Teach English in FAngqiang Nongchang - Yancheng Shi

Introduction It has never been easy being in a new environment regardless of how old you are. Leaving a place of comfort and familiarity can bring about a lot of emotions .Students tend to feel left out, feeling like they don’t belong and this can have a huge impact on how the student will perform in their studies, how they will fit into their surroundings, adjust as well as interaction with other students and with the teacher too. Below are a number of key points that i feel are problems facing students of different nationalities: Cultural shock Students experience cultural shock when they are in an unfamiliar environment, this change is brought about by the language spoken, dress code, skin color, rules, climate, food, religion amongst other things. It is not easy trying to adjust to a new lifestyle that opposes the one that you would have been used to or grew up in. Fear of breaking the law and being caught on the wrong side of the law can be terrifying to a student. The inability to speak the common spoken language can cause a student to feel like an outcast .Climate change also plays a big role the different weather patterns can also be a challenge in adjusting to the new environment, food that one is not familiar to can also make one miss home. Financial problems Students who are not offered any financial help (aid) for their studies often come across a lot of struggles along the way; they are the ones who are responsible for everything, tuition fee, study materials, accommodation, transport, food, medical aid and so on. That can be quite a challenge because a pre-budget would have been made and some things might have been overlooked and no extra money would have been set aside for any other unexpected costs. Currencies are different from one country to another, what may seem to be a lot of money in your country may be very little money in another country. The students are on strict budget and are not able to carter for all their needs. It is worse if a student is not allowed to study and work at the same time, which means that they would not have any other source of income to meet all their financial needs and would account for every cent in order to survive. Learning system Another challenge that international students face is the inability to speak the common spoken language and that can lead to failure to understand what is being taught to them, what is expected of them as well as poor performance even if the student had previously been performing well in their studies, completion of assignments will also take long for an international student than the local student because of their different levels of understanding. Adjusting to a new learning system can be difficult especially if the student is not familiar to it, for instance some classroom setups the teacher is the one who is always in charge, always giving information ,the number of students could be less which is what the student would most probably be used to and then suddenly there are a lot of students in the class and there are more activities involving students participation, which can be quite intimidating (rigid/liberal classrooms).Another example is one where students are expected to work on computers but because of lack of technology in some countries the student is unable to execute his/her task because they do not know how to use the gadgets. That can be quite uncomfortable for a student and it can make a student reluctant to attend lessons. Fear of being laughed at by other students can also play a huge part in how the student will perform. Sometimes a student may become reluctant to ask for help because they would not want to be laughed at by other students. Peer pressure/making friends Making friends can be a great challenge to students of different nationalities. The fear of being alone ,lonely can influence a student to end up being mixed up with the wrong group of peers, poor judgment of character ,and wanting recognition can lead to a student being pressured into joining a group of students who do not have much interest in their studies but would otherwise rather spend their time drinking , smoking ,doing drugs ,sex ,skipping class amongst other things. All these things lead to a student performing badly as far as their studies are concerned. Language barrier In most cases students of different nationalities always have a language that is spoken in their country of origin, which is the language spoken at home as well, English not being a language that they speak on a daily basis therefore it can be quite difficult to relate a simple message to another person, this can be very stressful .The challenge of learning a new language can be off putting to a student. Separation from family and friends If a student has never left their country and has never been separated from their friends and family before, moving to another country to study can cause a student to struggle, especially where they don’t get to talk to them every day. A student will become homesick, that feeling may cause a student to keep to themselves and not interact with others students. Disability Students with physical disabilities may face problems like discrimination, being ignored “for example” a student using a wheel chair may face problems such as lack of elevators, ramps suppose the buildings have more than one floor. Other problems could be inaccessible washrooms, inaccessible transport to and from school and heavy doors. Conclusion Most students go through struggles at some point, being in a new territory as a student can be quite a challenge but it should not be the reason why one does not complete their studies or skips class or even feel the need to not interact with others .Instead i believe in order for students to feel at ease and comfortable students should be offered programs that help boost confidence and programs that involve student to student interaction. That way the environment feels more welcoming and becomes easier for a student to fit in and want to take part in school activities as well as social activities.