Yu Qian

Abstract：As one of the challenges that international students face during their study in a foreign country， language has been more and more of concern. The aim of this literature review is to know the reasons of Chinese master students language choices in UK universities. In this paper the reasons of language choices， and the gaps between previous and present research are discussed.

Key words： language choices; language proficiency; cultural differences; identity retention; internalization of higher education

1 Introduction

Since the launch of British Governments long-term worldwide educational campaign in 1999， there has been a major influx of Chinese students to British universities （Gu， 2009）. On master level the number of Chinese students coming to the United Kingdom to undertake postgraduate courses has also been growing steadily during the past years， and they now constitute a large proportion of international master students in UK universities （Durkin， 2008）.

Studying in a foreign country means to adapt to the new environment， culture， learning pattern， etc. In previous studies， language proficiency， academic expectations and social integration are believed to be the major challenges faced by international students studying in the UK （Brown， 2007）.

As one of the most prominent challenges faced by international students including Chinese students in UK universities， language is concerned by both international students themselves and universities. Reasons of Chinese master students language choices are explored in the following section.

2 Reasons of language choices

Based on previous research， this section categorises the reasons of language choices into the following five parts： language proficiency， cultural differences， identity retention， peer pressure， and past experiences and future plan.

2.1 Language proficiency

For many international students English is a big concern as it is key to academic success and social integration （Badur， 2003）. Language proficiency is influential in easing the transition of postgraduate Chinese students studying in UK universities （Zhou & Todman， 2009）. Although all the Chinese students studying in British universities have to pass English testing exam which usually is IELTS （International English Language Testing System）， both Chinese students and lecturers still find that Chinese students language proficiency is one of the major obstacles in their academic and social life （Yen & Kuzma， 2009）. Passing the test does not necessarily mean the student can succeed academically and socially （Bayliss & Ingram， 2006）. The lack of language proficiency also explains why many international students keep quiet in class and prefer to stay with their co-national friends speaking their mother tongue （Volet & Ang， 1998）.

2.2 Cultural differences

Cultural differences also lead to lack of communication between international students and home students. Moving to a new environment is cited as one of the most traumatic events in a persons life， and it is inevitable for international students to experience some degree of cultural differences （Berry， 1994; Kim， 1988）. Generally， overseas students often find themselves confronted directly with strangeness in the host country where everything is new to them （Gill， 2007）. To some extent， people from different cultures can understand and integrate with each other， but as Paulston （2005） indicates， some aspects of cultural beliefs and values are difficult to integrate and will never be completely abandoned for another. Therefore， it is hard for people from different cultures to completely integrate with each other.

2.3 Identity retention

Language choices are also related to the identity of the speaker. Miller （2000） believes that identity is tied to a sense of belonging， and a feeling of being insiders. Gee （1996） also indicates that people use language variation to show their membership and demarcate particular social identities.

Although some studies indicate that language is not necessary for group identity， since there are situations and groups where language is not an important aspect of identity （Edwards & Chisholm， 1987）， most research notes that language and identity are closely related to each other.

By speaking their native languages international students create their own identity and feel at home， whereas， speaking the host language makes them feel out of place and out of ones element （Baumann， 1999）. Portes and Schauffler （1994） also point out that retention of ones native language provides access to the ethnic community and can be seen as a cultural resource. Therefore， speaking native language can give international students a sense of belonging and help them feel more at ease.

A research done by Miller （2000） specifically targeted Chinese students explains that Chinese students would like to speak Chinese due to identity reasons. Miller （2000） also reveals that Chinese students feel that speaking English cannot represent themselves and their Chinese identities， and speaking Chinese is necessary to maintain their social memberships and represent their identities.

2.4 Peer pressure

The pressure from conational friends also influences language choices of international students. Kim （2008） reveals in his study of a group of Korean students in a university in Canada that the students there believe that speaking English among their peer group suggests a lack of allegiance to other Koreans and this behaviour is perceived almost as betrayal to ones Koreanness. The study of Kim （2008） shows that language choices of international students are also influenced by their peers， since no one wants to be isolated from the conational group where they can get comfort and emotional support. Similar results are reported by Liang （2006） who also indicates that Chinese international students feel pressured to speak English with their Chinese-speaking peers because using English is considered to be rude and arrogant.

2.5 Past experiences and future plan

International students do not only draw on the identities of their present communities， but also those of their past and future imagined communities including their future professional plans and where they would like to spend their life （Kim， 2008）， indicating that both current status and past experiences and future plans influence the language choices of international students.

3 Previous research

There are some studies about intercultural adaptation of international students. In a qualitative research done by Turner （2006）， he interviewed six Chinese postgraduate students doing their business degree in the UK to explore the development of the students orientations to learning. The research done by Gill （2007） is about the intercultural adaptation of overseas students using the methods of participant observation， interviews， and continual reflection on the participants experiences， and his own corresponding experiences as an overseas student. Gu （2009） uses both quantitative and qualitative research including 163 questionnaires， individual interviews with 13 Chinese undergraduates and postgraduates， and interviews with 10 British lecturers to find out Chinese students experiences in UK higher education. Brown （2009b） studies the adjustment experiences of a group of postgraduate international students in the south of England with the method of observation， and interviews with 13 students from 13 different nations. The research done by Zhou and Todman （2009） uses questionnaire and interview to investigate how Chinese postgraduate students in the UK adapt to academic cultural differences and general cultural differences. Although some studies are about Chinese postgraduates in the UK， they are mainly about their intercultural adaptation rather than language choices.

