First Year in a Multilingual University: Double Transitions 9811607958, 9789811607950

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Feng Ding

First Year in a Multilingual University Double Transitions

First Year in a Multilingual University

Feng Ding

First Year in a Multilingual University Double Transitions

Feng Ding Guangdong University of Foreign Studies Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

ISBN 978-981-16-0795-0 ISBN 978-981-16-0796-7 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0796-7

(eBook)

This work was supported by the Humanities and Social Science Foundation of Chinese Ministry of Education in 2017 under Grant No. 17YJA 880016. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

Preface

This longitudinal qualitative study investigated the major issues nine mainland Chinese students experienced during their first year in a Hong Kong university from the perspective of learner autonomy. The main argument of this study is that most of the problems or issues that new university students encounter in their lives and studies are closely related to their expectations of becoming more autonomous in university. This expectation may challenge their existing level of autonomy mediated by factors such as educational and family background. Empirical evidence gathered in this study showed that the participants’ autonomy in different domains was affected by factors such as educational and family background as well as their own perceptions of autonomy and their different focuses in university. The participants demonstrated various strengths and weaknesses and therefore reported difficulties and demonstrated growth in different areas, thus reflecting the complex nature of the development of an individual’s autonomy. The study concludes that school–university transition is a difficult process for most students. It may be more challenging for students going through a cross-border transition, which usually involves language and cultural transitions. The perspective of autonomy enables us to better understand student transition so that support can be provided to students in a more appropriate manner. Guangzhou, China

Feng Ding

v

Acknowledgement

This book is based on my Ph.D. thesis; therefore, my heartfelt gratitude goes to my supervisors Prof. Phil Benson, Dr. Paul Stapleton, and Dr. Lixun Wang, who are good role models and inspiring researchers and teachers. Prof. Benson coached me patiently along the entire research process with his expertise and genuine enthusiasm for the field of autonomy and his strong faith in my research ability. He encouraged me by seeing the “gold dust” in my research. Even when he was in Australia in the last year of my research, he was diligent in providing quality supervision of my thesis. I am grateful to Dr. Stapleton for being sensitive to my needs and generous in his time and support. He demonstrated to me his professionalism and critical thinking as a researcher and teacher. I also thank Dr. Wang for his support and detailed comments on my thesis. My deep gratitude also goes to Prof. Bob Adamson for his genuine concern and constant encouragement to me and other doctoral students. My heartfelt gratitude goes to all my participants in this project, whose names I cannot reveal in order to protect their privacy. I appreciate their efforts and unconditional support, as well as the valuable qualities and uniqueness they demonstrated. They taught me many things. Most importantly, they made me realize how important it is for us teachers and educators to treat students as individuals and to witness their growth with patience and genuine care. Each student is unique and beautiful in his/her own right and develops at his/her own pace. What educators can do is to provide a good environment and necessary support to students. Above all, teachers should learn to appreciate the autonomous ability of students. Last but not least, I thank my husband and son for their everlasting support and their tolerance of my absence during my Ph.D. study. Returning home is always the best way to release the pressure.

vii

Acknowledgement

1. This book is derived in part from an article (First year university students’ perception of autonomy: an individualistic approach) published in Journal of Further and Higher Education , available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/. DOI: 10.1080/ 0309877X.2021.1905154. 2. This book is derived in part from an article (“Free in Time, Not Free in Mind”: First-Year University Students Becoming More Independent) published in Journal of College Student Development. , available online: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/ 663310. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2017.0045. 3. This book is derived in part from an article (Walking like a toddler: Students’ autonomy development in English during cross-border transitions) published in System , available online: https://doi.org/10. 1016/J.SYSTEM.2016.04.003. 4. This book is derived in part from an article (Self-emergent peer support using online social networking during cross-border transition) published in Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, .

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Abstract

This longitudinal qualitative study applied a multiple-case study approach to investigate the major issues of nine mainland Chinese students during their first year in a Hong Kong university from the perspective of learner autonomy. The data were collected across a one-year period, covering participants’ pre-arrival in the university to the start of their second year. Data were collected through different methods, including semi-structured interviews at five different stages, participant observations, researcher’s field notes, participants’ journals, posts on social networking sites, and communication between the researcher and the participants through emails and social networks. Findings confirmed that going through double transition is challenging for most students and that the major issues the participants had come across challenged their autonomy in three domains, namely management of personal life, academic learning, and English learning, in the context of higher education in Hong Kong. Empirical evidence gathered in this study also showed that the participants’ autonomy in different domains is affected by factors such as educational and family background as well as their own perceptions of autonomy and their different focuses in university. The participants demonstrated different strengths and weaknesses and therefore reported difficulties and demonstrated growth in different areas, thus reflecting the complex nature of the development of an individual’s autonomy.

xi

Contents

1

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aims of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Research Questions and Significance of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 1 3

2

Transition and Autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . School-University Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Recent Research on First-Year School-University Transition . . . . . . Role of Autonomy in School-University Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross-Border Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chinese Students in Anglophone Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross-Border Transition and Chinese Cultural Background . . . . . . . Comparison Between the Two Types of Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Directions for Future Research on Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Learner Autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Definition and Dimensions of Autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nature of Autonomy and Autonomous Behaviors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conditions for Autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Autonomy and Educational Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Social Dimension of Autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Measure of Autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Directions for Future Research on Autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Operationalization of Autonomy in the Present Study . . . . . . . . . . . Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5 5 6 8 9 11 13 15 17 18 18 19 21 22 23 25 26 27 28 29

3

Methodology: Multiple-Case Qualitative Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Research Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hong Kong: The Broader Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hong Kong–Mainland China Relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Research Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . .

