Factors affecting the

cultural adaptation of

Chinese students in

Uppsala University

Thesis

Department of Business Studies

Uppsala University

Spring Semester of 2017

Date of Submission: Jun.2nd 2017

Puxiang Ren

Simin Mao

Supervisor: James Sallis

Jason Crawford

Abstract

With the increasing number of Chinese students choosing to study abroad, Sweden is a good choice

without a doubt. Chinese students face many challenges in the adaptation process, e.g. managing

group projects with Swedish students, dealing with interpresonal relationships, solving academic

problems, etc. This thesis investigates psychological adaptaion, socio-cultural adaptation and

academic adaptation, based on Ward’s model, and generated nine propositions to explore the

Chinese students’ adaptation in Sweden. Students from both China and Sweden, as well as teachers,

were interviewed to gather the research material, and analysed with the qualitative tool Nvivo to

develop the propositions. The main finding is that the influence of academic and psychological

aspects on Chinese students' cultural adaptation is relatively large, especially the language ability,

personality, and communication. In addition to this, there are some other related factors that we do

not mention, e.g. self-confidence, ambitious motivation, value, etc. The purpose of our study is to

provide effective and practical advice for Chinese students in the adaptation to Swedish culture.

Key words: Cultural adaptation, Chinese students, psychological adaptation, socio-cultural

adaptation, academic adaptation, language

Table of Contents

1. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Research Purpose .......................................................................................................... 3

1.2 Research Question......................................................................................................... 3

2. Theoretical Background ............................................................................... 4

2.1 Culture ................................................................................................................................ 4

2.2 Cultural Adaptation ........................................................................................................ 5

2.3 Chinese Students’ Cultural Adaptation-why is it important? .......................... 6

2.3.1 Previous Research in Chinese Students’ Cultural Adaptation ........................... 7

2.4 Model of Acculturation Process-thinking outside of original’s box.............. 9

2.4.1 Psychological Adaptation ................................................................................................ 10

2.4.2 Factors Affecting Psychological Adaptation ............................................................. 11

2.4.3 Socio-cultural Adaptation ................................................................................................ 13

2.4.4 Factors Affecting Socio-cultural Adaptation ............................................................. 13

2.4.5 Academic Adaptation ........................................................................................................ 16

2.4.6 Potential Factors Affecting Academic Adaptation .................................................. 16

2.4.7 Adaptation from Host Environment ............................................................................. 19

2.5 Summary of Theoretical Framework ...................................................................... 20

3. Methodology .................................................................................................. 23

3.1 Field Survey .................................................................................................................... 23

3.2 Qualitative Research ................................................................................................... 23

3.2.1 Sampling and Data Collection ...................................................................................... 24

3.2.2 Formulation of Interview Guide .................................................................................... 27

3.2.3 Interview Process ............................................................................................................... 29

3.3 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................. 30

3.3.1 Nvivo ....................................................................................................................................... 30

4. Findings and Analysis ................................................................................. 35

4.1 Proposition Development .......................................................................................... 35

4.2 Summary of Analysis .................................................................................................. 36

5. Discussion ...................................................................................................... 39

5.1 Psychological Adaptation of Chinese Students................................................. 39

5.2 Socio-cultural Adaptation of Chinese Students ................................................. 42

5.3 Academic Adaptation of Chinese Students ......................................................... 46

6. Conclusions ................................................................................................... 50

6.1 Summary of Study ........................................................................................................ 50

6.2 Suggestions for Future Chinese Students .......................................................... 51

6.3 Suggestions for University ....................................................................................... 53

6.4 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research ........................................... 55

References ................................................................................................................ 56

Appendix 1: Interview Guide for Chinese students (English) ..................... 65

Appendix 2: Interview Guide for Chinese students (Chinese) .................... 67

Appendix 3: Interview Guide for Swedish students ...................................... 69

Appendix 4: Interview Guide for Teachers ....................................................... 71

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1. Introduction

The Chinese are coming! The Chinese students are flocking to the higher education

system in Sweden! According to data from China’s Ministry of Education, 459,800

Chinese students went abroad in 2015, 92% were self-funded. The US, the UK as well

as Australia are the most popular destinations for Chinese students. Undoubtedly,

Chinese students seeking foreign education are lucrative market and it is being seized

by hundreds of overseas universities as a big business, which leads to Sweden joining

into the competition for paying students.

Since the introduction in Sweden of tuition fee in 2011, the enrollment number of

foreign students took a sharp downward turn (ICEF Monitor - Market intelligence for

international student recruitment, 2017). Especially, it has had a huge impact on

Sweden’s international master degree students, which the countries’ universities had

spent decades to develop to harmonize the Bologna system (Nic, 2013). By teaching in

English, it was helping Swedish universities to be important international players in

terms of postgraduate education. Suddenly, by losing one of the trump cards: free

education, the flow of qualified overseas students to Sweden was reduced significantly

(Nic, 2013). In order to attract more excellent foreign students, particularly in

economically important fields such as science and engineering, Swedish universities

boosted their marketing strategies in regions like China (Nic, 2013).

Accordingly, the number of fee-paying students began to slowly increase after the

crash and had a significant acceleration in 2014. Not surprisingly, among these

fee-paying students, 25% are from China (ICEF Monitor - Market intelligence for

international student recruitment, 2017). These Chinese students not only enable

universities to generate higher revenue in terms of tuition and other fees, but also

contribute to the diversity and internationalization of universities’ classrooms,

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campuses, and communities (Wu, H., Garza, E., & Guzman, N., 2015).

Actually, United States has regarded international students’ education as ‘trade’ for

quite a while. In other words, economic globalization is transforming higher education

into a special consumer commodity that can flow globally (Benji Lamb, 2016). Despite

this, there is another story in Swedish universities: foreign students play a key role in

their eyes, as the vast majority of Swedish companies are internationally oriented who

require overseas students to act as ambassadors for Sweden when they return home or

work in other countries (Nic, 2013). Most importantly, Stephenson (2008) stated that

“Location is now a secondary consideration for overseas students deciding where to

study. Reputation and quality of teaching come first”. In this point, Sweden is moving

in the right direction, as the tuition fees they introduced was meant to focus on quality

of education. Hence, if Swedish universities want to be attractive to more foreign

students, they should understand how to satisfy their needs.

Putting aside these impressive numbers for heavy enrollment of Chinese students in

overseas universities, it is reported that 40% of foreign students in the US have no close

friends on campus because they suffer from the cultural shock and loneliness (Niekerk,

2017)). Meanwhile, how is the situation in Sweden? The majority of Chinese students

are experiencing high levels of isolation and mood disturbance (Fawcett and Brenner,

2017). Briefly speaking, stress due to language barrier, low class participation, poor

performance in seminars, failed exams, as well as personal issues cause a series of

transitional difficulties (Fawcett and Brenner, 2017). Consequently, this results in

Chinese students suffering from both academic, psychological and sociocultural

adjustment issues.

To sum up, the above cross-cultural phenomenon could be explained by the term

‘cultural adaptation’. This term refers to a form of cultural exchange in which one

group assumes the beliefs, practices and rituals of another group without sacrificing the

3

characteristics of its own culture (Berry, 1992). Furthermore, from individual

perspective, it is imperative to explore the cultural adjustment issues of Chinese

students to help them better integrate into the host country; while from a university’s

perspective, improving educational services to Chinese students, that satisfy the

students’ needs can enable the future Chinese students to continue to contribute to

diversification, internationalization, and the university’s overall competitive advantage.

1.1 Research Purpose

The purpose of this research is to explore Chinese students’ experience of living and

studying in Sweden, to identify the cultural adaptation issues on the individual and

organizational level, as well as to investigate factors influencing the process of cultural

adaptation. This research also aims to put forward some suggestions for improving

Chinese students’ acculturation and to provide universities with suggestions for

supporting students through the tough cultural adaptation process. Model of

acculturation of process from Ward & Searle (1990), will be adopted in this thesis to

assist in analyzing the difficulties and challenges encountered by Chinese students in

the process of cross-cultural adaptation.

1.2 Research Question

In the process of cross-cultural adaptation in the universities of Sweden,

1. What factors are influencing the process of cultural adaptation of Chinese

students?

2. What kind of issues are challenging Chinese students from a psychological,

socio-cultural, and academic perspective?

3. What strategies do Chinese students adopt to overcome these challenges?

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2. Theoretical Background

In this chapter, the thesis’s theoretical framework is presented. First, we outline

previous research in the area of culture and cultural adaptation; second, the previous

research in Chinese students’ cultural adaptation is presented; finally, the model and

factors affecting Chinese students’ cultural adaptation from psychological,

sociocultural, and academic perspective are illustrated from both an individual and

organizational level.

2.1 Culture

According to Malinowski (1941), culture consists of four parts: ① material aspect,

such as houses, artifacts, etc., which is the most obvious manifestation of culture; ②

spiritual aspect, such as political, economic, moral and spiritual standardization, these

are the core value of spiritual culture; ③ language aspect; ④ social organization

aspect, which relates to the needs of individuals rather than society as a whole. It is

noteworthy that Malinowski reasoned that cultural concept is based on the need for

cultural functionalism, that is, when the needs of individuals, who are composed of

society, are met, then the needs of society are met. For Malinowski, the feelings of

individuals and their motives were crucial knowledge to understand the way the entire

society functioned.

Hofstede (2001) defines culture from the outside to inside as symbols, national

character, etiquette and values in the onion skin culture theory, among which values

are the core and the most difficult part to understand. Amorim (2001) believes that the

obvious or tangible elements of culture, such as art, clothing, and food are only a

small part which can be seen as the iceberg floating on the surface of sea; the greater

part includes the concept of time and space, communication patterns, a sense of

accomplishment, control of emotional patterns, values, world view, and many other

aspects, which is the "glacier" foundation and exists beneath the water. If people from

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different cultural backgrounds do not understand the invisible parts hidden in the

water, it is easy to end up with the misunderstanding or even conflict in the

subsequent interaction (Amorim, 2001). These invisible factors of culture are the core

and the difficult part in the process of cross-cultural adaptation.

Based on the above definition, this thesis defines culture as a system of thinking,

behavior and value orientation adopted by a society and a nation through the process

of socialization. These different systems are made up of unique symbols and are

interconnected, shared and acquired. Culture can influence the perception, thinking

and action of people living in their field. Especially when a student of a country

carries a full suitcase of luggage and expectations, they also bring their own "cultural

luggage", which contains their long-established values and ideologies, and their own

familiar but not conscious way of thinking and behavior patterns.

