A STUDY ON FACTORS RELATED TO INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE AT THE MANDARIN TRAINING CENTER IN THE NATIONAL TAIWAN NORMAL UNIVERSITY

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(1)A STUDY ON FACTORS RELATED TO INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE AT THE MANDARIN TRAINING CENTER IN THE NATIONAL TAIWAN NORMAL UNIVERSITY. by Vladimíra Bilijenková. A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF EDUCATION Major: International Workforce Education and Development. Advisor: Wei-Wen Chang, Ph. D.. National Taiwan Normal University Taipei, Taiwan June, 2009.

(2) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First, I would like to show my gratitude to Taipei Cultural and Economical Office in Prague, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan for the trust they have put in me by granting me with Taiwan Government Scholarship. Thanks to their continual support, I was able to pursue my studies at Chinese language center and later at Graduate Institute of International Workforce Education and Development at National Taiwan Normal University. I was also able to learn a lot about Taiwan, its unique culture, hospitable people and life-style and thanks to my positive experience I now call this place my home. I am most grateful to my thesis advisor Dr. Wei-Wen Chang for all the support she provided me with throughout the whole study period. Also sincere thanks to the other members of my thesis committee for their support and valuable comments provided throughout the research process. My thanks go to Dr. Steven Lai, Program Director of the International Workforce Education and Development, for his understanding and assistance. I would also like to express my gratitude to all IWED professors as well as secretaries and all my classmates, who gave me the feeling of family..

(3) ABSTRACT For recent years, number of international students coming to Taiwan in order to pursuit their studies is growing rapidly. A significant part of them come to acquire mandarin language skills. These students utilize services offered by language centers all over the island. However, approximately one fourth of all learners of Chinese enroll in the Mandarin Training Center (MTC), which is affiliated to the National Taiwan Normal University. Its location in the heart of capital city Taipei as well as long history and reputation are intriguing. Despite the long tradition of teaching mandarin as second language, MTC is an organization that is still adapting to international students‟ expectations and needs and is improving its services in order to provide environment in which international students can achieve their goals. This research was conducted in order to learn, what are the international students‟ points of view (about the MTC services and other topics) and what do they perceive as most significant factors related to their performance and satisfaction at MTC. The methods of data collecting were semi-structured interview and a questionnaire, which used snowball sampling method. SPSS software version 16 was used for data analysis. This study tested six hypotheses. The statistical results showed that only relation of satisfaction and hygiene and situational factors is highly significant. Therefore it could be concluded that variables of hygiene and situational factors are not motivating or demotivating for international students‟ at MTC, however, they still play a significant role in their everyday lives.. Keywords: International students, international students‟ performance, satisfaction, adaptation, cultural shock. I.

(4) TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ......................................................................................................................I Table of Contents .......................................................................................................II List of Figures ............................................................................................................IV List of Tables………………………………………………………………………...V. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................ 1 Chapter Overview…………………………………………………………….. 1 Background of the Study ...................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................5 Purpose of the Study ..........................................................................................6 Significance of the Study ...................................................................................7 Research Hypotheses .........................................................................................10 Limitations and Delimitations............................................................................12 Definition of Terms…………………………………………………………….13 Chapter Summary……………………………………………………………...14. CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................ 15 Chapter Overview……………………………………………………………...15 Cross-cultural Adjustment .................................................................................15 Maslow‟s Hierarchy of Needs ............................................................................19 Motivator-Hygiene Theory ................................................................................22 Well-being and Mental Health ...........................................................................23 Knowledgeableness Prior Students‟ Arrival and Learning Environment…..….27 Chapter Summary ..............................................................................................28. CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY ........................................................ 31 Chapter Overview……………………………………………………………...31 Research Procedure ............................................................................................31 Research Framework .........................................................................................34 Research Methods ..............................................................................................36 Population and Sampling ...................................................................................37 Instrumentation ..................................................................................................37 Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………..39 Interview Results……………………………………………………………....40 II.

(5) Pilot Study Results…………………………………………………………..…46 Chapter Summary……………………………………………………………....47. CHAPTER IV. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ................................... 49 Chapter Overview ..............................................................................................49 Respondents‟ Profile ..........................................................................................49 Outcome of Factor Analysis...............................................................................51 Results of Correlation & Linear Regression Tests .............................................53 Results of One Way ANOVA Analyses ..............................................................55 Review of Respondents‟ Comments ..................................................................66 Summary of Research Results ...........................................................................68 Discussion ..........................................................................................................68. CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONSAND RECOMMENDATIONS .......... 71 Chapter Overview ..............................................................................................71 Conclusions ........................................................................................................71 Recommendations ..............................................................................................74. REFERENCES........................................................................................ 79 APPENDIX: QUESTIONNAIRE ........................................................ ..84. III.

(6) LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1. U-curve of adjustment…………….....…………………………………………..16 Figure 2.2. Maslow‟s hierarchy of needs…………….……………………………………...21 Figure 3.1. Research work flow………….……………………………………………...33 Figure 3.2. Study model …………….……………………………………………….……….35 Figure 3.3. Major concerns of MTC international students………………………….……42 Figure 3.4. Interviews summary – items with multiple occurrences………………….…...…45 Figure 4.1. Regional division of research sample population……………………………..…50 Figure 4.2. Age division of research sample population ……………………...….….…..…..50. IV.

(7) LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1 Mandarin training centers in Taiwan………………….……………………..….2 Table 1.2 Selected mandarin training centers – years of operation………………….….…7 Table 1.3. Numbers of Students Obtaining Student Visas from Foreign Nations between 1998 and 2007……………………….………………………….….….8 Table 3.1. Division of group sessions topics………………………………..…….……..…41 Table 3.2. Divisions of international students‟ problems……………………..………....….41 Table 4.1. KMO and Bartlett‟s test for hygiene and situational factors…………….…..… 51 Table 4.2. Component Matrix for hygiene and situational factors…………………….…..52 Table 4.3. KMO and Bartlett‟s test for adaptability factor……………………………...…53 Table 4.4. Component Matrix for hygiene and adaptability factor……………………......53 Table 4.5. Correlation between performance and satisfaction………………………...…..53 Table 4.6. Linear regression results –coefficients……………………………………...….54 Table 4.7. Linear regression for region of origin……………………………………..……54 Table 4.8. Linear regression for satisfaction…………………………………..…..…......55 Table 4.9. Continued results from linear regression for satisfaction……………………..55 Table 4.10. One way ANOVA test for hygiene factor – ANOVA analysis………….……..56 Table 4.11. One way ANOVA for hygiene factor - descriptive statistics……………….…56 Table 4.12. One way ANOVA for hygiene factor – post-hoc test………………….…...…57 Table 4.13. One way ANOVA for situational factor- ANOVA analysis……………….......58 Table 4.14. One way ANOVA for situational factor – descriptive statistics………..……..58 Table 4.15. One way ANOVA for situational factor – post-hoc test………………..…..…59 Table 4.16. One way ANOVA for adaptability factor – ANOVA analysis……………...…60 Table 4.17. One way ANOVA for adaptability factor –post-hoc test……………………...60 Table 4.18. ANOVA table for hygiene factor………………………………….…….…….62 Table 4.19. Post-hoc for hygiene factor……………………………………….…….…….62 Table 4.20. ANOVA for situational factor………………………………………………..63 Table 4.21. Post-hoc test for situational factor…………………………………..……….63 Table 4.22. ANOVA table………………………………………………………..……….65 Table 4.23. Post-hoc test table……………………………………………………………65 Table 4.24. Respondents‟ comments ………………………………………………….…66. V.