31 32 32 32 33 34 xiii

xiv

4

Contents

Data Collection Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Interview as the Major Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Direct Observation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Written Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Locating the Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Initial Contact with Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . First Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Second Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Third Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fourth and Fifth Phases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Framework of Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steps of Coding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Writing up of the Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reflective Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Building Trustworthiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Researcher’s Role in the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ethical Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

35 35 35 36 36 37 37 38 39 41 42 43 44 44 46 50 50 50 51 52

Profile of the Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Profile of the Nine Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dora’s English Learning Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dora’s Expectations of University Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fiona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fiona’s English Learning Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fiona’s Expectations of University Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hanna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hanna’s English Learning Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hanna’s Expectations of University Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Claire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Claire’s English Learning Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Claire’s Expectations of University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Natalie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Natalie’s English Learning Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Natalie’s Expectations of University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Justin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Justin’s English Learning Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Justin’s Expectations of University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anna’s English Learning Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anna’s Expectations of University Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

55 56 57 57 58 58 59 59 59 61 61 61 62 63 63 64 64 65 65 65 66 66 67

Contents

Serena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Serena’s English Learning Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Serena’s Expectations of University Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cathy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cathy’s English Learning Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cathy’s Expectations of University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

xv

. . . . . . .

67 67 68 69 69 69 70

5

Becoming More Independent in Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Life that Requires More Independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Need to Take Care of Oneself in Daily Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Life Is Less Structured in University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Balancing Social Activities and Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Learning to Set Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Learning to Make Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feeling Lonely and Lacking a Sense of Belonging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Social Context and Cultural Differences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . School-University Difference in the Student Management System . . . Coping Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Self-discipline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Self-reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reading Books on Time Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Social Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Growth of Autonomy in Life Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Autonomy in Life Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evidence of Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

75 76 76 79 81 83 85 87 87 89 92 93 94 96 96 100 100 101 104

6

Becoming More Independent in Academic Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . Selecting Their Own Courses and Learning Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . Entering a New Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Not Clear About the Evaluation Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Assessments: Presentations and Group Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Participants’ Development in Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Factors That Helped Them Develop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Students’ Hard Work and Self-Discipline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Social Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Participants’ Unique Coping Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Growth of Autonomy in Academic Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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105 106 108 110 112 114 117 117 118 120 123 123

7

Becoming More Independent in a Multilingual Context . . . . . . . . . Entering an EMI Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Listening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Speaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . .

127 128 129 133 136

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8

Contents

Academic Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Autonomy Development in the EMI Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing One’s Understanding of English . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Multilingual Context Complicates the Situation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Perceived Need for English in a Multilingual Context . . . . . . . . . . . . Life Was Complicated by a New Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Not Enough Opportunities for Speaking in English . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Autonomous English Learning in a Multilingual Context . . . . . . . . . . . . Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

138 140 142 144 144 145 148 151 152

Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . School-University Transition and Autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross-Border Transition and Autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Emotional Side of Developing Autonomy During the Transitional Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Interaction Among the Three Domains of Autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Autonomy Development with Individualistic Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Individual Differences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Different Priorities in University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Different Conceptions of Autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Family Background and School Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Social Network and a Supportive Environment in University . . . . . . . Double Transition and the Three Domains of Autonomy as an Interpreting Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

155 156 157 158 159 161 161 167 168 169 171 172 173

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Contributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A New Framework to Understand School-University and Cross-Border Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Contribution to Autonomy Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Contribution to the Understanding of Learning English in the EMI Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Methodological Application and Educational Implication . . . . . . . . Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Future Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . .

177 178 180 181 182

Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix A: The First Interview Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix B: The Second Interview Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix C: The Third Interview Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix D: The Fourth Interview Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix E: The Fifth Interview Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix F: Sample of NVivo Coding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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183 183 184 185 185 186 187

9

. 175 . 175 . 175 . 177

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Abbreviations

BA BEd CSSA EAP EFL EMI ESL GE GPA GQ HK PE PTH XDF ZPD

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Education The Chinese Students and Scholars Association English for Academic Purposes English as a foreign language English-medium-instruction English as a second language General education Grade point average Group QQ Hong Kong Physical education Putonghua (Chinese Pinyin), also called Mandarin Chinese Xing Dong Fang (Chinese Pinyin for New Oriental—a provider of private educational service in China) Zone of Proximal Development

xvii

List of Figures

Fig. 1.1 Fig. 2.1 Fig. 3.1 Fig. 5.1 Fig. 6.1 Fig. 6.2 Fig. 7.1 Fig. 7.2 Fig. 8.1 Fig. 8.2

Different domains of autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Multi-dimensional model of control in learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Framework of data analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Multi-dimensional model of control in life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Development route of the participants .. . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. . . Multi-dimensional model of control in academic learning . . . . . . . . . Three-phase development process in EMI adaptation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . English learning autonomy of the participants as demonstrated through their adaptation in the EMI context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Multi-domain model of autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Double transition and three domains of autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4 28 49 102 115 124 142 152 160 172

xix

List of Tables

Table 2.1 Table 2.2 Table 3.1 Table 3.2 Table 3.3 Table 3.4 Table 3.5 Table 3.6 Table 3.7 Table 3.8 Table 4.1 Table 4.2 Table 8.1 Table 8.2

