On the way to a successful integration on a US Campus. How can a French student succeed his integration?

Résumé du document

What makes 600 000 young people from all over the world come to study in the United States? Is it the reputation of the US degrees? The efficient teaching methods or the life on campus? Studying in the United States is a myth for a large number of students in the world. A lot of movies and series give us a dreamy image of what a US campus is. They make us believe that it must be very easy to integrate in such an environment. As our entire groups members had, at least once thought, of spending one year in an American College or still plan to do it, we decided to focus on the integration of French students on US campuses. Many questions arose: is it easy? What problems do students have? When do they feel integrated? Therefore, our main issue will be to find out how French students can experience a successful integration on a US campus. Thus, we could think about the following question: What are the decisive factors in matters of integration? In order to answer that question our project will be divided in two complementary parts: one more theoretical with texts, novels and articles analysis about the integration phenomenon and intercultural relations. The second and main part of our work will focus on a several case studies. The aim of that section is to share real experiences of this integration process and to find out how students deal with studying in the US and what their feelings are. The question is to know whether these personal experiences are in line with the theoretical researches or may be contradictory in some aspects.

Extraits

[...] The most important thing sis to show that you are willing to make your integration a success. Interview Interviewer: Hubert Ryssen Name: Julie Oh 1. In which university did you go? For how long? I went to Princeton University for one year What were your first impressions when you arrived? It's an altogether different world; you truly dive into another world with its own rules and conventions. It is a real experience Which outstanding experiences do you remember? Tell me more about your integration. [...]

[...] Let us try to understand each of these different stages. The three first stages are called ethnocentric which means that one's own culture is considered as central: 1. Denial of cultural difference: Your own culture is experienced as the only one that exists whereas other cultures are just ignored. People at this stage are not interested in cultural differences and do not want to see them Defense against cultural difference: The own culture is considered as the good one. People at Defense stage are afraid of cultural differences so they adopt a very critical attitude towards other cultures Minimization of cultural difference: Elements of one's own culture are experienced as universal. [...]

[...] the beginning, it was very hard to deal with the language, to open phone account via the phone for instance. I felt lost. The American accent was a kind of barrier between the others and me. Later on, when I began to understand more easily, I felt at ease and it restores confidence.” ( Studying abroad can be difficult in matters of building relations with local population and getting used to local culture. According to our sources, the most disturbing difference between American and French culture seems to be the very strong political correctness in the US society. [...]

[...] Although there is no sure recipe for a successful integration, our research enables us to determine some clues to understand how a French student can manage his integration on a US campus. The command of English appears to be crucial since it allows you to take part in discussions, debates or mere jokes. A strong will to be integrated and real efforts to succeed are also very important in the integration process. Even more determining is the attitude you have towards the new culture you are experiencing. [...]

[...] But it is true that at the beginning it was very difficult to feel at ease and integrated among the other students What were the misunderstandings linked to the language or culture? Oh it is a difficult question, no I only remember that when people speak about football there I believe they spoke about European football but in fact they were speaking about American football which is a national sport over there. In fact, I did not have misunderstandings linked to the culture or language. [...]