[amii12]

I'm just genuinely curious as to whether international students socialise or make friends with the native british students often.

I ask because a few of my friends at universities in England said that the international students keep to themselves most often and not to mention that they arrive a week before everyone else for an international week where they all get a chance to get to know one another.

I'm going to university in September and am classed as international despite the fact that I'm british (its a VERY long and complicated story) and so am curious )))

If any of you have comments, feelings, answers please share!!!

[Manitude]

Some do, some don't - it's up to you who you want to socialise with. It's extremely unlikely anyone will exclude you for being international. Most university students are tolerant of other cultures.
I very rarely see chinese students interacting with anyone other than chinese students though.
I have a number of friends who are not from the UK, though most are EU.

[nosceteipsummm]

I'm an American who will be attending the University of Edinburgh for postgraduate study in September. I've got many friends from Europe (and the UK specifically). I can be rather shy, but nationality has never ever played a part in who I socialize with.

Personally, I plan on meeting as many new people as I can, regardless of nationality. I suspect the people on my degree course will be those I become closest with, though, as there are only 16 of us.

[screenager2004]

I am a British student but I've also spent a year abroad so I know what it's like to be an international student. This is my interpretation of it:

Obviously you need a minimum requirement of English language to enrol in a British university. A student might have very good written English, and might be okay when it comes to class discussions, but chatting with a group of young people is completely different. It's very fast, informal conversation, there's lots of slang, often humour that relies on knowledge of pop culture or British media. I have found living abroad that I can cope well in classrooms, and speaking to teachers etc, but speaking to students is extremely difficult, the language is just so informal and difficult to follow. Even if you can keep up for a while, after hours or days or weeks of living in a different language you start to feel mental fatigue and exhaustion from constantly translating things in your head. Can you remember your oral or listening exam from GCSE french? Just imagine being trapped in that situation for a year or longer.

It's exciting and new to have a social group who aren't from your country, but after a while you start to miss being able to communicate easily, you miss being able to express yourself and articulate yourself with the fluency and power of your mother tongue. So inevitably you end up yearning for or finding a few friends from your own country.

Then there's culture shock, it's been widely documented, but around months 3-6 of being abroad, you will feel a profound culture shock. It's not just "oh things are so different here", it's more about being tired and unable to cope with the radical transition in lifestyles when you don't have that foundation of familiarity and the support of your friends and family behind you.

There are cultural differences too, I am living in dormitories in Asia and it's COMPLETELY different to living in dorms in the UK. There is no communal space here, all rooms are ensuite with their own kitchen (sounds nice, but as a result I have been living here for 11 months and have never seen the faces of the people I live beside). It's very insular here, each room is like a private house, it's not like we're really 'living together'. Expectations of noise are different too - in the UK, girls came back from their night out at 4am and ran down the corridors screaming Lady Gaga's alejandro, you just rolled over and went back to sleep again and ignored them. Here I had a friend over in my room and we were talking at 8.30pm on a tuesday evening and I was threatened with eviction for causing a public disturbance, and my neighbours called security because "she couldn't work or sleep" because I was talking in my room. It's just a cultural difference.

[nosceteipsummm]

(Original post by screenager2004)
It's exciting and new to have a social group who aren't from your country, but after a while you start to miss being able to communicate easily, you miss being able to express yourself and articulate yourself with the fluency and power of your mother tongue. So inevitably you end up yearning for or finding a few friends from your own country.

Good point. Even when language isn't an issue, sometimes it's just nice to find someone who is familiar with the same places you are (even if they're thousands of miles away).

[lyrical_lie]

(Original post by amii12)
I'm just genuinely curious as to whether international students socialise or make friends with the native british students often.

I ask because a few of my friends at universities in England said that the international students keep to themselves most often and not to mention that they arrive a week before everyone else for an international week where they all get a chance to get to know one another.

I'm going to university in September and am classed as international despite the fact that I'm british (its a VERY long and complicated story) and so am curious )))

If any of you have comments, feelings, answers please share!!!