Comparison between school-university and cross-border transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Mainland students in Hong Kong universities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Basic information of the 16 participants who participated in the first interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Five stages of data collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Participants in the second interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Participants in the third interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Participants who completed all five interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Illustration of the coding process .. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. 47 Coding sample (school-university difference) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Example of codes and categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Basic information of the participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Participants’ English learning experiences and expectation of university .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . 71 Summary of the nine participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 The initial priorities and changes in the priorities of the participants on an academic study and social activity scale . . . . . . 167

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Chapter 1

Introduction

Aims of the Study Transitioning from school to university greatly affects the development of individuals. The change in the educational system forces most newly entering university students to undergo tremendous difficulties, and this situation has triggered considerable research in Anglophone countries for more than half a century (e.g., Pattengale, 2000; Raines & Talapatra, 2019; Tinto, 1975; Wintre et al., 2006; Willcoxson et al., 2011). In the late twentieth century, a shift from elite education to mass education occurred in Western countries, such as the USA, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Australia (Schuetze & Slowey, 2002). This shift has led to the formation of a complex image of students in terms of their family background, previous academic performance, and educational background. Failing to cater to the different needs of students can lead to the failure to engage them in university life and their studies. Therefore, school-university transition has become a critical area of research since the 1990s (Ballinger, 2003; Turner et al., 2017). Most first-year students experience a great amount of stress and are unprepared for independent study in university (Krause & Coates, 2008; Lowe & Cook, 2003; Raines & Talapatra, 2019; Turner et al., 2017). Nevertheless, there have been few systematic research investigations into what these students have to go through in terms of becoming independent in their academic and daily lives in university, including how they manage to live up to expectations and standards. Furthermore, research on school-university transition has focused mainly on domestic students. Overseas students who also experience a language and cultural transition as they undergo school-university transition deserve more attention. The literature on cross-cultural transition focusing on overseas students has suggested that, as a general trend, international students experience more stress than their domestic or local counterparts during cross-border transitions because they lack social support from their parents, relatives, and former friends (Deng, 2017; Ding, 2017; Hechanova-Alampay et al., 2002; Kashima & Pillai, 2011; Lin, © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 F. Ding, First Year in a Multilingual University, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0796-7_1

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2009). However, most of the studies on overseas students have been performed on mixed populations, including undergraduates and postgraduates. These studies may fail to appreciate the fact that most first-year overseas students actually go through both a school-university transition as well as a cross-border transition. Chinese students account for the largest proportion of overseas students, therefore, research on Chinese overseas students has become commonplace. Nevertheless, previous research on the cross-border transition of mainland Chinese students has mainly focused on students pursuing studies in English-speaking Anglophone countries (Cheung, 2013). An increasing number of mainland Chinese students have been pursuing higher education in other places, such as Hong Kong (Gao, 2008; Yuan et al., 2019) that have not been studied to the same extent. Mainland China and Hong Kong share a similar cultural heritage, but the latter has been westernized to a great extent socially, historically, politically, and culturally after a century and a half of British colonization. The education system in Hong Kong “has been largely shaped by British models and practices,” and it has been maintained even after Hong Kong was handed over to China in 1997 (Ding et al., 2008, pp. 532–533). In most Hong Kong universities, English is the main medium of learning and communication between students and teachers and among students. With nearly 90% of the tertiary-level academic staff having earned their qualifications in Western countries (Li & Bray, 2007; Postiglione, 1998, p. 32) and a great percentage of native English-speaking academic and administrative staff, universities in Hong Kong differ remarkably from those in mainland China in their teaching and administrative culture. However, to date, few studies have been conducted on the adaptation of mainland Chinese students to higher education in Hong Kong (Cheung, 2013; Vyas & Yu, 2018). Several factors can cause difficulties in school-university transition and crossborder transition. The development of autonomy has been identified as an important factor for both types of transition. During the transition from high school to university, students are expected to develop autonomy and learn to think critically, in a new linguistic and cultural setting if cross-border transition is involved. Autonomy is an important concept that has been thoroughly researched in philosophy, education, law, feminist research, medicine, and organizational management, etc.; however, the research of autonomy in language education has generated the largest amount of literature among all areas (Benson, 2011, p. 4) and its findings are applicable to other areas. Benson (2011) argues that, in language learning, little is known about how learners motivate themselves during autonomy development and there is a similar lack of knowledge about the social and affective strategies they apply to deal with anxiety and the modification of their beliefs. Therefore, the experience of learners needs to be investigated from their own perspective. Benson (2008, 2012) also suggested that for students whose learning involves learning a foreign language, autonomy in learning definitely involves their autonomy in foreign language learning. Because learning is part of life, learner autonomy in learning is naturally related to students’ autonomy in their personal lives, for instance, how learners prioritize their tasks in life, including learning, how they

Research Questions and Significance of the Study

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balance between life and study, and how much importance they attach to English. Studies should focus on the process of autonomy development in a natural setting by adopting a holistic view to see how different aspects of autonomy fit together over a long period.

