Publicação
Intercultural mediation at the international relations office of a university
| Resumo: | With the mutual penetration of culture among countries, many students have also developed a strong interest in studying abroad. Chinese students, who come to a Portuguese university to study and live, may face more problems than international students from other European countries, because of cultural differences between China and Europe. The existence of these differences affects all aspects of Chinese students' life and learning. Therefore, this professional practice and research aimed to help to improve the SRI's response to motivate more Chinese students to choose the Green University (simulated name) and to welcome and include them better in the daily life of the university. In that case, intercultural mediation can play a fundamental role, since it appears as one of the primary functions of the educational relationship. First, a document analysis to understand the country of origin, course attended and characteristics of international students (n= 339) at the University under study was used. Then, a semi-structured interview was applied to Chinese students (n= 12) to understand their characteristics, needs, interests and problems in order to enable them to learn and live better in Portugal. From the results, we found that cultural differences affect Chinese students studying and living in Portugal. Many of them had made some preparations before going abroad, and one part of them who had been studying abroad for many years, do not consider this situation complicated. Most of these students were able to study and live in foreign countries and after encountering problems, they were able to solve their own problems independently. However, in foreign life, their social participation was generally not very high due to language and cultural problems, they were not able to participate in social activities, and it was difficult for them to appreciate the fun of activities. This may be related to the way the Chinese people are active; they all preferred to have fun in small groups of friends and they enjoyed participating in some festivals where they were often able to show enthusiasm and interest. However, there were still many Chinese students who felt that it was very good to organize some outdoor activities in Portugal, not only because they could see beautiful scenery, but also because they could feel the history and culture of the country. This study is important to let more people to understand the characteristics of Chinese students and to create conditions for them to achieve better academic results and live better in Portugal. |
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| Autores principais: | Wen Jing Guo |
| Assunto: | Intercultural mediation Mediator Cultural sensitivity Chinese students Portugal Mediação intercultural Mediador Sensibilidade cultural Estudantes chineses |
| Ano: | 2019 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade do Minho |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho |
| Resumo: | With the mutual penetration of culture among countries, many students have also developed a strong interest in studying abroad. Chinese students, who come to a Portuguese university to study and live, may face more problems than international students from other European countries, because of cultural differences between China and Europe. The existence of these differences affects all aspects of Chinese students' life and learning. Therefore, this professional practice and research aimed to help to improve the SRI's response to motivate more Chinese students to choose the Green University (simulated name) and to welcome and include them better in the daily life of the university. In that case, intercultural mediation can play a fundamental role, since it appears as one of the primary functions of the educational relationship. First, a document analysis to understand the country of origin, course attended and characteristics of international students (n= 339) at the University under study was used. Then, a semi-structured interview was applied to Chinese students (n= 12) to understand their characteristics, needs, interests and problems in order to enable them to learn and live better in Portugal. From the results, we found that cultural differences affect Chinese students studying and living in Portugal. Many of them had made some preparations before going abroad, and one part of them who had been studying abroad for many years, do not consider this situation complicated. Most of these students were able to study and live in foreign countries and after encountering problems, they were able to solve their own problems independently. However, in foreign life, their social participation was generally not very high due to language and cultural problems, they were not able to participate in social activities, and it was difficult for them to appreciate the fun of activities. This may be related to the way the Chinese people are active; they all preferred to have fun in small groups of friends and they enjoyed participating in some festivals where they were often able to show enthusiasm and interest. However, there were still many Chinese students who felt that it was very good to organize some outdoor activities in Portugal, not only because they could see beautiful scenery, but also because they could feel the history and culture of the country. This study is important to let more people to understand the characteristics of Chinese students and to create conditions for them to achieve better academic results and live better in Portugal. |
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