An Exploration of How a Self-Access Centre Supports Integration of International Students in a Higher Education Context

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my deepest gratitude for my research supervisor, fellow students, peers, questionnaire and interview respondents and my family whose enormous and endless support has been a source of constant inspiration and guidance throughout the completion of this dissertation.

DECLARATION

I [your full first name and surname], declare that this dissertation and its entire content and research responses is the result of my individual unaided effort, and no part of this dissertation has been submitted or published before. This thesis reflects my individual opinion in terms of the findings of the research on the topic of my dissertation, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of my college.

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ABSTRACT

The increasing trend of globalization as well immigration induces the percentage of the international students in the UK. However, it is crucial to highlight the fact that the international students usually face difficulties in their higher education in the English speaking universities terms of cultural, linguistic as well as educational differences. Language deficiency in the international students exerts negative impact on the performance of the students as well as it hinders their integration in the new cultural context. In order to overcome these issues, universities are integrating C101 in their educational system with the intention to facilitate the students with independent learning opportunities. C101 facilitates learners with wide range of learning activities to enhance their abilities to quickly and efficaciously adopt English as their second language.C101 play crucial role in reshaping the social as well as academic lives of the international students that are getting higher education in the UK. The study findings analysed that the C101 play exceptionally crucial role in providing independent language learning opportunities to the international students in order to improve their English learning as well as to boost their confidence. The study is aimed to explore the role of C101 self access centres in supporting the integration of international students in the higher education context of the British universities.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT…………………………………………………………………………………...II

DECLARATION……………………………………………………………………………………………..III

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………………………IV

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………1

Introduction1

Research Setting1

Rationale of the Research2

Potential Benefits2

Limitations of the Study3

CHAPTER 2: CRITICAL SUMMARY……………………………………………………………………4

Research Aim and Objectives4

Research Questions4

Research Plan5

Collection, Analysis and Quality of Data6

Summary Justification for Chosen Method7

Ethical considerations of the study8

Justification for changes in the 6011 Research Proposal9

CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………………………………10

Globalization and/or Internationalisation10

Problems and challenges facing international students10

International Students' Urgency to learn English in Higher Education11

Integrative and/or Instrumental Motivation12

Importance of a self-access centre in higher education13

Role of self access centres in preventing cultural shocks14

Role of the SAC in language development15

Role of SAC in supporting international students in the context of higher education15

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS………………………………………………………………17

Semi-Structured Interview Findings and Analysis17

Questionnaire Findings and Analysis23

Observation Analysis34

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION37

REFERENCES39

APPENDIX53

Survey Questionnaire55

Semi-Structured Interview Questionnaire61

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Introduction

Globalization has highlighted the importance of the speaking and learning of English as a second language (Sawir, 2005). A total of 435,230 international students have been enrolled at university in the UK in 2012-2013 as compared with 428,225 in 2010-2011 (UKCISA, 2012), this shows a 2% increase in the last year ...