(8) CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. Chapter Overview The opening chapter of this study presents the topic. Background of the study introduces the history and development of Mandarin training centers and provides the rationale for the study. Further, the problem, which lies in the focus of this research, is introduced and research hypotheses and the expected outcomes are stated. Chapter one also defines terms that are used throughout this paper as well as its limitations and delimitations.. Background of the Study Since the end of 20th century, the growing interest in learning Chinese language is remarkable. The demand of Chinese speaking people is rising every day and thus there are thousands of foreigners coming to Chinese speaking countries to pursue their language studies. The first group of 33 students from East European countries came to China in the year 1950. By the end of 2000, the number of international students in China has risen to 407,000. Students are coming from more than 160 different countries. Among them, 88, 000 students are granted with Chinese Government Scholarship. Number of self-financed students reached 317,000. (The Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges, n.d.) No number of solely Chinese learners in People‟s Republic of China was available, however, the researcher assumes that at least on third of students goes to China to study language and even with such meagre assumption the rise of the number is obvious. The number of international students in Taiwan in the year 2007 (including degreelevel, exchange, and language study students) reached 17,742. This means grow of 3,263, compared to the 14,479 count in 2006. From the total number, 9135 international students in 2006 and 10,177 students in 2007 studied in the language centers in the universities. The. 1.

(9) increase between these two years amounted to 1042 persons. (The Number of Foreign Students Studying in Taiwan Exceeds 17,500 in 2007, 2008) The rise in number of coming foreign students in Taiwan is also evident from the abovementioned data. In a reaction to such trend, many public as well as private universities around Taiwan founded special language centers, which are regarded as extension programs of the core university studies. Such establishments provide courses on daily bases and make students reach their desired level of language ability in a fast and convenient way. One of the well-known institutions of that kind is Mandarin Training Center (later only MTC) of National Taiwan Normal University, located in the capital city of Republic of China, Taipei. With its origins being traced back to the year 1956, it is also the oldest one in Taiwan. Since then, it grew to become the biggest Chinese language center of the island as well. Figure 1.1 shows all mandarin training centers in Taiwan and the number of their students in the academic year 2007.. Table 1.1. Mandarin training centers in Taiwan. School. Number of students. Grand Total. 10,177. Chinese Language Center, NCCU. 531. International Chinese Language Program, NTU. 205. National Taiwan University Language Center Chinese Language Division , NTU. 359. Mandarin Training Center, NTNU. 2,921. National Cheng Kung University Chinese Language Center. 463. Chinese Program, Language Center, NCHU. 53. Chinese Language Center, NCTU. 93. (Continued). 2.

(10) Table 1.1. (Continued). School. Number of students Language Center, NCU. 347. Chinese Language Center, NSYSU. 309. National Kaohsiung Normal University Center of Language and Culture Teaching. 183. Chinese Language Center at National University of Kaohsiung. 16. Center for Chinese Language and Culture Studies. 55. Chinese Language Center, Tunghai University. 319. Language Center of Fu Jen Catholic University. 442. Tamkang University Chinese Language Center. 753. Mandarin Learning Center at Chinese Culture University. 1,119. Fengchia University Language Center, Chinese Division. 309. Providence University - Chinese Language Education Center. 39. Chung Hua University Chinese Language Center. 21. Mandarin Studies and Culture Center. 423. Southern Taiwan University of Technology. 116. Chinese Language Teaching Center. 218. Kainan Chinese Language Center. 136. Chinese Language Instruction Center, Fo Guang University. 69. Center of Chinese Language, Wen-Tzo. 199. Northern Taiwan Institute Of Science & Technology - Mandarin Language Center. 127. Source: International Students in University Affiliated Mandarin Centers, 2008.. As it is stated on the websites of MTC: The Mandarin Training Center represents one of the world‟s oldest and most distinguished programs for language study, attracting more than a thousand students from over sixty countries to Taiwan.......Courses in language, literature, calligraphy, art and martial arts are offered…….The center also sponsors travel, hosts speech 3.

(11) contests, and stages workshops and performances for a variety of East Asian arts. (Mandarin Scholarship Taiwan, n.d.). As above-mentioned, foreigners from all over the world come to MTC. They bring their traditions, customs and habits with them. Therefore, MTC becomes a salad-bowl of cultures and life-styles, which can result in positive outcomes, but also may negatively affect the running of such learning institutions. Chaney and Martin (2007) allege that all people incline to belief that their own cultural background, including ways of analyzing problems, values, beliefs, language, and verbal and nonverbal communication, is the correct one. (Chaney & Martin, 2007) Therefore, a multicultural group, especially of such scale, should be treated with respect and special care in order to function smoothly: Willingness to compromise with other‟s way of living and cooperation in common tasks, these make living happy and fruitful. Sri Sathya Sai Baba (Famous Quotation, 2009) This study examined factors, which may be significantly related to students‟ performance and their satisfaction during their studies in Taiwan. Also, as there is always space for improvement, this paper tried to provide suggestions for MTC in order to bring its service closer to perfection, which was based on MTC‟s language learning program participants‟ opinion as well as on the researcher‟s analysis.. 4.

