International graduate students' difficulties: graduate classes as a community of practices |
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Authors: | Hye Yeong Kim |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Second Languages and Cultures , University of Minnesota , S.E., Minneapolis, MN, USA kimxx978@umn.edu |
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Abstract: | This study explores the factors that cause international graduate students to struggle and these students' ways of dealing with such problems in light of sociocultural theory, which views learning as a social and cultural act. The findings show that graduate classes function as communities of practices in which classmates and professors mutually engage with each other, share a repertoire and engage in joint enterprises. The practices were not always transparent to international students, which became a source of difficulty and often led them to feel excluded. Peripheral participation comprised a significant part of some students' learning process and identity formation, but it allowed them to participate in course-related activities as fully as they felt comfortable doing. This study suggests a need for more sensitive and dialogical efforts by educators in higher education to provide better learning environments for international learners. |
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Keywords: | higher education international students ESL students classroom practices community of practices |
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