Challenges Faced by International Students in Australia.

Running head: CHALLENGES FACED BY INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN AUSTRALIA
CHALLENGES FACED BY INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN AUSTRALIA – A
LITERATURE REVIEW
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CHALLENGES FACED BY INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN AUSTRALIA
Introduction
The concept of pursuing education at the foreign universities holds a great amount of
excitement for the students all over the world. The major factors that attract the students to this
opportunity is the fact that seeking education at the foreign locations outside the home country of
the student involves a change in the cultural surroundings of the student. The other major factor
that attracts the student is the fact that the education at the foreign locations tend to provide the
students with the ability to live an independent life away from their family. However, the
international students who have been pursuing their education from institutions that are
operational internationally face a greater number of challenges as well. The following paper
attempts a review of the existent literature of the various challenges that are faced by the
international students who have been pursuing their educational courses at the various esteemed
universities that are active within the territorial boundaries of Australia. The paper opens with a
discussion on the issues that stem from the Socio-Cultural Adjustment that are undertaken by the
students and proceeds to discuss the issues that are faced by the students in terms of the language
and the educational expectancy. The paper finally reaches a conclusion with the discussion on
the individual issues that pose to be a barrier in their education within the Australian territories.
Socio-Cultural Adjustment
Akanwa (2015) opine that one of the major issues that are highlighted by the international
students refer to the several adjustments that the students need to implement in order to get
accustomed to the socio-cultural factors that are highlighted within the territorial boundaries of
Australia. The students who have enrolled themselves at the educational institutions that are
active within the Australian territories tend to face greater issues in the matters that are related to
the cultural factors that are implemented within the Australian territories. The students generally

2CHALLENGES FACED BY INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN AUSTRALIA
face issues due to the sudden changes that they face in the cultural surroundings that are
presented within the Australian territories as compared to the cultural surroundings that they
have been facing within the territorial boundaries of their home countries. According to Wang,
Andre and Greenwood (2015), the international students who have enrolled themselves at the
various educational institutions within the territorial boundaries of Australia, tend to experience a
cultural shock during their initial months of residence within the country. The experts opine that
the students tend to experience this due to the differences that they observe around themselves.
This tend to affect the psyche of the international students in a way that they tend to feel
homesick during their initial months. Gautam et al. (2016) argue that the international students
further face issues in terms of the factors that are related to the financial conditions that are
experienced by the students. The majority of the international students within the Australian
territories tend to pursue part-time jobs in order to fund their education. The lack of the proper
language skills along with the differences that exist within the sociocultural factors tend to baffle
the students and thus lead to major troubles that are generally faced by the international students.
As opined by Heng (2018), the prime areas that are served by the international students in order
to support the academic fees and other financial factors that are demanded for the completion of
the concerned course, include the service of the students at the gas stations, libraries and
restaurants that are present within the given localities of their residence. However, the lack of the
proper language proficiency on the part of the students tend to lead to the miscommunication
among the students and the clientele of the organization wherein the international students have
been serving as the part-time employees.
Language

3CHALLENGES FACED BY INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN AUSTRALIA
Ahmad (2015) opine that the international students within the Australian territories also
face issues in the matters that pertain to the linguistic usage that is followed within the country.
The international students who have enrolled themselves at the universities that are present
within the territorial boundaries of Australia tend to belong to the various nationalities of the
world and might be mutually exclusive to the linguistic features that are followed within the
Australian boundaries. Banjong (2015) state that the major issues that are highlighted in this case
might get attributed to the various dialects of English that are being used within the territorial
boundaries of the other countries of the world. The students who wish to get enrolled at the
various universities of Australia are advise to take an exam, the International English Language
Testing System, in order to attain the qualification to attend the concerned courses at the
universities that have been located within the territorial boundaries of Australia. However, as
stated by Farley et al. (2015), the students who get themselves enrolled at the Australian
universities still find it difficult to follow the Australian standard English that is majorly used as
the teaching medium within the various universities in Australia. Choudaha (2017) opine that the
linguistic issues are more prominent and commonplace for the students from the Asian
backgrounds. This is due to the fact that students from the Asian backgrounds do not consider
English to be the first language for educational purposes. The curricula that is followed by the
Australian universities are observed to be entirely followed in the English language. This poses
to be a problem for the students who are weak in their English proficiencies. The students are
often asked to carry on with their academic activities only in the English language. The lack of
the vocabulary of the students tend to deteriorate the confidence levels of the student in the
composition of the scientific critiques, research papers, opinions during the course of the
completion of the courses that they been enrolled in. The lack of the proper language learning

