Category: Culture Shock

Introduction

Students are usually exposed to cultural, social and intellectual experiences when they move from their home country to a foreign country. Culture shock is therefore the anxiety and emotional disturbance experienced by people when two sets of realities meet. The term was first named by Kalervo Oberg in 1960 who described culture shock as,” precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse” (1960:177). The discussion below will broadly offer a theoretical definition of the concept of culture shock, considers the four phases of culture shock that a student may experience in the process of adaption in student sojourners, and finally offer practical advice for preventing and negotiating culture shock.

Definition of ‘Culture Shock’

Meaning comes from the use of shared symbols and depression is a loss of meaning (Atwood Gaines, personal communication). This depression is the soul of culture shock. The term was first named by Kalervo Oberg in 1960 who described it as ‘precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse (1960:177). That is, if one defines and negotiates reality through the symbolic representations of life, then one must question this reality when faced with alternative representations. When the symbols used to describe and contemplate the world are not understandable, this can lead to feelings of isolation or even a loss of identity. The self-esteem disappears and one feels ill at ease. In a sense, culture shock is an illness resulting from the loss of meaning brought about when people from one symbolic reality find themselves immersed in another, typically through immigration and traveling away from the home country.

Oberg (1960) creates an exhaustive symptoms list, including excessive hand washing, excessive concern over water and food safety, fear of physical contact with ‘natives’, a feeling of helplessness and dependence on long-term residents of one’s own nationality, anger over delays and otherwise minor frustrations, excessive fear of being robbed or injured, concern over minor pains and cuts and abrasions.

Finally, he describes that ‘…terrible longing to be back home, to be able to have a good cup of coffee and a piece of apple pie, to visit one’s relative, and, in general, to talk to people who really make sense.’ (ibid:178)

For example an American student traveling to a developing country might be disheartened or alarmed by the living conditions that are perfectly normal and acceptable to the local people like the use of chewing sticks instead of toothbrushes. The American student will feel uncomfortable using the chewing sticks, and this will lead to resentment to the local people as the tourist might view them as people who are unhygienic and not technologically savvy.

Phases of culture shock

Culture shock is about being out of place in a foreign country and time. Oberg (1960) states that the student will experience culture shock in four phases; namely the honeymoon phase, the frustration phase, the adjustment phase and the acceptance phase.

Honeymoon phase

When moving to a foreign country, the honeymoon phase is the first stage of culture shock that the student will experience after months of excitement, anticipation and preparation to travel to the host country. The student will be excited and full of enthusiasm about the move to the foreign country and also looking forward to all the new things he or she will experience and an overall positive feeling about the move. The honeymoon phase usually lasts from a few days to a few weeks.

It is during the honeymoon phase that the student will experience a sense of euphoria because all the problems and conflicts arising from missing cultural cues and cultural misunderstandings are seen as minor or amusing, or as part of the overall adventure.

The student will also receive a red carpet welcome, a new homestay and undergoes an exploration of shops and sights. The student will be curious about the host nationals and he or she will be a passive observer by avoiding of negative stereotypes. Verbally the responses from the student can include responses like, “How ironic, this place and the people are a lot like home”. Physically, the student will or might experience intestinal disturbances and minor insomnia because of a reaction to a change in weather or food.

During the honeymoon phase, the student meets useful and friendly work staff, makes the first social contact with members in the host country, sees and doing new things and enjoys the new world and also observes the new culture and familiarizes him/herself with the new environment. The student will be charmed by every difference rather than bothered and the student will be quick to recognize any cultural similarities to avoid feeling out of the comfort zone right away.

Frustration phase

When reality sets in and the initial excitement wears off, the student transitions from the honeymoon phase to the frustration phase. During the frustration phase the student will undergo many negative feelings, which include, frustration, confusion, hostility and depression. The student can also be judgemental towards others, sometimes with a sense of superiority. Language barriers and misunderstanding of cultural cues will cause significant difficulties for the student, who might develop a hostile and aggressive behavior. The student might try to seek out those who are similar to him or her instead of integrating with locals during this stage.

According to Oberg (1960:178) ,the student will experience frustration and this is when culture shock begins. The student will reminisce about their home culture and use stereotyping and may even leave, returning to their home culture without even overcoming culture shock(Furnham &Bochner 1982:161-198).