2.2 Cultural Adaptation

Cultural adaptation mainly refers to the fact that individuals or groups respond to

external needs when transforming from home environment into the host country, that is,

increasing the level of adaptability among people is conducive to meet the demands of a

new cultural environment (Johnson, 2007s). This adaptation may or may not improve

the "fit" in the relationship between the individual and their environment. Therefore,

adaptation is not intended to the individual who will become more inclined to their

environment, they may also resist or try to change the environment (Berry, 2002). The

results of long-term cross-cultural adaptation are diverse: from good to bad adaptation,

from the individual who successfully manage the new life situation to the individual

who cannot live in the new social and cultural environment (Berry, 2002).

Substantial previous studies have been done over the past decades in the cross cultural

adaptation area. The most popular theory was originally proposed by Lysgaard (1955)

in his study of Norwegian Fulbright scholars in the United States. It was regarded as the

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well-known U-curve theory, illustrating that compared with those sojourners who had

lived abroad less than 6 months or more than 18 months, the ones who had been

overseas for 6-12 months tended to encounter the greatest adjustment difficulties

(Lysgaard, 1955). Later in 1960, a similar cross cultural adaptation theory was put forth

by Oberg (1960), portraying ‘culture shock’ as being related to negative psychological

adaptation of sojourners. Like Lysgaard, Oberg’s stages of cross cultural adaptation can

also be regarded as U-curve stage. Researcher have also extended U-curve to a W-curve

illustrating the fluctuation of new phenomenon in cultural adaptation area over time.

Particularly, when the sojourners returned to their home country, they would suffer

from culture shock again. After a certain time period of readjustment, the depression

would disappear (Gullahorn ,1963). In light of previous research, in 1990, Ward and his

colleagues conducted a study on Malaysian and Singapore students in New Zealand,

and revealed that the cultural adaptation can be divided into two broad

domains-psychological and sociocultural, which is labelled as the model of

acculturation process (Ward & Searle, 1990).

2.3 Chinese Students’ Cultural Adaptation-why is it important?

Given that the majority of difficulties confronted by foreign students can be attributed

to cultural differences, it is fair to conclude that the greatest obstacles faced by Chinese

students should be attributed to the various cultural features that are different between

the West and China (Hall, Chia & Wang, 1996; Keats, 2000; Latourette, 1964; Samovar,

Porter & Stefani, 2000; Vernon, 1982; Wu & Rubin, 2000). Nevertheless, even in the

countries such as Japan and Singapore, which have a relatively similar culture

(Confucian-heritage cultures) as China (Chen & Chung, 1999), research has concluded

that Chinese students still suffer from stress, regardless of the cultural similarity. Hence,

it is important to question: why is it important to keep an eye on Chinese students’

cultural adaptation issues in a specific way?

Based on the previous empirical studies, whether in similar or different culture contexts,

7

Chinese students would encounter cultural transition and adjustment issues. In addition,

although studies on international students’ education has greatly focused on the

adaptation of culture issues in many countries, there are a few studies that have been

conducted on Chinese students in Sweden. For Swedish universities, they are not

accustomed to teaching and supporting the Chinese students, the challenge is

considerable (Fawcett and Brenner, 2017). Accordingly, it is imperative to put an

emphasis on this area, especially with an increasing mobility of Chinese students to

Sweden. Without comprehensive analysis on exploring their motivation, source of

difficulties as well as frustrations, it is difficult for the government, universities and

service organizations to propose suitable advice to help students or teachers solve

complex adaptation problems. Meanwhile, without in-depth studies on identifying

universities’ receptivity of diversity and conformity pressure, it is also tough for

students to better adjust themselves to the host culture context.

2.3.1 Previous Research in Chinese Students’ Cultural Adaptation

Most of the research associated with Chinese students’ cultural adaptation are

concentrated in the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, as well as New Zealand. Culture

shock is the main problem that is troubling Chinese students. Differences in culture,

values and beliefs between China and the UK tend to exert pressure and lead to

depression among Chinese students (Gu, Q& Maley, 2008). According to the British

official data, international students, especially Asian students, find that the integration

with the local community life is a very difficult thing (Merrick, 2004). Chinese students

usually have a strong sense of national self-esteem (Zhang & Qin, 2004), which tends

to bring up the issue of ‘face saving’. This means that they feel embarrassed or even

dare not ask for help from professors or classmates when encountering difficulties.

Besides, Chinese students are often associated with fellow nationals from the same

country, the ‘community’ will be formed accordingly (Marley, 2004). It is the most

likely to bring the result of poor performance in socio cultural adaptation, as students

stick with other people from their own culture and hence do not participate in social

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activities involving students from the host country.

Kirby, Woodhouse & Ma (1996) came to the conclusion that Chinese students

frequently confronted triple challenges when they are studying a second language in

Canada. These challenges from cognitive, linguistic and cultural perspective are quite

different from China. Feng (1991) found out that Chinese students usually faced four

areas of difficulty in the U.S., which are financial difficulty, cultural differences,

academic concerns, and language ability. Situ, Austin & Liu (1995) revealed that

marginal social status resulted in Chinese students’ emotional stress in USA. It is

imperative for students to learn the skills of communication and survival in a society.

International students confront some form of cultural differences and shocks, but it

could be a source of incentives to be engaged in social communication (Zhou et al.,

2008). Unfortunately, most Chinese students treat these shocks as grounds for evading

social life. If they blindly avoid participating in social and cultural life, then they lose

the basic skills to participate in social life (Wang et al., 2009).

Ward & Searle (1990) conducted a research on Malaysian and Singaporean students

(99% are Chinese) in New Zealand and examined that relationship with host nationals,

extraversion, life changes, and social difficulty were the main sources of psychological

adjustment, while cultural distance and expected difficulty were related to sociocultural

adjustment. However, there are a few reports on Chinese students’ cultural adaptation

issues in Swedish universities, such as Fawcett, P. and Brenner (2017) explored the

learning experiences of Chinese undergraduate students during their first year at the

University of Gavle (Sweden). All the students were among 17 to 19 years old, who

were identified as suffering from communication difficulties, periods of isolation, and

loneliness.

To sum up, Chinese students’ cross-cultural adaptation issues can be studied from the

perspective of strategies, attitudes as well as outcomes. In this study, cross-cultural

9

adaptation is designed to focus on the process of the interaction between two different

cultural groups-the dominant one and non-dominant one. Kim (2002) identifies this

process of interaction between the two groups as cultural integration. The main body of

cross-cultural adaptation is a non-dominant group, which is mainly influenced by the

dominant group in terms of culture (Kim, 2002). In the process of cross-cultural

adaptation, Chinese students as a non-leading group were affected by the interaction

with host students, teachers, organizations and other cultural characteristics. In this

study, we will explore cultural interactions between Chinese students from different

levels (exchange students, master students, postgraduate students) and Swedish culture.

2.4 Model of Acculturation Process-thinking outside of original’s box

The theory of this thesis is based on the "model of acculturation process". Ward and his

colleagues put forward a new theoretical framework by integrating cultural shock into

social culture learning (Ward & Kennedy, 1994). In the theoretical structure part, Ward

and his colleagues argue that two outcomes of acculturation process may be taken into

account, which are psychological adaptation and socio cultural adaptation (Ward &

Searle, 1990).

More specifically, Ward (1990) and his colleagues identified that culture has implicitly

incorporated adaptation in both a psychological dimension as well as a sociocultural

dimension. The psychological adaptation mainly refers to feeling of well-being and

satisfaction of the individual, while the sociocultural adaptation relates to the ability of

the individual to fit into and interact with the new cultural context (Ward & Searle,

1990). They found that psychological adjustment, operationalized in terms of mood

disturbance, can be influenced by individual personality, life changing events, locus of

control and social support variables (Stone Feinstein & Ward, 1990; Ward & Kennedy,

1992, 1993b, 1993c; Ward & Searle, 1991). While sociocultural adjustment, measured

in terms of the difficulties they confront in daily lives, is more related to variables such

as cultural distance, cultural identity, amount of social contact with host nationals,

10

previous cross-cultural experience, and length of residence in host country (Searle &

Ward, 1990, 1991; Ward & Kennedy, 1992, 1993b, 1993c). Ward and his colleagues

also demonstrated the interrelationship between psychological and socio cultural

adaptation: they are conceptually and empirically distant but robustly interact with each

other (Ward & Searle, 1990).

Ward's "model of acculturalization process" is also targeted for foreign travelers and

sojourners, meaning that it is not a model specifically for international students. As a

sub-category in the group of tourists, there must be different characteristics from other

cross-cultural travelers, that is, they possess dual identity with both "foreigners" and

"students". Identities are important and there is evidence to suggest that students

develop additional identities as part of their coping strategies (Malgorzata, et, al, 2014).

In addition to integrate with psychological and socio cultural adaptation, they must also

learn to adapt to host universities’ academic culture for the sake of completing the

studies successfully. Therefore, in order to study the cross-cultural adaptation ability of

Chinese students, this study is designed to going to add the academic domain into Ward

and Searle’s model.

2.4.1 Psychological Adaptation

Psychological adaptation is proposed on the basis of emotional reactions, referring to

the degree of well-being and life satisfaction in the process of cross cultural

interactions. When students enter into foreign countries, they usually suffer from

culture shock issues at the early stage, that is they temporarily forget their own cultural

habits due to environmental changes, and continue to accept new cultures until they

again ‘wake up’ of their own culture, during which students will experience the process

of psychological adaptation (Kim, 1991). It was established under the framework of

stress. Besides this, help from the society as well as personality are the prime factors

affecting the psychological adaptation process (Ward & Kennedy, 1994).

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2.4.2 Factors Affecting Psychological Adaptation

Social Support

Social support usually refers to emotional and instrumental support, which was

generalized by Ward & Ong (2005). The former relates with a kind of information that

can make people feel they are loved, respected and a feeling of belonging to a social

group that is responsible for each other, while the later pertains to the actual assistance

provided by host country, including providing life information and assisting in solving

the difficulties encountered by sojourners and so forth (Ward & Ong, 2005). Social

support variables are thought to act as a buffer against the psychological effect of stress

(Ward & Searle, 1990). It usually plays a key role in the daily lives of sojourners,

effectively conducive to reduce the pressure and negative emotions of cross-cultural

adaptation. Furnham & Bochner (1986) illustrated that better relationships of

sojourners with host nationals is more effective in predicting some types of adjustment,

though Sykes and Eden (1987) argued that the relationship with fellow nationals was

considered to be more significant in terms of emotional support. Frequency of

interaction with nationals from both home and host country has an impact on

sojourners’ cross-cultural adaptation.