4CHALLENGES FACED BY INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN AUSTRALIA
skills on the part of the students tend to deteriorate their academic skills within the given fields.
The students enrolled at the various Australian institutions tend to face issues in the matters that
are highlighted in terms of the academic scores as well as the grading systems that are
highlighted within the concerned universities and other such educational institutions.
Educational Expectations
Meuleman et al. (2015) opine that the other major factor that tends to affect the students
refer to the high cost of living within the country. According to the data retrieved from the
Studyinaustralia.gov.au (2019) the cost of education within the Australian territories is high as
compared to many other nations of the world. The governmental data states that the cost of
schooling within the Australian territories range from 8,000 to 30,000 Australian dollars. The
studies in the English language would cost around 300 Australian dollars per week varying on
the basis of the length of the course. The cost of the vocational education and training, especially
the certificates I to IV, the diplomas and the advanced diplomas tend to range from 5,000 to
30,000 Australian dollars. The students who have been known to have enrolled themselves in the
courses at the undergraduate bachelor degree levels might incur the educational costs of 20,000
to 45,000 Australian dollars. The educational courses at the postgraduate or the master degree
levels range from 15,000 to 60,000 Australian dollars. This in turn further enhances the issues
that are faced by the concerned international students within the Australian territories. These
issues are also enhanced due to the factors that bear relevance to the learning styles that are
followed within the country. Stein and de Andreotti (2016) state that the students tend to face
several issues in the overall grasping of the educational factors as well as the educational styles
that are followed within the Australian territories. The students who have been involved in the
educational systems present within the middle-eastern countries of the world. The students who

5CHALLENGES FACED BY INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN AUSTRALIA
have been belonging to the Middle-Eastern countries are observed to be foreigners to the proper
interaction that needs to take place among the educators and the learners within the classroom
situations. The interactive classrooms are a commonplace activity within the Australian
universities and might come across as a novel concept for the students from the middle-eastern
backgrounds. The students belonging to the Asian backgrounds tend to highlight the various
factors that involve the greater participation of the educator as compared to the Australian norms
that demand a greater amount of the involvement on the part of the learner. The opinions of
Straker (2016) shed light on the fact that the international students at the Australian universities
tend to seek help and assistance from the various websites that offer them help with the
composition of their assignments in exchange of money. This in turn leads to the conditions
wherein the education of the concerned student is hampered.
Individual Problems
Mikkonen et al. (2016) opines that the international students who have enrolled
themselves at the various universities within the territorial boundaries of Australia also face
problems at the individual levels. These might include the issues that pertain to the cultural
differences that are existent within the Australian cultural values and those that are maintained
within the home country of the concerned international student. The students generally face
issues due to the sudden changes that they face in the cultural surroundings that are presented
within the Australian territories as compared to the cultural surroundings that they have been
facing within the territorial boundaries of their home countries. According to Guo and Guo
(2017), the international students who have enrolled themselves at the various educational
institutions within the territorial boundaries of Australia, tend to experience a cultural shock
during their initial months of residence within the country. The experts opine that the students

6CHALLENGES FACED BY INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN AUSTRALIA
tend to experience this due to the differences that they observe around themselves. This tend to
affect the psyche of the international students in a way that they tend to feel homesick during
their initial months. Lum et al. (2015) state that the students might further face issues in the
matters that are related to the physical as well as the mental health conditions. The lack of the
proper caring and attention towards the health conditions of the student might lead to the various
issues in terms of the physical health as well the completion of the courses wherein the
concerned learner has been enrolled. Mantai (2017) highlight the fact that the students might
suffer due to a number of conditions. These factors include the lack of the physical adaptability
of the international student to the climatic conditions of Australia. The students who have been
belonging to the other climatic zones of the world tend to face issues in the proper adjustment
with the changes in the climatic conditions as have been faced within the Australian territories.
Wang, Andre and Greenwood (2015) argue that the loss of the health of the international
students enrolled at the Australian universities tend to lead to the conditions wherein the student
might face issues in the maintenance of the finances that the person has been investing for the
cause of education within the Australian territories. The experts on the matter like Choudaha
(2017) opine that the students should maintain a proper insurance that would be capable of
assisting them by taking care of certain medical conditions that the students might face during
their stay at Australia.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it might be stated that the international students face a huge number of
challenges during their persuasion of the various educational courses at the various educational
institutions that are active within the Australian territories. The international students who have
enrolled themselves at the various educational institutions within the territorial boundaries of