There will be uneven performance and confrontation with differences. Emotionally the student will be discouraged, lethargy, suspicious, bored and homesick. Behaviourally, the student will try by all means to avoid contact with host national, excessive sleep, loss of concentration and fits of weeping. Physically the student will experience minor illnesses, headaches, and preoccupation with personal cleanliness. The verbal responses from the student will include, ‘This place is boring and these people are disorganized ‘.

The student will make us of more stereotypes, chauvinism and nationalism. The student’s high expectations remain unmet, he or she blames the host culture for his or her problems, he or she spends most of his or her time with members of his or her home culture complaining about the host culture and the student also has a growing awareness that his or her cultures’ behavior may not be accepted in the host culture and therefore the student has to give up, suspend, or modify own behavior.

Adjustment phase

During the adjustment phase, the student will focus on things that really matter like family, friends, and hobbies. However, the student will still feel completely not accepted by the locals and might even miss that bond they have with people back home.

The student also tries to come up with coping strategies to deal with previously difficult day-to-day situations, though difficulties will persist at times. The student might also develop a sense of routine, develop new relationships and there is more open-mindedness about the new culture. A relationship will be developed with people from the host country.

The student can choose either adjustment without adaption, such as taking a flight back home or isolation. The student can use isolation and avoid substantial learning about the new culture. However, the student can also choose to adjust and adapt through developing problem-solving skills for dealing with different cultures and therefore the student will be in a better position to accept the cultures way with a positive position.

It is at this stage that the learner will begin appreciating the other culture and learning about it becomes a fun challenge. The problems that the student encounters do not end but the student develops a positive attitude towards meeting the challenge of resolving the issues necessary to function in the new culture.

The student at this stage, adapts to the new environment and develops routines, meets new people who can help in interpretation situations that may not be completely understood, and have linguistic abilities are improved. The student gets to know the city much better. Although the student is conscious and knows the differences between the culture of origin and the host culture but the student at this stage understands that the host culture is not that bad, it just needs to be interpreted with different patterns and therefore the student will develop a better understanding about why she likes or hates some things and the reason why.

Things will get better for the student and the student will be able to resolve many of their conflicts and problems and the student begins to appreciate the way things are done in this new environment and their feelings become more balanced. Life may not be perfect for the student and there might still be some surprises but the student begins to feel competent in their ability to function and handle themselves in the foreign country. The only problem with this phase the student undergoes in the foreign country is that the student may be somewhat superficial and may change yet again.

Therefore, at this stage, the student chooses to be an explorer in the new culture, accepts the challenge of self-reflection and also assumes responsibility for his or her own culture adjustment. Examples of Common thoughts from the student might include: “We say that too, but differently “.Meaning that the student has also accepted the culture of the host country and the similarities to the culture to the home culture.

Acceptance phase

This is the final phase that the student will go through in the transformation. During the acceptance phase the student will set up a schedule for doing work or study; make friends from the new culture and also show an interest in learning even more about the host country, beyond what is needed to survive. The student will accept the new culture while maintaining the native culture and language.

It is also during this stage that the student experiences minimal negative reactions to the new culture and there is also an improved understanding of why things work the way that they do. Acceptance of the beliefs and values of the new culture as a valid and acceptable way of life is also noted by the student. The students’ work performance will improve at this phase, and the student will have the ability to interpret cultural clues. The health of the student is normal and he or she has the ability to see things from the perspective of host nationals. This is the stag when the student becomes an adoptive cultural native.

An example of a common thought that the student can have include:’ You don’t understand them like I do. I’m beginning to like this. ‘Basically, at this stage, the student becomes a mediator between the two cultures and also feels proud that he or she can make herself understood in the target language and that he or she can understand native speakers. Since full assimilation is almost impossible, people respond constructively to culture shock and develop a bicultural identity, which allows them to operate successfully in the new culture as well as in the cultural setting of their home country (Oberg, 1960).