We had three American girls join my archery club when they were over for a semester and now they've gone home and I miss them so much they are now some of my closest friends. The semester before that a Canadian girl spent Christmas day with me because I found out she was having Christmas alone so I kidnapped her. So I'd say no, the internationals I know were lovely and I had great times with them!

[nish81]

(Original post by amii12)
I'm just genuinely curious as to whether international students socialise or make friends with the native british students often.

I ask because a few of my friends at universities in England said that the international students keep to themselves most often and not to mention that they arrive a week before everyone else for an international week where they all get a chance to get to know one another.

I'm going to university in September and am classed as international despite the fact that I'm british (its a VERY long and complicated story) and so am curious )))

If any of you have comments, feelings, answers please share!!!

A lot don't. I find it depends on the national/cultural identity one wants to maintain and personal preference

I just finished uni, and I was in the same boat as you - British but grew up overseas. I was genuinely determined to try and acquire some british cultural identity and the like, as I intend to live here after uni, so I lived with british people and hung out with them and stuff. i still had my fair share of international friends too though

On the other hand, I knew a couple of other international students who intended to move back to their home country after uni and just weren't interested in meeting british people too much or 'becoming british' as it were. so they stuck to themselves

I'm not sure what your worry is, but on the whole I'd say it depends on personal preference

[AbuAK]

I'm starting university in fall, I don't have plans just to stick with international students, I want to go around and meet some other people. Canadian so my English is fine, cultural shock won't be too bad for me either since Canada, UK is pretty similar and I've also been to UK plenty times.
And with my course having a quota set on how many internationals are allowed, I doubt I would be able to mingle with just a few internationals.

[Herr]

(Original post by amii12)
I'm just genuinely curious as to whether international students socialise or make friends with the native british students often.

I ask because a few of my friends at universities in England said that the international students keep to themselves most often and not to mention that they arrive a week before everyone else for an international week where they all get a chance to get to know one another.

I'm going to university in September and am classed as international despite the fact that I'm british (its a VERY long and complicated story) and so am curious )))

If any of you have comments, feelings, answers please share!!!

Join the club of British nationals who are "international" students in Britain

To answer your question, it really depends, some especially those from China or the far east tend to stick among their kind and it is very difficult to be in their circle as they mostly speak in their own language or dialect, sometimes even if you come from Hong Kong or Macau you can't quite mix with those from China. While those from Latin America generally tend to mix among those who could converse in Spanish.

It's something to do with human nature as a whole, we normally find people whom we could closest relate to.

[atheistwithfaith]

If you are worried about yourself being excluded - don't. Any lack of socialisation by international students is self-imposed. I always wished the Chinese students would socialise with us more and I always tried to get my friends roommate to come out with us and join us in the communal area for chats.

At the end of the day it's their prerogative to keep to themselves. I just wish they would socialise outside their groups more as many people would do well to become friendly to someone from another country. It helps break down insular mindsets.

[pai2502]

(Original post by screenager2004)
I am a British student but I've also spent a year abroad so I know what it's like to be an international student. This is my interpretation of it:

Obviously you need a minimum requirement of English language to enrol in a British university. A student might have very good written English, and might be okay when it comes to class discussions, but chatting with a group of young people is completely different. It's very fast, informal conversation, there's lots of slang, often humour that relies on knowledge of pop culture or British media. I have found living abroad that I can cope well in classrooms, and speaking to teachers etc, but speaking to students is extremely difficult, the language is just so informal and difficult to follow. Even if you can keep up for a while, after hours or days or weeks of living in a different language you start to feel mental fatigue and exhaustion from constantly translating things in your head. Can you remember your oral or listening exam from GCSE french? Just imagine being trapped in that situation for a year or longer.

It's exciting and new to have a social group who aren't from your country, but after a while you start to miss being able to communicate easily, you miss being able to express yourself and articulate yourself with the fluency and power of your mother tongue. So inevitably you end up yearning for or finding a few friends from your own country.