Berry, Kim, Minde, and Mok (1987) have examined that social support has an

important and positive impact on cross-cultural adaptation of sojourners, those with

access to more support networks experienced less stress. Burnam and Golding (1990)

indicated that social support has a positive effect on the physical well-being. Ward and

his colleagues (1998) conducted a research on Japanese students’ cross-cultural

adaptation in New Zealand and found out that social support underpins their

psychological adjustment. On the contrary, Ward and Kennedy (1992c) argue that high

voluntary contact with host nationals is more likely to increase stress through

examining New Zealand citizens in Singapore. Given the previous researches linking

social support and psychology well-being, it is proposed:

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P1: Social support has a positive relationship with Chinese students’ psychological

adaptation in Sweden.

Personality

Within a stress and coping framework, personality traits may mediate adaptation to a

foreign milieu. Though some scholars have conflicting views, Pederson (1980) argued

that personality is of little use in the process of cultural adjustment. Ward & Armes

(1989) argued that extraversion tended to be associated with depression by researching

English-speaking sojourners in Singapore. It was also examined by some scholars that

geographically proximate cultures often share similar genetic ancestry (Cavalli-Sforza,

Menozzi, & Piazza, 1994), through cultural borrowing, customs and beliefs that might

impact personality development. Contrary to that study, Ward (1998) pointed out that

individual personality factors have a significant impact on psychological adaptation,

when researching Japanese students in New Zealand. In line with previous research,

certain personality traits have an impact on cross-cultural adjustment.

Thus, scholars began to use the big five personalities to investigate the impact of

cross-cultural adaptation. Van de Zee & Oudenhoven (2000) designed a multicultural

personality questionnaire for the selection of corporate expatriates (MPQ). This scale is

also widely used in the measurement of cross-cultural adaptation of foreign students,

including a total of five dimensions: cultural sense, openness, emotional stability, social

initiative and flexibility. McCrae (2001) also assembled data collection from 26

cultures applying translation of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R;

Costa & McCrae, 1992) and McCrae (2002) added 10 more cultures to examine that

personality traits are linked with different cultures and geography. He also found out

that extraversion and openness are associated with the cultures at high latitudes such as

the European ones. Thus, in light of past studies, it is proposed:

P2: Personality traits have an impact on Chinese students’ psychological adaptation.

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2.4.3 Socio-cultural Adaptation

After completing the basic psychological integration, students begin to encounter the

conflict between social cultures. Sociocultural adaptation is defined as the ability to

adapt to the local society and cultural environment, including the process of studying

and applying the host country's knowledge and skills. Ward and Kennedy (1994)

formulated socio-cultural adaptation under the framework of skills and the results are

closely related to previous cross-cultural experience, cultural distance, expectations

(Ward & Searle, 1990) as well as cultural identity (Ward &Searle, 1991). When

Chinese culture comes in contact with the western culture, the so-called cultural shock

emerges as difficulties to impede students’ sociocultural adaptation.

2.4.4 Factors Affecting Socio-cultural Adaptation

Previous Cross-cultural Experience

It is generally believed that those who have cross-cultural experience in terms of skills

and relatively high cultural sensitivity, it is conducive for them to be well adapted to

new culture. Some scholars such as Klineberg and Hull (1979) found out that previous

experience was associated with socio cultural adjustment; Ward (1990) also indicated

that the previous experience plays a positive role in reducing people’s stress when

engaging with a new environment and thus suffering from cultural shock problems. In

addition, it is beneficial for people to be quickly integrated into the new learning and

communication culture on the basis of previous experience. However, there are some

conflicting views. Some scholars argue that the previous experience plays a negative

role and may enhance people’s stereotypical way of thinking, which then tends to

create obstacles to cross-cultural adaptation. On the basis of prior research, the number

of countries as well as the length to which sojourners had resided in a prior culture

before entering into a new culture has a positive impact on their sociocultural

adjustment. Thus, it is proposed:

14

P3: Previous cross-cultural experience has a positive relationship on Chinese students’

sociocultural adaptation.

Cultural Distance

Babiker, Cox & Miller (1980) proposed the concept of cultural distance, referring to the

distance between the host culture and the home culture. This distance does not relate to

the physical distance, but rather the cultural differences arising from a sense of distance

and unfamiliarity. Furnham and Bochner (1986) investigated the close relationship

between cultural distance and social learning skills. In general, the greater the cultural

distance between the host country and the home country, the more difficult it is for the

sojourners to experience sociocultural adaptation, which is why students from Europe

are studying relatively easily in the United States in terms of cross-cultural adaptation,

as compared to the Chinese students. Ward & Searle (1990) state that greater the degree

of cultural distance, the more difficulties an individual is likely to encounter in

sociocultural adaptation. Jia (1997) also pointed out that people usually have different

social backgrounds and way of lives, in terms of political beliefs, religious, education,

economic conditions, hobbies as well as personality, thus, it tends to result in

misunderstanding among them. Thus, in light of the previous research, it is proposed:

P4: Cultural distance has a negative relationship with Chinese students’ sociocultural

adaptation.

Expectations

Before studying abroad, international students always have some expectations about

the upcoming life, including the impression of the host country and the people, the

imagination of the future living conditions, the problems and difficulties that will be

encountered and so forth. Subsequently, when students engage with the new culture,

they will subconsciously compare their new life with previous expectations. In general,

the smaller the gap between the actual experiences after relocation and the previous

15

expectations, the better they will be adapted to cross-cultural adaptation, and vice versa.

Judee K. Burgoon (1976) proposed Expectancy Violation Theory: EVT is concerned

with reactions from those sojourners who do not achieve the desired expectations,

which can have a positive or negative impact on individual’s future interpersonal

communication. Later, Louis (1980) pointed out that when there is gap between

people's expectations and the reality, it may not always have a negative impact, and she

put forward the three states illustrating the gap: not satisfied, satisfied and beyond

satisfaction. The accurate nature of the expectations could facilitate cultural adaptation

remains controversial. While Weissman & Furnham (1987) indicated that there is a

close relationship between sojourners’ psychological well-being and the expectation

gap, but the credibility of study has been questioned because of the small sample size.

Thus, it is proposed:

P5: Expectations have a positive relationship with Chinese students’ sociocultural

adaptation.

Cultural Identity

Cultural identity refers to a group of sojourners who stick to the sense of belonging to

the culture from their home country. When individuals live in their mother culture

environment, they usually do not realize their own cultural identity. However, when

individuals are involved into a different culture, the "foreigner" identity begins to be

highlighted. It originates from ethnic identity and intergroup relations (Berry et al.,

1977). Accordingly, Ward & Searle (1991) conducted research of New Zealand citizens

in Singapore and empirically examined that stronger cultural identity tended to predict

sojourners’ sociocultural problems, but not psychological ones. It is more probable that

stronger cultural identity of individuals makes them less willing to adjust to the host

culture, therefore, experience more social difficulty. Cultural identity is often

conceptualized as having an international sense of identity, briefly speaking,

16

assessment and structure should be attributed to identify the nature of sojourners

themselves when considering the status of psychological adjustment (Moris, 2000).

Thus, in light of prior findings, it is proposed:

P6: Cultural identity has a negative relationship with Chinese students’ sociocultural

adaptation.

2.4.5 Academic Adaptation

Academic adaptation is the dimension being added into the model of Ward and Searle

(1990). Compared with psychological and socio cultural adaptation, it is much harder

for students to go abroad to adapt to a different academic culture (Gu, 2012). It is

examined by Ward & Kennedy (1994) that academic burden tends to cause

psychological depression, and to reduce the amount of social activities, but there is no

report demonstrating the correlation among these three dimensions. When students

enter into a new country for studies, they usually encounter completely different

pedagogical techniques from their home country, nature of communication with the

teachers, as well as language barriers. These factors are potentially affect students’

academic adaptation.

2.4.6 Potential Factors Affecting Academic Adaptation

Pedagogic Difference

China 's philosophy of higher education is influenced by Confucianism. Under the

management of Confucianism, teachers are in the absolute leadership position in the

teaching process (Liu, 2017). The form of teaching is entirely controlled by the teacher,

and the student is treated as a passive learner. In the process of learning, Chinese

students generally lack the innovative thinking and independent learning ability

(Redding, 1990). However, in the western countries, higher education is revolved

around a student-centered teaching model, emphasizing the spirit of students' critical

thinking and independent learning ability (McClure, 2007). Students are responsible for

17

their own learning and are free to choose research directions. In the classroom, the

teacher encourages students to have different opinions or question the teacher's point of

view (Eaves, 2009).

Therefore, for Chinese students, switching from a traditional teaching paradigm to a

new model is a huge challenge. The academic difficulties encountered by students are

based on different academic requirements and expectations from teachers and the

education system (Zhang, 2007). Some studies have shown that Chinese students are

accustomed to using passive learning methods to absorb knowledge, such as classroom

lectures. The positive learning modes such as seminars and teamwork are usually

overlooked by them, because for hundreds of years, typical Chinese learning way has

focused on strict memorization of facts and the perception that examination

performance is considered to be the only way to relate to academic success. Thus, in

light of previous findings, it is proposed:

P7: Pedagogic difference has a negative relationship with Chinese students’ academic

adaptation.

Academic Communication with Teachers

Bond (1991) conducted research on Chinese culture and corroborated that Chinese

students usually have the same high respect for teachers as they have for their parents.

Thus, they do not tend to question teachers. Some scholars have examined that in

Chinese students’ eyes, the ideal mentor is a teacher who can provide a lot of

counseling and help (Elsey, 1990). However, Chinese students are often found to be

helpless in the learning process in western countries, and they reckon that the help they

could get from the teachers is limited when encountering difficulties. These difficulties

generally include different academic expectations and independent research ability

(Turner, 2006). Su and Norton (2008) indicated that Chinese students were often

reluctant to seek help from tutors because they were unclear about what kind of

18

academic performance that can attract high marks (Gao, 2012). In addition, due to

language barriers, the participation of Chinese students is limited in the classroom,

some even deliberately avoid communication with teachers (Cortazzi, et al, 1999).

Thus, based on the past studies, it is proposed:

P8: Academic communication with teachers has an impact on Chinese students’

academic adaptation.

