Introduction
Canada is one of the most attractive countries for students who dream of studying abroad and staying in the country in which they study. By the end of 2022, more than 800,000 international students resided in Canada, with more than half admitted in the same year. The country’s attractiveness is further boosted by its policy that offers an easy process of obtaining permanent citizenship to international students. Further, the country’s education is highly ranked in the world. Most students come from Nigeria, the US, Brazil, India, and France. Studying abroad offers countless opportunities to international students.
Apart from earning high-quality education and having the privilege of studying at prestigious universities, they get an opportunity to interact and learn from many people. This greatly helps in improving the confidence and self-esteem of the students. However, many challenges come with studying abroad. One of the major challenges is communication. Language barrier has been a great hindrance to effective communication among international students. Ali et al. (2020) affirm that the language barrier is a leading cause of stress among students who study abroad. This paper examines the extent of differences in language as a barrier to effective communication among international students in Canada.
Literature Review
Various studies have been done to study the problems in adjustment that international students face in foreign countries. As they adjust to the new environment, international students face several challenges related to Canada’s culture and traditions. The language barrier is one of the major stressors for international students (Ali et al., 2020). This shows difficulties in communication caused by the language barrier are a critical issue that needs to be addressed. Ge et al. (2019), in a study on Chinese students studying in Canada, noted that almost all Chinese students identified the language barrier as the biggest challenge of studying in Canada alongside cultural differences. This research provided tips on how to deal with the language barrier. Some of the recommendations included self-socializing, which involved watching movies alone or interacting with family and friends back home. Whereas this method may relieve the frustrations caused by the language barrier, it does not offer a long-term solution.
Tavares (2021) studied the experiences of five international students studying in different universities across Canada. He noted that the students felt secluded due to their lack of fluency in English. Their inability to communicate in English made them feel they were not treated equally to the other English-fluent students. Difficulties in communication with the instructors also contributed to the frustration with the accent and the speed of speaking in English among the professors being an issue of concern. The study found that the plight of international students in Canada needs to be fully explored, with the students feeling excluded and not ushered into Canadian society. (Khanal & Gaulee, 2019) studied the challenges international students face in the UK, the US, Australia, and Canada. They noted that the language barrier problem continues to haunt international students even after completing their studies. With most international students opting to stay in the host country after graduating, they continue facing linguistic challenges when they start working.
Alharbi & Smith (2018) used a model of PubMed and PsycINFO databases in their research on the experiences of foreign students in English-speaking countries. Using undergraduate and postgraduate student samples, the research used 38 empirical studies across Canada, the UK, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand. The study found that language-related problems and academic stress are leading causes of stress. The researchers emphasized acculturative stress as the most common stressor for international students. Acculturative stress is a theory used to study psychological challenges people face during acculturation. The stress is a mental and emotional response to events that occur when one is adapting to a new and different culture. The language barrier among international students hastens the development of acculturative stress when they start studying in Canada since communication both inside and outside the classroom becomes difficult.
The extent of the effects of language barrier to international students in Canada has yet to be properly studied. The language barrier has been overlooked, and its effects have yet to be deeply examined. This study aims to examine the problems that international students face due to communication difficulties.
Findings
Being an English-speaking country, most lectures across Canadian universities are conducted purely in English. Thus, international students must learn English for them to be on par with the other students who understand the language. Many international students find it difficult because apart from English not being their first language, they have used other languages for their education until the university level. For example, a Chinese medical student who just joined a Canadian university faces difficulties because she knows all the medical concepts in Chinese. In contrast, the professor at the Canadian university insists on English as the language of learning (Ge et al., 2019). Hence, they need help understanding the content of their courses when taught in English. International students have reported that the accent of lecturers and instructors makes it even more difficult to understand despite knowing basic English. The speed of English speaking among the instructors has also been an issue among international students. This demoralizes the student who hopes to obtain high-quality education in Canada (Khanal & Gaulee, 2019).
Feelings of frustration and lack of self-confidence in communication barre the international students from fully participating in class. Language barriers cause difficulties in essay writing, comprehension of concepts, and the speech clarity of professors. This mostly occurs during the first months of studying in Canada. Hence international students become self-conscious due to the inability to converse comfortably and may fear speaking in public. Difficulties in understanding instructors and fellow students in classwork discussions have a detrimental effect on the student’s academic performance.
Apart from the difficulties in class, international students face interaction problems due to the language barrier problem. Most international students reported that Americans’ speech speed makes it difficult to have informal interactions with fellow students. International students lack contextual knowledge compared to their English-speaking counterparts. They find idioms in English and Canadian slang difficult to understand, given their little or no knowledge of the English language. The students also face difficulties in pronouncing English words, speaking fluency and correctly using appropriate words in a particular context. This makes the students feel they are not fully embraced by Canadian society due to their foreign accents and lack of English knowledge.
Discussion
Differences in language have been linked to self-consciousness and lack of confidence among international students in Canadian learning institutions. As a leading cause of stress language barrier negatively affects the mental health of international students when they lack self-esteem and fear speaking among their English-speaking colleagues due to fear of being laughed at or lack of appropriate words. The study has found the extent of the problems caused by language barriers to international students in Canada. These problems which were not well-documented before have made international students’ stay in the country very difficult. Some international students who have considered the challenges unbearable have opted to pursue their education in other countries, while others have returned to their home countries. This study could have been more effective if more time and technology had been allocated. Instead of mainly focusing on the theoretical part of the study, it would have been better if the study involved actual interviews with international students, local students, and the administration of the various universities in Canada.
Problems in the Study
The challenges international students face in Canada have yet to be adequately researched. Most studies focused on all the countries that have internationalized their education systems. Very few studies have narrowed their focus to specific countries such as Canada. More research needs to be done on the plight of international students in Canada, especially communication challenges. Canadian universities need to form groups of researchers that study the linguistic problems that international students face and recommend solutions to these problems.
Conclusion
Indeed, the effects of the language barrier have been far-reaching and detrimental to international students’ experiences in Canada. This study has exposed the need for more research on international students’ challenges. The data on a large number of international students in Canada and their ever-increasing number suggests that the study should take the direction of studying the possibility of having international students being taught in their own language. This topic is vital because it helps raise awareness of international students’ plight and find solutions to the challenges facing them.
References
Ali, S., Yoenanto, N. H., & Nurdibyanandaru, D. (2020). Language barrier is the cause of stress among international students of Universitas airlangga. PRASASTI: Journal of Linguistics, 5(2), 242. https://doi.org/10.20961/prasasti.v5i2.44355
Canadian Bureau for International Education. (2023, March 14). International students in Canada infographic. CBIE. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://cbie.ca/infographic/
Ge, L., Brown, D., & Durst, D. (2019). Chinese international students’ experiences in a Canadian university. Journal of International Students, 9(2), 582–612. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v0i0.272
Khanal, J., & Gaulee, U. (2019). Challenges of international students from pre-departure to post-study. Journal of International Students, 9(2), 560–581. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v9i2.673
Tavares, V. (2021). Feeling excluded: International Students Experience Equity, diversity and inclusion. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2021.2008536
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