CPP5- Analytical Summary (Revision)
Student’s Name: CHENGDE CAO
Instructor’s Name: Esther Namubiru & Anna Habib
Class: EAP 507-P05
Due Date: 3/23/2016
An Analytical Summary of Ozturgut and Murphy (2009)
According to previous literature, it is obvious to see that the number of international students who study in America has increased recently. Meanwhile, these international students make contribution to American in many aspects, especially in economy and finance. Thus, it’s necessary to pay more attention to these international students, especially their concerns and needs. So getting a better understanding about challenges, which encountered by them on U.S. college campuses is an effective way for institutional organizations to offer good practice. However, Ozturgutt and Murphy (2009) found that educational professors lack of a clear understanding of cross-cultural differences so that some institutions do not meet the concerns and needs of international students (p.375), which could mean that practices designed by institution need to be improved. In order to fill this gap, the authors described several possible challenges that international students may encounter so that college institutions, professors could provide international students with better supportive practice programs. In conclusion, this literature review helped the related institutions to redesign some effective strategies and practices to international students so that these students can solve their adjustment issues more effectively.
Focused Analysis of key terms
According to the title of this article, we can clearly notice that “challenges” is the most important key term in this article especially those for international students. the authors regarded this as all possible difficulties or frustration the international students may encounter. And then the authors extended and explained this key term in detail by illustrating specifically. Beginning from page 375, the author firstly talked about English language skills which may have a strong negative impact on academic stress by interviewing with six East Asian students. Then, by citing Bunz’s argument (1997), the authors also agreed that the interaction between American and international students is another challenge, which influence the academic adjustment process. In order to spread this challenge, the author cited other scholar’s article. For instance, they used Boyer (1986), Mori (2000) and Thomas & Althen (1989) saying that academic adjustment includes study skills, critical thinking ability, time management, student-teacher relationships and familiarity with American educational system. In addition to academic challenges, social challenges also may hinder international students’ development. By citing Constantinides (1992), Wan (2001) and Galloway and Jenkins (2005), the author claimed that social challenges mainly consist of discrimination and disillusionment, financial aid, placement services, and religious services which may also have significant impact on international students’ socialization. To sum up, although the authors listed various dilemma, they are all essentially challenges which need international students to overcome.
Focused Analysis of a Language Pattern
After reading five CPP articles, I have learned several interesting language pattern, which may improve our writing skills. In this article, I would like to talk about integrated and non-integrated citations. First of all, we can distinguish them by the place of author’s name and date. For example, “Peterson, et al. (1999) explained that international students contribute substantially to the U.S. by ……” (p.375). we can clearly see that this sentence concludes the author’s name and date, which acted as the subject of this whole sentence. This is typical integrated citation form. In my opinion, the authors applied this kind of citation for two reasons. On the one hand, the authors would like to provide readers with some related backgrounds, which may rise the authors’ interests to do research. On the other hand, the authors would like to tell readers that besides financial benefits, the international students also produce social benefits, such as teaching assistant. The authors used this citation as evidence to support the background they mentioned before. Unlike integrated citations, non –integrated citations put the author’s name in the brackets. For instance, “Recent data also suggests that the number of international students show an increasing trend (Institute of International Education, 2008). This citation also acted as an evidence supporting the background that the number of international students in U.S. has increased recently. The author mentioned this several times and we’ve already know. The author did not tend to give their own opinion. Therefore, with different purpose, the authors use integrated and non-integrated citations alternatively.
A Connection Across the CPP Texts
Among these five articles, all the authors mentioned the academic adjustment. As international students, without any doubt, academic adjustment is a part of socialization and is just like the bumpy road that we need to stride across. In my point of view, English proficiency is the most fundamental and effective medicine to cure our adjustment sickness. As Ozturgutt and Murphy cited that English proficiency acts as both a barrier and a channel of success (Halic, Greenberg and Paulus,2009). It’s common for a number of international students to have some adjustment issues. However, many of them have suffered for a long time and can not solve such adjustment issues mainly because of their poor English. Once you realize that you are not good at oral English, you will not be willing to establish relationship with American students so that you may not be able to expose ourselves to real American culture. What is worse, you will have less chances to gain some social support especially from your peers and professors, thus, you will feel isolated and no one willing to share works with you just like Chozin’s early experience (Phillips, 2004). Also, you will never feel a sense of belonging and you will easily have homesickness (Strayhorn, 2012). Because of these elements, you will lose yourself during the socialization so that it’s impossible for you to have spare time to possess critical thinking and you will not have confidence to jump from “outsider status” to “insider status” (Li, 2008), and you will never apply argumentative edge in your own writing.
Unlike the previous CCP articles, Ozturgutt and Murphy (2009) mentioned a unique key term——y termed (2009)hy (2009)icles, wn writinge in youidence tosocialization so that it’horn, 2012)’ main ideal. It is a process from theory to practice. In order to provide better practices, the institutional organization should get a better understanding of international students’ concerns and needs, especially some challenges students might encounter. Nowadays, some institutions have designed many different practices, however, few of them are effective to international students. The possible reason is that those institutions do not understand the demands of international students. In this literature review, the author cited lots of scholar and listed several challenges, through this, institutions may get hints to redesign some effective strategies and practices to international students so that these students can solve their adjustment issues more effectively.
After studying these five CPP articles, I realized that the professors who selected these articles really would like to make efforts to help international students just like us to overcome our academic adjustment as soon as possible. I consider these useful articles a kind of social support and the light of our study life.
References
Özturgut, O., & Murphy, C. (2009). Literature vs. practice: Challenges for international students in the US. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 22(3), 374-385.
References
Araujo, A. D. (2011). Adjustment issues of international students enrolled in American colleges and universities: a review of the literature. Higher education studies, 1(1), 2-8.
Finally, could you think of a way to discuss the key concepts in terms of how they relate to each other rather than just listing them?