. The reason of that is the big difference in culture or mentality.

International students can find their behavior strange or dissimilar in contrast with people in their homeland. Communication is not just talking, it also contains eye contact, body language, tone of voice and even national privileges. All together they can make communication very easy or can be a cause of disaffection. For instance, international students may struggle with eye contact – when to give eye contact or where to look away and do not make people feel uncomfortable. Tone of voice also can be a reason of misunderstanding.

The rules of communication people get from their parents and mentality and to change them can be hard. Finally, international students can have a problem known as “culture shock”. First this problem was defined by Canadian anthropologist Kalervo Oberg in 1960. Dr. Oberg stated that culture shock is “the anxiety that results from losing familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse”. The most common signs of “culture shock” are homesickness, avoiding contact with the locals, marital stress, loss of concentration, frequent desire to cry, and losses of all the aims in UK.

Mostly duration of culture shock is 6 month but for some student may be longer. During this time students are comparing new country to their homeland. In conclusion, international students in UK face many problems apart from the language barrier. All of these problems may have a negative impact on studies. However, solving these problems will help students to become morally stronger and more responsible. These three general problems can teach an international student how to adapt fast in a new country in his or her future life.

These problems cannot stay unsolved and if students are struggling with them in university they can find some free tutorials and tutors who can give a good advice about how to juggle study with solving these problems. References Sally Adamson Taylor (2010,). Retrieved from http:// americansintoulouse. com/index. php? option=com_content&view=article&id=13&Itemid=47 Machalicek W. , Ganz J. B. , Flores . M. , Zimbelman M (2005-2009) Retrieved from http://www. asdvisualaids. com/social-communication-difficulties. html

Shane Spiers, (2011, June). Retrieved from http://ukcisa. org. uk , http://smartmoverelocate. com Colleen Ward, Stephen Bochner, Adrian Furnham (2001) Retrieved from book: The Psychology of Culture Shock (Second edition) Maureen S. , Andrade and Norman W. Evans (2009) Retrieved from book: International students – Strengthening a Critical Resource. Published by Rowman & Littlefield Education. Nannette Rundle Carroll (2010) Retrieved from book: The Communication Problem Solver. Simple tools and Techniques for Busy Managers

Travelling abroad can be an exciting and life-changing event in one’s life. The opportunity to study in another country is a unique and fulfilling experience, both academically and personally. The percentage of international students in universities is rising steadily each year. Although an international study opportunity is a rare adventure, there are several problems international students can face when attending school in a foreign country. International students should be aware of the potential problems and be prepared in advance to successfully solve anything that comes their way.

The biggest problem international students face today is financial challenges. It is expensive to travel to a foreign country to study. In most cases there are no opportunities for scholarships or sponsor assistance. Most programs allow students to work part-time, however in most countries it will be extremely difficult for international students to find work. In addition, international students are typically not allowed to participate in any foreign country’s welfare or government financial assistance programs. International students with families are often permitted to bring them along as their dependents.

This can create enormous financial problems for the student as their family can only accompany them if they have previous funds to maintain themselves during their stay. The student’s spouse should not need to work during the stay to maintain basic needs. If it seems the family is not financially secure enough to maintain themselves, they will not be permitted to enter the country. Although this is the main rule of international student spouse employment, there are situations in which employment rights can be granted based on length of stay.

One specific financial burden international students often face is health care costs. There is no guarantee an international student will be healthy for their entire stay. Some countries offer health care options depending on the student’s length of stay. The UK offers services from the National Health Service for students who have a stay of six months or longer. This free health care option also applies to the student’s family. International students face several financial problems, however there are solutions. The best thing a student can do before their initial travel is to put aside money for their expenses.

Most universities provide prospective international students will fee estimates that include average utility and grocery costs as well as academic expenses. It is wise for students to bring at least fifteen percent more than you expect to use during the stay. This emergency fund can be helpful in case of inflation or other unexpected costs. For students who do not qualify for the foreign country’s healthcare programs, travel insurance is something they should consider. Students should not assume health insurance used in their home country would cover any unexpected health care costs in the foreign country.

Most travel insurance can be purchased according to the length of stay. Being prepared for the unexpected is the one task every international student should make priority. Creating an emergency savings fund is an excellent way for the student to ensure their financial and personal safety during their stay. In addition to a savings fund, students should remember to research health care options for their stay as well. International study opportunities are priceless in academic and personal worth, however without proper preparation they can be extremely expensive and can create an unnecessary financial burden for the student and their family.

Sources:

Porter, Darwin. Frommer’s Italy 2005. 2004. Wiley Publishing, Inc.

UKCOSA Guidance Notes. 2005. http://www.ukcosa.org.uk/pages/guidenote.htm (11 May 2005).