Just What Does It Take to Get International and Australian Students to Talk to Each Other?

Abstract

In the early 1990s, discussion of the overseas student programme expanded from its narrow commercial focus to include the concept of internationalisation; in particular, the view that the growth in numbers of international students is a significant part of the process of internationalising Australian university campuses. Clearly, for Australian and international students to benefit from each other's presence, the two groups must interact; yet earlier studies have shown that the students tend to congregate separately, within their own ethnic groups. (Elkerton, 1985; Burke, 1986; Nesdale and Todd, 1993; Nesdale et al, 1995). Burke concluded in 1991 (p.11) that “this potential (for increased understanding) is infrequently realised since the vast majority of overseas students have limited interaction with locals and leave with only a superficial understanding of Australia and Australians”. Thus, the evidence to date directly conflicts with the assumption that the mere presence of international students on campus automatically leads to greater intercultural understanding and awareness by both Australian and international students. It was this clear lack of positive contact (and, presumably, the resulting lack of enhanced intercultural understanding and acceptance) between the two student groups which motivated the present study.