The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 1 - 81

Influence of Language Skills

insider perspective helped build rapport with
participants. When they occasionally spoke
about China, my ethnic connection helped me
relate to the conversation. Orienting myself in
relation to participants was a necessary aspect
of this phenomenological study (Van Manen,
1990), particularly since my study is an inquiry
on the orientation and positioning of a speciﬁc
population (undergraduate Chinese international students) within a particular space (residence halls on a college campus).

Limitations
Some limitations exist for this current study.
Participants were interviewed at the end of
their ﬁrst year on campus. Although this provided the opportunity to immediately reﬂect
on their ﬁrst year, this may not have given
them enough time to fully reﬂect and make
meaning of their ﬁrst year. Also, all interviews
were conducted in English, which was not the
primary language for any participants. Thus,
some word choices may not indicate the exact
meaning of their experiences. However, ample
time was given to participants to respond to
questions, and questions were repeated and rephrased to assist participants' understanding.

FINDINGS
Participants' lived experiences in residence
halls at MWU indicated English-speaking
skills permeated all aspects of interactions
with other students. In answer to the research
question guiding this study, emergent themes
demonstrated the inﬂuence of English language skills on Chinese students' sense of belonging in their residence hall communities.
Participants voiced their perceptions of interpersonal relationships with domestic students,
and as a result, two themes emerged: language

Poor English proﬁciency
negatively affected Chinese
international students'
academic performance and
social adjustment, which
suggests Chinese students may
beneﬁt from additional English
proﬁciency support from their
institution.

as a bridge to participants' sense of belonging
in the residence halls and language as a barrier
to connecting with domestic students.

Language Skills as a Bridge to
Developing a Sense of Belonging
All participants indicated English language
ability was essential to their overall experience in the residence halls. The phenomenon
of language as a bridge to connecting with
other students continually emerged from participants. Participants indicated they perceived
English language skills as the way to meet and
interact with domestic students. For example,
Camilla described the importance of language
as a bridge to connecting with U.S. students
and culture. She stated her goals for the year:
"I want to practice my English. Then I want to
get involved into American society instead of
Chinese society. I want to make friends with
the US students." Similar to Camilla's desire
to improve language skills, Pete made the
choice to live on campus as a way to practice

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

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