Academic Language Proficiency

In the process of intercultural adaptation, the main pressure faced by Chinese students

is due to language barriers. Some cross-cultural studies showed that most of Chinese

students had poor communication in the university classroom (e.g. see Fawcett and

Brenner, 2017). They did not understand the academic standards and requirements

expected from teachers. Some Chinese students only passively participate in classroom,

hence they also encountered difficulties in completing homework, taking notes, doing

experimental reports and thesis in English. This finding validated that second language

anxiety was the main source of stress affecting Chinese students’ academic adaptation.

Mori (2000) indicated that in terms of learning, language barriers may affect writing,

speaking and understanding, verbal and written examinations, as well as affecting

learners' ability to ask questions in class. Barnard (2002) states that although foreign

students have already obtained satisfactory scores on TOEFL or IELTS assessments

before entering university, it does not guarantee that they will be able to fully adapt to

the new educational system. Thus, on the basis of the previous research, it is proposed:

P9: Academic language proficiency has a positive relationship with Chinese students’

academic adaptation.

19

2.4.7 Adaptation from Host Environment

Cultural adaptation is regarded as the interactive process when sojourners enter from

home culture into host culture, from the communication perspective. Substantial

studies have contributed to the understanding of individual aspects of adaptation.

Apart from this, the understanding of organizational aspects of adaptation should be

taken into account. Such as, in addition to attention on prejudice and hostility (e.g.,

Kosic, Mannetti, & Sam, 2005), the role of host environment, fundamental to the

adaptation process, and how the environment interacts with adapting individuals has

been understudied as a whole. Kim (2001, 2005) established the importance of host

environment to adaptation, which include host receptivity and host conformity

pressure. These conditions of the host environment are the responsibility of the

organization (or university) to facilitate the cultural adaptation process (e.g., Safdar,

Dupuis, Lewis, El-Geledi, & Bourhis, 2008). Hence, this thesis is also designed to

investigate the impact of host environment to Chinese students in terms of cultural

adaptation.

Receptivity & Conformity Pressure

Host receptivity usually refers to the acceptability and tolerance of host nationals to

sojourners in communicating with each other. Some scholar did research on

communication area and found that there is “a direct relationship between the quality of

the communication and the quality of our lives” (Stewart, 2013), especially in the

process of adaptation. When host nationals show high acceptance and support of

sojourners, it improves the communication quality both in content and relationship. It

usually makes adjustment somewhat easier and the adaptation process smoother, thus,

gives rise to pleasant feelings (Chen, 2003). Meanwhile, cross-cultural adaptation has

been broadly reported as being related to satisfaction with quality of life for different

sojourners (e.g., Paterson & Hakim-Larson, 2012; Ying, 1992), where a well-adapted

healthy psychological state is a key aspect of life quality. Satisfaction with life, as a

20

person’s global judgment of his/her own life circumstances based on his/her own

criteria (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985; Pavot & Diener 1993), is

considered in the current study as an indication of acculturation.

At the same time, host members also push and urge, and are perceived to be or are

explicitly making clear the need to adjust toward main stream social norms. The

pressure would ease with the conforming adjustment (Chen, 2003). In keeping with

this reasoning, host conformity pressure would also be conducive to adaptation though

in a different way. On the other hand, the opposite could also be true for host

conformity pressure to those in the cross-cultural adaptation process. Given the general

human tendency to dislike pressure, conformity pressure as perceived may

differentially affect subjective assessment of happiness and satisfaction with life as a

result.

2.5 Summary of Theoretical Framework

The study adopted the model of acculturation process (psychological adaptation and

socio-cultural adaptation), adding academic adaptation to build an adapted research

model. This adapted research model helps us predict Chinese students’ cultural

adaptation in Sweden. The propositions and research model are summarized as follows,

21

Table 1: The proposition summary

22

New

constructs

Figure 1: The adapted theoretical framework

The above summary provides a general understanding of the cross-cultural adaptation

process and the problems faced by the students, and lays a theoretical foundation for the

interview guide that we prepare for this study. The interview process takes full account

of these factors so that the collected data will be comprehensive and scientific.

23

3. Methodology

This chapter will explain the thesis method, as it is based on qualitative research. It is

our primary purpose to further develop the propositions and research model, so strictly

speaking we are not measuring the propositions, we are developing them. The

investigation is a qualitative research, based on in-depth interviews, secondary

documents and a participatory observation. The in-depth interview will start from four

dimensions of Chinese students (exchange, undergraduate, master students as well as

postgraduate students), Swedish students, Swedish teachers and Chinese teachers to

obtain information. A participatory observation method is used to enhance the

credibility of the interview data. The collection is done by different relevant factors

related to cultural adaptation between Chinese and Swedish students.

3.1 Field Survey

Fieldwork, also known as field surveys or field studies, belongs to the field of

anthropology, and is mainly used in the area of social science. One of its most

important research methods is to participate in the interview, which requires the

investigators to live together with the surveyed people for a period of time to observe

and understand their society and culture. In this study, the field survey is divided into

five stages: a) preparation of the relevant literature stage, b) the beginning stage

(generate propositions), c) the investigation phase, d) write the investigation and

research report stage, and e) supplement the investigation phase. Propositions help us

to decide what type of data that is needed, and what type of data we can ignore, to

support the direction of the research.

3.2 Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is an inductive approach to examine the relationship between

theory and research (Bryman and Bell, 2007). Some common methods include in-depth

interviews with individuals, group discussions, diary and journal exercises, and

24

in-context observations, which could be conducted in person, by telephone, via

videoconferencing and/or through internet solutions. The reason why we chose a

qualitative research method is because it can help us achieve our research purpose by

closely examining and analyzing the individual factors in-depth, such as exploring the

Chinese students’ daily life, learning experience, interpersonal communication and

other aspects. By summarizing the challenges, it is conducive for us to raise some

suggestions accordingly. Qualitative research allows us to go more in-detail into the

cross-cultural adaptation process of a few Chinese students.

3.2.1 Sampling and Data Collection

A popular method of qualitative research is case studies (e.g., Stake, 1995) or (Yin,

1989). Case study research excels at bringing us to an understanding of a complex issue

or adds strength to what is already known through previous research (Bogdan, 1992). In

this thesis, Uppsala University was selected as the case example. The reason why we

are doing this is because Uppsala University, under its current rector, is pursuing an

internationalization strategy. It is only in the last five years that they have started to

charge tuition fee. When university was offering free tuition free, it was easier to attract

foreign students. Now that they charge market prices it has become crucial to

understand and satisfy the international students. Moreover, we have been pursuing the

one-year master degree there, and have a good relationship with the university and the

Chinese students. After communicating with some relevant leaders of the university,

they empowered us to conduct the research, focusing on the nature of education

through the case, and comparing Sweden with other countries.

To collect more data, snowball sampling method is applied to this study. In pursuing

Chinese students’ cultural adaptation in Uppsala University, we started the interview

from six Chinese classmates because we are familiar with their studying and living

conditions in Sweden. Then, we asked them to give us other Chinese students who

study in Uppsala University and are willing to offer us valuable information of

25

cross-cultural adaptation to select more interviewees thus creating a snowball effect.

Moreover, the selected Chinese student’s interviewees studying in Uppsala University

were divided into four types short-term exchange students, undergraduate, master's

degree and postgraduate. In this case, we did not find any relevant undergraduate level

Chinese students, therefore, a certain sample was selected from the other three types of

Chinese students. By investigating their different stages of study, a more

comprehensive understanding of Chinese students’ cross-cultural adaptation in Uppsala

university is developed. Among the interviewees, ten master degree students (five for

one-year master degree, five for two-year master degree students), two postgraduate

students (one enrolled at the Business department and the other enrolled in the

bio-chemistry department of Uppsala University) and three exchange students. The

Chinese students’ situation varies, depending on which department they are from, thus

we hope that it will be possible to provide richer information to corroborate the study.

Four Swedish students and five teachers were also included in the data collection in

order to strengthen the credibility of the data in this thesis. In-depth interviews were

conducted from different perspectives. It is conducive to understand the social and

cultural life of students. Some critical findings were obtained from the teachers and

Swedish students, which well supplemented the other interviews with Chinese students.

Hence, three different interview guides were designed specifically for a) Chinese

students, b) Swedish students and c) the university teachers or administrators.

Meanwhile, the research time lasted from 1st

April to 31st

May 2017.

The information about the respondents included in this study are provided in the table

below. All the names are fictitious based on confidentiality agreement made with the

respondents.

26

Table 2: Details of Interview Respondents (Chinese students)

Table 3: Details of Interview Respondents (Swedish students)

27

Table 4: Details of Interview Respondents (Teachers)

The age of the Chinese students is mainly concentrated between 24 and 36 years, and

the distribution of gender is not balanced, but these do not affect the validity of the

research findings, because the research purpose is not to measure the impact of age or

gender on cross-cultural adaptation, but to examine the specific difficulties encountered

by cross-cultural adaptation and the coping methods they have adopted.

3.2.2 Formulation of Interview Guide

Interviews are an important way to collect materials for qualitative research. Interview

method can be divided into three types: structured, semi-structured and unstructured

way. For this thesis, we conducted semi-structured interviews in order to “...explore the

phenomenon and identify and explain themes and patterns.” (Saunders et al., 2012 p.

147). In the semi-structured interviews, an interview guide was prepared in advance as

it allows respondents to discuss and raise issues that you may not have considered

(Saunders et al.,2012). The interview guide is just a template for the discussion,

interviewers can add new questions and adjust the process according to the specific

situation during the interview. Meanwhile, interviewers do not only talk about the guide

of the interview, but also encourage the active participation of respondents.

This thesis focuses on the challenges of cross-cultural adaptation process for Chinese

students in Sweden. On the basis of Ward and Searle’s (1990) theory, the following

28

problems were designed from three aspects: psychological adaptation, sociocultural

adaptation, as well as academic adaptation. They were composed out of nine relevant

factors to assist in exploring the phenomenon. Under each factor, there are one to two

questions summarized from Ward and Searle’s theory as background.

After preparing the initial interview guide, we conducted a pilot interview with a

Chinese one-year master student who has been studying in Sweden for eight months.

The main purpose of this pilot interview was to test if the interview questions were

clear, the meaning was logical, as well as they were conducive to the divergent

thinking of respondents. After the interview, the researchers identified that the

interview guide had the following problems: First, there were too many structured

questions which are not conducive to the researchers to explore more in-depth, as the

answer were just ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Second, some questions were not specific, for example

the range of cultural differences is too broad to be answered, instead the interviewer

can narrow the scope or give some examples to stimulate respondents’ reflective

thinking. Third, before the interview, we should take into account some possible

situations may occur in the interview, which implies that some questions should be

added to the initial set of questions (mainly sub-questions) in order to get detailed

information. Last but not least, some professional terms such as cultural identity are

too difficult to be understood by the respondent, while we cannot find a more

understandable concept to replace it with, so under this condition, we felt it is better

for us to explain the concept in detail. After the pilot interview, we revised the

interview guideline and it is provided in table 5 below.