(12) Statement of the Problem As Swinger (1995) states, the benefits of studying abroad are tightly connected with the understanding that students show towards the foreign culture. According to her, studying abroad encourages personal flexibility. Thanks to that, students are able to elevate their comprehension of different lifestyles, variant approaches to problem solving and are able to recognize cultural differences in family relationships as well as time concepts. Swinger unfolds her idea even further by saying that studying abroad promotes political awareness and helps students to see politics in their own countries from a new perspective, that of the host country. Swinger proclaims that the benefits of studying abroad can only be won by understanding the foreign culture (Dekaney, 2008). Swinger (1995) stresses how important it is to understand foreign culture. She gives a picture of ideal outcome of studying in a foreign country. However, it might be rather difficult to accomplish all aforementioned items. A study by Allazi and Chiodo (2006) that focused on middle-eastern students coming to the United States shows many obstacles that causes the recession in reaching the ideal state of integration into a new culture. Their research pointed out problems in academic, language, socio-cultural and personal spheres of international students‟ lives. Students, who come to different country, are facing many things that vary from their home. Some of such dissimilarities seem rather banal. Different food and eating habits, different clothing code or different weather conditions might be some of that kind. In Maslow‟s hierarchy of needs these will represent the physiological level of needs. (For more about Maslow‟s hierarchy of needs, see chapter II, p. 16) For students, who arrive to a country with a very different culture, language, communication and interaction problem are more than likely to arise. Such situation might subvert the self-esteem and confidence and might result in loss of feeling of safeness. For an adult learner, such drastic changes might cause physical as well as psychological problems. 5.

(13) Students, who come to diametrically opposite culture, where they do not have family or cultural base and have to face the culture shock alone, might feel stress and discomfort. The disillusionment phase of culture shock might be more then overwhelming and then performance of these students would mirror such situation more than obviously. Students might lose motivation, might not be able to keep pace with classmates etc. In this stage, the school or – in case of this paper – a language training center, should take the role of a bridge between the newcomer and the host culture. The assumption was that students who are satisfied in their new environment and school are performing better than those who have to deal with above-mentioned difficulties. This paper analyzed how is the situation in MTC and if students are satisfied with that, in point of fact, how the current situation affects their performance.. Purpose of the Study This study examined factors, which affect MTC students‟ performance. Better knowledge of those factors may help to see the role of MTC during foreign students‟ study period. Having clear understanding, MTC employees would be able to target the most problematic factors and so to improve services offered to their students by, for example, employing new means of communication and information transfer channels or improving the already existing ones. Furthermore, this paper tested if there is any correlation between satisfaction and performance. This examination enabled the researcher to make the results more exact and clear and so the contribution to MTC may be greater. In brief, the purpose of this paper was to study the MTC foreign students‟ performance and satisfaction factors in order to identify the most significant ones. Another reason to carry on this research was to examine students‟ performance and satisfaction factors 6.

(14) externally, out of the MTC. To the researcher knowledge, limited number of studies of such type was conducted in the past and thus the results of this paper may be interesting or even important for the MTC management. In order to get the whole picture of its students‟ situation, MTC may work with these results on improving its services, programs or teaching and learning methods. The guiding questions of this research are: 1) What are the major factors affecting foreign students‟ performance and satisfaction during their stay in the MTC? 2) Is there any correlation between foreign students‟ performance and their satisfaction?. Significance of the Study Language centers are generally not the frequent focus of explorers‟ interest. Mandarin training centers are left without much of researchers‟ attention. These institutions all around Taiwan do not have a very long history, excluded the three oldest centers (as highlighted in the table 1 below). Table 1.2. Selected mandarin training centers – years of operation University. Location. Founded at. In operation for (years):. National Taiwan Normal university. Taipei. 1956. 53. National Taiwan University. Taipei. 1984. 24. National Chenggong University. Tainan. 1982. 26. National Central university. Zhongli. 2001. 7. National Jiaotong University. Xinzhu. 2005. 3. Providence University. Taizhong. 1996. 12. Foguang University. Yilan. 2000. 8. Source: Mandarin Training Center: About us, n.d.; Chinese Language Division, Language Center, National Taiwan University, n.d.; National Cheng Kung University Chinese Language Center: Introduction, 2007; National Central University: Chinese Language Program, 2007-2008; National Jiaotong Univeristy Language Center: Introduction, 2007; Fo Kuang University: Chinese Language Instruction Center, n.d.. 7.

(15) Considering the above mentioned fact and also the other verity – the number of coming students has been growing rapidly only since during last two decades (as shown in table 2; data available for selected nations only), overlooking of this topic by the research field was quite understandable.. Table 1.3. Numbers of Students Obtaining Student Visas from Foreign Nations between 1998 and 2007. 1998. 2000. 2002. 2004. 2006. 2007. US. 13,109. 15,547. 13,767. 14,054. 16,451. 14,916. Canada. 2,359. 2,583. 2,433. 2,149. 1,997. 2,014. UK. 6,173. 8,567. 9,548. 9,207. 9,653. 7,132. France. 342. 552. 529. 580. 690. 723. Germany. 305. 313. 400. 402. 512. 606. Australia. 2,092. 2,104. 2,894. 2,246. 2,862. 2,570. 342. 496. 740. 534. 538. 618. 1,649. 1,753. 1,745. 1,556. 2,108. 2,424. 30,728. 34,811. 31,003. New Zealand Japan Sub-total. 26,200. 31,907. 32,016. Source: Numbers of Students Obtaining Student Visas from Foreign Nations between 1998 and 2007, Ministry of Education, Republic of China, 2008.. However, on the verge of new millennium, the situation changes and public as well as private universities located outside the capital Taipei are founding mandarin training centers. As was mentioned already, this is due to the rising demand for learning mandarin. Also, with growing number of coming students, the requirements on schools and expectations changes as well. Putting more pressure on language service providing organizations by stating higher demands should lead to improvement of teaching and learning strategies and enhancement of school environment. Training centers may (in most of the cases) be the only institution foreign students are in everyday touch with. They serve as a base for improvement of one‟s own abilities and skills, for meeting people and also for dealing with obstacles in their everyday life. It is a space where foreigners should have a platform. 8. 313131313.

(16) Students are facing international environment daily, however staff of language centers is local. This may cause trivial communication problems, frustration or even feeling of dislike or rejection towards the institution itself. In their study, Herzberg, Mausner, Peterson, and Capwell (1957) learned that the variables contributing to satisfaction are different from those contributing to dissatisfaction. Between the variables for dissatisfaction were for example unfair company policies, incompetent or unfair supervisors, bad interpersonal relations, unpleasant working conditions, unfair salary, threats to status, and job insecurity. Herzberg called them „hygiene factors’. This term was borrowed from medical science, in point of fact from epidemiology. Herzberg clarified this idea simply – good medicine does not make people healthy. It prevents illness. (Herzberg et al., 1959) Sachau (2007) provides another quite pertinent example by saying that public health officials might use pesticides to kill disease carrying mosquitoes. Pesticides do not make people healthier, but pesticides can prevent the spread of illness. “Herzberg and his colleagues noted that, similar to medical hygiene, fair pay, good interpersonal relations, fair policies, and pleasant working conditions do not appear to provide much long-term satisfaction, but they do prevent dissatisfaction.” (Sachau, 2007) If more business point of view would be applied, foreign students could be seen as customers, who pay for the services of language centers. In order to accomplish their needs to its best ability, any language center has to understand their students‟ needs.. You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new. Steve Jobs (Famous Quotations, 2009) This study‟s significance lies in the examination of relationship between students‟ performance and hygiene factor (school facilities, classes‟ equipment, teacher‟s attitude etc.), situational factor (stress, different climate, dissimilar cuisine etc.) and adaptability factor 9.