7CHALLENGES FACED BY INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN AUSTRALIA
Australia, tend to experience a cultural shock during their initial months of residence within the
country. The experts opine that the students tend to experience this due to the differences that
they observe around themselves. This tend to affect the psyche of the international students in a
way that they tend to feel homesick during their initial months. The students who get themselves
enrolled at the Australian universities still find it difficult to follow the Australian standard
English that is majorly used as the teaching medium within the various universities in Australia.
The curricula that is followed by the Australian universities are observed to be entirely followed
in the English language. This poses to be a problem for the students who are weak in their
English proficiencies.

8CHALLENGES FACED BY INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN AUSTRALIA
References
Ahmad, S.Z., 2015. Evaluating student satisfaction of quality at international branch
campuses. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 40(4), pp.488-507.
Akanwa, E.E., 2015. International students in western developed countries: History, challenges,
and prospects. Journal of International Students, 5(3), pp.271-284.
Banjong, D.N., 2015. International students’ enhanced academic performance: Effects of campus
resources. Journal of International Students, 5(2), pp.132-142.
Choudaha, R., 2017. Three waves of international student mobility (1999–2020). Studies in
Higher Education, 42(5), pp.825-832.
Farley, H., Murphy, A., Johnson, C., Carter, B., Lane, M., Midgley, W., Hafeez-Baig, A.,
Dekeyser, S. and Koronios, A., 2015. How do students use their mobile devices to support
learning? A case study from an Australian regional university. Journal of Interactive Media in
Education, 2015(1).
Gautam, C., Lowery, C.L., Mays, C. and Durant, D., 2016. Challenges for global learners: A
qualitative study of the concerns and difficulties of international students. Journal of
International Students, 6(2), pp.501-526.
Guo, Y. and Guo, S., 2017. Internationalization of Canadian higher education: Discrepancies
between policies and international student experiences. Studies in Higher Education, 42(5),
pp.851-868.
Heng, T.T., 2018. Different is not deficient: contradicting stereotypes of Chinese international
students in US higher education. Studies in higher education, 43(1), pp.22-36.

9CHALLENGES FACED BY INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN AUSTRALIA
Lum, L., Dowedoff, P., Bradley, P., Kerekes, J. and Valeo, A., 2015. Challenges in oral
communication for internationally educated nurses. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 26(1),
pp.83-91.
Mantai, L., 2017. Feeling like a researcher: Experiences of early doctoral students in
Australia. Studies in Higher Education, 42(4), pp.636-650.
Meuleman, A.M., Garrett, R., Wrench, A. and King, S., 2015. ‘Some people might say I'm
thriving but…’: non-traditional students' experiences of university. International Journal of
Inclusive Education, 19(5), pp.503-517.
Mikkonen, K., Elo, S., Kuivila, H.M., Tuomikoski, A.M. and Kääriäinen, M., 2016. Culturally
and linguistically diverse healthcare students’ experiences of learning in a clinical environment:
A systematic review of qualitative studies. International journal of nursing studies, 54, pp.173-
187.
Stein, S. and de Andreotti, V.O., 2016. Cash, competition, or charity: International students and
the global imaginary. Higher Education, 72(2), pp.225-239.
Straker, J., 2016. International student participation in higher education: Changing the focus
from “international students” to “participation”. Journal of Studies in International
Education, 20(4), pp.299-318.
Studyinaustralia.gov.au 2019. Education costs in Australia. [online] Studyinaustralia.gov.au.
Available at: https://www.studyinaustralia.gov.au/english/australian-education/education-costs
[Accessed 31 Aug. 2019].

10CHALLENGES FACED BY INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN AUSTRALIA
Wang, C.C., Andre, K. and Greenwood, K.M., 2015. Chinese students studying at Australian
universities with specific reference to nursing students: a narrative literature review. Nurse
Education Today, 35(4), pp.609-619.