What obstacles will China students studying in Australia encounter when they integrate into the local society?

No matter whether they plan to stay in Australia or return to China for development in the future, in fact, China students are eager to understand Australian society during their study abroad. However, due to various subjective or objective reasons, it is difficult for many overseas students from China to integrate into the local Australian society. Is this regarded as? Invisible man? . A few days ago, the Australian Institute of Future Leaders conducted a survey on China students. Youth Leadership Learning Forum? Held in Sydney, one of the training contents is to introduce Australia's political, economic and community situation, which is very popular. The international students from China who participated in the forum said that no matter whether they plan to stay in Australia or return to China for development in the future, they very much hope to learn about Australian society during their study career. However, due to various subjective or objective reasons, many China students are difficult to integrate into the local Australian society and are regarded as transparent people.

There used to be a popular word on the internet called? China ghost? , refers to some international students from China or East Asia. Although they live in student apartments with other students, they always stay at home, never socialize, and don't even introduce themselves to their roommates except for gatherings with familiar people.

So what obstacles will China students encounter when they integrate into the local Australian society? How to overcome them one by one?

? Holding a group? advantages and disadvantages

A few days ago, the Australian government released a report on the number of international students. The report shows that the number of international students from Chinese mainland continues to rise steadily, still ranking first in the number of international students in Australia, far exceeding the second to fifth countries (namely, India, Vietnam, South Korea and Malaysia), accounting for 28.5% of the total number of international students in Australia.

Behind these data, we should pay more attention to the individual life of international students in China. Before leaving for Australia, China students were full of lofty sentiments, but after coming to Australia, some people gradually became silent. This has always been a common phenomenon, not only in Australia, but also in other popular countries in China. China students prefer to form a closed circle. Holding a group? People with similar language habits live and study, and it is more difficult to integrate into the local society.

For this phenomenon, some educational research experts point out that it has both positive effects, such as helping and caring for each other, overcoming various difficulties and challenges abroad, and negative effects, which are not conducive to improving foreign language proficiency, intercultural communication ability and understanding of the places where they study, and also lead to a huge gap between these international students in the local area.

The dependence of some overseas students in China on small circles has not only attracted the attention of domestic parents, educators, Australian local Chinese parliamentarians and Chinese community leaders, but also made local students curious. Some local students ask questions. I really don't understand. If you like playing with China people, eating Chinese food, singing pop songs in China and watching TV in China, why do you want to go abroad? Wouldn't it be more convenient to stay at home and get all this?

Some international students stop at five mother tongue circles.

Liang Xiao (pseudonym), who graduated from the University of Sydney with a master's degree in accounting and finance in June this year, is deeply impressed by the overseas students. Because I used to come step by step. ?

Liang Xiao said that from his personal experience, international students basically have to face several circles when they first come. First, when I first arrived in Australia, I kept close contact with many relatives and friends in China, and it was an China relationship circle; The second is the circle of classmates who attend classes together; Third, roommates; Fourth, the circle of friends of classmates and roommates; Fifth, workers, that is, people they know at work and their friends. For some international students, their communication scope stops at these five circles.

Due to some traditional ideas or utilitarian factors in China, some university majors are often concentrated in China, such as business schools; In addition, due to the threshold of language or experience, most foreign students come to Australia to work in China companies, such as restaurants and supermarkets. Some international students from China, out of security and living habits, share a room with acquaintances from Dachuan or international students from China. In this case, some international students in China are mainly from China in their study, life and work.

Liang Xiao said, in fact, taking two more steps and participating in some community activities or volunteer activities inside and outside the school will further expand the circle of life. But it is difficult for many people to give up their mother tongue circle and integrate into the local society. It is difficult to give up the circle of acquaintances and enter the local circle for many reasons.

