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<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-Q61Y5YWXL4"></script><script>window.dataLayer=window.dataLayer || [];function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}gtag('js',new Date());gtag('config','G-Q61Y5YWXL4',{'ericID':'ED416519'});</script><title>ERIC - ED416519 - Studying in America: Assessing How Uncertainty Reduction and Communication Satisfaction Influence International Students' Adjustment to U.S. Campus Life., 1997-Nov-22</title><meta name="description" content="An exploratory study sought to gain more information about the initial interactions of newly arrived international students on United States campuses--how new international students described their feelings of uncertainty before leaving their home countries and how these uncertainties impacted their interpretations of their initial interactions. Subjects were six international students enrolled full-time at a medium-sized university in the midwestern United States (three from Thailand, two from Indonesia, and one from Malaysia). Subjects completed a demographic questionnaire, an instrument to determine individualistic and collectivist tendencies, and were interviewed in-depth. Results indicated that after choosing the best country, geographic location, and institution for their study, students considered their most important uncertainties to be about the competency of their English language skills and the trials of making friends with Americans. Participants indicated that, although"><meta name="citation_abstract" content="An exploratory study sought to gain more information about the initial interactions of newly arrived international students on United States campuses--how new international students described their feelings of uncertainty before leaving their home countries and how these uncertainties impacted their interpretations of their initial interactions. Subjects were six international students enrolled full-time at a medium-sized university in the midwestern United States (three from Thailand, two from Indonesia, and one from Malaysia). Subjects completed a demographic questionnaire, an instrument to determine individualistic and collectivist tendencies, and were interviewed in-depth. Results indicated that after choosing the best country, geographic location, and institution for their study, students considered their most important uncertainties to be about the competency of their English language skills and the trials of making friends with Americans. Participants indicated that, although"> <meta name="eric #" content="ED416519" /> <meta name="citation_title" content="Studying in America: Assessing How Uncertainty Reduction and Communication Satisfaction Influence International Students' Adjustment to U.S. Campus Life." /> <meta name="citation_author" content="Dillon, Randy K." /> <meta name="citation_author" content="Swann, Janet S." /> <meta name="citation_pdf_url" content="http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED416519.pdf" /> <meta name="descriptors" content="Communication Apprehension; Communication Research; English (Second Language); Foreign Students; Higher Education; Interpersonal Communication; Interviews; Language Skills; Questionnaires; Student Adjustment; Student Attitudes" /> <meta name="citation_keywords" content="Communication Apprehension; Communication Research; English (Second Language); Foreign Students; Higher Education; Interpersonal Communication; Interviews; Language Skills; Questionnaires; Student Adjustment; Student Attitudes" /> <meta name="citation_publication_date" content="1997/11/22" /> <meta name="citation_language" content="en" /> <meta name="languages" content="English" /> <meta name="identifiers" content="Communication Satisfaction; Uncertainty Reduction" /> <meta name="source" content="Non-Journal" /> <meta name="level" content="1" /> <meta name="page-topic" content="Communication Apprehension; Communication Research; English (Second Language); Foreign Students; Higher Education; Interpersonal Communication; Interviews; Language Skills; Questionnaires; Student Adjustment; Student Attitudes" /> <meta name="page-type" content="" /> <meta name="rating" content="All" /><link rel="shortcut icon" href="favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="css/eric.css?v=0.9" media="all"><link rel="image_src" href="img/icon_fbshare.png"><script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery-3.5.1.min.js"></script><script type="text/javascript" src="js/respond.min.js"></script><script type="text/javascript" src="js/eric.js?v=0.8"></script> <script type="text/javascript">$(function() {dser();});</script> </head> <body id="bdyMain"> <div id="main"> <div id="actionbar"><a href="?note">Notes</a><a href="?faq">FAQ</a><a href="?contact">Contact Us</a></div><div id="logo"><a href="?" id="aHome" title="ERIC Home"><img src="img/eric_results.png" id="imgLogo" alt="ERIC - Institute of Education Sciences" /></a></div> <div id="sbar"> <form id="f"> <div> <div id="tab1" class="sTab"><span>Collection</span></div> <div id="tab1b" class="sTab"><a href="#thesaurus">Thesaurus</a></div> <a id="atips" href="?advanced">Advanced<br />Search Tips</a> <input id="s" type="text" name="q" placeholder="Search education resources" /> <input type="submit" value="Search" /> </div> <div id="sopt"> <label><input type="checkbox" name="pr" /> Peer reviewed only</label> <label><input type="checkbox" name="ft" /> Full text available on ERIC</label> </div> </form> <form id="ft" style="display:none"> <div> <div id="tab2b" class="sTab"><a href="#collection">Collection</a></div> <div