Facing Challenges as an Arabian Student - Essay Example

Full Facing Challenges as an Arabian All throughout the world, education has become a very important part of a person’s life. The modern trend of having different cultures merge to develop existing studies or discover new technological inventions or researches has encouraged more challenges in the education of students. Consequently, more and more people desire to continue with their studies. Interestingly, students around the world look forward to going to countries such as the United States and United Kingdom to pursue their studies because of the quality of education offered in these countries. Indeed, the aforementioned countries have become the melting pot of cultures because of the lifestyle they offer which most people desire to have. For students, studying in one of these countries would mean better job opportunities either in the country of their choice or their own country. Nevertheless, along with the dream of pursuing one’s education in America or the United Kingdom are the challenges which could be truly difficult especially for Arabian students. The problems of communicating in English, having numerous written assignments, meeting new people, cultural differences, food preferences and homesickness are common among international students but there are solutions that could possibly help students to cope with their new environments. The first challenge that Arabian students face is communication barrier. Since English is not their native language, grammar mistakes, word use and sentence constructions which may come so easy with American and British students can prove to be a difficult job for an Arabian student. Struggling to speak in the English language oftentimes makes students ashamed or afraid to speak up their thoughts. In school, they may have difficulty explaining what they have in mind. During recitations, they may have wonderful ideas but their lack of English communication skills makes them incomprehensible and sometimes, they can be misinterpreted. In addition, they can also find it challenging to approach school authorities regarding their concerns because they may fear that their issues will not be resolved and that they will be exposed to humiliating circumstances. In communicating with their fellow students, the Arabian students may feel intimidated and therefore choose to keep to themselves instead and try to understand their lessons or other things on their own. However, of course, this often results to misunderstanding and further problems. Aside from having problems being understood, there is also the problem of misunderstanding American speakers. Sometimes, the accent of a native speaker makes it difficult for the Arabian student to understand what is being said especially when the speaker talks so fast. What could be more difficult to understand is the use of idiomatic expressions and figures of speech. Understanding simple English may already be an arduous task for the Arabian student so to include idioms and figures of speech would make it extremely burdensome for the student. As mentioned earlier, the foreign student may feel intimated and fearful of the result of speaking to Americans, whether professors or students, so that so many times, they tend to simply try to understand what is being said by reading facial expressions and trying to analyze what is being communicated. Nevertheless, as it is often the result, students get the wrong message and so they suffer the consequences of doing the wrong things, submitting paper with several mistakes, not following instructions, not meeting deadlines and worst, the need to redo projects from the start. Speaking of projects, another challenge that most students face are the numerous written assignments. If the task could be quite demanding for American and British students, just imagine how the assignments would be considered by foreign students. Although one is expected to do better in written assignments because students are given more time to think and write their ideas as opposed to speaking where answers should be given on the spot, the work could still be gargantuan to an Arabic student. The reason behind such difficulty would still be traced back to the problems on grammar, sentence constructions, paragraph making and the correct usage of words. Although a student may have a lot to say, such communication problems often become the reasons for a student’s inability to put those ideas into verbal forms that could be well-understood by the receptors. Moreover, working on one project is difficult and it could really take days for a student to finish a paper that a native speaker may well finish in just a matter of hours. The problem does not end there rather is compounded by the many assignments given to students by different professors. Therefore, the difficulty one faces in completing just one paper could really take so much time so that a foreign student can almost be overwhelmed with the demands of college life in a foreign country. In trying to complete the assignments, a student might not find time anymore to socialize. However, even if one could still manage to find time to meet new friends, the same problems mentioned above would still occur. Again, English communication skills hinder students to go out and make friends. Knowing that professors are well-educated, Arabic students often assume that their English could be very difficult to understand. They think that professors have great expectations from them and they, in turn, expect too much from their professors. Thus, they distance themselves from professors and consider their fellow-students. Still, it is inevitable that they feel intimidated and again distance themselves from English speaking students. Therefore, students often end up in the company of their countrymen. This results to a longer time for them to learn new words and improve their grammar and sentence construction skills. In addition, instead of correcting their mistakes when it comes to communication, they may just be repeating them in the presence of other