Then there's culture shock, it's been widely documented, but around months 3-6 of being abroad, you will feel a profound culture shock. It's not just "oh things are so different here", it's more about being tired and unable to cope with the radical transition in lifestyles when you don't have that foundation of familiarity and the support of your friends and family behind you.

There are cultural differences too, I am living in dormitories in Asia and it's COMPLETELY different to living in dorms in the UK. There is no communal space here, all rooms are ensuite with their own kitchen (sounds nice, but as a result I have been living here for 11 months and have never seen the faces of the people I live beside). It's very insular here, each room is like a private house, it's not like we're really 'living together'. Expectations of noise are different too - in the UK, girls came back from their night out at 4am and ran down the corridors screaming Lady Gaga's alejandro, you just rolled over and went back to sleep again and ignored them. Here I had a friend over in my room and we were talking at 8.30pm on a tuesday evening and I was threatened with eviction for causing a public disturbance, and my neighbours called security because "she couldn't work or sleep" because I was talking in my room. It's just a cultural difference.

Excellent observation and very true points.
Though I understand that you're telling this in a good faith, it worries me. I'm an international and will be joining Durham this Sept.

[screenager2004]

(Original post by pai2502)
Excellent observation and very true points.
Though I understand that you're telling this in a good faith, it worries me. I'm an international and will be joining Durham this Sept.

It's just my personal interpretation and experience. It's possible to have groups of friends who are British students and groups of international friends and spend time with both!!! Make lots of friends, you can integrate with British student culture and retain connections to your home country at the same time.

[ofssinfoxes]

(Original post by pai2502)
Excellent observation and very true points.
Though I understand that you're telling this in a good faith, it worries me. I'm an international and will be joining Durham this Sept.

I totally concur..... Going to London this September, and language shouldn't be a problem, but now I'm a little worried about the culture shock! I'm in no way close to being British....


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[pai2502]

(Original post by ofssinfoxes)
I totally concur..... Going to London this September, and language shouldn't be a problem, but now I'm a little worried about the culture shock! I'm in no way close to being British....


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Due to constant and vast exposure through TV, Net and Movies, I don't think culture shock should be an issue as such. Agreed, there will be things we are not accustomed to, but it won't be a shock per se.

What d'ya think?

[atheistwithfaith]

(Original post by pai2502)
Due to constant and vast exposure through TV, Net and Movies, I don't think culture shock should be an issue as such. Agreed, there will be things we are not accustomed to, but it won't be a shock per se.

What d'ya think?

Well, I think the more proper name for culture shock is "culture fatigue". It rarely hits you like a shock but I think that many people will go through a slump where they miss friends/family/culture from back home.

That's not to say it will be a long term thing - but I think if you recognise that it's likely you will suffer from cultural fatigue at some point, then it will be easier to deal with it when/if it strikes.

I moved away from England and even though I knew the pop culture of the country I was moving to, as well as having read many many books about people who lived there, spoke to people on forums, researched for hours on the internet about culture and daily life etc. There were still SO many things that I was only able to learn by actually being here.
No matter how much you feel familiar with another culture, unless you have lived there there are going to be many aspects that are, to quote Donald Rumsfeld, "unknown unknowns".

Still, with a good group of friends around you and being engaged in your studies, it can be easy to take your mind off of it.

[No Man]

Yes, except I haven't seen many Chinese international students that do.
Although the one Chinese international student in my course mixes pretty with everyone else, but that could be because he's the only Chinese international student on the course.

[caycemarieeh.]

technically in sort of international too, I'm a British citizen for nearly 5 years now... I'm part British, German and Dutch do I actually grew up in holland and Germany up until nearly 5 years ago. I tell you what though, I would love to be placed in accommodation with atleast some international students... it's easy to relate with the cultural difference...

And say, someone said before about Chinese students using different dialects or something and perhaps not wanting to interacts with one another as much? Think of it like.. people thinking bad of others that come from say ermm the different parts of Newcastle or something.. if that makes sense, I find if to be the same thing sort of.

