Key Problems Faced by Nepalese Female Students in Sydney

This literature review explores the key problems and challenges faced by Nepalese female students studying in Sydney. It covers topics such as the international student experience in Sydney, the situation of Nepalese students in Sydney, and the key problems they face including financial issues, socio-cultural adjustments, language barriers, and homesickness.

Running Head: LITERATURE REVIEW
ASSIGNMENT 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2LITERATURE REVIEW
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................3
LITERATURE REVIEW...........................................................................................................3
International student experience in Sydney............................................................................3
Situation of the Nepalese students in Sydney.........................................................................4
Key problems and challenges faced by Nepalese female students studying in Sydney.........5
SUMMARY...............................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES...........................................................................................................................9

3LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
The following literature is going to be based on the research topic "Exploring key
problems and challenges faced by Nepalese international female students at Holmes Institute,
Sydney". This section will comprise of various relevant literature from different journal
articles which were searched by using the keyword method. The keywords used for searches
include international student, postgraduate students, Nepalese student, female, challenges,
problems, education, and higher education. The findings from the various literature are
produced as follows.
LITERATURE REVIEW
International student experience in Sydney
Australia has got a much-nurtured culture of academics, as a result, attracts a lot of
international students to the country. The students coming from around the world get shaped
to the ways of learning due to the enriched cultural paradigm (Talebloo and Baki, 2013).
After the students enrol themselves in the Australian culture of studying they need to face
various constraints related to the new and unfamiliar culture of academics. Some of the issues
that these international students have to face are an adaptation in the socio-cultural
environment, language barriers and acculturation. Unruh (2015) opined that it is seen very
often that the requirements of the English language hardly helps the students in preparing
themselves for the huge cultural adaptation that they have to make in order to establish
themselves in the Australian culture of education. However, there are much research done
and it has been seen that the problems are much more complex than just language barriers.
Tran and Gomes (2017) have identified that besides language there are other areas of conflict
such as structured or non-structured learning, the involvement of the students and the
professor, learning styles and plagiarism. The collaboration of the students and the teaching
faculty is also very bleak as a result there are several international students who are
struggling to find the necessary support as well as services from the authority.
Social isolation or in other words staying far away from the family and adjusting to
the new way of life in a totally new country actually takes a toll on the phycology of these
international students. The Cambridge International College made a survey among 1155
students in three different colleges located in Melbourne. The result of this survey was that

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about 70% of the students who came from other parts of the world are actually suffering from
loneliness and depression during the time they are staying in Australia (Wu et al. 2015). It is
not just the loneliness but the international students have to face day to day difficulties such
as problem in communication, social challenges, trying to cope up with the new system of
education as well as difficulty in making new friends. Moreover, the students have to live in a
tight budget and always face the problems of financial constraints. Ryan et al. (2016) added
that the students are generally not much aware of the rules, regulations and rights, as a result,
they find it very difficult to find a proper place for accommodation. It is often seen that
international students are cheated or mislead while they are trying to find a suitable place for
accommodation. Researchers have found out that mainly students from the Third World
countries have to face exploitation. Studying in Australia is quite expensive as a result most
of the international students have to find some casual work to sustain their living besides
studying. Gerritsen (2016) mentioned the financial hardship that the students face in NSW is
even worse as they do not even get any kind of travelling concessions.
Safety is a concerning issue for the international students studying in Australia. There
have been instances when the Chinese consultancy particularly asked for the protection of the
students after several instances of burglary and violence. There are over 180000 international
students studying in Australia and the majority of them are Chinese (Olwig and Valentin,
2015). According to a survey conducted by the Chinese consultancy on 100 students and it
has been found that more than one-fourth of the students were victims of a robbery at
knifepoint.
Situation of the Nepalese students in Sydney
Sydney is considered to be one of the costliest cities to live in and as a result, they
have a very strong economy and very low level of unemployment. This high cost of living
makes it very difficult for the students to live in the country. The average cost of living in
Australia is about 155% and renting cost is 712.37% higher than that of Nepal (Gautam et al.
2016). Students spend a majority of their money on their accommodation and on average
students have to spend $100 - $200 in rent that too on a sharing basis. Although the cost of
food is also huge the students can even opt for cheaper options from the various Asian
restaurant located in the major cities around Australia. Even the cost of public transport is
very high and the students have to spend almost $400 every week on transportation. The cost