Arabic students and worse, they might be acquiring the common mistakes their countrymen are committing. Another reason why it is easy for foreign students to find friends from their own country is the common denominator of having the same culture. Culture has a great effect on people and this somehow makes students able to adjust more easily in a foreign land when they know that there are people just like them in the area where they stay. They share the same language which makes it easy for them to understand each other and the desire to understand what is being communicated as well as the desire to be understood draws the students from the same country together. They do not have to worry about communication gap. They just have to deal with individual differences which may be far easier to manage. Being in a room filled with new faces could be overwhelming. Being in a room filled with people from different countries could be more overpowering. For the Arabian student, like anybody else, meeting new people could perhaps be as normal as waking up in the morning but for them, the intimidation can again occur because of language barriers. Language as a part of culture is probably the first and foremost factor affecting interactions of different cultures, not only Arabians. Therefore, communication as an essential in human interrealtionship is greatly affected. In addition to spoken language, there are also gestures which are entirely different in meaning to different countries. For instance, for Americans, they shake their heads to mean no but for Arabians, a head toss accompanied by a tongue click means a negation as well. However, doing that in America could really put someone in an unfavorable situation because someone might get offended by it thinking that the person doing the gesture is rude and showing some attitude. Such differences and the fear of the effects keep foreign students from mingling with other students. Westerners are known to be liberated, a characteristic which is opposite to the known middle-eastern culture. This difference once again places Arabian students in uncertain circumstances that greatly affect their decision to communicate with others. For instance, an Arabian woman approaching a male is a normal thing for Americans but it is not for Arabians. Doing so will have the woman vulnerable to gossips even thought she has no other motive than to befriend fellow students or simply communicate with them and learn from them. Therefore, one will have to consider such things and the Arabic woman will surely be more inclined to holding back. Another challenge that Arabic students face is the availability of Arabic food. Although there are several restaurants that offer food from different countries, they are much too expensive for a student to afford. Therefore, if one wants to eat Arabic food, cooking should become a part of his daily routine. Of course, with the demands of school, cooking could only be a dream far from happening for the busy student. There are the tasks of going to the supermarket, preparing all the necessary ingredients and cooking, not to mention cleaning up all the mess and washing the utensils used in preparing food. Surely, the job may be satisfying but an Arabian student has to think of more time to spend in studying in order for him to cope with the deadlines for the submission of assignments. American food is good and abundant however, for a foreign student who has just been away from home, food could be one of the connections he could use to be reminded about home or to feel more at home in a foreign country. While cooking is impossible, one must have to be contented with what is available and has to learn to embrace the new culture that he is exposed to. Nevertheless, perhaps it is but normal for one to look for the food he has been used to. Being unable to satisfy one’s craving for Arabic food could sometimes add to the psychological and emotional struggles of a student. Indeed, it is hard to know that the nearest thing one can have to have a feel or taste of home, cannot even be available simply because of the demands of school and the lack of funds. In addition to missing Arabic foods, another difficulty a student can face is missing loved ones. Family relationships for most Arabians are quite close so that being away from home could really be difficult. It is indeed helpful that there are technological developments that keep daily communications with family members possible. However, time difference affects communication. Moreover, it is still best if family members see each other in person. Therefore, one cannot avoid but think of home and his loved ones. Having a few friends in a foreign country also makes a student ache for the company of his friends. Perhaps the social support one gets from family and friends is best tested during this crucial time of a student’s life and the realization of their importance finally hits home and an individual has nothing more to do than feel homesick. In addition to all the language barriers, cultural differences and homesickness, students can also face financial struggles. School fees for international students are quite high and there are still other bills one has to pay. Working would seem impossible with all the demands of school mentioned earlier. Yet, a student has to survive in a foreign land. The Arabian student who once had everything served before him now struggles in a lot of things, including his finances. The challenges may be numerous and seem impossible to be resolved. However, they say that for every problem, there is always a solution. When it comes to English communication skills, it is understandable for new students to show struggles during the first weeks. However, when the situation continues, a student must have to consider his attitude. One must work harder to learn faster the basic grammar rules and regulations as well as sentence constructions in order for a student to improve his communication skills whether verbal or in the written form. There are actually school officials who are more than willing to help student