Ways of overcoming Culture Shock

• The student can overcome culture shock by reflecting. Reflection is an essential part of the cultural adaptation process whereby the student is advised to reflect on what’s happening to him and around him. The student has to ask questions like, “how does reality compare to my expectations,’ and, ‘how is the experience preparing me to meet my goals for the future?’. By spending time on reflection, the student gets to reflect on daily experiences in order to better understand and contextualize them.
• The student can also learn from mistakes and apply the knowledge acquired through them in future situations.
• The student should analyze the situations that are not understood before judging or criticizing them just for being different to what the student is used to. By so doing the student leaves stereotypes and preconceived ideas aside and has an open mind to new culture.
• The student should also practise pre-departure preparation. The student must learn as much as she or he can about the new location. This means knowing the good and the bad, and the simply different time zones, foods, political systems, customs and religions.
• The student must also apply conflict resolution and intercultural effectiveness skills. Harris and Morris (1987) suggested cultural shock can be eased through describing, analyzing, and identifying the problem from both cultures’ point of view, developing a synergistic strategy, and performing a multicultural assessment of effectiveness.
• The student should also build new friendships by associating with positive people. Managing cultural shock requires that the student maintains or establishes a network of primary relationships that will provide interpersonal relations for the improvement of self-esteem and also for meeting the personal and social needs of the student. Emotional life can be maintained through writing letters or keeping a personal diary of feelings and experiences.
• The student must also learn cultural and social rules. Successful adaption requires learning the host culture’s styles of relating, communicating, reasoning, managing and negotiating(Casse&Deol,1985; Harris&Moran,1987; Samovar&Porter,1991). The student needs to be flexible in interpersonal styles and relations (Dodd,1987). The student can do this by understanding and manifesting behaviors in the host culture.
• The student can also learn the language that is spoken in the host or foreign country. This will help the student to communicate and reduce the effects of culture shock and misunderstanding. Being able to communicate with the locals will reduce the stress of the students’ move to the foreign country
• The student has to be patient. Adapting to a new culture takes time. The student has to give him or herself time to allow for mistakes and learn from them instead of taking the next flight back home.
• The student also has to set SMART goals which are Specific, Manageable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-based. The student must set realistic, short-term goals, and realize that periodic failures are inevitable.
• The student should also cultivate the habit of listening and observing, rather than merely seeing and hearing.
• The student has to be aware of the feelings of the local people to prevent what might be offensive behavior. For example, a student visiting South Africa might laugh at the traditional clothing of the people who stay in Kwazulu- Natal who go out with their breasts out, this can be offensive.

The complex changes confronting the world today, particularly those resulting from the impact of globalization and technological revolution, have radically transformed the world in every aspect, especially the higher education field.

By creating new systems of knowledge, learning and education furthermore breaking the boundaries of space and time between nations, the education opportunities became wider and boundless (Van Damme, 2001) in other words the cross-border mobility of students was encouraged and emerged. Students mobility is concerned with students who are in a foreign country for educational purposes (UNESCO, 2015). The number of students moving around the world has expanded extensively since the past twenty years and it is expected to increase even more in the next decade, From the World Bank Data, the British Council declared that the number of international students rose from 2 million in 2000 to 4 million in 2012, by 2017, that number has increased to exceed 5.3 million (UNESCO, 2019), and it is expected to hit 8 million IS worldwide by 2025.

Over the last decades, there has been an increasing interest in the impact of migration on mental health, and it has been identified as a stressful process that can cause a risk to the psychological and physical health of migrants (Bhugna & Jones, 2001), the immigrant students may also suffer psychological and physical problems associated with moving to an unfamiliar environment (Pantelidon Craig, 2006).the last studies show that nearly all the study-abroad students have confronted a set of acculturative stressors and challenges such as the language barrier, educational environment, loneliness, and race problems (Lin & Yi,1997; Smith & Khawaja, 2011). There are hundreds of different and strange things which tend to make international students feel anxious, confused, and shocked; the well-known term that describes these feelings is “culture shock». Phuong (1993) stated that “culture shock is a real phenomenon that is facing everybody who is living in a new culture”.

As the number of international students increases demand for culture shock understanding is necessary by both teachers and educational institutions that deal with international students.

The present study investigated the culture shock among international students at Batna Universities –MOSTAFA BEN BOULAIDE &EL HADJ LKHDR-.In general, these students are African, Christian, and Non-Arab speakers. The focus of the study is to determine what the dominant elements contribute to culture shock .and its impact on international students also focuses on providing some strategies even solutions that would help international students to cope more effectively while adapting to the changes of a new environment. The following questions will be addressed in this study:

• Do international students face culture shock at Batna University?
• What elements contribute to culture shock for international students?
• What is the impact of culture shock on international students’ academic, and social life and their psychological state ?
• What strategies did the international students use to cope and how can The educational institutions and student union help them to cope more effectively to the new cultural milieu?