Studies about language choices mainly target immigrant students. Liang （2006） explores high school Chinese immigrant students language choices and code switching in ESL （English as Second Language） classes with the methods of observations and interviews. Kim （2008） does research on the language choice of Generation 1.5 students （foreign-born students who immigrated to their host country with their first generation immigrant parents） with a series of methods including interview， research field notes， reflection journal， etc. Sacchi （2014） also refers to interview， focus group， journal， etc. and multiple case study to report English learning of five adult Hispanic immigrants in the U.S.， and their identity and agency negotiations as English speakers. These researches focus on the language choices of immigrant students who have been in the host country for a relatively long period of time and most of them will stay in the host country in the future.

4 Present research

Researches about different groups using different methodologies lead to different results. There are many studies about intercultural adaptation， language choices of immigrant students rather than Chinese master students in the UK. Therefore， this research will focus on this specific group of Chinese students to probe into their language choices， reasons of their language choices.

Previous researches about intercultural adaptation and language choices usually interviewed only the group of students that are studied， rather than both the students being studied and students with different nationalities to have a comparison of their views. Methods used in this research are observation and interview. The observation will answer the question of what languages Chinese students choose to speak. Doing observation is a good way to start the research， since the interviewees will be asked questions based on their language choices and interactions observed. Chinese and non-Chinese students will be interviewed， which will help to know the different perspectives of the same questions from the two parties.

5 Conclusion

This paper introduces higher education internationalization， reasons of language choices， and the gaps between previous and present research. The following research will explore the reasons of Chinese master students language choices in UK universities with the methods of observation and interview.

References：

Badur， G. （2003）. International students perspectives on their cross-cultural adjustment to American higher education （Doctoral dissertation， Illinois State University）

Bauman， Z. （1999） Culture as Praxis. London： Sage.

Bayliss， A.， & Ingram， D. E. （2006）. IELTS as a predictor of academic language performance.

In Australian International Education Conference.

Berry， J. W. （1994）. Acculturation and psychological adaptation： An overview.

Brown， L. （2009b）. Worlds apart： The barrier between East and West. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication， 2（3）， 240-259.

Brown， L. （2007）. A consideration of the challenges involved in supervising international masters students. Journal of Further and Higher Education， 31 （3）， 239–48.

Durkin， K. （2008）. The middle way： East Asian master's students' perceptions of critical argumentation in UK universities. Journal of Studies in International Education， 12（1）， 38-55.

Edwards， J.， & Chisholm， J. （1987）. Language， multiculturalism and identity： A Canadian study. Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development， 8（5）， 391-408.

Gee， J. （1996）. Social linguistics and literacies： Ideology in discourses. London： Taylor & Francis.

Gill， S. （2007）. Overseas students' intercultural adaptation as intercultural learning： A transformative framework. Compare， 37（2）， 167-183.

Gu， Q. （2009）. Maturity and Interculturality： Chinese students' experiences in UK higher

Kim， J. （2008）. Negotiating multiple investments in languages and identities： The language

socialization of Generation 1.5 Korean-Canadian university students （Doctoral dissertation， University of British Columbia）.

Kim， Y. Y. （1988）. Communication and cross-cultural adaptation： An integrative theory. Multilingual Matters.

Liang， X.， （2006）. Identity and language functions： High school Chinese immigrant students' code-switching dilemmas in ESL classes. Journal of Language， Identity， and Education， 5， 143-167.

Miller， J. M. （2000）. Language use， identity， and social interaction： Migrant students in Australia. Research on language and social interaction， 33（1）， 69-100.

Paulston， C. B. （2005）. Biculturalism： Some reflections and speculations. Intercultural discourse and communication： The essential readings， 277-287.

Portes， A.， & Schauffler， R. （1994）. Language and the second generation： Bilingualism yesterday and  today. International migration review， 640-661.

Sacchi， F. A. （2014）. Language learning， identity， and agency： a multiple case study of adult Hispanic English language learners （Doctoral dissertation， The University of Texas at Austin）.

Turner， Y. （2006）. Chinese students in a UK business school： Hearing the student voice in reflective teaching and learning practice. Higher Education Quarterly， 60（1）， 27-51.

Volet， S. E.， & Ang， G. （1998）. Culturally mixed groups on international campuses： An opportunity for inter  cultural learning. Higher education research & development， 17（1）， 5-23.

Yen， D.， & Kuzma， J. （2009）. Higher IELTS score， higher academic performance？ The validity of IELTS in predicting the academic performance of Chinese students. Worcester Journal of Learning and Teaching， （3）， 1-7.

Zhou， Y.， & Todman， J. （2009）. Patterns of adaptation of Chinese postgraduate students in the United