29

Table 5: The revised interview questions for Chinese students

3.2.3 Interview Process

The potential respondents were contacted by Wechat, Facebook or e-mail, elaborating

the research purpose and plan, meanwhile, they were told that the interview will be

recorded in order to facilitate the analysis. In obtaining their consent, we agreed upon

place and time for the interview. Interviews were usually conducted within the

university, cafes or the interviewees' offices, with the aim of creating a natural and

relaxing atmosphere that eliminates their sense of tension and enables interviewees to

30

be interviewed with ease and freedom. The longest interview time of the sixteen

respondents was 78 minutes, the shortest 27 minutes, while the average time was 46

minutes.

3.3 Data Analysis

In qualitative data analysis, the process of interviewing is not only the process of

collecting data, but also the process of analyzing data. The whole process can create

new concepts and theories. For example, this interviews, about the factors that

impacts the Chinese students’ adaptation to the Swedish culture, personal

self-confidence was mentioned many times. Self-confidence was not considered

before the interviews, it could be part of the personal aspects, but not mentioned

explicitly in the theory. The data obtained through the interview is usually relatively

scattered, hence we need to reduce the data to manageable scale, so that it can be later

codified.

There are three parts of research process. The first one is to interview, individual

interviews were conducted and record. Secondly, the recorded interviews were

transcribed. The last stage is coding, this is the key step in the research process, and

the entire coding process is divided into three parts, open coding, axial coding, and

selective coding. Open coding is the conceptualization and classification of textual

data. Axial coding, the open code in the segmented data, is clustered, to establish

categories and sub-categories of the connections. Finally, the selection of code passes

through axial coding of various categories. The interview recording will be analyzed

by qualitative research software Nvivo.

3.3.1 Nvivo

Qualitative data analysis program Nvivo 11 (QSR International Pty Ltd, 2008) was

selected as the CAQDAS program because it is commonly used by educational

31

researchers; however, these analyses can be carried out with other CAQDAS programs.

Nvivo supports the inputting, coding, categorizing, editing, searching and outputting

of multiple types of data files (Bazeley, 2000). Researchers can also create memos,

charts, and models when analyzing materials. With Nvivo software, researchers

identified that analysis is conducive to improve the rigor of the qualitative data analysis

(Nancy& Anthony, 2011).

In accordance with this, first, the record is transcribed to form a document; second, the

document is input into software Nvivo 11 and summarized; finally, nodes are created

by Nvivo 11 as figure 4 below demonstrates. Node is a code container, the researcher

can categorize certain parts of the selected information into a particular node when

analyzing the data (Bazeley, 2000).

Figure 2: Nodes in Nvivo

32

This is the symbol for memos. Researchers can create a memo when finishing the

analysis, and keep track of their thoughts at any time. The nodes creating in Nvivo are

characters, gender, factors and key words. The node of character is used to explore

which character is conducive to cultural adaptation. The node of gender is to count the

proportion of men and women interviewed. The node of factors is the most important

part, which is applied to develop propositions. The node of keywords, some of which

are not in the mentioned factors, it is still worth as references. When clicking each

node, the interview material for all the information is illustrated completely, it is

convenient for researchers to conduct in-depth analysis.

Table 6: References in Nvivo

As the above table 6 shows, references of each factor mean aggregated items coded in

the interview. Such as language ability, there are 31 references, implying it was coded

by 31 times. It is used in counting coverage. According to the interview data, coverage

of each factor differs according to the interview respondents as below shown in the

figure 3.

Coverage refers to the amount of discussion about a certain factor in the entire

33

interview data collected, and it is expressed in the form of a percentage (Patricia & Lyn,

2000). For example, amount of discussion about language ability as a factor by the

interview respondents in roughly 6.7 percent of the overall data that we were able to

collect from the interviews. Due to space constraints, only the material of one

respondent is showed.

Figure 3: Coverage of each factor

For example, Chinese student Wenyan has two paragraphs about language ability, that

is, there are two references, the percentage accounting for the total conversation is

0.84%.

Reference 1-0.21% Coverage

‘Listening is my shortage part in the first semester. If the teacher did not explain the

meaning of some professional term, I could not understand.’

Reference 2-0.63% Coverage

‘Compared with local Swedish students, my reading ability is very bad. Because the

34

teacher always arranges a lot of reading materials as a reference after the class. I often

cannot finish reading so many articles. In addition, it is rather difficult for me to

understand the meaning implicated in the article when reading some high level ones,

not to mention reflecting my ideas based this.’

The coverage of each factor represents the degree of importance that the interviewee

considers: the larger the area, more the number of times a factor is mentioned,

accordingly, the more important it is. In addition, considering the importance from the

perspective of coverage of key words mentioned, the factor of language is the most

significant one, as figure 4 below shows.

Figure 4: Coverage of key words mentioned

The result from the above analysis by combining coverage of each factor, coverage of

key words mentioned, we concluded the influence size of each proposition. Findings

are presented in chapter 4.

3.38%

2.19%

0.32%

0.23%

0.13%

0.03%

%

35

4. Findings and Analysis

Propositions will be evaluated and developed through analysis of the data.

4.1 Proposition Development

The analytical results we got from qualitative data by Nvivo are aimed to develop the

propositions. The propositions are proposed on the basis of the combination of theory

and experience in the relevant field. It is used to provide some reference to research

questions, but not limited to them. Furthermore, the nine propositions are analyzed

through Nvivo, which were generated with the help of previous research to provide a

conclusion to the thesis, even if they can be verified or not (Lakatos, 1978; Popper,

1959; Serlin & Lapsley, 1985).

Although Nvivo is not specifically designed to test the propositions, the data it analyzes

can develop the propositions. Basically, by combining coverage of each factor,

coverage of key words mentioned, the influence size of each proposition is concluded.

The influence size of each factor illustrating in the analysis results, refers to perceived

importance of each factor. From the contents of the interview, each proposition is

developed. Almost no one holds negative attitude towards these factors, every factor

more or less affects the Chinese students’ cultural adaptation in Sweden, the only

difference is the size of influence, big, medium or small. Just as table 7 below shows,

36

Table 7: The result of propositions

4.2 Summary of Analysis

Based on the data analysis of the factors affecting the cultural adaptation of Chinese

students, we found out that the most important factor is language ability, followed by

personality, while communication is ranked as the third one. These three factors are

closely related to both individuals and universities. From the perspective of

psychology, socio-culture and academic perspective, the academic one might be the

most significant. In contrast, the least influential factors are pedagogic difference and

expectations. The challenges in academic area are greater than the other two parts for

Chinese students in terms of cultural adaptation. During the interview, most of the

interviewees emphasized the importance of language, suggesting that Chinese students

should improve their language ability.

37

Apart from this, several new factors such as self-confidence, background, habit, value,

ambitious motivation are raised by the interviewees. It is believed that the background

can be connected with the previous experience, but not limited to cross-cultural

experience. In addition, confidence has a close link with personality and language

ability. The habit of living and studying is associated with cultural distance and

previous experience. Self-confidence is reflected in both personal psychologic and

academic conditions. Chinese students’ self-confidence would be substantially

enhanced with the improvement of language skills. Ambitious motivation was put

forward by Chinese students, as it is related with academic adaptation.

The interviewees are composed of Chinese students, Swedish students, Swedish

teachers and Chinese teachers. Language is a common point which is perceived by

everyone as the most important factor, however, there are other different points

mentioned by various interview categories, such as communication is regarded as an

important factor by Chinese students, while personality is identified by Swedish

students, as below the figure 5 shows.

Figure 5: Four categories of interviewees consider the two most important factors

38

Each factor affecting Chinese students’ cultural adaptation is discussed in detail in

Chapter 5.

39

5. Discussion

The results of the interviews demonstrate that after the arrival in Sweden, Chinese

students were facing difficulties in their diet, climate, values, social practice,

communication skills, class mode, and learning requirements, which are all different

from China. From the perspective of psychology, Chinese students experienced

excitement at the beginning stage, which gradually transformed into loneliness and

frustration. Hence, they had to make adjustments to adapt to the new culture

accordingly.

5.1 Psychological Adaptation of Chinese Students

Most of the interviewed Chinese students were excited when arriving in Sweden at

beginning. They felt interested and curious about everything in Sweden, but were

filled with fear of unknown things and how to live independently at the same time. As

Junfei said, “At the early stage, the mentality is finally I got rid of the boring life from

domestic environment and came to a paradise. I can settle down to enjoy some books

and cultivate some hobbies ". However, the excitement does not apply to all the

students, during the interview, two types of Chinese students have not experienced this

excitement: those who had considerably understanding of Swedish culture before

coming and those who have not make sufficient preparation in terms of psychology

way before going abroad. The former type of students experienced "no freshness", and

the mindset was more peaceful, while the latter one did not have enough time to face

the reality of living in foreign countries, not to mention excitement, they would suffer

from psychological depression.

When Chinese students experienced a short period of excitement, they had to face

challenges from daily life and study. Excitement was replaced by a ‘troublesome’

feeling. When experiencing psychological stress, thirteen Chinese students believed

that an outgoing personality is more conducive to psychological adaptation, so do the

40

five interviewees of the Swedish students. This is well illustrated by Alice, who said

that ‘Most Chinese students I met are shy, i rarely see them interactive with teachers in

seminar, nor join nation parties and some other social activities, they should be more

outgoing.’ However, a few regarded that being neutral and introvert may be more useful,

just as Lebing said “To me, I don’t think we should judge outgoing students are more

adapted to the host, while the introverted ones are not accustomed to the environment

from the appearance. It depends on local people’s personality. For example, some

Swedish students are more introverted, the foreign students with the same style are

easier to get along with each other.’

Apart from the perspective of personality, social support also plays a key role in

psychological adaptation. From the results of the Swedish students' interviews,

everyone mentions that Chinese students are more likely to stick to Chinese

community. Especially Alex, who mentioned it more than three times during the

interview, ‘There are some Chinese exchange students in my class, they sit in groups in

seminars, rarely join us even though we have some activities posted on Facebook and

asked them to attend.’ Sometimes it is not clear whether the Chinese students’

adaptation in Sweden is good or not, but it is certain that Chinese students find it

difficult to adapt to Swedish culture. The Swedish students hope that Chinese students

can be open-minded, and hang out with the students from other countries.

