Many universities organise for their students to have one year studying abroad, so they can experience a different culture and gain important life skills. UKeducation organises for its business management students to spend year 3 abroad and they can choose from a selection of destinations. Student feedback indicates the experience is mostly positive however some of the students found it difficult to adapt and to integrate.
UKeducation is going to organise some transition training days to better prepare the students
for their year abroad. The following communication barriers have been identified:
• Academic practices – students found that there were differences in classroom
behaviour, teaching styles and assignment requirements.
• Cultural barriers – students were unsure about cultural protocol and social conventions
and had frequent misunderstandings. For example, with regards to greetings, levels of
formality, eye contact, driving, queuing and general daily conduct.
• Time difference – for some students it was very difficult to speak to family and friends
due to the time difference between countries. They felt homesick and lonely.
• Language barriers – students struggled to understand the lessons in a foreign language.
They felt their marks were suffering because it was harder for them to communicate in
a second language.
• Lack of common experience – students found they didn’t have much in common with
the other native students – they had different tastes in food, clothes, music, and hobbies
and found it difficult to understand the humour.
TASK
Choose a country and prepare a 2-page brochure encouraging students to study there.
The brochure should include relevant images and text and not exceed 500 words in total.
Please provide references. Marks will be awarded for achieving the learning outcomes
and your ability to provide a well designed 2-page brochure.
In your 2-page brochure, you should highlight:
• Common challenges and barriers to effective communication (why students are
worried about studying abroad).
• Effective strategies for overcoming communication barriers (strategies the
university has implemented to help students abroad).
Marks will be awarded for achieving the learning outcomes and your ability to provide a 2-page brochure with a balance of images and text. This assignment addresses the learning objectives below:
Common Assessment Criteria Applied Marks available
Common challenges and barriers to effective communication (why
students are worried about studying abroad).
Sample Solution