(17) (openness, self-motivation, etc.) and between students‟ satisfaction and the three mentioned factors. It showed the space for improvement which can make foreigners‟ stay in Taiwan, during their studies at language centers, more effective.. Research Hypotheses This research aimed to answer six hypotheses that tried to clarify the major factors related to foreign students‟ performance at MTC, National Taiwan Normal University. First question that guided this research was, if there is any correlation between foreign students‟ performance and their satisfaction. Therefore, hypothesis one (H1) is as follows: H0: There is no correlation between foreign students‟ performance and their satisfaction. HA: There is a correlation between foreign students‟ performance and their satisfaction.. Second question was examining the major factors of foreign students‟ performance during their studies at MTC. The researcher split those into three groups of factors in order to achieve more clarity about their possible impact on students‟ performance. Therefore, four hypothesizes were stated. Hygiene factor is tested at first as H2: H0: Hygiene factor has no significant relationship with foreign students‟ performance. HA: Hygiene factor has significant relationship with foreign students‟ performance.. In hypothesis three (H3), this paper looked at the problematic considering the situational factor and its possible effect on foreign student‟s performance. 10.

(18) H0: Situational factor has no significant relationship with foreign students‟ performance. HA: Situational factor has significant relationship with foreign students‟ performance.. Hypothesis four (H4) tested, if region of origin (or continent) from where students came to Taiwan has significant relationship with their performance. H0: There is no significant relationship between international students‟ performance and their region/continent of origin. HA: There is a significant relationship between international students‟ performance and their region/continent of origin.. The researcher found it vital for the quality and validity of research to also involve the adaptability factor. Therefore hypothesis five (H5) follows: H0: Adaptability factor has no significant relationship with foreign students‟ performance. HA: Adaptability factor has significant relationship with foreign students‟ performance.. Hypothesis six tested whether hygiene, situational and adaptability factors are associated with international students‟ satisfaction with their lives in Taiwan. Therefore: H0: There is no significance relationship between hygiene, situational and adaptability factors and international students‟ satisfaction. HA: There is significant relationship between hygiene, situational and adaptability factors and international students‟ satisfaction.. 11.

(19) The researcher also wanted to find out by using one way ANOVA test, if hygiene, situational and adaptability factors show significant results when sample is divided into groups according to 1) length of students‟ stay in Taiwan and 2) students‟ region of origin. y1 = b0x0 + b1x1 + b2x2 +….+bkxk + e y2 = b0x0 + b1x1 + b2x2 +….+bkxk + e -. where y1 is international students‟ performance; bs are weights expressing relative degrees of influence of the xs in accounting for y1; e is error. -. where y2 is international students‟ satisfaction; bs are weights expressing relative degrees of influence of the xs in accounting for y1; e is error. Limitations and Delimitations This is a pioneering paper about determinants of MTC foreign students‟ performance. Such initial studies usually examine the most obvious issues and may not work with all possible factors. Furthermore, only students were involved in the research. MTC personnel may provide feedback and sketch in the situation of environment of the institution. However, this research was limited by inaccessibility of organizational data and records as well as other constraints that did not allow the researcher to seek for answers in wider range. Other limitation of this study was the fact that it only focused on the Chinese language center of National Taiwan Normal University. This institution is the oldest in Taiwan and invites the biggest number of foreign students to join its courses. Also, MTC, being located in the capital of Taiwan – Taipei, may have different conditions and resources than institutions in other cities and more remote areas. Therefore, results of this research may have limited applicability outside of MTC.. 12.

(20) The delimitation of this study is that only MTC students participated in the research. This research used snowball sampling method; therefore the result tended to be general and further research should be carried on in order to get more precise answers about learners divided into more particular subgroups, for example according to the specific regions, etc. The study was based in Taiwan and worked solely with local conditions. This limitation implies that the results can only be used by Taiwanese mandarin training centers.. Definition of terms International students: Students enrolled in the Chinese language training program at Mandarin Training Center (MTC) at the National Taiwan Normal University, who do not possess R.O.C. citizenship.. International students’ performance: average score of all tests, quizzes, in-class activities and participation given by MTC teachers on weekly or monthly basis.. International students’ satisfaction: describes whether students are happy and contented with their life in Taiwan and whether they fulfill their desires and needs within their lives.. Hygiene factor: job factors that can cause dissatisfaction if missing but do not necessarily motivate employees if increased. (Herzberg, 1968) In this research, hygiene factors are applied in school environment and hence stand for factors within school that can cause dissatisfaction or de-motivation (administration personnel‟ attitude, teachers‟ attitude, school equipment, teaching materials, hygiene maintenance, etc.).. Situational factor: factors of everyday life or situations caused by everyday life in unknown 13.

(21) environment (communication, transportation, cuisine, stress, homesickness, etc.). Adaptability: the ability to change in order to fit in different environment, culture or situations.. Adaptability factor: personality traits that can ease or aggravate the process of adaptation of an individual.. Chapter Summary Chapter one introduced in detail the topic of this research. Six hypotheses, which were stated in order to test the collected data, were given. Furthermore, the author clarified why only the Mandarin Training Center of the National Taiwan Normal University was chosen as the locus of the actual research. The following chapter focuses on theories and other existing works that were studied carefully and later used as framework of this study.. 14.

(22) CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW. Chapter Overview Chapter two presents the findings of previous studies that were used as a framework for this research. The following theories were referred to during the process of questionnaire designing. The structure of following literature review starts with more general concepts in order to explain the issue of cross-cultural adjustment, hierarchy of personal needs and motivator-hygiene theory. The later topics focus on more specific research areas that are applicable for this study.. Cross-Cultural Adjustment When people arrive to a foreign country, they need to adjust to many things that differ from their culture of origin in order to stay there for a period of time not for purpose of traveling. Process of adjustment might be uneasy and can be even frustrating. This happens especially in the case when the new culture is remarkably variant from the primary culture.. Interactions between cultural groups are situations fraught with difficulties for the person concerned. These difficulties arise due to the phenomenon of „culture shock‟ that describes the emotional response to new or unfamiliar cultural acts or symbols that have little or no meaning. (Adler 1975; Pawanteh 2000, p.20). Pawanteh (2000) further alleged, that a person may be exposed to a various emotions such as anxiety, excitement or provocation related to the loss of all familiar cues that form the basis of his/her understanding of reality. 15.

