The Cross-Cultural Academic Adaptation of Chinese Students in an American University: Academic Challenges, Influential Factors and Coping Strategies

Most of the studies on international students’ cross-cultural adaptation focused on their sociocultural and psychological adaptation, few studies have specifically addressed international students’ experiences with academic adaptation. This study examines the academic challenges, influential factors and coping strategies of the Chinese students on an American university campus. The research was based on the responses of 122 Chinese students to a cross-cultural academic adaptation questionnaire and interviews with 14 Chinese students at the same American university. The results show that the main academic challenges that Chinese students had were English language proficiency, American university classroom culture and policies, different learning strategies and ways of thinking, and academic writing. Both male students and female students had difficulties in cross-cultural academic adaptation, with no statistical significant gender difference in cross-cultural academic adaptation; graduate students outperformed undergraduates in cross-cultural academic adaptation; length of stay in U.S was positively correlated with Chinese students’ cross-cultural adaptation. Specific coping strategies were also identified.