Providing for the learning needs of international students

Abstract

The recent influx of international students into the tertiary institutions of Australia and New Zealand has altered the education system of both countries. While from the beginning university and other teachers noted the need to make provision for international students, many institutions have been slow to recognise the complexity of their needs. This report presents an emerging typology to support the learning needs of international students in Australasia. The authors, an academic and a learning needs specialist, have drawn on observation and experience, their own and others, to illuminate the situation. Current literature has supplemented the analysis of their professional experience. In order for appropriate provision to be made for international students, the complexity of the situation in which they are educated must be recognised. This includes acknowledging the varying perceptions held by the institutions, both management and the administrators, the students, both international and domestic, and teaching and support staff, including those with special expertise. The typology, which will be introduced for discussion, presents the four general concerns in providing for international students' learning: language needs, exposure to different educational systems, questions of prior knowledge, and cultural issues and acculturation problems. Six academic issues related to the students' academic progress are examined in terms of actual and possible provision. The work in progress presents an analytic framework which, on completion, will enable the complexity of providing for international students to be calibrated for implementation within different institutions.