What to Expect as an Asian Student Coming to the U.S. (Copy)
Photo by Afif Kusuma on Unsplash
When I was an Asian student from Taiwan studying in the United States, one of the first things I noticed was how often my American peers raised their hands in the classroom to ask and answer questions and to comment.
I had never seen anything like that before!
Growing up, I had been raised to mostly listen, sit properly in class, and follow directions without asking questions. Openly expressing my opinions ran the risk of being seen as showing off. All of these are the exact opposite of how I was expected to behave in the U.S. classroom!
But then, while I was doing my practicum at a local American public school, I observed little kids in pre-kindergarten. They were taught to raise their hands to answer questions from the teacher and share their thoughts. In fact, they were so excited to get picked by their teacher and were often praised when they participated in class.
This, I thought to myself, is the beginning of how students in North America behave so differently from students in Asia!
And this helped me understand why international Asian students have a particularly difficult time adjusting to the classroom culture in the U.S.
The bottom line is: Asian students are NOT less competent than their American peers. Their struggle to adjust to the classroom culture in the U.S. has a lot to do with the fact that they were taught and trained very differently in school growing up.
The Culture Shock Is Real For Asian Students
When you first arrive in the United States, you’ll probably feel like a tourist.
Everything is new. People, food, buildings—everything looks different. There’s a lot of excitement.
But things can feel very different all of a sudden on the first day of school.
In class, you might be shocked by so many arms in the air as people seem to compete to answer or ask questions and make comments. Your American peers may seem eager to want to make a good impression and make themselves known to the professor.
All of this is normal and expected in the U.S.
You might even be thinking, “Oh god! What’s going on? How am I going to bring myself to even raise my hand?!?! I probably look stupid just sitting here and doing nothing.” You might start to doubt yourself thinking, “Am I going to be able to survive here at all?” If you’re the only international Asian student in class, you might feel very inadequate, thinking there’s something wrong with you.
The reality is: Many international Asian students struggle in class when they are new to the American academic culture. You’re not alone in this.
To do well in an American classroom is not necessarily about your competence but more about the need to develop new skills.
The five tips below will help ease you into feeling comfortable—and even confident—in your new environment.
Five Tips To Empower You To Navigate The American Classroom Culture
Tip #1: Understand That It’s About Culture, Not You
Know that this is not your personal problem. Know it’s not an indication that you’re not capable of doing well in the U.S.
Remember the story I shared at the beginning? Just as you were brought up to learn by listening, being quiet and obeying instructions, American children are brought up to participate and ask questions. It’s only a cultural difference and you haven’t yet had enough exposure to being trained like this in the U.S.
It’s something you have the power to change.
Tip #2: Start Learning How To Participate In The Classroom
Focus on developing the skills you’ll need to participate in the classroom. Remember, you haven’t been exposed to this type of environment, so the goal is to recognize and accept that, and then take steps to become comfortable participating in the classroom.
These are the steps you can take to do that:
Before your classes, prepare one to two relevant and thoughtful questions ahead of time to ask the professor. This will help put you at ease instead of feeling pressured in the moment to think of intelligent questions to ask. It will also help you feel that you’re not missing out on what’s going on in class.
Next, practice the motion of raising your hand as if you’re going to ask a question.
After that, practice raising your hand and then asking your question.
Continue doing steps 2 and 3 until you feel comfortable with this action and can actually visualize yourself doing this in class.
Then, follow through by raising your hand and asking your question in the classroom.
The more often you do this, the more comfortable you’ll become over time. And before you know it, you might not need to prepare questions ahead of time or practice—you’ll be able to share your opinion and ask questions spontaneously.
Tip #3: Expect Many Opportunities To Introduce Yourself
Be prepared for a lot of opportunities to introduce yourself, both inside and outside of class.
Take some time to think about how you want to introduce yourself so that when the opportunity arises, you’ll feel at ease, and even confident, to talk about yourself.
In your self-introduction, you might want to include your name, where you are from, what made you want to come to the U.S. for school, why you want to take this class, one thing you like about your country and about the United States, etc.
Tip #4: Join International Student Groups
Join groups for international students and/or ethnic minority students. It’s not only a great way to meet new friends, but it’s an important venue where you can discuss shared experiences in the U.S., obtain validation, and empower one another to effectively manage new experiences.
Tip #5: Remember That It Takes Time To Adjust
It takes time to build new skills and overcome behaviors you’ve been taught your entire life.
Rather than dwelling on what you can’t do yet, focus on making small progress along the way.
Celebrate whenever you have a breakthrough - no matter how small it is!
It’s through this process you develop new skills and build confidence over time!
Schedule a FREE call with me
If you’re an international student who’s looking for help adjusting to the American academic culture, you’ve come to the right place!
Schedule a free 30-minute call with me and together we will discuss how I will help you reach your academic goals in the U.S.!
About The Author
Many years ago I came to the U.S. from Taiwan and studied in a field that rarely accepted “fresh off the boat” international students from non-English speaking countries. I’m Dr. Vivi Hua, Psy.D. and I help international students navigate the cross-cultural aspects of their experience in the U.S., so they can succeed academically and socially and build a life and career that they desire!