(23) One of the most important studies that concerns about international students and their adjustment in new surroundings was conducted by Sveere Lysgaard in the year 1955. Lysgaard‟s study questioned 200 Norwegian students who went to the United States to pursue their studies on various university levels. In his paper “Adjustment in a Foreign Society: Norwegian Fullbright Grantees Visiting the United States”, he offered a model of a U-curve of adaptation. This well known model is shown below to further illustrate the main idea of the theory. At the beginning of stay in foreign country, sojourners are excited and feel satisfied (the honeymoon phase of cultural shock). However, this state changes into dissatisfaction over the time and leads to the second phase of cultural shock – the disillusionment phase.. Figure 2.1. U-curve of adjustment Source: A proposed model of expatriates in multinational corporations, 2008.. 16.

(24) Originally, the hypothesis of cultural shock counted with three stages that the sojourner is going through: 1) The Honeymoon Phase 2) The „Everything is awful‟ Phase 3) The „Everything is OK‟ Phase. In the work of Varner and Beamer (2005), four stages of adjustment were introduced as the stage of integration (or mastery) was added (Tange, 2005): o Euphoria o Disillusionment o Adjustment o Integration During this period, the differences between the old and new culture are seen in a romantic light, wonderful and new. For example, in moving to a new country, an individual might love the new food, the pace of life, the people‟s habits, the buildings and so on. (Wikipedia Foundation Inc., 2009) The first encounter with a new culture, euphoria or the holiday stage, is mostly exciting, but according to Beamer and Varner it normally lasts no longer than two weeks, and, they add; “some people skip it altogether.” (Varner & Beamer 2005; Tange 2005, p. 3) After a few days, a few weeks, or a few months, minor differences between the old and new culture begin to add up to become tiresome and annoying. One may long for food the way it is prepared “back home”, may find the pace of life too fast or slow, may find the people‟s habits annoying, etc. (Cultural Shock, 2009). 17.

(25) In contrast, the second stage of culture shock is characterized by a general downtum. Sojourners find their constant exposure to an alien culture frustrating and may seek consolation in the company of countrymen in similar circumstances. The feeling of culture shock develops from the realization that one does not possess enough knowledge to manage in the new cultural setting. Its symptoms may be physical (illness and physical strain) as well as psychological (frustration, homesickness, depression). (Varner & Beamer 2005; Tange 2005, p. 4). Culture shock forces sojourners to open their minds and to confront members of the host culture in their search for inside information, which in the end will further their integration. (Guirdham 1999; Tange 2005) Again, after a few days, weeks or months, one grows accustomed to the new culture‟s differences and develops routines. At this point, an individual no longer reacts to the new culture positively or negatively, because it no longer feels like a new culture. An individual becomes concerned with basic living again, as they were in the original culture. (Wikipedia Foundation Inc, 2009) The third stage of adjustment is characterized by Beamer and Varner as the ability to “cooperate more effectively with members of the host culture”. (Varner & Beamer 2005; Tange 2005) Although they may not achieved the level of linguistic and cultural fluency that we find in the fourth stage of integration, sojourners possess enough insight into the host culture to navigate safely. The last stage of integration is described by Beamer and Varner as „going native‟. At this stage, they reflect, business may worry “that they employee, who is now at home in different culture, does not totally represent them anymore”. (Varner & Beamer 2005; Tange 2005) Guirdham (1999) refers to this stage as the “establishment of an intercultural identity” and, as opposed to Varner and Beamer, perceives it to be positive development. The very last phase that is sometimes mentioned as a part of culture shock is the 18.

(26) „Reverse culture shock‟, which is referring to the stage after returning to the original culture. There, a person may undergo the whole process of culture shock again, as he/she already got accustomed to another culture and integrated it. In their study, Alazzi and Chiodo (2006) learned what kind of problems students face when they decide to pursue their higher education degree in a foreign country. They focused on students of one nationality coming to the United States. However, in the end, they concluded that all students who become minority in foreign countries campuses might be facing the same problems. They also proved and thus supported the idea of Varner and Beamer, that the Honeymoon phase (or the Euphoria phase) are skipped in the case of international students and they are immediately experiencing the second phase – disillusionment (or „everything is awful‟ phase). Further, their results show clearly, that problems, which international students are facing, do not change over time. In their research, problems were reported from four different areas: academic, language, socio-cultural and personal.. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs The above-mentioned research leads to other studies that deal with need theories of motivation. In 1943, Abraham Maslow introduced his study in the paper called A Theory of Human Motivation. Despite the fact, that this theory comes under the field of psychology, it is used even in today‟s studies for explaining the human innate curiosity and need to grow in various spheres of research. Maslow (1943) divided human needs into five levels: physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem and self-actualization level. In the figure 2.1, Maslow‟s hierarchy is represented as a pyramid, with the most primitive needs at the bottom. Such graphic illustration shows clearly the main idea of this theory. Maslow proposed, that human needs 19.

(27) are coming from the basic/essential level to the top of the pyramid and thus grows from the physiological needs, through safety and security needs to social and esteem needs to the last level that represents growth needs. “According to Maslow, once a need is satisfied, it no longer motivates.” (Cullen & Parboteeah, 2008) Maslow also suggested that the achievement of one level is not constant. The moment a person loses the achieved need, he/she will go downward (in the scale of the pyramid) to a lower level, in order to re-achieve the needs that have been lost. This happens or is very likely to happen when a person (a student, an expatriate, a spouse of a student or expatriate, etc.) arrives to a different country. They come to a different environment and are exposed to the changes. Usually, friends (in case of students) or the company (in case of expatriates) will act as a bridge over the dissimilarities. However, to get to the stage of adjustment or integration (see Lysgaard‟s hypothesis on adaptation, Chapter II, Cross-Cultural Adjustment, p. 13) takes considerably long time. Maslow‟s hierarchy of needs can be used in order to explain, why stage of disillusionment (see Lysgaard‟s hypothesis on adaptation, Chapter II, Cross-Cultural Adjustment, p. 12) might be rather long and what happen during that period of time. Foreign students have to deal with changes in their hierarchy of needs. Suddenly, question of different food and all eating habits needs to be dealt with. Students have to face the question of housing and other resources. These needs are appearing on the lowest levels of Maslow‟s pyramid. A considerably big number of international students, who come to Taiwan to start learning Chinese or to continue in their studies of Chinese language, obtained various scholarships. General idea about such students is, that they are very good students in their countries. Their feel motivated by gaining respect of others and thus confidence, enhancing their creativity and problem solving ability. Such needs are at the very top of Maslow‟s hierarchy. To drop from the top of the pyramid to the bottom and suddenly deal with existential problems can cause feeling of frustration or depression. To overcome all obstacles in physiological and safely level and regain love/belonging and esteem level could 20.

