An Analysis of Chinese International Students’ Acculturative Strategies in Western Universities

Abstract

The acculturation of immigrants has contributed to the cultural diversity of a society or even a country. It is a complex process since it involves about two cultures or even more than two cultures. This work aims to review the process of acculturation of Chinese international students during their studies in the United States, and how various types of acculturations formed. Additionally, it also investigates the causes of the formation of these strategies, which can help Chinese international students know what leads them into this situation and what they can do to make a better of their life abroad. Here, a bi-dimensional model proposed by Berry identifies four specific acculturative strategies including integration, separation, assimilation, and marginalization, which are employed by the migrant individuals. This study concluded that the most important reason for the unsuccessful integration of Chines international students is language issues, for example, the inability to understand slang. In the future, we can propose different countermeasures at various levels, (e.g. government, social, school, and individual) to improve the situation of unsuccessful integration into the host nations.