Difficulties Faced by International ESL Students in US Universities

This essay delves into the multifaceted challenges encountered by international students, particularly those for whom English is a second language (ESL), studying in US universities. The introduction establishes the increasing trend of international students seeking qualifications abroad and highlights the difficulties they face, including language barriers, lack of social support, and academic adjustments. The essay's thesis focuses on identifying these challenges, specifically targeting ESL students, and explores factors influencing their success. It emphasizes the importance of English language programs (ELP) in addressing these issues. The essay further examines the language issues, diverse challenges, and critical factors impacting international students, such as motivation and cultural integration. The conclusion underscores the need for support systems, guidance, and potential curriculum improvements to assist international students in navigating their academic and cultural experiences. The essay also references various academic sources to support its findings.

PROBLEM FACED BY INTERNATIONAL STUDENT 1
Problem faced by International Student
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Date
Subject Code
Instructor

PROBLEM FACED BY INTERNATIONAL STUDENT 2
Problem faced by International Student
Introduction
The last few years in Canada have witnessed the scenario of number of international
students aspiring towards the obtaining of the qualification in the foreign universities (Sheppard
et al., 2015, pp. 8). Although the international students benefit from the education system, they
encounter certain difficulties and problems in adjustment such as the language barriers, lack of
social support and adjustments in the field of academics. There has been growing number of
evidences regarding the international students for whom English is not their first language
(Leong, 2015, pp.461). With the requirements towards meeting certain standards of the
proficiency of English, the international students often face difficulties in writing and studying
English. The thesis statement for the assignment argues the identification of the relevant
challenges that is faced by the international ESL students during their study in the universities of
United States. The assignment furthermore targets the factors that might influence the success of
the international students. The purpose for choosing this particular topic for research is for the
effective identification of the problems and the challenges if the ESL students of other countries,
their academic barriers and needs for guidance for the facilitation of support programs for their
assistance. The essay focuses on the needs of the English language program (ELP) towards
addressing the challenges of the international students. The aim of the essay is to identify the
issues and the problems faced by the international students whose first language is not English in
their academics and their cultural lives in United States. The study furthermore intends to give
the international students some of the opportunities or chances to reflect on their problems and
their experiences being a second language learner of English.
Language issues for International Student

PROBLEM FACED BY INTERNATIONAL STUDENT 3
One of the primary motives of the international students to travel to other countries for
the purpose of study is for the learning of the foreign languages for the improvement of their
opportunities in their career path (Wu, Garza & Guzman, 2015, pp. 13). According to the report
of the Institute of International Education, the enrollment of the international students has
comparatively increased from the last few years (The Power of International Education, 2018).
The highest number of the student belong from Asian countries like china, India, South Korea,
Japan and from Canada, Mexico, Turkey and Germany in case of non-Asian countries. In the
survey conducted by Almurideef (2016, pp. 23), most of the international students face
adjustments problems that include barriers in English as one of the main factors apart from
financial aids, faculties and other administrative issues. Yang, Salzman and Yang (2015,pp. 216)
in their research furthermore explains the problems faced by the students belonging from the
Asian countries whose mother tongue is not English and who study English as their second
language in their academics and regular communication.
English language programs (ELP)
Students who are less fluent in the English tend to face more troubles in the integration of
the peer groups. Cheng and Erben (2012, pp. 481) in their study highlighted the importance of
TOEFL and IELTS as the tool for the evaluation of the skills and the fluency of English for the
international students during the time of admission. Their studies furthermore revealed how the
international students from China reported to feel anxiety while using the English in case of
reading, writing and speaking in classroom together with the understanding of the lectures by the
professors (Martin, 2017, pp.32). In short, the strategies of the English language programs (ELP)
mainly focus on the addressing of the academic barriers and for the international ESL students
from the Asian countries.