(28) be time consuming. This theory is also explaining why some foreign students might skip the first phase of Lysgaard‟s U-curve of adjustment – the honeymoon phase. As sojourners have to deal with existential problems in the first moment, they might not feel the excitement about experiencing new things.. Figure 2.2.Maslow‟s hierarchy of needs Source : Maslow's hierarchy of needs, 2009.. 21.

(29) Motivator-hygiene Theory A study conducted by Herzberg (1966) came up with a so-called motivator-hygiene theory, which assumes that a job has two basic characteristics – motivators and hygiene factors. The first mentioned include such characteristics that make employees satisfy their higher-level needs. On the other hand, hygiene factors allow employees to meet their lowerlevel needs such as security needs. This state can be reached for example by good benefits and working conditions (Cullen & Parboteeah, 2008). Herzberg (1966) was the first researcher, who saw the importance of „hygiene factors‟ at a workplace. This study assumes that motivator-hygiene theory does not apply only to workplace, but also to schools – from the students‟ point of view. Students have to spend time at school mostly or almost every day, therefore the researcher assumes that they do care about the environment, facilities and classrooms equipment as well as faculty and staff attitude. It is not only a question of taste or delight for the eye; nice, clean and friendly environment supports human well-being and mental health. “It is widely acknowledged that a strong relationship exists between physical environments and human health and wellbeing. More specifically, various dimensions of person environment (PE) relationships have been studied relating to the psychological, physical and social aspects of human interactions and transactions.” (Suresh, 2008). 22.

(30) Well-being and Mental Health Under this section, issues that are very hard to be measured, are discussed. According to the Webster‟s Online Dictionary, mental health is the psychological state of someone who is functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioral adjustment or, in other words, the state wherein the person is well adjusted. As for the precise meaning of well-being, the same dictionary defines it as the psychical and psychological state that makes an individual fell adjusted to his environment. (Webster‟s Online Dictionary, n.d.) Both terms refers to mental state and even for this fact they might be neglected by human resource management, by school staff and faculty etc. However, nowadays, it becomes a part of common knowledge that to take care of students/employees well-being and mental health is essential for success in business field and for sustainability of quality of services in schools and services sphere. In order to foster these human needs, which more and more people try to reach in their personal life as well, organizations of any nature may provide special services. To narrow down this idea and to focus again on school environment, we may see only limited options of such service at first. However, such perspective may be constricted by our own experience when, in the past, the option of schools‟ assistance were minimal. In present, students of higher education especially, tend to perceive schools as organizations providing service. This is easy to understand as students are paying tuition fees. Therefore we can say that the relationship of student and school is synonymous to customer and dealer, synonymous to demand and offer. It is a common knowledge for businessman that unless they will not be innovative, they will not make constant research on the market and will not care about customers‟ needs their business can hardly be prosperous. Even schools have to change their management and administration and involve means that will allow them to analyze precisely current trends and changes that may occur in the future. This need is even more crucial in an international environment of language centers, where foreign 23.

(31) students form a salad bowl of culture backgrounds, education levels etc. Such institutions “need to constantly evaluate the entire context into which they recruit and educate international students. It is insufficient to focus on the concerns they have as merely as expression of individual problems. Rather, attention must be given to the different parts of the social system that foster or inhibit these students‟ adjustment.” (Poyrazli & Grahame, 2007, p.29) To deal with mental health and students‟ well-being, schools may establish counseling centers. Up to now, this may be the best solution for both sides of participants. However, there may be a big gap between founding such center and between its fully utilization. First thing, that may come up in everybody‟s mind is the ordinarily negative perception of counseling. For many people in general, seeing the counselor may be apprehended as a sign of weakness or immaturity, as loss of face or as a conclusive indicator of defective mental health. Somebody may feel fear of ludicrousness and shame. Some people may also be afraid of unveiling their thoughts because these may be stigmatized as socially unacceptable or wrong in the host culture. “Critical cultural differences in basic beliefs about mental health problems have been a hindrance to international student‟s use of services.” (Mori, 2000, 139) Even more difficulties are being faced by international students. Due to the fact that they are in (to some extent) unknown environment, they may face more stress which is coming from multiple sources. Besides the normal developmental concerns that every student may have, international students encounter additional stressors due to demands for cultural adjustment. Difficulties with the following linguistic, academic, interpersonal, financial, and intrapersonal problems constitute unique sources of stress for international students. (Mori, 2000, p.137) 24.

(32) In the abovementioned quotation, financial situation is indicated as a source of stress. However, not only the money issue itself may be stressful, but also how others perceive an individual (as a wealthy one etc.) may be rather unpleasant. In Taiwan, racial issue supports negatively this fact. Generally, in the eyes of Taiwanese people, Caucasians are somehow preordained to be American nationals. Here we do not judge or analyze this phenomenon. It is only mentioned here in order to understand the fact of false perception of financial situation as stressor for international students. Why is that? It has to be said that not only are the white race members apprehended as American nationals but as wealthy American nationals. For white non-Americans in Taiwan, this may be an issue not only because of the pressure of possible financial stringency itself, but for now, only this part will be considered. Such a presumption may affect everyday live situations and may even lead to refusal of communication (for example shopping on night markets, where prices are not fixed and for white foreigners the upset price is often higher than for local people). This issue also occurs in other countries, but may be even more pressing in Taiwan, as the presumption tends to be prevalent. “Crisis situation can also arise from their financial difficulties. The general assumption that most international students are wealthy is, in fact, erroneous; the lack of sufficient funds is one of their most commonly expressed concerns.” (Cadieux & Wehrly 1986; Mori, 2000, p.138) International students have to deal with two environments at one time. Not only do they face themselves in an unknown environment; they have to deal with situations and issues that are tight back to their homes and families. If something good happens that bring happiness to their whole family and relatives, it may generate sadness because they cannot experience it with their immediate family. If anything bad happens to their family members or friends, it negatively affects their situation abroad with manifold intensity.. 25.