The first is the arrangement of time. As an international student, you have to pass the English pass first, and then you have to pass the professional pass, which takes a lot of time. Secondly, due to economic considerations, many international students have to work in addition to attending classes, and some international students say it is difficult to take time out to participate in various social activities. Thirdly, some international students are interested in finding jobs in local enterprises, but their language and experience requirements are relatively high, so they can only go to companies with China background. Fourth, there is no channel to understand, because the surrounding circles are all China people.

Liang Xiao said that if you just want a degree, you can get it at home. After spending so much money to study abroad, I still know nothing about this country in the end. How unfair. ?

Senator China's analysis? Obstacles

Why are some China students used to holding groups? Why are you used to staying in your circle of acquaintances? What difficulties did they encounter in the process of integrating into the Australian community?

In this regard, Wang Guozhong, a Chinese Congressman from NSW and the founder of Australia Future Leadership Institute, said in an interview with this reporter that there are a large number of Australian students studying here in NSW, and there are three major difficulties for China students to integrate into Australia: language, culture and values.

Language barrier is undoubtedly the primary factor, and language is the most important communication bridge. Some foreign students feel that their language is not good, and they are unwilling to take the initiative to speak and contact, resulting in less communication with students from other backgrounds and locals, resulting in a relatively stable circle.

Second, cultural differences. Some international students have little or no interest in local customs, history and geography. They watch TV in China, listen to China's songs and pay attention to China's pop culture. It is understandable to love your mother tongue, but since you are studying in Australia, or have plans to stay and develop in the future, it is essential to know the local area and communicate with the locals. This cultural difference also includes other aspects, including sports and life details. Some international students feel that the difference is too great and lose the motivation of communication and integration.

Thirdly, there are differences in ways of thinking, values and ways of dealing with people. This is also a common and deeper problem for international students when they integrate into the local area. For some international students, language can be improved through continuous training, and cultural aspects such as hobbies can also be cultivated, but some inherent ways of thinking and values are not easy to change, and here, the requirements for international students' intercultural communication ability are even higher.

These three obstacles undoubtedly exist objectively and need to be overcome by foreign students.

? Temporary workers? Mentality leads to crisis.

In the reporter's interview, I found that some international students exist? Temporary workers? Mentality also affects their enthusiasm to integrate into Australian local society, which is a subjective obstacle related to personality, growth environment and family background.

This kind? Temporary workers? The first mentality is manifested in the positioning of oneself. Chairman of the Australian Chinese Volunteers Association, who was awarded by the Australian Prime Minister's Office? Top ten outstanding Chinese youths in Australia? Zhou Shuo was an international student, enthusiastic about community public welfare affairs, and then stayed in Australia to develop and start a business.

Zhou Shuo believes that some international students have misunderstandings and think that their status as international students is a kind of weakness and does not have strong competitiveness. In fact, these international students are not incompetent, but afraid to show themselves. Australia is a multi-ethnic immigrant country, advocating the harmonious development of multiculturalism and being very tolerant. Therefore, foreign students should try their best to break down the barriers of their own understanding and express themselves bravely, instead of just caring about accent grammar.

This kind of temporary worker mentality is also manifested in the fact that some international students do not have a very clear view of their future and the purpose of studying abroad is not clear. Tian Sang, who is currently studying for a master's degree at Macquarie University and the founder of Macquarie University Freshmen Association, said that some international students decided to return to China early and had no motivation to further integrate into the Australian community. Some international students want to stay and develop in Australia by studying abroad, so they will choose a major that is conducive to immigration and pay attention to immigration-related things from the beginning; Then there is no time to deliberately integrate into the local Australian community. After all, staying is the most important thing.

Once again, some foreign students talked about the cost and reward of integration. When language is not a strong point, it takes more time and energy to understand the local society, including money, and some people will consider the cost and reward. If dealing with the circle you are familiar with has no adverse effects on your life and study, and the communication cost is very low, you feel comfortable, and the return on more investment is high, then the motivation to get out of the circle of acquaintances is insufficient; However, if the connection with the local people or the community may be high investment and low return, and more cognitive costs need to be paid in order to integrate into the local society or social circle, then the enthusiasm for continuing is not high and may eventually give up.