However, most of Chinese interviewees mentioned the buddy system and the English

course; they appreciated these initiatives in the early stages, as they were extremely

helpful, but later on they felt disappointed with the buddies leaving and did not see

remarkable progress from the English course. Haishen said that ‘The main purpose of

English course to help Chinese students is good and meaningful, but this could make

me feel being treated differently. Some Chinese students need the English courses to

improve their English, but the others don’t think it is necessary in view of their ability

and psychology, so the school should allow Chinese students to choose whether to

41

participate or not.’

These two programs were organized by Uppsala University, which demonstrates that

the university plays a significant role in the cultural adaptation process of Chinese

students. They are showing receptivity in assisting Chinese students’ cultural

adaptation. Although, there is no study clearly showing what is the extent of social

activities that can help in alleviating psychological depression among Chinese students,

nine interviewees did mention that when they get social support from host people, they

are happy and feel positive toward life. Bingyan said that ‘Daily life support from

Swedish students helped me better understand the Swedish culture at the early stage;

guidance from teachers was beneficial for my adaptation to Swedish teaching

methods.’ In short, through the interviews we can conclude that social support for

Chinese students from host nationals is conducive to their psychological adaptation.

Regarding factors affecting Chinese students’ psychological adaptation, all of them

mentioned that language barrier and academic burden are important elements leading

to psychological stress and frustration (will be explored more in 5.3). Dealing with

daily affairs, interpersonal and learning are inseparable from the language of the host

country, at the same time, the language is the key to open the culture of the host country.

Language barriers often bring frustration, and it is easy to shake foreign students’

confidence towards their studies. Some Chinese students have several years of English

learning experience, but, when in contact with Swedish environment, they found their

language level is less able to give them a degree of freedom of expression, and

sometimes even unable to deal with life problems. Poor language ability is easily

affecting students’ confidence; they usually feel shy or have a fear of ‘losing face’. In

line with this, Zhe said that ‘Sometimes I could not hear clearly and understand what

the lecturer was speaking, sometimes it is hard to argue with others in English when I

have conflicting views… Language is a problem, especially when taking a train, you do

not understand the radio, at this time, the sense of frustration would emerge.’

42

Apart from the above factors, three interviewees mentioned expectations on Sweden

are likely to bring about depression. Furthermore, eight Chinese students interviewed

were in the stage of writing a thesis, so for them, although they had adapted to the

natural and social environment of Sweden, there was an anxiety about the future

because of their graduation. Weighing a variety of elements, such as employment

prospects, taking care of parents, the establishment of family, and decision regarding

returning or staying in Sweden are a few of the difficult choices.

From the above analysis we can see that all Chinese students have integrated into the

new environment in terms of psychological adaptation finally. Chinese students

moved from a developing country to a developed country. This progress in life plays a

positive role in the psychological integration of students. Although very few students

mentioned that there has faced any racial discrimination; most still think that the

Swedish culture is very receptive and tolerant.

5.2 Socio-cultural Adaptation of Chinese Students

Up to now, almost every interviewee mentioned the importance of language ability. It

was not only reflected in the psychologic and academic adaptation, but also in students’

socio-cultural adaptation. Several other factors are also closely related, such as personal

psychology, communication, cultural distance and previous experience. Swedish

campus life is rich and colorful, different kinds of community meetings and gatherings

are designed to attract the students’ attention. It is also an important way to contact with

the host culture, from which the differences between Chinese and Swedish culture such

as ideological awareness would be identified. For the students, it is a process of cultural

adaptation: from an initial stage of rejecting the Swedish culture to moving on to some

form of acceptance of its cultural values; in addition, the students keep switching

between these viewpoints.

With time, students will be integrated into the host environment gradually. Take Shen as

43

an example who has been in Sweden for more than three years, he said ‘My friends were

limited to the Chinese community at the early stage, I feel a sense of belong there. Later,

one day, I worked as volunteer in Sweden and could not be accustomed to the

surroundings. It is difficult for me to communicate with foreigners and find some

similarities with them. With frequently working with foreigners, I began to get used to

their culture. Until now this is the third year for my staying here, I feel I could better

adapt to the local Swedish circle.’ During the interview, six Chinese interviewees

believed that previous cross-cultural experience in others countries has a positive

impact on them when entering into a new cultural environment, just as Haishen said ‘I

studied in Italy and France for one year before, my English got improved there. So

when I came to Sweden, the communication with international students is much easier

to me. I’m not afraid of going to pub or joining other activities. Previous cross-cultural

experience did help me to be better accepted and integrated into Sweden.’

With regards to the factor of cultural identity, the impact is getting smaller for our

generation as time goes. Many of the interviewees have had study and travel

experiences in other countries, such as the students of MIEX project, who had

previously studied in other European countries, and these factors did not have too much

impact on their cultural adaptation in Sweden. Moreover, some perceived that previous

background makes more contribution in Chinese students’ socio cultural adaptation.

Zhe said that ‘In my opinion, different background affects the communication with

teachers, particularly, we show different views and cannot reach a common conclusion

in some topics based on our professions and educational backgrounds.’

However, for cultural distance, most of the Chinese students have gone through a

complete social process and mastered the Chinese-style communication model, the

Chinese language system, the Chinese-style values before going abroad. Hence, when

entering into a new culture, they suddenly realized that the original (Chinese) cultural

values are mostly not applicable to the new environment; they could not grasp the new

44

cultural values immediately. At this time, they inevitably suffer from a feeling of

"frustration", being "at a loss", and having "no resonance" with the Swedish culture,

especially for those who show less interest in Swedish culture, the depression feeling is

even more intense. Subsequently, it would affect their socio cultural adaptation, but the

influence size is small, there are five interviewees who mentioned it. ‘Suddenly came to

a new cultural environment, life here is much slower than the Chinese style, it is rather

hard to find similarities with others. Meanwhile, curriculum requirements are

demanding, huge pressure from the school, as well as for the future planning. I’m afraid

of going out to contact with Swedish Students’ (Ling).

During the interview, a small proportion of the interviewees were full of expectations

before coming Sweden, "paradise" was mentioned more than three times by them.

However, this vision in the exploration of the natural and social environment of the

host country and the establishment of interpersonal relationships are often replaced by

disappointment, a huge psychological gap resulted in some Chinese students

experiencing "disappointment" and "depression" mood for a long time. It alleviates

their homesick mood, missing everything from China. Meanwhile, with negative

mood, it would affect their socio cultural adaptation, but as the interview result showed,

the influence size is small. ‘Since I get information from some books, news from some

friends that Sweden is too good to be described. So, in my mind, Sweden should be a

paradise. But later there is a huge psychological gap between my expectation and

reality... My process is disappointed for a long time, followed by calming down. Now in

a more peaceful mood to judge everything.’ (Lili).

All in all, most of Swedish and Chinese students recognize the challenge impeding

Chinese students’ socio cultural adaptation is the communication with host

environment. It was divided into challenges in establishing interpersonal relationships

and maintaining it. Ten of the fourteen Chinese students interviewed said they did not

have Swedish friends, and the social range was limited to the fellow nationals. The

45

remaining four students think they have Swedish friends, but the number is small, one

or two in general and they are not as close as their Chinese friends. Guofen aptly said

that ‘I think it is fair difficult to integrate into the life in Sweden, we have different

perception in terms of friendship, during the fika time, we only talk about the topic on

the superficial level." For the Chinese people, making friends means taking care of

others, taking into account the needs of others, considering the difficulties of others

and keeping friends’ face in social occasions. However, Swedish students seem a little

‘indifferent’, ‘distant’ and ‘cold’ in relation to the Chinese students.

Swedish student Elias shared the same view: ’Making friends with Swedish people is

just like breaking a coconut, we have very strong icy coat, but once opened, you will

see the warm heart inside, finally, the process is rather long.’ Swedish students also

mentioned they have no racism against Chinese students and welcome them to join

the social activities, while Chinese students prefer to stick to their own community.

Effective cross-cultural communication not only requires students to master the

foreign language, but also to understand each other's cultural background. Deficiency

in these areas, misunderstanding would emerge. There were both interviewed Chinese

students and Swedish students complained that sometimes they do not understand ‘the

laughing point’ of each other.

In sum, most Chinese students are not satisfied with their socio cultural adaptation.

Some students even give up the opportunities to contact socio-cultural life, rather,

only focus on academic learning. Those who have been working hard to participate in

social activities also complain that they lack time to experience and participate in

more cultural activities. Instead, when realizing the problem, their one-year study is

approaching the end, so they cannot engage in any social activities. Those students

who basically live in the Chinese community take the initiative to abandon the

opportunity to communicate with the host culture, undoubtedly, they lose the chance

to learn cross-cultural social skills.

46

5.3 Academic Adaptation of Chinese Students

Unlike other sojourners, completing studies is the main task and purpose of most of the

students. When entering into the host country, their classroom organization, academic

requirements, students’ learning methods and teachers’ pedagogy are totally different

from their own domestic style. These differences and language barriers impede the

majority of students to adapt to the Swedish university life, which were identified as the

main sources of psychological stress.

Pedagogic difference

During the interview, one of the main issues that is challenging Chinese students’

academic adaptation is from an ‘arranged’ to independent academic environment.

Compared with Chinese universities, Swedish universities have higher requirements

for students’ independence, students must on their own systematically plan for the

entire academic period of the undergraduate or master's degree. While in China,

courses and teachers are mostly organized by the school, students rarely consider what

time to attend which teacher’s class. This sudden freedom for students: jumping from

the previous "arranged" stage to the active self-planning one, results in some students

doing nothing or feeling confused. This kind of learning initiative and independence

requirements go along with the entire Swedish university learning process, reading

materials, writing thesis, group assignments, and selecting examinations. This is

highlighted by Junfei, who said that ‘My original habit of learning is a little passive, I

always like to be arranged for more than twenty years, it is hard to adapt for me when

suddenly slide to my own arrangements.’ Menying also added ‘In China, teachers

keep urging you on the progress of study, while here you have to make a plan, go and

communicate with professors. Here is entirely you organize everything especially in the

group discussion part, you should show your own ideas, a lot of things are very

individual.’