These questions, in return, led the researchers to assume the following hypothesis

• Almost all international students experienced culture shock in both social and academic life.
• A series of factors might contribute to culture shock, not just one, such as Cultural differences and misunderstanding, the language and fear of contact.
• Culture shock usually causes psychological confusion and emotional discomfort which have negatively affected international students’ academic life and psychological state.
• International students use various effective self-help coping strategies to manage culture shock such as sharing their stress and anxiety with others and learn more about Algerian culture by participating in cultural activities. The educational institutions and student union have a key role to play in the adjustment process and have a lot of things may help international students to cope with the host culture.

Research objectives :

For most students –international students &local students- culture shock is a strange event, which is little understood and undefined, so the main aim of this research is to explore the international students’ culture shock experiences to get a better understanding about culture shock .this study makes an attempt to identify the main factors that contribute to culture shock during their period of study in Batna and it takes into account the negative impact of this event on international students ‘psychology and their academic and social life, also to find out the efforts can be done to minimize its impact and help them now and in the future to adopt more easily.

Organization of the dissertation:

This dissertation has been divided into a general introduction, three chapters, and a general conclusion. The first chapter is a theoretical background that provides a deep insight into culture shock; it gives a broad definition of this phenomenon and a detailed description of its stages. The second chapter explains the methodology used in this study. It is concerned to examine the culture shock at Batna university in order to investigate the experience of the international students with this event in their host educational institutions also included in this chapter its impact, as well as its symptoms, are discussed. The third chapter offers some strategies and educational institutions, and student unions’ efforts that help international students to cope effectively and return to their normal life.

Limitations of the study:

The researchers faced several limitations with this study. the first limitation was the lack of human subjects. Because of the closure of educational institutions due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the researchers faced a challenge to find an appropriate sample for their study. The second limitation was the lack of face-to-face contact. Since the current study is qualitative, it typically relies on face-to-face interaction for data collection through interviews, it is just difficult to ask our questions without having the opportunity to see their body language and the internet did not solve this problem. The language barrier was another problem; some participants do not speak or even understand English so the researchers were supposed to translate the questions into their native language.

Significance of the study:

The present study draws attention to international students, as well as defines their problems, especially those resulting from cultural differences.

The findings of this study may provide knowledge about culture shock and how to deal with it. This knowledge may better prepare international students to face the issue of culture shock.

The university may start paying attention to international students, and recognize their needs, to provide supportive resources and services which may help them to cope with the new milieu and minimize the negative impact of culture shock on their academic and social life.

Research Methodology and Design

This chapter includes the methods that have been used in this study to investigate the issue of culture shock among international students.

Choice of the method:

To achieve the objectives of the study and confirm or rebut the hypothesis proposed to the research questions, we need to choose a specific method. The choice of the method is related to the nature of the subject, the aim of the study, and the collected data as Silverman said «the choice between different research methods should depend upon what you are trying to find out…(and if) you are concerned with exploring people’s life histories or everyday behavior, then qualitative methods may be favored”. And, as far as our thesis is concerned, the most appropriate method is the qualitative one, under which we can understand in depth the issue of culture shock faced by international students.

Based on our most recent census, Canada like many other developed nations encompasses an ethnically diverse populace that contains more immigrants than non-immigrants. Canada has offered protection to individuals fleeing persecution, individuals desiring an increased standard of living, and much more. As the Minister of Immigration, my commitment to all Canadians is to provide a smooth integration of immigrants into Canadian society, as well as to strengthen Canadians’ values surrounding multiculturalism.

Our new 2019-2020 Multiculturalism Policy will be addressing solutions to the diverse acculturation experiences that immigrants have. To address the smooth integration of immigrants into Canadian society, our Department will be integrating research done on the “Four Stages of Culture Shock”. When individuals migrate to a different host country, persons experience feelings of positivity (honeymoon phase). However, once the novelty wears off, culture shock consequences set in. In order to decrease the stage of “culture shock”, we need to employ Integration strategies that create positive attitudes towards both the host and heritage culture for immigrants. As well as creating programs where immigrants can participate in the host culture while maintaining traditions of heritage culture.

Employing additional services and initiatives that help immigrants accomplish everyday tasks such as making friends and figuring out how to find a doctor, where to go to get a driver’s license, or how to cook strange-looking foods that are sold at the supermarket. In addition, including programs where a variety of different ethnic groups can exchange different cultural customs among individuals. By employing these initiatives, immigrants will experience a decreased sense of cultural distance (perceiving heritage culture customs completely differ from the host country) and have access to both cultural communities. While employing strategies that ease the integration of immigrants into Canadian society, we can also strengthen Canadians’ values surrounding multiculturalism.

