Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: Living in a new country and studying in a different language within an unfamiliar education system can be extremely rewarding for the individual concerned, and having international students on campus can hugely enrich the environment of the host institution.International students bring different perspectives, can be demanding but also refreshing, and their presence can facilitate intercultural awareness and experience (Schweisfurth and Gu, 2009;Montgomery, 2009), which are highlyvalued attributes in today's globalised marketplace.Living and studying abroad can, however, also represent a significant challenge for those involved.Every single person who has contact with international students has a significant role to play in supporting them through the different stages of this experience.In addition to developing their own practice to draw upon to respond to international students, one of the ways in which staff can achieve this is by being aware of all of the English language and other support mechanisms in place within the University to support students throughout this process.After outlining ways in which an international student might evidence his/her English level and highlighting one or two points in relation to this, this article will focus on the support offered through the university preparation courses for international students and the staff development opportunities for academic and support staff within Leeds Metropolitan University.It is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss the many other forms of support typically available for international students at UK universities, but further details about this topic can be found in UKCOSA (2007).
Author: Dawn Leggott
Language: English
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2110330070