Rethinking “Cultural Adjustment”: Language Learning, Career Choice and Identity Construction of Chinese International Students in a University Preparation Program

Many studies on cross-cultural adjustment focus on a person’s degree of psychological comfort and behavioural adaptation into a new cultural environment. Since Lysgaard (1955) developed a four-stage process of cultural adjustment, a large number of studies have examined the cultural adaptation process of international students in English-speaking countries. In this paper, as international students in Canada, we challenged previous ideas about cultural adjustment as merely a “cultural adaptation process” involving students’ psychological and behavioural change, which usually views students as the study objects. We reflect on our experiences and case studies of Chinese international students’ participation and perceptions of “cultural adjustment” by adopting both psychological and sociological approaches. Our argument is that cultural adjustment should be understood as a complex psychological and social activity that significantly impacts students’ identity construction, career choice, and language learning practice.