The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 1 - 76

Christina W. Yao

setting for building community and intercultural relationships among students (Blimling,
2010). However, few studies of non-native
English speaking Chinese international students in U.S. residence halls exist.
The purpose of this qualitative study was to
examine how 21 undergraduate Chinese international students adapted to living and studying at a large, historically White institution in
the United States as non-native English speakers. Speciﬁcally, this current study emerged as
a result of a larger study that asked the question: what are undergraduate Chinese international students' perceptions of their sense of
belonging in their residence halls? Particular
attention was given to understanding the inﬂuence of English language skills on Chinese students' sense of belonging in residence halls.
In order to address the research question, I
ﬁrst provide an overview of relevant literature
related to cultural differences and language
issues for international students. I then introduce sense of belonging as the conceptual
framework and follow with the methods used
in this study. Finally, recommendations for
practice and future research are introduced
after discussing the ﬁndings.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Cultural Distance Between Chinese and
Domestic Students
The ﬂow of students from mainland China
highlights a need for understanding this
population's unique experiences, particularly
since the cultural distance between Chinese
and American culture is the most signiﬁcant
of other world cultures (Samovar & Porter,
1991; Triandis, 2009). The cultural distance
arises from differences in Eastern and Western
76

culture, most notably in language, customs,
and daily practices. Asian cultures, which tend
to be collectivist societies, emphasize interdependence with others, use in-group norms to
shape behavior, and view social relationships
as a tightly woven community (Hui & Triandis,

Recently, ﬂow from China
included over half a million
students, with 178,890 Chinese
nationals enrolling in U.S.
institutions.

1986; Triandis, 2009). In contrast, individualism is more common in Western culture.
Chinese and domestic students have fairly
large cultural distance, often leading to negative interpersonal interactions in college (Hanassab, 2006; Lee, 2010; Lee & Rice, 2007;
Redmond & Bunyi, 1993; Smith & Khawaja,
2011). For example, Lee (2010) found students
from predominantly non-White regions (Latin
America, Africa, Middle East, East Asia, South
Asia, and Southeast Asia) reported less satisfaction and greater difﬁculty with their host
institution than their colleagues from Europe,
Canada, and Australia. Similarly, Redmond
and Bunyi (1993) found Asian international
students at a midwestern U.S. university were
the least integrated to campus life, when compared to experiences of British, European, and
South American students. These studies indicated that different cultural attitudes between

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 1

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