with such problems. Therefore, it is important for students to have the initiative to know what help the school offers for them. Students should not be afraid of professors because they have been exposed to many foreign students already and they know how to deal with their common problems. They actually have high tolerance towards students having English communication issues. They should be the first ones a student should approach in every problem he encounters regarding communication and school work. Moreover, they are professionals who are obliged to assist students in improving their English communication skills because they know that their help is essential for a student’s growth. Having friends is greatly helpful in learning. Feeling awkward in making new friends is completely understandable. Therefore, it is perhaps be a good start to make friends with people from one’s own country but make more friends with those who stayed in the country for a longer period of time. This is so because older students are expected to have at least adapted to the American culture already and have gained more knowledge and skill in using the English language. Furthermore, they should have made friends with a number of American students already so that they can become the link for new students to have American friends who could more or less have been acquainted with the Arabian culture already. This will make things easier for the new student, freeing him from the worries of how to start a conversation with a total stranger. Considering cultural differences, one cannot be too ignorant about their existence so that a student who wants to study at a foreign country should be prepared about such differences. Indeed, knowing something is far different from encountering things in person. However, knowledge could help prepare as student of what to expect in the place he is going to and the people he is expected to deal with. Therefore, even before a student applies to a university in another country, he should research about the place and its culture. When one arrives in the country, the student should adapt to the culture of the people there and not expect the people to adjust to him/her. As they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. It may difficult to change one’s ways but of course foreign students are not expected to change overnight. The change is a process but the thing is, they must be willing to embrace the changes they are going to face because if they are not, they will suffer the consequences of being stubborn. One has to learn to be resilient. Arabian food is really something that can make one feel at home in a foreign land. However, as mentioned earlier, there are certain problems that a student faces such as finances and the availability of time. Still, no matter how impossible things might seem, there could always be a way out. Simple decisions could help a lot in saving time and money. When a student is boarding, finding one near the school would be very advantageous. This will save the student time to travel and money from travelling expenses. Moreover, one could create a group with friends wherein a deal will be made for the members to contribute for meals and assign each one a day to buy the groceries, do the cooking and other necessary preparations. This will make the spending a lot bearable and the food preparation less time consuming for everybody. In addition, one gets to enjoy eating with friends. Homesickness is one big challenge. However, students can put their minds off from their homesickness by having a variety of activities. This calls for the necessity to make new friends. Having several friends can expose someone to several activities such as sports, camping, fishing, mountain climbing and others. Outdoor activities are not only helpful in realigning one’s thoughts to more productive activities but they are also healthy. The demand such activities physically require from participants can be a means of letting off stress and at the same time make a person livelier and less prone to feeling homesick. Going out with a group of friends and speaking with them can also make someone feel more at home, avoiding him to feel sorry for himself, being alone and lonely in a far away land. Most of all, one should learn to manage his time in order to cope with the demands of college life in a foreign country. Time management is very important because it could really be exhaustive for someone to find time for everything. Just thinking about the bulk of activities to be done, the demands of professors and the necessity of socializing could be overwhelming so that remedies should really be found. However, even if the aforementioned solutions are applied, one can still find himself struggling with everything if he does not know how to manage his time. A schedule of activities can be made and they should be performed to the minute so that the student does not need to cram when something comes up. It is best if one can give himself a period which he could take when he needs a break, like an emergency fund that one takes in case he runs out of money. In addition to this, one should learn to multitask. For instance, one might turn on the television and imitate the speaker as he prepares his food but he should be careful not to open the social networking site while doing a research because that would be the worst multitasking a student can ever take. Challenges are inevitable. They are faced by different people on different circumstances and on varying degrees. For the Arabian students, they face English communication problems not only in speaking with people but also in their written works. Meeting new friends and speaking with professors to verify assignments could be difficult for them compounded by the cultural differences they have to adjust to. There is also the problem on food they have been used to as well as the company of family and friends they are missing. Nevertheless, these problems could be resolved with a student’s openness to change such as being assertive, sociable and able to manage time. Read More