Research Questions and Significance of the Study The general research problem of this study is as follows: how can the construct of autonomy enable us to understand the school-university transition of students, and how does investigating transition help to understand the complexity of the concept of learner autonomy? I explore the experiences of nine mainland Chinese students to answer the following specific questions derived from the general problem: 1. What major issues do students encounter during their transition from mainland Chinese schools to English-medium teaching in a Hong Kong university? 2. How and why do these issues challenge learner autonomy in the management of personal life, autonomy in learning, and the learning and use of the English language? 3. How do facing and dealing with these issues present opportunities for autonomy development? Adopting a multiple-case qualitative approach, this study explores the development of learner autonomy over an educational transitional period, which involves both a school-university transition and a cross-border transition. Mainland Chinese students in multilingual Hong Kong face challenges in terms of autonomy in three domains, namely, management of life, academic learning, and the learning and use of the English language (Fig. 1.1). The double transition and three domains of the autonomy framework are based on an interpretation of the existing literature, which has until now been supported by little empirical research. However, this study provides a framework with strong empirical evidence. Furthermore, this study is the first to systematically examine transition from the perspective of autonomy and is one of the few studies that have investigated the long-term development of learner autonomy. Few social theories have looked into the social expectations of learners for becoming autonomous in higher education and how this expectation may be a real pressure on students, challenging both their academic and psychological well-being. The present study contributes not only to our existing knowledge of schooluniversity transition and cross-border transition, but also to our knowledge of autonomy in language learning in relation to autonomy in life management, as previous research has looked at autonomy in learning as separate from other kinds of autonomy (Benson, 2011). By following the transition of a group of students, we see the complexity of autonomy development in a broad socio-cultural setting. Exploring the ways learners develop their autonomy can be informative by investigating: (1) English language

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Autonomy in academic learning

Autonomy in management of personal life

Fig. 1.1 Different domains of autonomy

learning and communicating while transitioning from an English as a foreign language (EFL) context to an English-medium-instruction (EMI) multilingual context; and (2) the management of their personal lives and studies while transitioning from a well-structured to a much less-structured life in which learners have to take more responsibility for both their daily lives and their studies. In this sense, this study deepens our understanding of the multifaceted nature of learner autonomy.

Chapter 2

Transition and Autonomy

This study investigates the lived experience of a group of mainland Chinese students in their first year in a Hong Kong university, focusing on the major issues they encountered during their transition from school to university coupled with a crossborder transition. The relevant literature in both school-university transition and cross-cultural transition is reviewed with special attention to the research on Chinese learners. The rich literature on autonomy is also reviewed in this chapter. Proposed in this book is the notion that the construct of autonomy can provide a new perspective for exploring the double transition of the participants in this study.

School-University Transition In the late twentieth century, a shift from elite to mass education occurred in many Western countries, such as the USA, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia (Schuetze & Slowey, 2002), which led to a much more complex image of students in terms of family background, previous academic performance, and educational background. Thus, a need arose to cater to the needs of students from different backgrounds so that they could best benefit from university life. This issue attracted the interest of researchers which has led to investigations at both the theoretical and empirical levels to explore the factors that attempt to explain how best to engage students in their tertiary education. According to Tinto (1975), the adjustment of students to life in tertiary institutions has two processes, namely, social integration and academic integration, both of which are important to student engagement in higher education. Individual factors, including the family background of students, individual attributes, and students’ pre-university schooling experience, influence their engagement in academic learning and their interaction with peers and faculty. Tinto’s model is regarded as the most “comprehensive theoretical model of persistence/withdrawal behavior” to date (Hoffman et al., 2002, p. 228). Many studies have employed this model with some © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 F. Ding, First Year in a Multilingual University, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0796-7_2

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adaptations, focusing on different aspects related to the engagement of university students. Some studies have emphasized social integration while others have focused on academic integration. Yet other studies have reported successful educational interventions that aim to enhance the engagement or adaptation of students to higher education.

Recent Research on First-Year School-University Transition Researchers (Macaskill & Denovan, 2013; Naylor et al., 2018; Scott et al., 2015; Tinto, 1993; Willcoxson et al., 2011) have found that experiences students have in their first year are crucial because it profoundly affects their entire university life. The attrition rate in first year accounts for half of all attrition in all university years in the USA. A similar phenomenon was found in other Western countries. For instance, approximately two-thirds of attrition occurs in the first academic year in the United Kingdom (Yorke, 2001). Since the 1990s, school-university transition has been considered a critically important issue in many Western countries, such as Australia, the United Kingdom, and the USA, among others (MacFarlane, 2018; Naylor et al., 2018). Although a recent study in Australia reported that most firstyear students were better prepared for university life compared with those of two decades ago, it further concluded that many first-year students still found it challenging to “engage in university community” and “cope with university study” (Baik et al., 2015, p. 1). People have begun to acknowledge the fact that school-university transition for all students is often problematic and that first-year undergraduates have to undergo drastic changes in their beliefs, habits, and behavior (Naylor et al., 2018; Yang et al., 2011). Findings from empirical studies suggest that various factors are related to student engagement in tertiary education, including individual-related elements (e.g., student preparedness and compatibility of choice of the course or institution, among others) (Ozga & Sukhnandan, 1998; Merrill & Johnston, 2011; Turner et al., 2017), institution-related elements (e.g., organizational structure, policies, and practices) (Reason et al., 2006; Yang et al., 2011), factors beyond the institution (e.g., the gap between the secondary school and university, and social, financial, and cultural factors) (Nel et al., 2009), the social support of students inside and outside of the institution, and the sense of belonging of students to the tertiary institution (Ding, 2017; Ding & Stapleton, 2015; MacFarlane, 2018; Pittman & Richmond, 2008). Various studies with different focuses have followed and expanded upon Tinto’s model by investigating the factors that have resulted in student attrition or engagement. Another line of inquiry includes exploratory studies that have reported successful interventions to help enhance student engagement, such as establishing mentoring programs and transition workshops for first-year students (Clerehan, 2003), familiarizing university teachers with students’ performance in school through formative assessments portfolios (Smith, 2003), building connections among new students before their entry to university through an online social