We can administer the Multicultural approach, to understand what rationale Canadians, use to understand/ empathize with immigrants. It is understood, based on past cross-cultural research, that Minority groups greatly value group identities, and often respond negatively to efforts made by majority group members to ignore what makes them distinctive. As soon as you tell people that there are two distinct groups that they belong to minority groups are discriminated against. The multicultural approach suggests that people will fare better when the distinctive characteristics of their groups are attended to and approached. By employing government-mandated diversity programs (implicit bias training, inclusiveness programs, and diversity training for upper management) we can emphasize multicultural messages fare better in numerous respects than color-blind messages.

To substantiate this point, Victoria C Plaut, Keeia M Thomas, and Matt J Goren conducted an extensive study of ‘Is Multiculturalism or Color Blindness Better for Minorities’. A few thousand employees from various companies were assessed on the relationship between each company’s attitude toward diversity and their employee engagement with their work. The more multicultural and the less colour-blind the attitudes of the white employees, the more the minority employees were engaged with their work. Similarly, minority employees have more trust in and are comfortable with, a company that offers multicultural messages than with one that offers color-blind messages, especially when the company has only a few minority members. As the Minister of Immigration, my first and foremost commitment to Canadians is to understand that by protecting immigrants, we will grow to be an inclusive, prosperous, and safe country.

Introduction

Students are usually exposed to cultural, social and intellectual experiences when they move from their home country to a foreign country. Culture shock is therefore the anxiety and emotional disturbance experienced by people when two sets of realities meet. The term was first named by Kalervo Oberg in 1960 who described culture shock as,” precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse” (1960:177). The discussion below will broadly offer a theoretical definition of the concept of culture shock, considers the four phases of culture shock that a student may experience in the process of adaption in student sojourners, and finally offer practical advice for preventing and negotiating culture shock.

Definition of ‘Culture Shock’

Meaning comes from the use of shared symbols and depression is a loss of meaning (Atwood Gaines, personal communication). This depression is the soul of culture shock. The term was first named by Kalervo Oberg in 1960 who described it as ‘precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse (1960:177). That is, if one defines and negotiates reality through the symbolic representations of life, then one must question this reality when faced with alternative representations. When the symbols used to describe and contemplate the world are not understandable, this can lead to feelings of isolation or even a loss of identity. The self-esteem disappears and one feels ill at ease. In a sense, culture shock is an illness resulting from the loss of meaning brought about when people from one symbolic reality find themselves immersed in another, typically through immigration and traveling away from the home country.

Oberg (1960) creates an exhaustive symptoms list, including excessive hand washing, excessive concern over water and food safety, fear of physical contact with ‘natives’, a feeling of helplessness and dependence on long-term residents of one’s own nationality, anger over delays and otherwise minor frustrations, excessive fear of being robbed or injured, concern over minor pains and cuts and abrasions.

Finally, he describes that ‘…terrible longing to be back home, to be able to have a good cup of coffee and a piece of apple pie, to visit one’s relative, and, in general, to talk to people who really make sense.’ (ibid:178)

For example an American student traveling to a developing country might be disheartened or alarmed by the living conditions that are perfectly normal and acceptable to the local people like the use of chewing sticks instead of toothbrushes. The American student will feel uncomfortable using the chewing sticks, and this will lead to resentment to the local people as the tourist might view them as people who are unhygienic and not technologically savvy.

Phases of culture shock

Culture shock is about being out of place in a foreign country and time. Oberg (1960) states that the student will experience culture shock in four phases; namely the honeymoon phase, the frustration phase, the adjustment phase and the acceptance phase.

Honeymoon phase

When moving to a foreign country, the honeymoon phase is the first stage of culture shock that the student will experience after months of excitement, anticipation and preparation to travel to the host country. The student will be excited and full of enthusiasm about the move to the foreign country and also looking forward to all the new things he or she will experience and an overall positive feeling about the move. The honeymoon phase usually lasts from a few days to a few weeks.

It is during the honeymoon phase that the student will experience a sense of euphoria because all the problems and conflicts arising from missing cultural cues and cultural misunderstandings are seen as minor or amusing, or as part of the overall adventure.

