Experiences and Perceptions of Chinese International Students on Their Adaption to Finland

When international students from mainland China go abroad and start their new life in Finland, they have the choice of using social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter which have been blocked by mainland China for many years. Additionally, they may keep using platforms that of their native language, like WeChat and Sina Weibo. The current research studies Chinese international students’ perception of their cultural adaptation to Finnish society, with a particular focus on the role of social media usage during their process of adaptation. This study also aims to give attention to intercultural adaptation in the Finnish context. The study conducts a semi-structured interview among eight Chinese mainland students who study in Finland. Interviews are audio-recorded. All data collected are transcribed in Chinese and then translated into English. The qualitative research of content analysis is employed in this study for analysing the research data. The analysis indicates that most Chinese students have positive feelings about Finland. However, the ties between Chinese students and Finnish natives are weak due to various reasons including languages, cultural differences and personalities. These findings further state that the social media usage patterns and preferences of Chinese students are different depending on their length of stay in Finland and the gratification of social media. The analysis demonstrates that the majority of Chinese students prefer to use social media platforms that of their native language, other than Facebook and Twitter. The analysis also highlights different perceptions of cultural adaptation from Chinese students, which reveals that each respondent has his/her way of adapting to Finland