This presentation was delivered at the joint HEA/UKCISA Internationalisation of Pedagogy and Curriculum in Higher Education Conference that took place at the University of Warwick on 16th and 17th June 2011.
This presentation will describe a recent study that looked at Chinese students perceptions of significant moments of adjustment to the new milieu of British higher education. The issue of intercultural friendship was a strong recurring theme in the students’ experiences showing that despite their aspirations for intercultural connection with their British hosts most found it difficult to reach out beyond their co-ethnic groups. Where contact with host students did occur overtures of friendship often did not match the Chinese student’s expectations of normative social practice resulting in impressions of insincerity and superficiality. Notwithstanding the obstacles a small number of respondents did manage to establish deep intercultural connections and one experience in particular illustrates the potential benefit as encounters with British students lead eventually to the overcoming of a long held prejudice.
The study explores the cultural contrasts in patterns of friend-making between British and Chinese students and highlights mismatches in expectations and areas of potential miscommunication. This understanding opens the door to new ways of thinking and acting in relation to facilitating friendship respectful dialogue and intercultural learning between all ethnic groups on the intercultural campus.