The student will also receive a red carpet welcome, a new homestay and undergoes an exploration of shops and sights. The student will be curious about the host nationals and he or she will be a passive observer by avoiding of negative stereotypes. Verbally the responses from the student can include responses like, “How ironic, this place and the people are a lot like home”. Physically, the student will or might experience intestinal disturbances and minor insomnia because of a reaction to a change in weather or food.

During the honeymoon phase, the student meets useful and friendly work staff, makes the first social contact with members in the host country, sees and doing new things and enjoys the new world and also observes the new culture and familiarizes him/herself with the new environment. The student will be charmed by every difference rather than bothered and the student will be quick to recognize any cultural similarities to avoid feeling out of the comfort zone right away.

Frustration phase

When reality sets in and the initial excitement wears off, the student transitions from the honeymoon phase to the frustration phase. During the frustration phase the student will undergo many negative feelings, which include, frustration, confusion, hostility and depression. The student can also be judgemental towards others, sometimes with a sense of superiority. Language barriers and misunderstanding of cultural cues will cause significant difficulties for the student, who might develop a hostile and aggressive behavior. The student might try to seek out those who are similar to him or her instead of integrating with locals during this stage.

According to Oberg (1960:178) ,the student will experience frustration and this is when culture shock begins. The student will reminisce about their home culture and use stereotyping and may even leave, returning to their home culture without even overcoming culture shock(Furnham &Bochner 1982:161-198).

There will be uneven performance and confrontation with differences. Emotionally the student will be discouraged, lethargy, suspicious, bored and homesick. Behaviourally, the student will try by all means to avoid contact with host national, excessive sleep, loss of concentration and fits of weeping. Physically the student will experience minor illnesses, headaches, and preoccupation with personal cleanliness. The verbal responses from the student will include, ‘This place is boring and these people are disorganized ‘.

The student will make us of more stereotypes, chauvinism and nationalism. The student’s high expectations remain unmet, he or she blames the host culture for his or her problems, he or she spends most of his or her time with members of his or her home culture complaining about the host culture and the student also has a growing awareness that his or her cultures’ behavior may not be accepted in the host culture and therefore the student has to give up, suspend, or modify own behavior.

Adjustment phase

During the adjustment phase, the student will focus on things that really matter like family, friends, and hobbies. However, the student will still feel completely not accepted by the locals and might even miss that bond they have with people back home.

The student also tries to come up with coping strategies to deal with previously difficult day-to-day situations, though difficulties will persist at times. The student might also develop a sense of routine, develop new relationships and there is more open-mindedness about the new culture. A relationship will be developed with people from the host country.

The student can choose either adjustment without adaption, such as taking a flight back home or isolation. The student can use isolation and avoid substantial learning about the new culture. However, the student can also choose to adjust and adapt through developing problem-solving skills for dealing with different cultures and therefore the student will be in a better position to accept the cultures way with a positive position.

It is at this stage that the learner will begin appreciating the other culture and learning about it becomes a fun challenge. The problems that the student encounters do not end but the student develops a positive attitude towards meeting the challenge of resolving the issues necessary to function in the new culture.

The student at this stage, adapts to the new environment and develops routines, meets new people who can help in interpretation situations that may not be completely understood, and have linguistic abilities are improved. The student gets to know the city much better. Although the student is conscious and knows the differences between the culture of origin and the host culture but the student at this stage understands that the host culture is not that bad, it just needs to be interpreted with different patterns and therefore the student will develop a better understanding about why she likes or hates some things and the reason why.

Things will get better for the student and the student will be able to resolve many of their conflicts and problems and the student begins to appreciate the way things are done in this new environment and their feelings become more balanced. Life may not be perfect for the student and there might still be some surprises but the student begins to feel competent in their ability to function and handle themselves in the foreign country. The only problem with this phase the student undergoes in the foreign country is that the student may be somewhat superficial and may change yet again.

Therefore, at this stage, the student chooses to be an explorer in the new culture, accepts the challenge of self-reflection and also assumes responsibility for his or her own culture adjustment. Examples of Common thoughts from the student might include: “We say that too, but differently “.Meaning that the student has also accepted the culture of the host country and the similarities to the culture to the home culture.

Acceptance phase

This is the final phase that the student will go through in the transformation. During the acceptance phase the student will set up a schedule for doing work or study; make friends from the new culture and also show an interest in learning even more about the host country, beyond what is needed to survive. The student will accept the new culture while maintaining the native culture and language.

