Research Background

The current study was inspired by the researcher’s two-year study abroad

experience in the U.S. This was also shaped by the researcher’s experience as an

international student counselor at a Taiwan university, which encouraged him to further

investigate effective strategies to enhance the adaption of international students. To the

researcher, pursuing a master’s degree in a completely new environment is one of the

most challenging and stressful events in life. Like many other students coming from a

non-English speaking society and non-Western cultural background, the researcher

experienced a number of difficulties in adapting to life in the U.S., such as language

barriers, academic challenges, and cross-cultural problems. Achieving academic goals

while also trying to adjust to a new culture, was a remarkable challenge for the

researcher. There is no doubt that the researcher’s two-year stay in the U.S. would not

have been a success without support from university services, and many other

individuals, such as members of faculty, student peers, and church members.

The design of the current study was also shaped by the researcher’s nine years of

experience working with international students who had encountered a range of

difficulties as a result of being in a new environment. UNESCO statistics have shown

that the number of international students increased from 1.3 million in 1990 to 4.3

million in 2011, representing a growth of more than 300%, or an average annual growth

rate of almost 6%. The sharpest growth occurred between 2000 and 2011. During this

period, the number of international students has more than doubled. In 2013, almost

4.5 million international students were studying outside their home country (The

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development[OECD], 2013). In the

meantime, Taiwan has caught up with this global trend through various national and

campus initiatives to attract more international students, such as offering scholarships,

and establishing English-taught courses or programs. As a result, international student

enrollment at Taiwan universities has grown significantly. The recent vigorous

recruitment efforts by local universities pushed international student enrollment to a

record high in 2016. According to the Taiwan Ministry of Education, the total number

of international students (including degree, exchange, and short-term program students)

reached 116,416 in 2016, which was 3.8 times larger than the total number of

international students in 2007, which was 30,509 — an overall increase of 85,097. The

number of international students accounts for 8.9 percent of total enrollments in

universities (Ministry of Education, Republic of China (Taiwan), 2017).

The growing rate of international student enrollment in Taiwan universities each

year necessitates universities to provide services to help international students adjust

to their new environment. The university where the researcher serves is regarded as

one of the leading higher education institutions on internationalization in Taiwan,

hosting a high number of international students. The statistics of the university show

that the number of international students increased from 538 in 2007 to 1,174 in 2016.

Accompanying the rise in the number of international students has been a growing need

for programs and methods to help international students adapt to their new environment,

as well as to help deal with adjustment problems, and to manage personal crises or

emergencies. Many studies have pointed out that studying abroad is a stressful life

event due to a range of difficulties, which might result in psychological stress and

psychosomatic problems, which in turn may negatively impact the well-being of

international students. Despite the negative experiences and problems in the study

journey, the stress and negative effects can be alleviated through coping strategies and

social support from the university and society. Indeed, the university has delivered a

range of services that aim to enhance the adaption of international students.

Nevertheless, according to the researcher’s personal experience, very few services had

based their work on studies on the experiences of international students. For an

effective service to be delivered, it is important that there is a clear understanding of

the lived experience of international students, so that these services can adequately

cater to their needs. This deficiency of lacking studies focused on international student

experiences is commonly seen in other higher education institutions in Taiwan. There

is a disconnect between university support programs and the needs of international

students, as these programs are often developed without understanding the experiences

of these students. This is also exacerbated by the lack of local studies that are focused

on this issue. Compared to the rise in the number of international students, domestic

studies dedicated to international students are minimal. Currently, Taiwan’s National

Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations has collected no more than 25 thesis

researches — of which most are quantitative studies — pertaining to international

students. Taiwan Periodical Literature Center has collected no more than 12 researches

dealing with international student's adaption to Taiwan, with five of these works being

qualitative studies focused on international students of five different countries. This is

quite limited compared to the bulk of studies done in the U.S., the United Kingdom,

and Australia. Among the very limited researches, there is only one quantitative study

related to social support. The lack of understanding of the acculturative experience of

international students, stressors, and social support in particular, leaves a gap in two

aspects. First, when university support services for international students are designed

unilaterally according to the university’s perspective, and not lived experiences, these

services may be unable to address the needs of international students. Though these

services aim to address these needs, they merely scratch the surface, and may fail to

sufficiently solve adjustment problems that international students have encountered.

Second, major acculturation models, as well as many studies on international students,

have confirmed the role of social support in adaption in the process of acculturation.

Additionally, researchers have found that international students used a variety of social

support sources to cope with acculturative stressors (Smith & Khawaja, 2011).

Therefore, higher education institutions should discover, leverage, and unify these

sources in order to help students transition more smoothly. Hence, conducting a

qualitative study centered on international students will help develop a thorough

understanding of their acculturation experience and social support sources, which is

essential information that universities in Taiwan may need in order to effectively assist

these students.