Adjustment of foreign students at Northern Illinois University : a design for research

Bibliography: pages [92]-96.The numbers of foreign students who enrolled in American universities have been increasing at a dramatic rate. Along with this increase, numerous studies have been done on the adjustment problems of foreign students. Some adjustment problems are rooted in psychological problems--so-called "foreign student syndromes," such as homesickness and culture shock. However, some adjustment problems seem to be caused by English language proficiency problems, since English language problems have been inevitable for most, if not all foreign students. This thesis is a study of the relationship between the English language difficulty and the adjustment problem of foreign students, to see if the lower English language proficiency brings about the disadvantages for foreign students' sojourn. This thesis is presented in four sections: (1) Literature Review--about 40 studies have determined what is known about the relationship between language proficiency and adjustment; (2) Preliminary Analysis--two current researches on foreign students are reported which were conducted by the International Training Office and the Public Opinion Laboratory at NIU; (3) Case Studies—ten cases were interviewed at NIU in the spring semester of 1985 as a pretest for the proposal for further research; and (4) Research Design—based on several assumptions which are derived from these earlier studies, the research design is presented, including a sampling design, measurement, scaling methods, and analysis plan for further research. Additionally, the limitations of the study are discussed and other suggestions are made for further study.M.A. (Master of Arts