Habits of International Students
The Eagles Nest is a large cafeteria with multiple computers for student use; there are many dining tables, where you can visit with friends, study, and/or eat. From these tables, you can watch the big screen TV that is mounted in-wall, but there is also a sofa area where you can sit too.
In my research questions, I had two in my mind that formed: what do women and men do when they go to The Eagles Nest, and where do they sit and with whom. I have chosen this topic because I think it is interesting for people to know the habits of those who go to a cafeteria to eat, study, and hang out. Another reason this topic has value might be in helping those who try to understand why some students have fear of starting new relationships.
The following steps were used to obtain the data. The data was recorded by written notebook finding the right place from which to observe the most people, and also being conscientious that few noticed me watching them so that they would behave naturally. I also chose the right days and times (during lunch) when the chance of plenty of people in the cafeteria would be optimum.
The data was divided by two variables: by those who ate alone and those who ate in a group, and by nationalities. (Asians, Americans, or Arabs)
Being in The Eagle Nests three times seemed enough of times to observe an acceptable window of different people at the busiest time of day. The following table below shows how many people sat alone at the tables, and how many sat in a group.
The documentation might generalize the following:
More Americans seem to gather together at the cafeteria, and also at alone. This may say about this group that Americans are a diverse population, and are probably each a blend of many nationalities and background; thus, they may feel comfortable eating alone and with their friends. Very few seemed to partner with other certain nationalities, again, wanting to be with their friends or not with any group in particular.
Second to Americans, Arabs sat together mostly, but also sat with their nationality group.
Third were Asians, who both sat with a group and in their nationality group.
Factors also included might be that a group of friends coming into the cafeteria may already have been friends, and therefore it would be natural for them to sit together once at the tables.
Researchers have explored the cultural difference model, which points to differences in values, expectations, languages, and communication patterns [sic] as a source of difficulty for ethnic minority students. The underlying theory is that the social organization, learning formats and expectations, communication patterns, and sociolinguistic environment of schools are incongruent with the cultural patterns of different ethnic groups, and therefore limit the opportunities for student success. For some researchers in this area, the important differences exist at the level of interpersonal communication, where [sic] students are unable to fully understand each other. Important communicative differences may be identified at many levels, including
Habits of International Students - 4
formal language (e.g., English versus Spanish), conventions for interacting (e.g. distance between speakers, acceptable physical contact, and turn-taking rules), preferences for rhetorical style (e.g., the use of emotion in persuasion), and storytelling patterns. (www.education.stateuniversity.com)
A handful of recent studies have examined interracial interaction in college within (1993a, 1993b) found that, independent of students’ entering characteristics and different types of college environments, frequent interracial interaction in college was associated
with increases in cultural awareness, commitment to racial understanding, and commitment
(critical thinking skills, analytical skills, general and specific knowledge, and writing skills) and satisfaction with college to be associated with more frequent socialization across race.
In response to our readings, Global interactions, Daniel (1999), students’ habits (Brendon, 2008) and International society, Nathan (2005) one might conclude we still have much more progress to make in our intercultural socialization, and it would be fair to say that higher levels of education within a culture produce a higher tolerance and ability to merge with diverse groups and feel comfortable. Were this observation have been done in another country, say Bagdad, or Hong Kong, there might have been difficulty sorting out the groups of Arabs or Asians to make the documentation accurate. As Americans, we tend to see “American,” and this must be true for other nationalities. Differences in priorities for say, socializing in an eating
place may be inconsequential to other groups of people, and the reasoning behind choices to eat with a group or alone may mean nothing.
Communication is truly a human bond and need. How, with whom, and to what degree may be delineated by cultural or race lines, or the lines may be blurry. The point is, we must be careful to not rationalize or generalize when it comes to multi-cultural tendencies, for this is where stereotypes are born and bred, and misunderstandings and miscommunications make a sensitive issue severely exacerbated. The project was interesting and has value, and so do the differences in cultures. May they be accepted openly by each and not be stereotyped, as this was not this author’s intention.
References
http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2082/Individual-Differences-ETHNICITY.html (2011, Net Industries and its Licensors)
www.stanford.edu/~aantonio/aera2doc.pdf (Anthony Lising Antonio, STANFORD UNIVERSITY; paper presented at: American Educational Research Association, San Diego, April 1998)
