UK students had international friends. Middlehurst & Woodfield (2007) report that international students desire more intercultural experiences but are often dissatisfied, reporting in particular a lack of social integration with home students. They often report remaining in friendship groups with co-nationals or forming groups with other international students (UKCOSA, 2004). The studies discussed above suggest that this is a comfortable position for some. Their learning about British culture is from an external perspective, living alongside, yet apart from, the home student population. However, others report intense culture shock, homesickness, a lack of progress with spoken English, alienation and general dissatisfaction as a result (e.g. see press reports from Lipsett, 2007; Asthana, 2007; Hodges, 2007). At the individual level, they return to their home country having not enjoyed the social and educational benefits which they had anticipated. At the market level, poor experiences potentially undermine the reputation of the host country as a study destination as word-of-mouth filters through professional, friendship and family networks. Ward, Bochner & Furnham (2001) and Ward et al (2005) also draw a correlation between better integration into the host culture with overall levels of academic satisfaction and general wellbeing. B. Intercultural development of UK students In order for UK students to develop the skill-set that is considered necessary for interaction across cultures (Stier, 2003; Deardorff, 2006; Stone, 2006) and which are increasingly valued by employers (Leggott & Stapleford, 2007; Fielden, 2007), it is essential that they have the opportunity to build positive relationships with people from other cultures. It is this exposure which provides the necessary learning experiences. However, it has long been understood by social psychologists that mere contact is insufficient to build mutually-rewarding relationships between groups from different cultures. The contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2000; Dovidio, Gaertner & Kawakami, 2003) predicts the need for (a)
UK students had international friends. Middlehurst & Woodfield (2007) report that international students desire more intercultural experiences but are often dissatisfied, reporting in particular a lack of social integration with home students. They often report remaining in friendship groups with co-nationals or forming groups with other international students (UKCOSA, 2004). The studies discussed above suggest that this is a comfortable position for some. Their learning about British culture is from an external perspective, living alongside, yet apart from, the home student population. However, others report intense culture shock, homesickness, a lack of progress with spoken English, alienation and general dissatisfaction as a result (e.g. see press reports from Lipsett, 2007; Asthana, 2007; Hodges, 2007). At the individual level, they return to their home country having not enjoyed the social and educational benefits which they had anticipated. At the market level, poor experiences potentially undermine the reputation of the host country as a study destination as word-of-mouth filters through professional, friendship and family networks. Ward, Bochner & Furnham (2001) and Ward et al (2005) also draw a correlation between better integration into the host culture with overall levels of academic satisfaction and general wellbeing. B. Intercultural development of UK students In order for UK students to develop the skill-set that is considered necessary for interaction across cultures (Stier, 2003; Deardorff, 2006; Stone, 2006) and which are increasingly valued by employers (Leggott & Stapleford, 2007; Fielden, 2007), it is essential that they have the opportunity to build positive relationships with people from other cultures. It is this exposure which provides the necessary learning experiences. However, it has long been understood by social psychologists that mere contact is insufficient to build mutually-rewarding relationships between groups from different cultures. The contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2000; Dovidio, Gaertner & Kawakami, 2003) predicts the need for (a)
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