id="tab2" class="sTab"><span>Thesaurus</span></div> <a id="attips" href="?ti=all">Browse<br />Thesaurus</a> <input id="st" type="text" name="qt" placeholder="Search thesaurus descriptors" /> <input type="submit" value="Search" /> </div> <div id="soptt"> <label><input type="checkbox" name="ts" /> Include Synonyms</label> <label><input type="checkbox" name="td" /> Include Dead terms</label> </div> </form> </div> <div id="i"><div id="details" class="record"><div></div><div id="r_colR"><div class="r_f"><a href="http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED416519.pdf" target="_blank"><img src="img/pdficon_large.png" alt="PDF on ERIC" /> Download full text</a><br /></div><div style="font-size:0.8em;padding-top:4px;padding-left:8px"><div><strong>ERIC Number:</strong> ED416519</div><div><strong>Record Type:</strong> Non-Journal</div><div><strong>Publication Date:</strong> 1997-Nov-22</div><div><strong>Pages:</strong> 36</div><div><strong>Abstractor:</strong> N/A</div><div><strong>ISBN:</strong> N/A</div><div><strong>ISSN:</strong> N/A</div><div><strong>EISSN:</strong> N/A</div></div></div><div class="title">Studying in America: Assessing How Uncertainty Reduction and Communication Satisfaction Influence International Students' Adjustment to U.S. Campus Life.</div><div class="r_a"><div style="margin:0;padding:4px 0">Dillon, Randy K.; Swann, Janet S.</div></div><div><div style="margin-right:232px"><div class="abstract">An exploratory study sought to gain more information about the initial interactions of newly arrived international students on United States campuses--how new international students described their feelings of uncertainty before leaving their home countries and how these uncertainties impacted their interpretations of their initial interactions. Subjects were six international students enrolled full-time at a medium-sized university in the midwestern United States (three from Thailand, two from Indonesia, and one from Malaysia). Subjects completed a demographic questionnaire, an instrument to determine individualistic and collectivist tendencies, and were interviewed in-depth. Results indicated that after choosing the best country, geographic location, and institution for their study, students considered their most important uncertainties to be about the competency of their English language skills and the trials of making friends with Americans. Participants indicated that, although pre-arrival materials and post-arrival activities and orientation services were important, the level of their English skills dictated the degree of uncertainty reduction and communication satisfaction that took place. With increased knowledge, universities may be better able to develop the information sent to prospective international students and offer them a higher degree of support after their arrival in the United States. (Contains 26 references; appendixes contain the questionnaire, interview questions, and a table of data.) (RS)</div><div class="keywords">Descriptors: <a href="?ti=Communication+Apprehension">Communication Apprehension</a>, <a href="?ti=Communication+Research">Communication Research</a>, <a href="?ti=English+(Second+Language)">English (Second Language)</a>, <a href="?ti=Foreign+Students">Foreign Students</a>, <a href="?ti=Higher+Education">Higher Education</a>, <a href="?ti=Interpersonal+Communication">Interpersonal Communication</a>, <a href="?ti=Interviews">Interviews</a>, <a href="?ti=Language+Skills">Language Skills</a>, <a href="?ti=Questionnaires">Questionnaires</a>, <a href="?ti=Student+Adjustment">Student Adjustment</a>, <a href="?ti=Student+Attitudes">Student Attitudes</a></div><div style="font-style:italic;font-size:0.9em"></div></div></div><div class="clear"></div><div class="sInfo"><div><div><strong>Publication Type:</strong> Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers; Tests/Questionnaires</div><div><strong>Education Level:</strong> N/A</div><div><strong>Audience:</strong> N/A</div><div><strong>Language:</strong> English</div><div><strong>Sponsor:</strong> N/A</div><div><strong>Authoring Institution:</strong> N/A</div><div><strong>Grant or Contract Numbers:</strong> N/A</div></div></div><div class="clear" style="margin:0"></div></div></div> <div id="divFooter"><div id="ftrPadding"><div id="ftr"><div id="ftrSocial"> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SearchEduResources" id="facebook" style="padding-bottom:5px"><img src="img/icon_facebook.gif" alt="Facebook" width="16" height="16" border="0"></a> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ERICinfo" id="twitter"><img src="img/icon_twitter.gif" alt="Twitter" width="16" height="16" border="0"></a></div><div id="ftrLogos"><a href="http://www.ed.gov"><img src="img/logo_ed.gif" alt="Department of Education"></a><a href="http://ies.ed.gov"><img src="img/logo_ies.gif" alt="Institute of Education Statistics"></a></div><div id="centerLinks"><a href="?privacy">Privacy</a> | <a href="?copyright">Copyright</a> | <a href="?contact">Contact Us</a> | <a href="?selection">Selection Policy</a> | <a href="?api">API</a> | <a href="metrics">Metrics</a><div><a href="?journals">Journals</a> | <a href="?nonjournals">Non-Journals</a> | <a href="?download">Download</a> | <a href="submit">Submit</a> | <a href="?multimedia">Multimedia</a> | <a href="?widget">Widget</a></div></div></div><script id="_fed_an_ua_tag" language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="/js/Universal-Federated-Analytics-Min.js?pga4=55622235&agency=ED&subagency=ERIC"></script></div></div> </div> <script type="text/javascript">//<![CDATA[ if(self!=top) {top.location=self.location;} //]]></script> </body> </html>