47

In the interviews, students mentioned frequently that the seminar is still a ‘headache

chore’ even when they are on the edge of graduating. Chinese students "do not know

how to discuss", "do not want to say", and Swedish teachers identified that "all Chinese

students remain silent", just as Chinese student, Jie said ‘We usually sit in groups, listen

and don’t speak in class’. Swedish teacher Kate added’ In the classroom, the Swedish

students are particularly positive to express their views, Chinese students are more shy

and silent, even when we separate them in groups and mix with Swedish students, you

will find Swedish students always perform in a dominant way, Chinese students don’t

make much contribution to the teamwork. " Swedish students also complained some

Chinese students’ make no contribution in the team work.

One reason for the silence of Chinese students in class is language barriers. Students

feel that they cannot fluently express the ideas, and are afraid of losing face by making

some silly mistakes. Another reason can be explained by cultural distance. According

to the cultural dimension of Hofstede's power distance index (Hofstede, 2001), China is

located between 68 and 80, while Sweden is located at 31. In school, given the low

power distance in Sweden, the status of teachers and students is almost equal, while the

teacher's expectations on students’ initiative is higher, and education is student-centered:

students can freely express their own ideas and question teachers freely. In contrast, in a

culture with a high power distance, the students are respectful to the teacher, thus only

answer when the teacher questions them. Meanwhile, the teacher is an authoritative

image for the students, who usually are not allowed to challenge teachers. Students'

initiative is often not high; the quality of learning depends on the teacher's professional

level. Therefore, Chinese students, who have been trained in such a passive school

environment, find it difficult to get accustomed to this self-initiative driven culture.

Communication with teachers

Many Chinese students in the interview respond that the Swedish professors pay more

attention to the creativity and analytical ability of students, not only simply remember

48

the content of articles, but can also flexibly reflect their own views. Chinese students

tend to habitually ‘learning by heart’, which can be a hurdle in the communication

between Chinese students and Swedish teachers. Professor Wu said ‘In China,

studying is exam oriented, while the teacher here is more concerned about the things

you have to master, you should have a system in your mind.’

In Sweden, communication with the tutors is limited to academic purposes, i.e.

understanding course material in the classes, finishing the assignments after classes, or

doing the thesis, but not done regarding personal affairs as it is common in China. The

interviewees also agreed that they can only communicate with the teachers to solve the

academic problems when encountering them. In addition, the interviewees mentioned

any such communication with the teachers has to take place at a time that has to be

planned in advance. The factor of communication is not just related with the teacher, it

is more linked with friends and classmates, as well as in daily life. Communication is

also dependent on the language: if there is a good language skill, communication is not

a problem.

There are some questions about launching a community with Chinese students and

Swedish teachers in our interviews, Peng said there is no necessity to build it,

‘Building a bridge does have the advantage, but it is not necessary. Because if the

student is really willing to have more communication and participations with teachers,

he will try the best to connect even without the bridge. On the contrary, if the student

who does not want to participate and communicate, even if there is a bridge, it is still

meaningless for him.’

In addition to the above problems, the interviewed students also mentioned that the

heavy study load and academic requirements in Uppsala University could not be linked

with the previous knowledge they had mastered in undergraduate educational level.

Those students who have ambitious motivations and purpose before going abroad

49

would try their best to achieve the goals, compared with those who have no clear

purpose for studying abroad, will have a faster and better academic cultural

adaptation.

In short, for academic integration, Chinese students have been working hard to adapt

to new academic standards. On the one hand, they have been improving their English.

On the other hand, they are overcoming the educational culture and philosophical

differences between China and Sweden. After two semesters, became familiar with

the new academic requirements. If Chinese students are able to take the initiative to

interact frequently with teachers, it will improve their academic performance.

50

6. Conclusions

This chapter is to summarize the whole study, by combining the theory and results,

followed by putting forward the suggestions for Chinese students to adapt to the

Swedish culture in a better way. Finally, make recommendations for future research.

6.1 Summary of Study

Through in-depth interviews of 15 Chinese students, 4 Swedish students, 3 Swedish

teachers and 2 Chinese teachers working in Uppsala University, and the analysis in

Nvivo, we investigated Chinese students’ cross-cultural adaptation challenges. The

factors affecting Chinese students’ cultural adaptation were explored to some extent.

Conclusions in order of importance are as follows:

1. Language ability has big influence on Chinese students’ academic adaptation.

2. Communication has big influence on Chinese students’ academic adaptation.

3. Outgoing personality has big influence on Chinese students’ psychological

adaptation.

4. Social support has medium influence on Chinese students’ psychological

adaptation.

5. Previous cross-cultural experience has medium influence on Chinese students’

socio cultural adaptation.

6. Cultural identity has medium influence on Chinese students’ socio cultural

adaptation.

7. Cultural distance has small influence on Chinese students’ socio cultural

adaptation.

8. Expectation has small influence on Chinese students’ socio cultural adaptation.

9. Pedagogic difference has small influence on Chinese students’ academic cultural

adaptation.

51

In addition, through the analysis, we found out two more propositions as below,

1. Self-confidence has influence on Chinese students’ cultural adaptation.

2. Ambitious motivation and purpose has influence on Chinese students’ academic

adaptation. Those who have clear purpose can adapt better and faster.

In short, the propositions we proposed at the beginning of the study were developed by

the outcome from the in-depth interviews. It is also concluded that the influence of

academic and psychological aspects on Chinese students' cultural adaptation is

relatively large. Compared with Ward and his colleagues’ research, the impact of social

aspect is slightly weaker, which may be attributed to the development of society (as

their study was done in the 1990s) and the difference in research objects (as we focused

on Chinese students in Sweden). After the study, in addition to the factors listed on the

basis of the theory, we explored more information on cultural adaptation. The

information examined from the theory and analysis enlightened us on how to solve the

challenges of the Chinese students in the progress of cultural adaptation from a more

practical perspective.

6.2 Suggestions for Future Chinese Students

In order to facilitate future Chinese students’ cultural adaptation in Sweden, we

concluded some suggestions for them on the basis of the study.

1. To improve English proficiency. Before going abroad, Chinese students must be

fully aware of the importance of language. From the interviews, language ability

plays a vital role in the process of cross-cultural adaptation. Many students

suffered from psychological depression due to language barrier at the early stage;

their daily life and study were seriously affected accordingly. Thus, it is

imperative for Chinese students to pass some English test such as TOFEL or

IELTS before studying abroad.

2. To accept cultural adaptation training, to improve cultural sensitivity and

52

cross-cultural adaptation skills. Cultural distance between China and Sweden is

huge, it is necessary for Chinese students to pay more attention to learn the

Swedish culture and social customs, communication methods and skills ahead of

time. Many cases reveal that students are prone to be frustrated and anxious due

to misunderstanding in their regular communication. After arriving, it is better to

be more active in communication with local people. Home universities carrying

out exchange programs should set up training courses to help students learn the

differences between China and Sweden to enhance their cross-cultural adaptation

ability before sending them abroad. Students generally agree that participation in

the training courses provides strong support for their cross-cultural adaptation.

Moreover, it is better for the university to launch a platform for senior exchange

students to sharing experiences to help new students overcome the initial

challenges.

3. To adjust the expectations and to clarify the motivations. Generally, the higher the

expectation, the greater the sense of loss it will be. The interview shows that

some students did not make full preparation to meet the challenges before leaving

China. What they expected in Sweden is a fantastic life and prosperous future,

while ignoring challenges they may encounter in a new country. After leaving

China, with the loss of the original cultural support, students are easily going to

experience a variety of negative emotions. Therefore, students should adjust their

mental state before studying abroad and make expectations about life in Sweden

from an objective perspective.

4. To improve openness and receptivity. When faced with huge cultural differences,

students should accommodate and understand them in a positive and open manner.

All students will experience the stage of cultural shock, but better preparation (on

their own initiative) can help students to adapt faster to the new cultural

environment, and vice versa. Negative attitude will remarkably affect their

53

cross-cultural adaptation level.

5. To understand the pedagogic difference between China and Sweden, to adjust

their own learning methods accordingly. First of all, students should transform the

original passive learning way such as ‘learning by heart’ and ‘taking notes to

complete the work of learning mode’, and move towards actively participating in

the groups and openly communicating with teachers and students, thus by sharing

ideas with others they could integrate into the new learning mode quickly. Second,

due to language barriers and different pedagogy, Chinese students tend to put

more effort than local students. Thus, it is necessary for them to develop a

reasonable learning plan on the basis of the actual situation, by keeping balance

between daily life and study.

6. To build self-confidence and to have an optimistic mindset. Most of students will

experience the stage of cultural shock, it is most likely to result in psychological

depression. Students should be fully prepared, confident, and optimistic, hence

believe that the challenges will be overcome finally.

7. To actively seek help and to make full use of the existing resources. Uppsala

University has international student office and psychological counseling center

specifically setup for international students. Chinese students should take

initiative to communicate with teachers and the relevant administrative staff to

require help. Meanwhile, taking full advantage of social media to participate in

school activities, such as lectures, banquets, and concerts to build their own social

network.

6.3 Suggestions for University

Chinese students are more likely to stick to Chinese communities. Therefore,

encouraging them to move out of the Chinese community to participate in local

54

activities is the main issue. In this study, according to the reflection of Chinese

students and the opinions of teachers, we perceive that the university should provide

certain opportunities and plans to increase the possibility of Chinese students’

interaction with the host environment. In the cross-cultural adaptation process model

of Ward & Searle (1990), the result of cultural integration is not only determined by

the individual, but the support of the institution also plays a significant role.

From the institutional aspect, firstly, the student union could organize more cultural

activities in English in the campus to invite Chinese students. Some cultural events

are not only conducted in the early weeks of the semester, but they also last for short

duration which makes it difficult to increase the engagement and interaction of

foreign students. Chinese students who participate in such activities, not only can

better understand the Swedish traditions, but also acquaint themselves with the

interests, habits and activities of the Swedish students, thus to increase the possibility

of interaction with them. Secondly, although Uppsala University provides some form

of buddy system activities at the beginning of the semester, but most of them lose

contact later on after the initial contact for many unknown reasons. University could

arrange more activities among buddies and Chinese students to retain the support and

friendship.

We also found out that there is misunderstanding between teachers and Chinese

students in terms of cultural differences, such as pedagogic differences. Most of the

academic difficulties are caused by different expectations from both sides. Thus, it is

not only limited to let Chinese students learn how to integrate into Swedish culture.

Teachers and the related staff need to understand how to adapt to Chinese culture,

especially with the increasing numbers of Chinese students studying in Sweden. Ward

also believes that cross-cultural adaptation is associated with the interaction between

sojourners and host nationals. In this study, selected teachers have realized that they

need to take the initiative to meet the needs of Chinese students. Meanwhile, they are

55

willing to learn Chinese culture. This mutual acculturation will significantly narrow

the distance between two different cultures. Hence, some cultural courses could be

organized by the university to learn what kind of issues maybe encounter when

teaching Chinese students.