5LITERATURE REVIEW
of transportation is higher in bigger cities like Sydney but at least job opportunities for the
students are more in these cities. Finding a job for themselves is also not easy in such a
competitive place such as Australia and students almost need one to two months before
finding a suitable job for themselves.
The students also have to spend a huge amount of money on the first month of their
arrival as they have to sign a bond for their accommodation followed by the setup cost to
settle in a new country. So it has been noticed that on the very first-month students spend
almost $3500 excluding the cost of books and other study materials that can cost up to $1000
each year (Rahimi et al. 2016). All these are just a rough estimation of the cost of living and
might vary from time to time or the place someone is particularly living. If a particular person
drinks or smokes or loves to party then the living cost is going to increase many folds as the
cost of tobacco, alcohol or petrol is very high in Australia.
Even if someone falls sick in Australia then the cost of treatment is going to leave a
hole in their pocket. In order to safeguard themselves from these situations, students need to
have their medical insurance and fill up the Overseas Student Health Cover form (Birrell and
Betts, 2018). This will at least help the students to cover their medical expenses to some
extent. Moreover falling sick might affect them in their daily lives as not only they will miss
their studies but they will also miss going to their job which might affect their financial status
and give them a tough time.
Key problems and challenges faced by Nepalese female students studying in Sydney
Australia has a very rich culture of education and as a result, attracts thousands of
students each year from around the world. Students from all over the world come to Australia
each year and spend thousands of dollars on their education. At the present time, Nepal is the
third largest source of international students in Australia. With each year the number of
Nepalese students is increasing in Australia and as a result, the students are facing various
problems mainly the problems are related to their accommodation and employment.
Financial problems
Australia is a very costly place to live in and study as a result students coming from
Nepal has to spend a huge amount of money in order to settle in one of the big cities in
Australia such as Sydney. The accommodation cost for living in Australia is too high and for

6LITERATURE REVIEW
the female Nepalese students setting in big cities of Australia has to spend more than $500
dollars every week just for the accommodation that too on a sharing basis. The cost of
enrolment, as well as the study materials for the colleges in Australia, is also very high.
Besides education, the students have to spend a lot of money on their food and transportation.
It has been seen that the average cost of transportation and food can sum up to more than
$1400 per month (Ghimire and Maharjan, 2015). The female students find it very difficult to
adjust with the huge cost of living in some of the big cities such as Sydney and approximately
the cost of living is 155 times higher than living in Nepal. Similarly, the transportation cost is
more than 700 times higher as compared to the transportation cost in Nepal. Although cities
such as Sydney generally offers a better scope of work for the female Nepalese students
studying in Australia. But it is not very easy to get a job and students spend almost 2 to 3
months to find themselves a job. So without a job maintaining a basic living in Australia
becomes very difficult.
Socio-cultural adjustments
Tran and Gomes (2017) mentioned a very big problem that these students face is the
socio-cultural differences which makes it very difficult for the students to adjust in the new
environment. The cultural norms or practices in Nepal is very much different from that of
Australia. The language or the common terms used by the people in Australia is also
different. For example, the Australians use terms such as ta in case of thank you or lingo to
define language or terminology and makes it very difficult for the female Nepalese students
studying in Australia to cope up with the cultural differences. Ashton-Hay (2016) opined it
takes a huge effort and strong will power to go to a completely new country and adjust with
the cultural differences. These cultural differences hinder them from making new friends as
the colleges are obviously outnumbered by the local students who belong to the same culture.
So the initial few days are actually very difficult for the Nepalese students to cope up with the
surrounding and have high chances that they become a victim of loneliness and depression.
Welsch (2018) added that for the students who are aspiring to carry out their higher education
in some of the major cities of Australia such as Sydney and Melbourne must learn and know
about the social culture of the Aussie. Living and studying in Australia is considered very
difficult as the girls from Nepal who goes out to study in big cities such as Sydney faces
harsh racism from the local people (Wu et al. 2015). The cases of violence and burglary are
also very high and it makes it very difficult for the female students studying there. The girls

7LITERATURE REVIEW
are always at risk of antisocial and burglars, the tension of security and safety always lies
behind the minds of the female Nepalese students.
Language barriers
The local dialect of Nepal is completely different from that of Australia. Although the
Nepalese students are generally fluent in English it does not really help them in
communicating with the local people (Lawrence, 2014). Although it is a common factor that
people going from Nepal to Australia will find it difficult to cope up with the language but
the main problem lies with the students is that English is actually not the native language
spoken by the native Australians. The students have to face problems not just with the course
work or the study materials but also in making small talks with other students or professors.
But in general, the universities in Australia are very well organized and have many programs
to support the students with language proficiency. The students also have scope to enhance
their spoken English and adapt to the local dialect by mixing with the local people and
communicating with them (Birrell and Betts, 2018). It is very important for international
students to learn the local language as they have to stay in the country for the next few years.
Communication will become easier for them and will actually help them to adjust to the new
environment. Because of the language barrier students from other countries such as Nepal
find it very difficult to cope up with the academics, so learning the language will not just help
the students to communicate but also help them in their academics.
Homes sickness
Another very common problem that the female students from Nepal face is
homesickness. Being away from home for such a long time actually affects the psychology of
these students. According to Birrell and Betts (2018), it becomes very difficult for the
students to stay away from their friends and family and adjust to a completely new country.
As a result, many of the students suffer from depression and loneliness which makes it very
difficult for them to concentrate on their academics. The distance between Australia and
Nepal is a few thousand miles as a result visiting home also becomes very difficult for them.
Differences in teaching pattern
In Nepal, the main focus is given on theoretical knowledge and how to achieve good
grades in the exams. But the teaching pattern in Australia is completely different and does not
just focus on theoretical knowledge and examinations. Unruh (2015) argued that in the