School-University Transition

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networking site (Facebook) (Jackson, 2012), and establishing school-university partnership programs (Penman & Oliver, 2011). Ballinger (2003), who conducted an intervention to bridge the gap between A-level programs and degree education in the United Kingdom, found that independent and critical thinking is under-promoted in school, and that new students entering degree level programs need much support to develop independent thinking and learning ability. Chandler and Potter (2012) introduced an intervention strategy applied by faculty members targeting at-risk students in Australia. By applying mentoring skills, faculty members were trained to help these students become aware of better learning behavior that they could adopt, such as self-regulatory practice, creating study plans, and building confidence when seeking assistance. Students were given the opportunity to assume more responsibility for their own learning, although they also needed nurturing and support in their autonomous learning growth. Peer support has been found to be essential for a smooth transition to university life for many first-year students (Ding & Stapleton, 2015; Tao et al., 2000). Interventions have been designed by researchers or teachers to increase student engagement in academic or social life. For instance, programs such as peer assessment or peer tutoring have been designed to enhance the formal learning of students or integration into educational institutions (Timmis, 2012). Another example is Snowden and Hardy (2012), who attempted to enhance the engagement of first-year students by creating peer mentoring pairs between first-year and senior students. Although research on first-year undergraduates in some Asian countries is on the rise (Vyas & Yu, 2018; Yang et al., 2011; Yuan et al., 2019), very few studies have been conducted on the school-to-university transition in the Asian context, probably because the completion rate of students in Asian universities is not a serious problem (Webster & Yang, 2012). For example, attrition has not been a problem in China for a very long period because elite education has been the norm in Chinese universities. Entering a university is not easy, and students value the opportunity to study in a university. However, starting from the late 1990s, China shifted toward mass education, with an increasing number of students being accepted into tertiary institutions each year, implying that China is facing the same problems as some Western countries, such as a greater variety of students and more complicated needs of students. Thus, how to enhance the learning experience of students in higher education in the Chinese context has attracted the attention of researchers and educators. Tao et al. (2000) conducted one of the few investigations into the adjustment of first-year students in mainland China. They focused on the change in the different types of social support for first-year students and illustrated the importance of social support for their successful adjustment to university life and academic study. The strong family cohesion and group-based student management system in higher education, which is a unique feature of Chinese culture, facilitated easy adjustment. Tao and others (2000) noted that students who studied in Chinese universities had much social support to rely on, and the social support was positively related to their adjustment to university life.

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Role of Autonomy in School-University Transition Among the studies on school-university transition, autonomy has been implied or explicitly explained as an important factor to predict the persistence and engagement of students in tertiary education (Brooman & Darwent, 2012; Chandler & Potter, 2012; Macaskill & Denovan, 2013; Scott et al., 2015). Individual-related factors, such as individual goal commitment, educational plans, or career expectations, have also been reported to be positively related to the persistence of students in higher education (Tinto, 1975). Notably, goal commitment and plans for the future are important components of autonomy. Tinto (1975) claimed that the extent to which a family is autonomy-supportive or controlling can influence student performance in tertiary education. Compared with students who dropped out, students who continued their studies in higher education came from more autonomy-supportive families; that is, their parents were more open, democratic, and more supportive of their child’s independence. Apart from providing valuable support and advice, a democratic and open family usually encourages the children to demonstrate autonomy in decision-making and to take maximum control of their own life and academic studies. Psychological factors, such as the locus of control of students, have also been investigated and suggested to be related to the persistence (Munro, 1981) and performance of students (Murray-Harvey, 1993). Fazey and Fazey (2001) conducted a quantitative study among 393 first-year undergraduates in the UK to measure their pre-entry, autonomy-related psychological characteristics to predict their readiness for independent learning in university. They focused on three dimensions, namely, perceived competence, academic motivation, and locus of control, and argued that learners demonstrated their autonomy only when they felt confident enough about their competence to perform certain learning tasks. Their findings showed that most students were motivated to obtain higher education and understood that they were responsible for their own success in their academic studies, but the students also revealed there was a need for faculty help. The research proposed that teachers in higher education should try their best to nurture the development of student autonomy. Researchers (e.g., Ding, 2017; Ding & Curtis, 2020; MacFarlane, 2018) have also pointed out that many first-year students are unable to integrate academically and socially, and are unable to maintain a balance between their daily life needs and their academic studies, and have no clear future goals. Being unaccustomed to the independent learning style or independent life in tertiary education has created challenges for many first-year students (Krause & Coates, 2008; Naylor et al., 2018; Turner et al., 2017). These studies show that many students are unprepared for independent learning in tertiary education, and therefore they need more support from teachers. In other words, they need to be trained to be responsible for themselves. Underscoring this result, Goldfinch and Hughes (2007) emphasized the importance of self-reliance, time management, self-evaluation, and achieving goals after