Last but not least, Chinese students and teachers both recognize that as long as their

English proficiency was improved, they are more likely to understand the local

customs and culture, similarly academic performance will be enhanced accordingly.

Thus, university could offer more opportunities for Chinese students in terms of

English learning.

6.4 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research

This thesis lacks the sample of Chinese students who were enrolled in the

undergraduate program of Uppsala University. This group of students are less mature

than postgraduate students. Due to time and energy constraints, we failed to conduct

this interview which is the limitation of this thesis. Moreover, there are many factors

could influence Chinese students’ cultural adaptation. Though this study discovered

some factors to explain the phenomenon in the model of acculturation process, some

other factors such as cultural intelligence, length of residence, cultural

conscientiousness may explain it as well. Hence, for future research, we can add

undergraduates into and combine quantitative with qualitative method to explore the

questions. Meanwhile, questionnaire is applied to collect data and linear regression,

factor analysis is used in SPSS software to enhance the credibility of analysis.

Furthermore, some new factors such as self-confidence, background, ambitious

motivation and values could be added for future research to examine them in more

details.

56

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Appendix 1: Interview Guide for Chinese students (English)

Interview Guide for Chinese students

Project title: Factors influencing the cultural integration of Chinese students in Uppsala

University

Researcher:

In order to note all information gained from our interview we would like to audio tape our

conversation. Only researchers will have access to the tapes which may be destroyed after

they are transcribed. By taking part in this interview you take into consideration: all

information will be held confidential, taking part in this research is voluntary and you might

interrupt our interview if you feel uncomfortable. The interview will take approximately 60-90

minutes to obtain all answers, which may help us solve our research problem. Thank you for

your participation.

Part One Personal information

Research subject

Name

Age

Gender

Previous education

Major in Uppsala

Length of residence in Sweden

Plans for returning to China

66

Part Two Interview questions

Questions

Social support

(Ward & Searle, 1991)

1. Have you ever encountered challenges in interpersonal communication? If so, what

are the challenges? How to deal with them?

Personality

(Ward & Searle, 1990)

2. What kind of psychological development have you experienced during your stay in

Sweden? Have you experienced a cultural shock? If so, how to adjust?

Cultural experience

(Ward & Searle, 1990)

(Kleinberg and Hull, 1979)

3. Did you have in-depth research or knowledge preparation about Sweden before

coming? If yes, please specify in details.

4. Have you ever had the experience of traveling or studying in other countries before

coming? If yes, please specify in which country.

Cultural distance

(Ward & Searle, 1990)

5. How much did you know the Swedish culture before coming?

6. What kind of cultural difference can you identify, comparing Sweden to China?

Expectations

(Ward & Searle, 1990)

( Jude K. Bur goon, 1976)

7. What is the motivation for studying in Sweden?

8. What is your impression for studying and living in Sweden?

Cultural identity

(Ward & Searle, 1991)

(Nan, 2000)

9. Has the studying experience in Sweden brought you any changes in the perception

of cultural identity? If yes, what kind of changes?

Pedagogic difference

(Zhang, 2007)

10. Have you ever experienced challenges when studying in Sweden? If so, what are

the challenges? How to cope with them?

11. What is your evaluation on the teaching way or studying environment in Sweden?

Communications with tutors

(Mori, 2000)12. What is the difference between Chinese teachers and Swedish teachers?

Language ability

(Mori, 2000)

13. What is your English language ability before coming to Sweden? Can you

communicate with Swedish students smoothly?

Receptivity 14. What is your opinion on ‘Sweden a country that is open and tolerant for Chinese’?

Suggestions & Evaluations

(Ward, Kennedy, et al, 1998)

(Merrick, 2004)

15. What is the challenge of cross-cultural adaptation that was not mentioned before?

16. What are the suggestions for those who are prepared to study in Sweden?

Psycholgical

Adaptation

Sociocultural

adaptation

Factors

Academic

adaptation

Potential

67

Appendix 2: Interview Guide for Chinese students (Chinese)

采访向导（大纲）

论文题目: 影响中国学生在乌普萨拉大学跨文化适应的因素

采访说明:

为了记录我们采访中获得的所有信息，我们会通过录音来记录我们的谈话。 只有研究人员

才能访问在转录后可能被破坏的磁带。 参加这次采访时，您将考虑到：所有信息将被保密，

参与本研究是自愿的，如果您感到不舒服，您可以随时中断我们的面试。 采访将花费大约

60-90分钟获得所有答案，这可能有助于解决我们的研究问题。 感谢您的参与。

第一部分，个人信息

姓名

年龄

性别

先前教育

在乌普萨拉大学的专业

在瑞典的居住时间

是否打算回中国

68

第二部分，根据相关因素的采访问题

69

Appendix 3: Interview Guide for Swedish students

Interview Guide for Swedish students

Project title: Factors influencing the cultural integration of Chinese students in Uppsala

University

Researcher:

In order to note all information gained from our interview we would like to audio tape our

conversation. Only researchers will have access to the tapes which may be destroyed after

they are transcribed. By taking part in this interview you take into consideration: all

information will be held confidential, taking part in this research is voluntary and you might

interrupt our interview if you feel uncomfortable. The interview will take approximately 60-90

minutes to obtain all answers, which may help us solve our research problem. Thank you for

your participation.

Part One Personal information

Research subject

1.Name

2.Age

3.Gender

4.Previous education

5.Major in Uppsala

70

Part Two Interview questions

Questions

Social support

(Ward & Searle, 1991)

1. What are the challenges in dealing with interpersonal relationships and how do

you cope with these challenges?

Personality

(Ward & Searle, 1990)

2. How do you think of getting along with Chinese? Can you find any changes of

their psychological during their stay in Sweden? If yes, please specify in detail.

Cultural experience

(Ward & Searle, 1990)

(Kleinberg and Hull, 1979)

3. Did you have in-depth research or knowledge preparation about China before? If

yes, please specify in detail.

4. Have you ever had the experience of traveling or studying in China or Asia? Are

the experiences helpful for you get along with Chinese students or friends? If yes,

please specify in detail.

Cultural distance

(Ward & Searle, 1990)

5. How much did you know the Chinese before?

6. What kind of cultural difference can you identify, comparing Sweden to China?

Expectations

(Ward & Searle, 1990)

( Jude K. Bur goon, 1976)

7. What is the impression of Chinese students before getting along with them?

8. Is there any gap of your expectations after you get along with them?

Cultural identity

(Ward & Searle, 1991)

(Nan, 2000)

9. What do you think of Chinese students’ adaptation in Sweden?

Pedagogic difference

(Zhang, 2007)

10. What is your evaluation on the teaching way or studying environment in

Sweden? Do you know something about Chinese education? If yes, please specify

the difference between them.

11. Do you have any challenges when studying with Chinese students? If yes,

please specify in detail.

Communications with tutors

(Mori, 2000)12. What is the difference between Chinese teachers and Swedish teachers?

Language ability

(Mori, 2000)

13. What do you think of the language skills of Chinese students? Do you think it is

difficult to communicate with them? If yes, please specify in detail.

Receptivity14. What is your opinion on ‘Sweden a country that is open and tolerant for

Chinese’?

Suggestions & Evaluations

(Ward, Kennedy, et al, 1998)

(Merrick, 2004)

15. What is the factors of cross-cultural adaptation that was not mentioned before?

16. What are the suggestions for those who are prepared to study in Sweden?

Factors

Psycholgical

Adaptation

Sociocultural

adaptation

Academic

adaptation

Potential

71

Appendix 4: Interview Guide for Teachers

Interview Guide for teachers or administrators in Uppsala University

Project title: Factors influencing the cultural integration of Chinese students in Uppsala

University

Researcher:

In order to note all information gained from our interview we would like to audio tape our

conversation. Only researchers will have access to the tapes which may be destroyed after

they are transcribed. By taking part in this interview you take into consideration: all

information will be held confidential, taking part in this research is voluntary and you might

interrupt our interview if you feel uncomfortable. The interview will take approximately 60-90

minutes to obtain all answers, which may help us solve our research problem. Thank you for

your participation.

Part One Personal information

Research subject

1.Name

2.Age

3.Gender

4.Occupation

72

Part Two Interview questions

Questions

Social support

(Ward & Searle, 1991)

1. What are the challenges in dealing with interpersonal relationships and how do

you cope with these challenges?

Personality

(Ward & Searle, 1990)

2. How do you think of getting along with Chinese? Can you find any changes of

their psychological during their stay in Sweden? If yes, please specify in detail.

Cultural experience

(Ward & Searle, 1990)

(Kleinberg and Hull, 1979)

3. Did you have in-depth research or knowledge preparation about China before? If

yes, please specify in detail.

4. Have you ever had the experience of teaching Chinese students beside Sweden?

If yes, do you reckon the previous experience is helpful for your adaptation in

teaching Chinese students in Sweden?

Cultural distance

(Ward & Searle, 1990)

5. How much did you know the Chinese before?

6. What kind of cultural difference can you identify, comparing Sweden to China?

Expectations

(Ward & Searle, 1990)

( Jude K. Bur goon, 1976)

7. What is the impression on teaching Chinese students in Sweden?

8. Is there any gap between what you perceive the ideal Chinese students could be

and the realistic Chinese students’ behavior delivers?

Cultural identity

(Ward & Searle, 1991)

(Nan, 2000)

9. What do you think of Chinese students’ adaptation in Sweden?

Pedagogic difference

(Zhang, 2007)

10. What is your evaluation on the studying way of Chinese students in Sweden?

Do you know something about Chinese education? If yes, please specify the

difference between them.

11. Do you have any challenges when teaching Chinese students? If yes, please

specify in detail.

Communications with

tutors (Mori, 2000)12. What is the difference betweenChinese students and Swedish students?

Language ability

(Mori, 2000)

13. What do you think of the language skills of Chinese students? Do you think it is

difficult to communicate with them? If yes, please specify in detail.

Receptivity14. What is your opinion on ‘Sweden a country that is open and tolerant for

Chinese’?

Suggestions & Evaluations

(Ward, Kennedy, et al,

1998) (Merrick, 2004)

15. What is the factors of cross-cultural adaptation that was not mentioned before?

16. What are the suggestions for those who are prepared to study in Sweden?

Factors

Psycholgical

Adaptation

Sociocultural

adaptation

Academic

adaptation

Potential