(33) In addition to the complication of the student‟s relationships….their personal crises originating at home – such as illness or death among their families, relatives, and friends, and parental discord or divorce – are very traumatic for them, and management of these crises, especially when they are unable to go home, can produce a tremendous amount of stress. (Burak 1987; Mori 2000, p. 138). Loss of traditional ceremonies, religious festivities or holidays (Christmas, Ramadan, Diwali etc.) in culture totally different from the origin one also puts a lot of pressure on international students. All of the aforementioned stressors may seem unreal or at least not occurring so often, but from researcher‟s experience and long time observation (year 2004 and from 2006 up to now), they happen more than often. International students deal not only with stress of what have been left behind, of time shared with their family and friends being lost. Stress from the new culture is added to that too. Newly experienced style of live, different sets of values, standard of living, hygiene standards, new customs, habits or traditions all counts into the stress factors. “…experiences of events that violate their basic sense of morals, values, logic, and beliefs about normality and civility may contribute to their cultural confusion and disorientation.” (Winkelman 1994; Mori, 2000, p.139) Differences of the new culture may keep students from coming to the counseling centers; therefore the school/language center should promote such facilities in appropriate way. “Because international students are hesitant to seek services on their own, it is crucial for counselors to take proactive approaches (Sandhu, 1995) to increase the visibility and the accessibility of the counseling facilities.” (Mori, 2000, p.140) As long as the language issue may by another reason why international students avoid utilizing counseling services and try to deal with their problems on their own, the service 26.

(34) should be provided in more languages. Counselors should know how the language center is operated, facilities it provides etc. in order to help even with matters of everyday concern.. For successful, comprehensive therapeutic interventions, it is desirable for counselors to integrate such multiple functions as those of an intercultural communicator, developmental facilitator, crisis manager, student advocate, and information provider and processor (Axelson, 1993). For instance, given the international students‟ unfamiliarity with even the most basic campus and community resources, the counselor‟s role in connecting the students various educational, recreational, health care, financial, employment, and legal services is often as significant as constantly providing the students with emotional support. (Mori, 2000). Knowledgeableness Prior Students’ Arrival and Learning Environment This paper will also examine if MTC provides enough information to international students and if there is an adequate and sufficient orientation program for new comers. Information, that students get prior arrival may help them with their own personal preparation for facing new culture, new people etc. Therefore, the researcher wants to know, if these are given to the students in a satisfactory volume and if such knowledgeableness affects their performance at MTC. The issue brings forth the need to improve the cultural and language aspects in the orientation activities offered by the college‟s international student office to first year international students. Most often these orientation sessions emphasize the academic and legal aspects of the students‟ sojourn and tend to neglect the cultural characteristics of the new environment these students will face. (Do, 2007) 27.

(35) Even though the abovementioned citation is aimed at college students, it is applicable on language centers students as well. Communication is crucial issue at language centers. In order to maintain information transfer and flow, employees should be trained and aware of possible pitfalls of cross-culture information. “At minimum, these communication issues deserve to be presented as a topic in professional development programs to help the college‟s faculty and staff to become aware of the potential cultural discords.” (Do, 2007) In order to build up organizational culture and provide satisfactory learning environment for students, more extracurricular services or facilities may be provided. Students in the study abroad program or in foreign language courses are supposed to appreciate other cultures and languages and therefore more encouragement for interaction with other international students is vital. Do (2007) explains, that such support can be provided by creating student clubs or other services. These could lessen the culture shock and can ensure the higher rate of interaction and integration of international as well as local students.. Chapter Summary Theory on cross-cultural adjustment explains the phases of the process of adaptation for sojourners. The Maslow‟s model of hierarchy of needs is used in this study to explain changes that international students face in Taiwan. The illustration of downward tendency within the hierarchy of needs is the major point of using the Maslow‟s model. Further mentioned is Hertzberg‟s motivator-hygiene theory which shows the impact of working environment, atmosphere, equipment, salary etc. on satisfaction and motivation. In this study, Hertzberg‟s theory is applied to the setting of international school. This research tries to see whether hygiene factor affects foreign students‟ performance. Last two topics included in chapter II are well-being and mental health and knowledgeableness prior students‟ arrival and learning environment. The latter is associated 28.

(36) with the motivator-hygiene theory, as it considers services provided by schools to international students. On the other hand, well being and mental health considers first and foremost situational factors (issues connected to adaptation to everyday life, students‟ personal concerns, etc.). Ample studies were conducted about adaptation of sojourners. It would be rather impossible to review all existing literature about this topic. The author chose the above reviewed materials with confidence that these are the mostly related ones to the focus of this research and serve the purpose of background for research model design as well as for design of instrument.. 29.

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(38) CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY. Chapter Overview Chapter three describes the research procedure and methods and shows research framework. Research techniques, data collecting strategy, and data analysis are explained in detail. Moreover, interviews and pilot test results are shown at the end of this section; they clarify how the main research instrument – the questionnaire, was developed. The outcome of pilot study explains why and how the actual research questionnaire was amended.. Research Procedure The progress of this study is shown in figure 3.1 and researcher uses two methods for data collecting. The field of this study - mandarin training centers in Taiwan – is too broad and variant. Every school may have different approaches to international students learning and may utilize different teaching methods. This study does not aim to encompass them all; on the contrary, the researched decided to focus on one language center only in order to provide more precise and applicable results. Even within Mandarin Training Center of National Taiwan Normal University, there are many topics to be studied. However, scale of this paper was narrowed and the focus is kept on international students‟ performance and satisfaction. Research questions were set and the researcher started to search literature sources for such field. As was mentioned in chapter two, not many studies about language centers in general were conducted; however, the literature review was quite extensive. Furthermore, NTNU Student Counseling Center was found as another rich source of information and therefore, two interviews with psychology counselors were conducted in order to learn more about the topic. Another three interviews were conducted with MTC. 31.

(39) students. When information needed was collected, the researcher started to design a questionnaire. No existing questionnaire was used for this study, so reliability and validity tests have to be included. For reliability test, researcher used Cronbach‟s alpha, “a coefficient of consistency that measures how well a set of variables or items measures a single, unidimensional latent construct.” (Wikipedia Foundation Inc., 2008) For validity test, revision by two MTC teachers and peers was done after the pilot study analysis. After data was collected, all information was analyzed using SPSS 16 (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) software. Research outcomes and discussion are provided in chapter IV. (p. 41); chapter V. (p. 61) includes conclusion and recommendations.. 32.

(40) Research topic Specification of research question Fnding sources of information. • Choosing a topic • Narrowing down the scope of the topic. • Stating research questions • Designing research framework. • Literature review. Interview. • Preparing interview structure • Conducting interviews with two NTNU Student Counseling Center counselors and three MTC students. Analysis of interview. • Studying outcomes of the interview • Selecting variables that may be significant in this study. Questionnaire. • Developing a questionnaire in order to collect data for actual research. • Conducting a pilot test • Analysing the outcomes and amending of the questionnaire. Pilot test. Research & Analysis. Conclusion & Recommendations. Figure 3.1. Research work flow Source: see Research Procedure. 33. • Data collecting • Data analysis in statistical software SPSS 16. • Summary of research ourcomes • Recommendations.