I get that sometimes you would just want to speak in you first language, I mean I do, we actually do in our household as do we speak English.. but it's comforting and as said before it gives your brain a break from translating things all the time xD

I still do my ABC and I still count and do all my math work in German so...

Anyways starting uni in September, and I'd want to make friends with some international students I'll be even happier if someone speaks german!


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[deistra13]

(Original post by screenager2004)
Obviously you need a minimum requirement of English language to enrol in a British university. A student might have very good written English, and might be okay when it comes to class discussions, but chatting with a group of young people is completely different. It's very fast, informal conversation, there's lots of slang, often humour that relies on knowledge of pop culture or British media. I have found living abroad that I can cope well in classrooms, and speaking to teachers etc, but speaking to students is extremely difficult, the language is just so informal and difficult to follow. Even if you can keep up for a while, after hours or days or weeks of living in a different language you start to feel mental fatigue and exhaustion from constantly translating things in your head. Can you remember your oral or listening exam from GCSE french? Just imagine being trapped in that situation for a year or longer.

It's exciting and new to have a social group who aren't from your country, but after a while you start to miss being able to communicate easily, you miss being able to express yourself and articulate yourself with the fluency and power of your mother tongue. So inevitably you end up yearning for or finding a few friends from your own country.

Then there's culture shock, it's been widely documented, but around months 3-6 of being abroad, you will feel a profound culture shock. It's not just "oh things are so different here", it's more about being tired and unable to cope with the radical transition in lifestyles when you don't have that foundation of familiarity and the support of your friends and family behind you.

There are cultural differences too, I am living in dormitories in Asia and it's COMPLETELY different to living in dorms in the UK. There is no communal space here, all rooms are ensuite with their own kitchen (sounds nice, but as a result I have been living here for 11 months and have never seen the faces of the people I live beside). It's very insular here, each room is like a private house, it's not like we're really 'living together'. Expectations of noise are different too - in the UK, girls came back from their night out at 4am and ran down the corridors screaming Lady Gaga's alejandro, you just rolled over and went back to sleep again and ignored them. Here I had a friend over in my room and we were talking at 8.30pm on a tuesday evening and I was threatened with eviction for causing a public disturbance, and my neighbours called security because "she couldn't work or sleep" because I was talking in my room. It's just a cultural difference.

I totally agree with your explanations about the culture shock there. I am from South East Asia, currenty studyin in a college in England. Although I am currently not studying in a British school, rather in an international college in England to prepare for going to a UK university. I found it hard to really get along with other students here. Not that I don't have any friends here. At first it was all really exciting to have new friends from different countries and cultures. I chat and hang out with them most of the time. But the difference in first language really limit the friendship relation, because you can't really express yourself as good as if you're using your first language. As time pass (it's my 3rd month here), I just find it exhausting to have to keep having this language barrier. And the worst part is, I only have one friend with the same nationality here.

So, I think it's totally normal for international students to tend to look for other international students from the same region/country.

After I finish college, I am going to enter a UK university next year. I am not a sociable, extrovert kind of person, but I just hope I could get along with British students and the other international students as well.

[musicstudent]

(Original post by amii12)
I'm just genuinely curious as to whether international students socialise or make friends with the native british students often.

I ask because a few of my friends at universities in England said that the international students keep to themselves most often and not to mention that they arrive a week before everyone else for an international week where they all get a chance to get to know one another.

I'm going to university in September and am classed as international despite the fact that I'm british (its a VERY long and complicated story) and so am curious )))

If any of you have comments, feelings, answers please share!!!

I am also British but will be classed as "international" and was afraid of the same thing! But I think that it depends on individuals.

[gm15]

If an international student finds it hard to socialise in english so they hide among "their own" surely this just starts a viscious circle. They don't socialise in english so their social english doesn't get any better therefore they continue to stick to their own.

Same with cultural differences. If they avoid those from different cultures then those cultures continue to seem alien.


This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my U20i