Abstract:

In recent years, there has been a rapid growth of international students pursing higher education in the UK. International students experience many challenges when transitioning from their home country to study in a new learning environment in the UK. Most international students studying in the UK are from the Global Majority such as China, India, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, where English is not their first language in their home countries. Many find it challenging to fully engage in learning activities because they do not speak with a native English accent in English universities. This research project aimed to explore the challenges associated with spoken English language and accent experienced by international students, and strategies used to promote an inclusive learning environment for them.

This study involved semi-structured interviews with 20 international students between July and October 2022, who undertook social work and mental health nursing programmes at an English university in the UK. It found that many international students encountered accent bullying in the forms of ‘laughing’ and ‘being made to feel stupid’ because of the perception that their spoken English was incomprehensible. This created an intimidating and isolating learning experience for international students. International students also talked about their own, perhaps unhelpful, attitudes that tended to internalise a linguistic inferiority complex. They felt the need to apologise for and correct their ‘imperfect’ accent, learning to speak like an English was one way to address their language deficiency. However, they gradually developed different strategies to make their voices heard and recognised the importance to preserve their identities. They also remarked that having other fellow students and tutors from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds helped develop a more inclusive learning environment. Students also articulated the need to raise awareness about the complexity and variation of diverse accents among students, tutors and non-academic staff, and the challenge to navigate a range of accents in classroom learning. Putting ground rules during initial induction and continuous dialogues about the challenges international students experienced in different learning contexts could help address the issue.

Keywords:

International students, diverse accents, diversity in learning, social work, mental health nursing.