By Clarissa Bias, AMS Mentor
Imagine this: you’re walking around your school campus. Though you know it like the back of your hand, you stick out like a sore thumb. Here, people dress differently, the food tastes differently, and although you’ve been learning your second language since you were in elementary, you’ve still not perfected it. Now you spend your days sitting in long theological lectures hoping you don’t miss anything important your professor says. Your roommate is nice enough, but doesn’t speak your native language. You’re a few thousand miles from your family and are caught in a world of identifying yourself with your nationality but also somehow with this new country.
If you can relate to any of what was just mentioned, you have probably been an international college student.
College is difficult enough, but add onto that a new culture and language, and what ELL (English Language Learning) university students sign up for is really commendable. So whether you are an ELL student or simply have the chance to interact with one, here are some ways to encourage classmates or flourish yourself.
Get Connected
It’s not easy to build cross-cultural relationships. Whether you’re planning on being here just for four years or indefinitely, building relationships with locals is beneficial. Take advantage of the time you have here. Get to know the culture, not just the strange quirks about Americans, but the deeper values. Ask (respectful) questions. Learn from people who are different than you. This will help improve your language skills, but more importantly, help you establish a community in a place you may not call home. Most college students can probably relate to this!
On the flipside: if you have the chance to befriend international students, do it! Learning from someone culturally different than you is a precious experience. You will not only be a resource for them as they adjust to the cultural climate and language, but you will grow in unique ways as you get to know them.
Get Rest
Rest is something Americans don’t emphasize enough, and rest means much more than taking a nap or a bubble bath. It’s not simply physical: there are emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of it. As an international student, your brain is working twice as hard. Not only are you dealing with all the regular challenges of college life, but now add a completely new language. While it’s important to take advantage of opportunities to practice your second language, give yourself a break! Watch a movie in your native language, eat lunch with the other students from your country (and speak your own language!), do something that reminds you of home. Easing the part of your brain that is always assessing whether you’re making a cultural mistake can be done by spending some time with the people who really “get you.” There needs to be a balance, but rest is important. Taking time for yourself to reflect and pray is also vital.
On the flipside: if you notice international students bunching together, take a minute before you write them off as a clique. Think about how much you would value that time if you were in their shoes.
Get Help
Don’t take that the wrong way. It’s difficult to study in your second language; we get that. It’s actually incredibly brave to be an international college student. No one thinks you’re dumb for messing up a word or using the wrong pronoun in English. We’re just impressed you are trying.
That being said, LBC is here to help you! Don’t struggle through your assignments if you know there’s someone here who can help you. Don’t understand the meaning of a word or phrase? Ask one of those relationships you built when you “got connected!” Additionally, the school offers other tools for your service. The Ally Center is a major one. Need help formatting your paper to that ridiculous Western MLA format? Need some resources for getting through that 200-page reading assignment in “Bib Herm”? Or brainstorming for an upcoming project? The Ally Center is here to support you. We want to see every student succeed, so don’t hesitate to make an appointment at tutor.lbc.edu.
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