Cross-Border Transition

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conducting an investigation of a group of 219 first-year undergraduates in a Scottish university to determine the relationship between the generic skills upon university entrance and their academic outcomes at the end of the year. The correlation was positive, confirming the importance of autonomy for first-year students because these generic skills are important components of autonomy. Using a psychological qualitative research methodology, Brooman and Darwent (2012) in the UK conducted an intervention study to develop reflective skills among a group of first-year students by asking them to write reflective diaries about their experiences, thoughts, and feelings during their first year of university. The rationale of this project was that independent learning is a norm of higher education, but the students may not be ready for this task and need to be trained for fruitful autonomous learning with support from the institution and faculty. Students reported their development in using effective learning strategies, controlling their own studies and requirements of daily life, and increased self-confidence. Wingate (2007, p. 393) proposed a “learning to learn” framework for the transition to university life. She argued that many first-year undergraduates experienced difficulties in adjusting to higher education because they were not well prepared for their tertiary education. They did not understand which type of learning was expected from them in university. Less independence was required of students in high school, whereas in university, they had to learn how to learn, to become independent learners, and learn that they need to construct knowledge themselves, instead of passively absorbing knowledge from teachers in university. According to Bacon (2002), as students do not know what is expected of them, the first semester is partially about understanding all the rules and regulations, including those of academic writing, presentation, and exams. To sum up, the locus of control, motivation, time management, maintaining balance between life and study, and setting future goals are the dimensions of autonomy. The above studies on first-year transition strongly suggest that autonomy is closely related to the adaptation and performance of students in university, where they should learn how to learn, and not only what to learn.

Cross-Border Transition The number of studies on the experiences of cross-border transition of international students have increased in the past two decades as a consequence of the “internationalization and marketization of higher education” (Evans & Morrison, 2011, p. 199). Many Anglophone countries, such as the United Kingdom, the USA, Australia, and Canada, have applied strategic plans and altered their priorities to attract international students (Andrade, 2006). The profit gained from providing higher education to international students has become an important part of the national revenue in these countries. They have had to make efforts to meet the ever-increasing competition in the international education market.

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To better understand this shift in priorities, Jackson (2008) conducted a comprehensive chronological literature review on studying abroad. According to her, the issue of studying abroad has been investigated by “applied linguists, interculturalists, cross-cultural psychologists, speech communication specialists and international educators” (p. 3). The academic, socio-cultural, and psychological transitions of international students have also been widely explored (Ai, 2015; Andrade & Evans, 2009; Deng, 2017; Guan & Jones, 2011; Li et al., 2010). For international students, their academic learning and social life are carried out through a second language; therefore, research on foreign language learning is usually integrated into these three types of adaptations (Andrade, 2006; Deng, 2017; Zhou & Todman, 2009). Related to this, overseas students’ language-learning experience in host countries has been investigated from various perspectives, for instance, language-learning outcomes, the learning process, the challenges and strategies of language learning and the cultural dimensions of learning a language, among others (see Jackson, 2008, pp. 3–6 for a more detailed review). Language difficulties in academic and social life are regarded as the biggest issue for many international students and these have been widely researched (Deng, 2017; Zhang & Mi, 2010). Researchers have found that overseas university students experience different degrees of difficulties in four areas of English language, namely listening (understanding lectures and tutorial), speaking (expressing opinions and doing presentation), reading (reading course-related materials in efficient way), and writing (academic writing), all of which can affect their academic performance (Bretag et al., 2002; Ding & Stapleton, 2016; Guan & Jones, 2011; Hellsten & Prescott, 2004; Li et al., 2010; Zhang & Mi, 2010). Adapting to a new culture can also profoundly affect the social and personal adjustment of international students (Andrade & Evans, 2009). Lin and Yi (1997) argued that peer support is an important buffer to the loneliness and homesickness of international students, which is also supported by other studies (see Ding & Stapleton, 2015). International students experience more stress than their domestic or local counterparts in this critical development period because they do not have as much social support as domestic students do being far away from their parents, relatives, and friends (Ding & Curtis, 2020; Hechanova-Alampay et al., 2002; Lin, 2009). First-year international students may endure the most stress among all international students because they experience a double transition: cross-border and school-university (Ding, 2017). Nevertheless, the current number of studies investigating the transition of first-year international students is still limited. As Chinese overseas students account for the largest proportion of all international students in Anglophone countries (Jin & Cortazzi, 2011), a large amount of cross-border research has inquired into the transition of overseas Chinese students, as illustrated in the next subsection.

