Culture Shock: Student Experiences and University Support Report

This report investigates the phenomenon of culture shock, focusing on the experiences of students in the UK. The report begins with an introduction to culture shock, defining it as the anxiety, uncertainty, and confusion felt when encountering a new and unfamiliar culture. It provides backgroun...Read More

Culture shock UK

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
BACKGROUND.............................................................................................................................1
AIM..................................................................................................................................................2
METHOD........................................................................................................................................2
FINDINGS.......................................................................................................................................2
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
Culture shock refers to the feeling of anxiety, uncertainty and confusion which is
experienced by an individual when visiting, performing business and shifting in the society that
is completely different from their own (Ali, 2020). In other words, it is personal disorientation
that is felt by a person at the time they experiences an unfamiliar way of livings while visiting
other places or moving among social environment. The present report is about culture shock and
includes information which is investigated in small research.
BACKGROUND
Culture shock is seen as an issue which have high chances to affect people to adjust towards
totally new cultural environment. Some people feels thrilled to be in a new cultural environment
while some take it as adventure (Ifekwunigwe, 2020). One of common reason for occurrence of
culture shock engrosses people in an international environment. The level of acculturation relies
on certain factors like general personality, language skill, cultural distance among involved
cultures and motivation to adapt.
Culture Shock is seen as an issue that various people across the globe faces when they
shifts to other cultural environment. It is a serious issue as it impacts on lives of a person. For
example, when a talkative person shifts towards calm cultural climate or surrounding then they
becomes very serious and do not like to enjoy their life (Kells, 2020). They just wish to complete
their day and wish for another day.
There are various ideas to manage or overcome from culture shock. The first technique is
to realise that adjusting takes time leads to managing the consequences of the issue (Nielsen,
2017). The other one is emphasising on positivity and doing things with fun or performing
interesting discoveries also plays great role in overcoming from cultural shock. Through getting
familiar with new neighbours, learning about new place and local language, making new friends,
engaging in a routine, joining an expat community and making efforts for attaining sense of
stability in the life are some remedial measures to deal with cultural shock. The other strategies
that helped students to overcome or deal with cultural shock issue includes being open mind so
to embrace changes as well as understanding differences, finding different ways for relieving
stress helps student to overcome cultural shock.
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There are various ideas, effective ones to manage and overcome culture shock is finding
different ways to deal with the issue. It is because the making adjustment to culture shock in
University of London is quite stressful. So participating in activities such as exercising,
exploring new hobbies, mediation and many more encourages socialising as well as meeting with
new people that leads to overcoming culture shock. The other effective idea is emphasising on
positive rather than looking towards what is missing such as familiar food as well as customs
from back house. It is important to discover along with learn new things for which a student goes
to study abroad. In this, writing fun or discovering so to add them in wish list have high chances
to deal with culture shock. Another effective idea is realising that adjustments takes time helps in
overcoming from the issue (Mohamed Zeadan, 2018). In this, students set goals for themselves
and making an objective to learn new things per week for sharing with new people helps in
dealing with culture shock.
AIM
The aim of the report is to analyse how people feel when they shifts from one cultural
environment to another. Other purpose of the investigation is to research how university help
students to deal with the culture shock issue.
METHOD
The method used in the research of cultural shock is questionnaire method. The sample
size selected is 12 which are students belonging to Europe, Asia, South America and Africa.
FINDINGS
In the report, discovery is made for analysing cultural shock and its consequences on
students of various countries. As per the survey, people felt differently in the first week when
they came to UK. Some felt happy, while some felt excited and others felt lost. Among 12
respondents, around 4 people felt very low when they came to United Kingdom for which they
gave 1 number. At same time, one 1 person grades 2 to the feel they received by people at the
time they came to the country. However, 5 respondents graded 3 to the feeling they received
from the population that arrived in the UK. From the survey, it is analysed that people had
experienced symptoms of cultural shock such as homesickness, mild uneasiness, irritability,
acute happiness, loss of perspective and psychological panic. The most aspects that shocked the
student as foreign students in London are eating habits, amount of people and public transport.
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Around 8 students graded 1 to their experience they like for studying with people that are
different from their own culture. The rest graded 2 to the experiences student like by studying
with people from other culture. Also, students had favourable experiences from cultural shock as
they gained huge knowledge about different cultures.
Students had seen unfamiliar experiences from cultural shock. It is the shock of being
separated from closed ones in their life and living with unfamiliar people (Belford, 2017). There
are more female students that have gained unique experience while they shifted to other locations
for educational purposes. Their experiences are in form of happy, lost and excitement. Some of
factors that contributed in cultural shock are differences in language, climate, values,
relationships, rules of behaviour and many more. From the survey, it is analysed that University
helped students to live and study in London through giving study advices, helping in opening
band account and providing leaflets or maps of locations.
CONCLUSION
From the report, it is concluded that culture shock is experienced by people when they
shifts to other environment that is completely new for them. It is serious issue which have
possibilities to effect adjustments of people to new location of cultural environment. There are
various people that like moving to other place and getting adjusted their easily while many of
them faces certain issues. People experiences irritability, psychological panic, mild uneasiness,
homesickness and loss of perspectives as symptoms of culture shock. Excitement, happiness and
lost are certain feelings which respondents felt when they came to UK in first week.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Ali, S., 2020. Mixed-race, post-race: Gender, new ethnicities a nd cultural practices. Routledge.
Belford, N., 2017. International students from Melbourne describing their cross-cultural
transitions experiences: Culture shock, social interaction, and friendship
development. Journal of International Students. 7(3). pp.499-521.
Ifekwunigwe, J. O., 2020. Scattered belongings: Cultural paradoxes of race, nation and gender.
Routledge.
Kells, M. E., 2020. ‘The shock of the new’: a theological reflection on art, the Incarnation and
doctrine within contemporary Higher Education Chaplaincy. Practical Theology, pp. 1-
14.
Mohamed Zeadan, S., 2018. Heat Shock Stimulate Division of Hypocotyle Suspension Culture
of Dianthus caryophyllus L. JOURNAL OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE. 27(2).
pp.39-47.
Nielsen, J. K., 2017. Museum communication and storytelling: articulating understandings
within the museum structure. Museum management and curatorship. 32(5). pp.440-455.
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