(41) Research Framework Figure 3.2 shows research framework, which illustrates all hypotheses and how they will be tested. For purpose of this study, the author created four factors: 1) Hygiene factor 2) Situational factor 3) Adaptability factor 4) Region of origin The researcher‟s decision to reduce variables into three factors (region of origin comprises only of one item) was initiated by the large number of items, which cannot be further scaled down. The author also hopes that such reduction will ease the data analysis. This study examines whether or not the established factors affect international students‟ performance and satisfaction; also, variables are tested individually in order to see if they are significant when sample is divided according to length of stay in Taiwan and according to region of origin; further test will show if there is any correlation between international students‟ satisfaction and their performance.. 34.

(42) Region of origin. H5. Hygiene factor. H2. H3. Situational factor. H4. H6. International students’ performance. H1. Figure 3.2. Study model Source: see Research framework. 35. Adaptability factor.

(43) Research Methods The actual research used quantitative method for data gathering. A quantitative questionnaire was designed by researcher and used to collect needed information. Five-point Likert scale was utilized in the questionnaire, which is a commonly used psychometric bipolar scale method that measures positive or negative response to a statement. The format of the scale is:. 1 strongly disagree 2 disagree 3 neutral 4 agree 5 strongly agree. The respondents were asked to refer to their experience of studying Chinese language at the National Taiwan Normal University, Mandarin Training Center. They were instructed to answer all parts of questionnaire about their performance, factors that may affect their learning results and level of satisfaction within and also outside the school. They were also invited and encouraged to write down their own performance motivators, if they found it uncovered by the questionnaire. The respondents were also asked to provide a few demographic data – to indicate gender, their region/continent of origin and if they are scholarship recipients or not. In case they answer positively, they were further asked what kinds of scholarship are they awarded (Taiwan government scholarship, their country government scholarship or some other kind). A pilot test was conducted with 21 MTC students. Pilot study analysis allowed the researcher to amend the questionnaire so that it can search its purpose as well as possible.. 36.

(44) Population and Sampling Population of this study is restricted to NTNU Mandarin Training Center international students. The average size of population is 2000 students for each semester. This number is volatile; therefore only approximate figure is given. There are no limitations about country/region of origin. The only condition that must be accomplished is the time of being involved in mandarin studies, which is at least one semester (MTC has four semesters per year; each of them lasts for three months.), so that the information about students‟ performance is averaged from longer time. This research is using snowball sampling method, which is recognized by the researcher as the most satisfying mean of data collection. By utilizing snowball method, the researcher expects enough variety of received data and thus rule out the possibility that majority of respondents will be from one region/continent only. Questionnaire was originally only in English; further, Chinese translation was added. The printed questionnaires were first given to selected teachers of MTC, who spread them to their students as well as their colleagues. The researcher herself also addressed MTC students directly in order to ask them to fill in the questionnaire. Students had three to five days to fill in the questionnaire, which were be collected by the researcher from MTC teachers.. Instrumentation This research used two tools for data collection. In addition to the referred interviews, a questionnaire was designed by the researcher in order to get information that will answer the research question. It is comprised of 26 questions that are to be evaluated with five points Likert scale; further, two questions are open questions and last two items are closed questions. The reliability was be measured by Cronbach‟s alpha (coefficient of internal consistency) and the validity was enhanced by two MTC teachers‟ review, peer review and 37.

(45) the pilot test. SPSS 16 software was used for computing Cronbach‟s alpha, which is defined as. “-where where N is the number of components (items or testlets), observed total test scores, and. is the variance of the. is the variance of component i.”(Wikipedia Foundation. Inc., 2008. Interview Five interviews were conducted in order to obtain an in-look into problems that international students might face. The collected information was later used during the designing of this research main instrument – the questionnaire. To ensure the objectivity of the obtained data, the researcher interviewed two psychology counselors and three students of the Mandarin Training Center. First counselor was an American lady, who is a former employee of NTNU Student Counseling Center. Thanks to the advantage of English language fluency, she promoted the NTNU Student Counseling Center to the MTC international students. Her work was exclusively focused on foreign students and therefore, the information she provided to the researcher are of high value. The second counselor is a Taiwanese lady, a current counselor of the NTNU Student Counseling Center, who also works with international students. Thanks to the ability to deliver counseling in two languages, she was able to compare difficulties that international and local students face. Three students, who were interviewed, are all European females. Two of them are recent MTC students; one of them is currently enrolled in the MTC. Interviewees were 38.

(46) chosen according to their experience if foreign country. Therefore, first lady has experience with living in foreign, Chinese speaking country and the second one has no experience with living in foreign country, however, is used to travel. The last student interviewee has no experience neither with living in a foreign country or with traveling.. Questionnaire Questionnaire was designed exclusively for this research by its author, without using any existing sample. Questionnaire is divided into five small sections for the sake of researcher‟s overview during the data analysis. The set of variables is a result of careful literature review, researcher‟s observation (during the years 2004 and from 2006 up to now) as well as outcomes of the abovementioned interview. Some minor changes may be done in the questionnaire after the data from pilot test will be analyzed. As was mentioned before, snowball sampling method will be used for this research; therefore a printed version of questionnaire will be spread among potential respondents. This sampling also ensures respondents anonymity and any extra data (for example respondents „email addresses) will be required.. Data Analysis The collected data was analyzed by SPSS software version 16. In order to see if there is significant relationship between international students‟ performance and their satisfaction, correlation, which indicates the strength and direction of a linear relationship between two variables, is used. In order to get result needed to answer hypotheses H2-H6, linear regression was used. To see what the strength of prediction of the outcomes was r2 (or coefficient of determination) was used as a statistic tool. The r2 showed how well the outcomes are predicted by the research framework. 39.

(47) For the purpose of this study, 300 questionnaires were spread among the MTC international students. The researcher collected 135 filled questionnaires. After careful examination, only 85 questionnaires were found applicable to this study. Collected data did not provide any response from students from Africa. The SPSS 16 statistical software does not consider samples less than 2 (n < 2). As the number of students from Australia and South America was less than two, therefore these samples had to be removed and the final sample number stabilized on 83.. Interviews results For purpose of this study, the researcher decided to conduct semi-structured interviews with few topics to explore. Questions that the psychology counselors‟ interviewees were asked follows: 1) Did you work with MTC international students during your activity at NTNU Student Counseling Center? 2) How many foreigners seek for counseling services during the time you worked there? 3) Could you tell me, what were the major topics of your sessions with international students? 4) Were these problems related to school or were they behavioral problems or mental disorders?. For interviewees recruited from MTC international students, questions mostly identical to the questionnaire were used. Interviewer provided the students with enough space to share any opinion they had.. 40.