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Chinese Students in Anglophone Countries More and more Chinese students choose to pursue their higher education in Western countries because of the economic development of China and the global expansion of higher education. Chinese students who went abroad starting from the end of the 1990s were from various backgrounds, with some elite students, but many more were those who could not gain admission into Chinese universities because of their low scores in the matriculation examination. However, their families were financially able to send them to study in other countries. Many of these students were accepted by foreign universities as long as they reached the required English proficiency level (Jin & Cortazzi, 2006, p. 18). However, the level was often reduced by host universities to attract more international students to pad their bottom lines (Coley, 1999). Students who were not admitted to Chinese universities and had to pursue their higher education in other countries tend to demonstrate a variety of personal attributes. As I have had several years of experience of teaching students in joint programs between Chinese universities and those from other English-speaking countries, I am aware that some of these students are not motivated to study. Many of them do not voluntarily travel abroad, but do so to fulfill the expectations of their families. Some of them do not have good learning habits or their English is insufficient for them to function well in an English language environment, although they meet the lowest entry level. All of these attributes put these students in a very disadvantageous position when they enter a foreign university. At the same time, teaching this group of students is a challenging or even a discouraging experience for teaching staff in the host university (Edwards et al., 2007). Many Chinese learners are labeled as passive learners: being quiet in the classroom, lacking independent thinking, and attaching great importance to rote learning. The negative learning behavior of Chinese students is usually explained to be the result of traditional Confucian heritage, which emphasizes the authority of teachers and the importance of rote learning, instead of independent thinking (Biggs, 1996, in Watkins & Biggs, 1996). However, research on Confucian heritage demonstrates that the essence of Confucian teaching promotes independence of mind (Jin & Cortazzi, 2006; Watkins & Biggs, 1996) and encourages the autonomy of students (Wu, 2011). Biggs (1996) claims that Chinese students actually have a strong preference for high-level, meaning-based learning strategies and attempt to avoid rote learning, and tend to adopt a deep learning approach even more frequently than their Western counterparts (Biggs, 1996 in Watkins & Biggs, 1996). Attributing the learning behavior of students to their national culture has been labeled “the large culture” approach by Holliday (1999), which suggests a cultural essentialist mentality. This approach was criticized for regarding culture as something fixed, and for viewing people from the same cultural background as a homogeneous group with few individual differences. Researchers have attempted to demonstrate the uniqueness of Chinese learners and their unique culture of learning by examining the learning practices in Chinese

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schools and universities in mainland China (Jin & Cortazzi, 2006; Marton et al., 2005) or in other contexts, such as Hong Kong (Chan, 2008; Chan & Rao, 2009; Watkins & Biggs, 1996, 2001). Research shows that Chinese learners are industrious and highly motivated to study (Lee, 1996, in Watkins & Biggs, 1996), and they value effort over ability (Watkins & Biggs, 1996). Watkins (1996) adopted a developmental perspective and conducted a qualitative investigation into the change in learning styles of students in several Hong Kong public English-Chinese secondary schools. The author found that students changed both their learning intention and learning strategies over time. Students in senior schools demonstrated more independent thinking than junior students, and they assumed more responsibility for their learning. Although junior students relied heavily on rote memorization, senior students focused more on understanding. A continuum of growth from memorization to understanding was observed from junior to senior school. Watkins (1996) suggested that Chinese learners have no fixed profiles because the image of Chinese learners changes constantly as they mature, and they demonstrate different attributes in different contexts. Only a developmental approach can help to understand the reality behind Chinese learners. Gieve and Clark (2005) echoed this argument by investigating the responses of 37 Chinese and 24 European students in a self-directed learning program in Britain that required a high level of learning autonomy. He investigated how Chinese students could meet the expectations to demonstrate more autonomy in the British higher education context. The findings indicate that Chinese students demonstrated similar acceptance and enjoyed the benefits of autonomous learning as much as their European counterparts. Gieve and Clark (2005) argued that the learning methods and demonstration of autonomy of students are more contextually situated rather than culturally determined. They found that the large culture and the culture-determinist approaches toward the study of international students usually consider Asian culture as problematic and thus Asian students require assistance. Teachers and educators should adapt their teaching styles to Asian students and treat them as different individuals in the same way that they address the differences in any group of students, including Anglophone students. Clark and Gieve (2006) continued their criticism of the large culture approach and proposed a socio-cultural approach, namely, the small culture approach, to explain the learning behavior of international students in a foreign educational context. They suggested that more attention should be paid to the socialization process of international students into a new learning community instead of focusing too much on the culture behind them. Many recent studies have applied the small culture approach, downplaying the influence of the ethnic culture on students and focusing more on the effect of the changing educational context and educational practice on learners. For instance, there has been a shift in English learning strategies of Chinese students (from product-oriented to process-oriented) as a result of the modified assessment style in the United Kingdom (Jiang & Sharpling, 2011); the increased participation and articulation of students in Chinese classrooms as a result of the decision-making powers being given to them by the teacher (Xie, 2010; Zhang & Head, 2009); and

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the change in learning behavior of overseas Chinese students after gaining familiarity with the academic community in the United Kingdom (Zeng, 2011). By comparing Chinese students at home with those in the United Kingdom (Gu & Schweisfurth, 2006) and Chinese and Australian students, researchers (Heffernan et al., 2011), again demonstrated that the learning styles of Chinese students are mediated by contextual settings and personal factors. Studies have also shown that the often reported reticence and unwillingness to communicate demonstrated by Chinese students in EFL and ESL classes are partially caused by their low English proficiency (Ai, 2015; Cao, 2011; Deng, 2017; Jackson, 2002) and foreign language anxiety experienced by many language learners across the world (Liu & Jackson, 2008). Thus, a homogeneous cultural approach fails to explain the complexity of changing behavior of students in accordance with the contextual factors. Researchers (e.g., Hellstén, 2008) have proposed an international pedagogy to address the interests of and differences in international students in multicultural higher education while discussing the sustainable development of internationalization of higher education. They have suggested that teachers in host institutions should exert more effort to prepare overseas students for out of class learning to increase students’ “confidence in their autonomous learning skills” (Rastall, 2006, p. 4), instead of focusing too much on the cultural background of the students. Thus, the small cultural approach may help researchers and educators to focus more on what they could and should do to provide quality education to all types of students.

