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Language Barriers among Chinese Students Paper

   

Added on  2020-04-07

15 Pages4459 Words42 Views
Language Barriers among Chinese Students 1LANGUAGE BARRIERS FACED BY CHINESE STUDENTS IN ADOPTING GLOBALSOCIAL MEDIA APPLICATIONSNameCourseTutorUniversityCity/stateDate

Language Barriers among Chinese Students 2AbstractThis paper evaluates and presents language barrier as a challenge facing Chinese students in theirattempt of adopting global social media practices and applications. The paper gives a focus toVictoria University as a case study with a focus on the description and comparison of reluctanceto change, what holds back the students to adopt change, and how the concept of languagebarrier is connected to culture and technology. The paper concludes with a personal reflection ofwhat I have learned in the whole unit. IntroductionSocial integration plays a very important role in the general performance, growth, anddevelopment of a student in any academic world. However, as individuals seek to integratesocially, they encounter a number of challenges. In the case effective strategies are not deployedto counter the effects of the challenges, and then the probability is that the students with differentcultural background may feel isolated in a social context or in classroom is high. This maygreatly affect their performance in colleges and universities as well as have long-term effects inbuilding relationships (Armstrong, 2015, p. 2). One of the most common barriers to effectivesocial integration and has affected the development and growth of international students bothacademically and socially is the language barrier. Literature ReviewIn every aspect of life, language is essential in all kinds of communication, including those withspeech impairments. In such cases, those with speech impairments often use brail and signlanguage (Lowinger et al. 2014, p. 146). In other words, communication is often difficult in cases

Language Barriers among Chinese Students 3where people do not understand one another. According to Ha and Li (2016), the inability ofcommunicating using through a use of a language is understood as language barrier. Accordingto the study, language barrier is the most common aspect communication barrier that tends tocourse misinterpretation and misunderstanding between two or more parties. Language barrieroften has a direct or indirect effect on individuals, an aspect that is often experienced by studentsin both local and international students. Embracing international students in colleges and universities contributes to increased diversityand internationalization of their classrooms; the campuses as well as the communities involvedand provide a great platform for learning and appreciating cultural differences (Ngai et al. 2015,p. 772). The development of social media platforms and applications as well as practices havebrought a new change and a shift to social integration practices in which many students use theplatforms to engage with each other and get to know more about the other student. However, thelanguage barrier has still challenged the effective use of social media to promote socialintegration in universities and colleges. This study, therefore, seeks to provide an understandingof the challenges posed by the language barrier as faced by the Chinese students in adapting toglobal social media applications and practices in a case study of the Chinese students at VictoriaUniversity.The today's globalizing society or community has been characterized by the increased use ofsocial media platforms in our everyday lives. The social media has provided a platform whereindividuals can freely communicate and interact with each other. The users can as well shareknowledge as well as exchange messages regardless of the distance that separates them (Trainoret al. 2014, P. 1206). However Chinese students in international universities and in this case inVictoria University have been found to or are believed to socialize among themselves and

Language Barriers among Chinese Students 4therefore they experience great difficulties or challenges in befriending the local students. Socialmedia platforms have been used by different individuals to become more integrated into the hostculture as well as get to understand and appreciate the diversity among the students. Thereforeintercultural adaptation involves the process of promoting understanding through interaction toincrease the level of fitness so that the demands of a new cultural environment can be met (Li &Chen, 2014, p. 120).Some of the global released statistics on social media usage globally provided that internet usershave an average of 5.54 social media accounts whereas 1 million new and active mobile socialusers are added every day. It is also provided that 55 percent of Facebook users get news or newsheadlines from the social network (Lowinger et al. 2014, p. 146). The New York Timesnewspapers also point out to the fact that 67 percent of all consumers tap networks such asTwitter and Facebook for custom services. However, according to the Global web index,Facebook users spend an average of 50 minutes a day on its multiple platforms. Such statisticsshow how social media has been used for different purposes and how it has become veryimportant in the modern world in fostering good relationships and enhancing communication.Social and academic integration has become very important for the Chinese students inAustralian universities. The argument of increased language barrier that has affected theintegration of Chinese international students has being counteracted by the fact that in Englishspeaking nations, it is the responsibility of the student to improve his or her language skills sothat he or she may improve his or her English proficiency (Ha & Li, 2014, p. 240). However, thelocal students also have a responsibility of facilitating social opportunities and platforms forengagement between the domestic students and the international students.

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