PROBLEM FACED BY INTERNATIONAL STUDENT 4
Diverse Challenges Experienced by International Student
Learning as a second language tends to be leveraged by diverse range of individual
divergences such as personality, behavior and motivation. In the view of Dörnyei (2014, pp.2),
as it has been observed that adult learners bring a reservoir of life as well as educational
experience to classroom, it persuades that such learners might develop multifaceted psychology
and intricate personalities in learning English as a second language. Trudgill and Hannah
(2017,pp. 21) at this juncture have noted that combined apprehension related to expectation to
make progress along with lack of desired progress pose unconstructive impact on the quality of
life of the international ESL learner studying in some universities in the United States. Such
shortfalls can be act as an obstruction to the success of the immigrant ESL learner and can
further develop a sense of marginalization from culture they desire to join (Fareed, Ashraf &
Bilal, 2016, pp.88). Furthermore, such marginalization with associated lack of access towards
attaining ESL practice opportunities might be highly concerning for international learners of the
US universities (Nair, Krishnasamy & De Mello, 2017, pp. 32). Meanwhile, Dörnyei (2014,pp.2)
is of the perspective that such aggravation can compound the impact and source of the perceived
incompetence to progress in successfully obtaining ESL. However, such critical sense of failure
can be consequential to significant amount of shame and further hinder the process of practical
as well as natural acquisition of English language program (Trudgill & Hannah, 2017). Thus,
Trudgill and Hannah (2017) have noted that attainable ESL learners necessitate more than what
they inherit with a strong sense of interested participation of any other individual.

PROBLEM FACED BY INTERNATIONAL STUDENT 5
Critical factors for ESL faced by the International Student
Nair, Krishnasamy and De Mello (2017, pp. 29) at this stage, has indicated the way
determinants of motivation serves a critical factor in adult ESL learning. According to Trudgill
and Hannah (2017,pp. 19), as motivation relates to why certain individuals decide to perform
something, the duration of the sustainability of their interest and level of enthusiasm integrated to
it, this factor tends to influence ESL learners at significant rate. However Gilakjani and Sabouri
(2016, pp.125) on the other hand, have distinguished forms of integrative motivation that is
learning language to efficiently recognize and penetrate into a community which speaks the
language with individuals who show greater amount of inclination in acquiring ESL regardless
of being motivated by a desire to overcome individuals of the English language program (ELP)
(Nair, Krishnasamy & De Mello, 2017, pp.34).
Conclusion
The international students have been facing diverse challenges in the field of
communication, language barriers and engagements towards social and cultural environment.
English has emerged as the most important form of international communication because of its
predominance in the globalization era; educational officers engaged with the American
educational institutes must arrange proper guidance as well as orientation programme in English
to aid the international students engaged with US educational system. Thus it can be concluded
that sincere encouragement is greatly needed for the management of universities of the Canada to
conduct reading test in English and further provides suggestions for improvement in the ESL
curriculum.

PROBLEM FACED BY INTERNATIONAL STUDENT 6
References
Almurideef, R. (2016). The challenges that international students face when integrating into
higher education in the United States, 10-70. http://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/2336
Cheng, R., & Erben, A. (2012). Language anxiety experiences of Chinese graduate students at
U.S. higher institutions. Journal of Studies in International Education, 16(5) 477-497.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315311421841
Dörnyei, Z. (2014). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second
language acquisition. Routledge, 10(1) 1-4.
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/357316/1/Zheng_2006_TESL_EJ_book%2520review.pdf
Fareed, M., Ashraf, A., & Bilal, M. (2016). ESL learners’ writing skills: Problems, factors and
suggestions. Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 4(2), 81-92. doi:
10.20547/jess0421604201
Gilakjani, A. P., & Sabouri, N. B. (2016). Learners’ listening comprehension difficulties in
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college. Journal of International Students, 5(4), 459-474.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1066267.pdf

PROBLEM FACED BY INTERNATIONAL STUDENT 7
Martin, K. J. (2017). International students in higher education: More than a fish out of water.
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