OBJETIVOS DE LA POLÍTICA DE CALIDAD

According to Montgomery (2010, p. 126), the acceptance of the host community underscores the significance of the international students’ social network to their learning experience. In this regard, data from the present study revealed that quite a few participants were surprised by the courtesy and hospitality of people from the local community, a response which also changed their preconceptions about Chinese people in general:

But I think the Chinese people in China and abroad are very different; their characters and behaviors are very different. The people I meet in China are very open and friendly; they want to help you and be your friend, but in Spain it’s not like this. They are very close and don’t want to have a conversation with you, don’t want to be your friend; they just want to be with Chinese people. But I think in Italy, like, the south of Europe, Spain, Italy and Greece, all the overseas Chinese are the same, they stick to Chinese people and are very close, and don’t talk with us. But in China, people are very different, they like to talk with me. (James)

This finding echoes the finding of the UKCOSA study, which identified that there were positive experiences once the negative expectations had been proved wrong (Merrick, 2004)

James’ feeling was also echoed by Patrick and Olivia, who appeared to be amazed by the politeness and cordiality of Chinese people, which did not fit with their expectation:

I wasn’t aware how welcoming Chinese people were, and how welcoming they were to foreigners especially. It was just the most amazing thing to be able to come here and think I feel welcomed here. I wasn’t expecting Chinese people to be as welcoming as they are. (Patrick)

People both on campus and outside the campus, when they meet you, they are very, very polite. For example, people always let you go first, or hold the door for you, or just say ‘after you’, and I mean we do that in the West as well, it is not like what I was expecting it to be. (Olivia)

According to Iredale (1994), the power of the experience of living abroad lies in the enormous changes in perception that new cultural and educational experiences can effect. While the process of these changes may occur through a form of reflexivity by which learners can see the culture and social identities of others in a new and interesting light, students’ intercultural experience with the local community in this study appeared to endow them with the skills of discovery, which, according to Byram (1997), refers to the ability to identify new knowledge and practices of a given culture, that is, the hospitality and acceptance of the local community in this case, which subsequently led to the international students’ new perception of local people. Similarly, Kaho was also impressed when she found that local people were respectful and showed interest in her culture instead of keeping a distance because of her nationality:

One thing that I was very interested by is that sometimes Chinese people asked me where I am from, and I said I am Japanese, and they say, like, oh, really, they will say 你好的日文 (‘hello’ in Japanese)，or something like that, I did not expect that, because I think when I say I am Japanese, Chinese people may look down upon me, but I have never seen Chinese people saying that; sometimes Chinese people say ‘Kon'nichiwa’ …oh, Japanese, and they only like animat in Japan or they only like the drama or music in Japan. When I heard that, I am so glad. I found that Chinese people were so interested in Japan, and the products in Japan. (Kaho)

This finding conforms to those of previous studies in that, student’s international experience is influenced by their perceptions of how well their cultural attributes are valued, accommodated, and how differences between their cultures of origin and immersion in the host culture are bridged (Cabrera et al., 1999; Walker, 2000; Thomas, 2002). In addition, amongst the international students, there was a strong sense that their experience of moving to a new social and cultural context enabled them to achieve a development in their perception of themselves

and others:

I think the taxi drivers are very knowledgeable people, are ideal teachers for me. I was surprised that ordinary Chinese people could enjoy freedom of speech as much as we do in the U.S. Sometimes I was astonished by the width and depth of their understanding about international affairs; a lot of people I met, they really understand international situations; they even know the operation of the government. (Matthew)

Matthew’s account lends support to Alfred, Byram, and Fleming (2003) concept of “the discovery of self through the discovery of otherness” (p. 109), which they argue can be seen as a growth spiral in that the process of learning to understand cultural otherness leads to enhanced self-understanding, which, in turn, supports greater understanding of cultural others. Moreover, international students’ accounts in the present study also indicated that the relationships and strong social networks built with people from the local community provided added value to their intercultural and international experience, as exemplified by James’s comment:

In my daily life I have Chinese friends; they always help me like if I needed something in the bank I don’t understand so I called them or if I had a problem with my homework, I call them or I sent them WeChat, and also there were some times they buy me a drink together or they pay for me to go to KTV. When I came in February, I was broke without any money in hand, and then I called my Chinese friend and told him I didn’t have a place to live, I didn’t have money to pay my rent, so they invited me to live in their house, and helped me a lot. (James)

This finding lends support to Bennett and Flett’s (2001) study, which suggests that the cultural identity exhibited by minority foreign students might give them access to a network of social support that can buffer them against the detrimental effects of stress and problems.

James’ a favorable relationship with his Chinese friends was a common phenomenon also found among other participants:

My language buddies and even other Chinese friends, I help some of them with their English, and they help me with my Chinese. So, we have relationships already; the friendships make all the difference. (Christina)

The accounts of the above participants reinforce Montgomery’s (2010, p. 126) assertion that there is a strong link between the role of the relationships students made in informal learning contexts and their improvement of language and cultural knowledge of the host country. These accounts further imply that international students developed their relationships with people from the host community to various degrees, ranging from socialisation, to friendship, and to intercultural responsibility in the process of intercultural communication, where intercultural responsibility could be regarded as a higher standard of relationship building. (Montgomery,

2010).