8LITERATURE REVIEW
universities in Australia students are given various assessment components which helps them
to build the skill sets that are mostly required in becoming a successful person in the future.
This also helps the students to flourish in whatever subject they are specializing in. The
universities in Australia doesn’t force the students to study and instead gives them total
freedom in choosing whatever they want to do. So for a student who has always been
pressurized to give a certain level of performance in their academics gets puzzled when they
are offered the freedom to choose their own ways (Brooker et al. 2017). As a result, many of
the Nepalese students stop taking their classes seriously and indulge themselves in other
activities that might actually hamper their studies. Instead of examination students are given
assignments that they need to perform as a team which actually helps the students to
understand the values of teamwork. A major difference between the education cultures
between the two nations is that plagiarism is not a very big issue in Nepal or India (Olwig and
Valentin, 2015). But the Australian universities take this matter very seriously and proper
citation and referencing need to be done if someone is using the works of others in a
particular project. The Australian universities also offer dual degrees as well as the flexibility
to change their degrees if the students are not interested to carry out the subject they started
with. This actually provides the students with opportunities to decide and follow their
passion. Further Welsch (2018) added that it takes time for them to understand the education
pattern and accustom themselves in this new culture. All these are completely new for the
female students coming to Australia to carry out their further studies.
SUMMARY
The present literature has been reviewed for exploring the key problems and
challenges faced by Nepalese international female students at Holmes Institute, Sydney. After
gathering relevant information it can be concluded that the most common problems faced by
the international students and specifically the female students from Nepal are financial
problems, socio-cultural adjustments, language barriers, differences in teaching pattern and
homesickness. While choosing Sydney as the country to study, the female Nepalese student
should be aware of the aforementioned information.

9LITERATURE REVIEW
REFERENCES
Ashton-Hay, S.A., 2016. International student transitioning experiences: Student
voice. Journal of Academic Language and Learning, 10(1), pp.A1-A19.
Birrell, B. and Betts, K., 2018. Australia’s higher education overseas student industry: in a
precarious state.
Brooker, A., Brooker, S. and Lawrence, J., 2017. First year students’ perceptions of their
difficulties. Student Success, 8(1), pp.49-62.
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.
Gerritsen, R., 2016. A test of the role of universities in regional development: The case of
international education students in the Northern Territory. Australasian Journal of Regional
Studies, The, 22(1), p.125.
Ghimire, A. and Maharjan, K., 2015. Student returnees and their reflection on contribution to
Nepal: Use of knowledge and skills. Migration and Development, 4(1), pp.90-107.
Lawrence, J., 2014. Living comfortably with diversity: International students’ transition
practices. Queensland Review, 21(2), pp.217-232.
Olwig, K.F. and Valentin, K., 2015. Mobility, education and life trajectories: new and old
migratory pathways. Identities, 22(3), pp.247-257.
Rahimi, R., Nadda, V., Hyseni, B. and Mulindwa, D., 2016. Motivations of South Asian
students to study tourism and hospitality in the United Kingdom. In Tourism and hospitality
management (pp. 223-234). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Ryan, R., Dowler, B., Bruce, S., Gamage, S. and Morris, A., 2016. The wellbeing of
international students in the city of Sydney.
Talebloo, B. and Baki, R.B., 2013. Challenges faced by international postgraduate students
during their first year of studies. International Journal of Humanities and Social
Science, 3(13), pp.138-145.
Tran, L.T. and Gomes, C., 2017. International student connectedness and identity. Springer
Singapore:.

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Unruh, S., 2015. Struggling international students in the United States: do university faculty
know how to help?.
Welsch, M., 2018. Interest and Intent in Pursuing Higher Education: Nepali Students'
Perceptions on Study Abroad Experiences. In International Student Mobility and
Opportunities for Growth in the Global Marketplace (pp. 246-260). IGI Global.
Wu, H.P., Garza, E. and Guzman, N., 2015. International student’s challenge and adjustment
to college. Education Research International, 2015.