How to get rid of it? Ghosts? label

However, more and more international students hope that their study abroad career is an all-round experience, not just a degree awarded by foreign universities. When a person is young, in the prime of life, he has the opportunity to go to other countries for further study and spend several years of his youth to experience the impact of different cultures. In the words of an international student, everyone can live in life, but what the taste of life is depends on one's ability. The world is so big, you only need to conquer one person, and that person is yourself.

Get rid of? Ghosts? Has the label been removed? Invisible man? This is a painful and long process, which requires curiosity, perseverance and courage, and it is also a process of growth. In this regard, NSW Senator Wang Guozhong also gave three suggestions for the obstacles encountered by foreign students in integrating into the local community.

The first is to know more about local news. Senator Wang Guozhong said that there are abundant Internet resources, and the Internet is a good channel for international students to learn about the local society. Australian government departments, social organizations or various institutions have their own websites, and international students can learn about all aspects of Australian politics, economy and society by searching for relevant information.

Secondly, try to get in touch with local people and participate in local community activities. Senator Wang Guozhong strongly encourages foreign students to actively participate in activities inside and outside the school, such as some community activities and campus community activities, which can not only expand their social circle and exercise their ability to understand different values in this multicultural soil, but also respect the differences of these values.

Thirdly, we are open-minded, actively involved, willing to learn and brave to integrate. Are you willing to understand and integrate into the local culture? When you encounter different things, phenomena or ideas, are you critical or are you more willing to participate and communicate from another angle?

Senator Wang Guozhong also said that all sectors of Australian society should pay more attention to overseas students. For international students in China, whether it is university campus, local community or local Chinese organizations, professionals, enterprises, etc. They should also communicate with international students, actively provide some suggestions that international students care about, communicate with each other, and promote the integration of international students into the local community.

All walks of life pave the way for the integration of international students

Xiao Liang, who graduated from the University of Sydney, has a deep understanding of Wang Guozhong's talk about actively participating in activities inside and outside the school and expanding his exercise ability in the social circle. At that time, he tried to get out of the circle of five acquaintances and enter the sixth circle. He participated in volunteer activities on campus through the introduction of familiar friends.

Liang Xiao said that many friends who participated in volunteer activities on campus said? Very fulfilling, rewarding, no regrets? So he also participated, and got to know some local sponsors and got to know the local community better through these activities. Later, due to these volunteer activities, he also got an internship opportunity in a local company and finally left his job with his own strength. Behind this seemingly smooth road is one after another.

At present, Liang Xiao is a member of the Australian Chinese Volunteers Association. He introduced that the members of the association include international students and local professionals in the fields of law, medicine and business. Usually some activities are organized to serve the local community or the Chinese community.

It was held the other day. Youth Leadership Learning Forum? , provided an opportunity for international students attending the conference to talk with a series of heavyweights such as Li Huaxin, Consul General of the Consulate General of China in Sydney, Wang Guozhong, Senator of NSW, and Huang Xiangmo, the leader of Chinese community, and to discuss and exchange topics of concern to international students.

Talking about the reasons for holding such a learning forum for young leaders, Senator Wang Guozhong expressed the hope to provide a good platform for young people and give them opportunities to go deep into society and understand society; Give them opportunities to train their speaking skills and interpersonal skills. When they master these, they have an advantage. Next year, the scope will be expanded to attract foreign students from other different countries to promote mutual integration and exchanges.

Zhou Shuo told reporters that the group he founded in downtown Sydney will also provide some internship positions for newly graduated international students. Among the abilities that foreign students should have, in the field of gold and silver trading, what he values most is honesty and English communication skills. Zhou Shuo said? Communication ability includes not only the fluency of spoken English, but also a full understanding of how to communicate with people and the corresponding skills. ?