It is also during this stage that the student experiences minimal negative reactions to the new culture and there is also an improved understanding of why things work the way that they do. Acceptance of the beliefs and values of the new culture as a valid and acceptable way of life is also noted by the student. The students’ work performance will improve at this phase, and the student will have the ability to interpret cultural clues. The health of the student is normal and he or she has the ability to see things from the perspective of host nationals. This is the stag when the student becomes an adoptive cultural native.

An example of a common thought that the student can have include:’ You don’t understand them like I do. I’m beginning to like this. ‘Basically, at this stage, the student becomes a mediator between the two cultures and also feels proud that he or she can make herself understood in the target language and that he or she can understand native speakers. Since full assimilation is almost impossible, people respond constructively to culture shock and develop a bicultural identity, which allows them to operate successfully in the new culture as well as in the cultural setting of their home country (Oberg, 1960).

Ways of overcoming Culture Shock

• The student can overcome culture shock by reflecting. Reflection is an essential part of the cultural adaptation process whereby the student is advised to reflect on what’s happening to him and around him. The student has to ask questions like, “how does reality compare to my expectations,’ and, ‘how is the experience preparing me to meet my goals for the future?’. By spending time on reflection, the student gets to reflect on daily experiences in order to better understand and contextualize them.
• The student can also learn from mistakes and apply the knowledge acquired through them in future situations.
• The student should analyze the situations that are not understood before judging or criticizing them just for being different to what the student is used to. By so doing the student leaves stereotypes and preconceived ideas aside and has an open mind to new culture.
• The student should also practise pre-departure preparation. The student must learn as much as she or he can about the new location. This means knowing the good and the bad, and the simply different time zones, foods, political systems, customs and religions.
• The student must also apply conflict resolution and intercultural effectiveness skills. Harris and Morris (1987) suggested cultural shock can be eased through describing, analyzing, and identifying the problem from both cultures’ point of view, developing a synergistic strategy, and performing a multicultural assessment of effectiveness.
• The student should also build new friendships by associating with positive people. Managing cultural shock requires that the student maintains or establishes a network of primary relationships that will provide interpersonal relations for the improvement of self-esteem and also for meeting the personal and social needs of the student. Emotional life can be maintained through writing letters or keeping a personal diary of feelings and experiences.
• The student must also learn cultural and social rules. Successful adaption requires learning the host culture’s styles of relating, communicating, reasoning, managing and negotiating(Casse&Deol,1985; Harris&Moran,1987; Samovar&Porter,1991). The student needs to be flexible in interpersonal styles and relations (Dodd,1987). The student can do this by understanding and manifesting behaviors in the host culture.
• The student can also learn the language that is spoken in the host or foreign country. This will help the student to communicate and reduce the effects of culture shock and misunderstanding. Being able to communicate with the locals will reduce the stress of the students’ move to the foreign country
• The student has to be patient. Adapting to a new culture takes time. The student has to give him or herself time to allow for mistakes and learn from them instead of taking the next flight back home.
• The student also has to set SMART goals which are Specific, Manageable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-based. The student must set realistic, short-term goals, and realize that periodic failures are inevitable.
• The student should also cultivate the habit of listening and observing, rather than merely seeing and hearing.
• The student has to be aware of the feelings of the local people to prevent what might be offensive behavior. For example, a student visiting South Africa might laugh at the traditional clothing of the people who stay in Kwazulu- Natal who go out with their breasts out, this can be offensive.

The complex changes confronting the world today, particularly those resulting from the impact of globalization and technological revolution, have radically transformed the world in every aspect, especially the higher education field.

By creating new systems of knowledge, learning and education furthermore breaking the boundaries of space and time between nations, the education opportunities became wider and boundless (Van Damme, 2001) in other words the cross-border mobility of students was encouraged and emerged. Students mobility is concerned with students who are in a foreign country for educational purposes (UNESCO, 2015). The number of students moving around the world has expanded extensively since the past twenty years and it is expected to increase even more in the next decade, From the World Bank Data, the British Council declared that the number of international students rose from 2 million in 2000 to 4 million in 2012, by 2017, that number has increased to exceed 5.3 million (UNESCO, 2019), and it is expected to hit 8 million IS worldwide by 2025.

