CULTURE

Literature Review: Culture Shock on Overseas Students

[Name of the Institute]

Literature Review: Culture Shock on Overseas Students

Degree of Cultural Shock on International Students

Studying abroad for the first time can radically change a person's perspective on the lives and relationships as well as their views on the culture of the country in which studies and also their own. Being outside the usual environment is very exciting, and can produce an initial sense of freedom and soon to be well qualified, changed or broken, depending on the strength of each individual soul and its conception of reality. Thus, although for most people, living abroad is a rewarding experience, we must be aware of how students can be affected by the culture shock.

The reaction to an unfamiliar culture is a shock, partly because of massive and unexpected changes in the life of the individual, a true "bombardment" of new, and partly because the differences are questioning their own cultural values.

The culture shock occurs due to anxiety caused by the loss of our references and all our routine symbols in social interaction. These include a thousand ways we situate ourselves to face the circumstances of life: when to shake hands and what to say when meeting people, when and how to tip, how to shop, when to accept or refuse invitations, when to take what people say seriously or not. According to Ward, Bochner and Furnham we all depend for our peace of mind and efficiency of the hundreds of signals; we are not conscious for most. For people who change their country, be they students, development workers, business women or ordinary travellers, those difficulties are magnified since the differences between the background and the new environment are even greater. With rare exceptions, these individuals will experience a culture shock. This notion of culture shock refers to stress reactions, anxiety, and nerve tension as feelings of sadness, confusion, surprise, disgust, indignation, rejection and helplessness that saw the individual in the host society (Ward, Bochner, Furnham, 2001, , pp. 146-167).

Challenges Faced by International Students

Loneliness is one of the major problems for foreign students. This is serious because in some cases, students tend to trauma or depression. Worse case scenarios could be suicide and opt-out of the school. Usually such students belong to the age bracket of 15 to 21. Being alone at a young age could influence a number of problems for children. Although it is a fact that people in the UK are friendly and cheerful, some students just cannot stand away from family. Therefore the government and other educational institutions initiate different programs like counselling, English classes, social clubs and buddy systems. In some cases, a student maintains at least one group of the University to combine their communication skills with other students and improve the process of adjusting in the unfamiliar environment. The authorities place to establish and facilitate relations between the national and international students in the United Kingdom. Another problem is communication. This is very common for students from non-English speaking ...