Over the last decades, there has been an increasing interest in the impact of migration on mental health, and it has been identified as a stressful process that can cause a risk to the psychological and physical health of migrants (Bhugna & Jones, 2001), the immigrant students may also suffer psychological and physical problems associated with moving to an unfamiliar environment (Pantelidon Craig, 2006).the last studies show that nearly all the study-abroad students have confronted a set of acculturative stressors and challenges such as the language barrier, educational environment, loneliness, and race problems (Lin & Yi,1997; Smith & Khawaja, 2011). There are hundreds of different and strange things which tend to make international students feel anxious, confused, and shocked; the well-known term that describes these feelings is “culture shock». Phuong (1993) stated that “culture shock is a real phenomenon that is facing everybody who is living in a new culture”.

As the number of international students increases demand for culture shock understanding is necessary by both teachers and educational institutions that deal with international students.

The present study investigated the culture shock among international students at Batna Universities –MOSTAFA BEN BOULAIDE &EL HADJ LKHDR-.In general, these students are African, Christian, and Non-Arab speakers. The focus of the study is to determine what the dominant elements contribute to culture shock .and its impact on international students also focuses on providing some strategies even solutions that would help international students to cope more effectively while adapting to the changes of a new environment. The following questions will be addressed in this study:

• Do international students face culture shock at Batna University?
• What elements contribute to culture shock for international students?
• What is the impact of culture shock on international students’ academic, and social life and their psychological state ?
• What strategies did the international students use to cope and how can The educational institutions and student union help them to cope more effectively to the new cultural milieu?

These questions, in return, led the researchers to assume the following hypothesis

• Almost all international students experienced culture shock in both social and academic life.
• A series of factors might contribute to culture shock, not just one, such as Cultural differences and misunderstanding, the language and fear of contact.
• Culture shock usually causes psychological confusion and emotional discomfort which have negatively affected international students’ academic life and psychological state.
• International students use various effective self-help coping strategies to manage culture shock such as sharing their stress and anxiety with others and learn more about Algerian culture by participating in cultural activities. The educational institutions and student union have a key role to play in the adjustment process and have a lot of things may help international students to cope with the host culture.

Research objectives :

For most students –international students &local students- culture shock is a strange event, which is little understood and undefined, so the main aim of this research is to explore the international students’ culture shock experiences to get a better understanding about culture shock .this study makes an attempt to identify the main factors that contribute to culture shock during their period of study in Batna and it takes into account the negative impact of this event on international students ‘psychology and their academic and social life, also to find out the efforts can be done to minimize its impact and help them now and in the future to adopt more easily.

Organization of the dissertation:

This dissertation has been divided into a general introduction, three chapters, and a general conclusion. The first chapter is a theoretical background that provides a deep insight into culture shock; it gives a broad definition of this phenomenon and a detailed description of its stages. The second chapter explains the methodology used in this study. It is concerned to examine the culture shock at Batna university in order to investigate the experience of the international students with this event in their host educational institutions also included in this chapter its impact, as well as its symptoms, are discussed. The third chapter offers some strategies and educational institutions, and student unions’ efforts that help international students to cope effectively and return to their normal life.

Limitations of the study:

The researchers faced several limitations with this study. the first limitation was the lack of human subjects. Because of the closure of educational institutions due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the researchers faced a challenge to find an appropriate sample for their study. The second limitation was the lack of face-to-face contact. Since the current study is qualitative, it typically relies on face-to-face interaction for data collection through interviews, it is just difficult to ask our questions without having the opportunity to see their body language and the internet did not solve this problem. The language barrier was another problem; some participants do not speak or even understand English so the researchers were supposed to translate the questions into their native language.

Significance of the study:

The present study draws attention to international students, as well as defines their problems, especially those resulting from cultural differences.

The findings of this study may provide knowledge about culture shock and how to deal with it. This knowledge may better prepare international students to face the issue of culture shock.

The university may start paying attention to international students, and recognize their needs, to provide supportive resources and services which may help them to cope with the new milieu and minimize the negative impact of culture shock on their academic and social life.

Research Methodology and Design

This chapter includes the methods that have been used in this study to investigate the issue of culture shock among international students.

Choice of the method:

To achieve the objectives of the study and confirm or rebut the hypothesis proposed to the research questions, we need to choose a specific method. The choice of the method is related to the nature of the subject, the aim of the study, and the collected data as Silverman said «the choice between different research methods should depend upon what you are trying to find out…(and if) you are concerned with exploring people’s life histories or everyday behavior, then qualitative methods may be favored”. And, as far as our thesis is concerned, the most appropriate method is the qualitative one, under which we can understand in depth the issue of culture shock faced by international students.