Cross-Border Transition and Chinese Cultural Background Previous research on cross-border transition has mainly focused on students who pursued their studies in English-speaking Anglophone countries. However, an increasing number of students have chosen to study in universities in Singapore and Hong Kong in recent years. Although Singapore and Hong Kong are considered Confucian heritage cultures, and enjoy many cultural similarities with mainland China, the political, economic, and educational systems are different from those in mainland China. One important feature of higher education in both Singapore and Hong Kong is that English is the main medium of instruction. Therefore, more research needs to be conducted on the adjustment of mainland Chinese students who study in these two regions. Only a few current studies have been conducted on the adaptation of students to higher education in these two regions. Two studies have explored the adaptation of mainland Chinese students in Singapore. Tsang (2001) found that the personal characteristics of students, such as pre-departure knowledge, language competence, self-efficacy, extroversion, association with locals, and social support, all significantly affected their adjustment. Although the participants noticed similarities between Singapore and mainland China, adjusting to this foreign place required some time. Dimmock and Leong (2010) determined there were pull and push factors that contributed to the decisionmaking of those who chose to study in Singapore, and reported the difficulties of

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mainland Chinese students in adjusting to the more independent learning style in Singapore universities. In another study on 19 students from different cohorts including exchange students from mainland Chinese universities, Xie (2010) investigated the societal, economic, educational, familial, and personal reasons for those students to choose to study in Hong Kong, and their adaptation process in a Hong Kong university. The students adopted different strategies to overcome the difficulties they encountered while studying in Hong Kong. Adopting a quantitative approach, Cheung (2013) examined the adaptation of mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong by investigating the language, academic, socio-cultural, and financial adjustments of mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong universities. He found that many mainland Chinese students considered the adjustment and socializing in the local circle of Hong Kong students difficult because of the cultural difference and the need to speak Cantonese. Consistent with previous literature on cross-cultural adaptation, the study demonstrates that mainland students encounter challenges in all four areas of English skills. Changing from learning English as a subject to learning through English poses difficulties to students in academic study, and this is further complicated by the change in teaching and learning styles. However, neither Xie (2010) nor Cheung (2013) focused on the first-year experience of students as their participants involved students from different levels. Evans and Morrison (2011) investigated the language-related challenges of firstyear students in a Hong Kong University to determine the implications for the teaching of English for specific purposes. Their study revealed that the participants experienced mainly four particular language-related problems in their first year of study, including “understanding technical vocabulary, comprehending lectures, achieving an appropriate academic style and meeting institutional and disciplinary requirements” (Evans & Morrison, 2011, p. 198). Evans (2011, p. 204) also suggested that the medium of instruction background of the students is one of the most crucial factors that affect their adjustment to English-medium instruction (EMI) in university. In the study, it was found that students from the English-medium schools in Hong Kong experienced fewer difficulties in their transition to higher education than their counterparts from Chinese-medium schools. The students from Chinese-medium schools struggled with EMI higher education because of insufficient preparation for EMI academic learning. No proper training was provided to the students in this aspect. Adaptation to EMI appeared to be a “sink or swim” game for them, which has been a common phenomenon in other EMI higher educational contexts such as Europe and East Asia (Erling & Hilgendorf, 2006; Evans, 2011; Murray & Dingwall, 2001; Tsuneyoshi, 2005). Students managed to adjust to EMI teaching through “relentless practice” in reading academic papers and listening to the lecturers, despite obtaining little help from academic staff (Evans, 2011, p. 204). Nevertheless, the participants in Evans and Morrison’s study (2011) were exclusively local Hong Kong students, who have a decidedly different nature than mainland students. Although English is a taught subject in all public schools in mainland China, students’ exposure to English is more restricted than in Hong Kong. Despite the Hong Kong government’s change of the language policy in secondary

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schools from English-oriented to Chinese-oriented after the handover to China in 1997, the history of being a colony of the United Kingdom and its present status as an international city have secured the important status of English in Hong Kong society. Even in Chinese-medium schools, English is still emphasized and schools are encouraged to integrate both Chinese and English in their teaching as much as possible (Evans & Morrison, 2011). Therefore, if we consider the difficulties experienced by the participants in the study of Evans and Morrison (2011), students who come from schools in mainland China to pursue their higher education in Hong Kong would certainly experience similar language-related problems if not even more severe problems than their Hong Kong counterparts. In addition, these problems could be complicated by the fact that mainland Chinese students experience a transition of social and cultural contexts while adjusting to the new local language, Cantonese. Few studies, however, have explored the adjustment of mainland Chinese student in Hong Kong universities, with Xie (2010), Cheung (2013), and Vyas and Yu (2018) being notable exceptions. In sum, research on the cross-border transition of Chinese students in Anglophone countries, Singapore, and Hong Kong has identified three main problems in their studies abroad. First, their English learning experience in mainland China does not prepare them well for their overseas study and life. Second, they lack certain independent study skills to meet the requirements of academic learning and are not prepared for autonomous learning. Third, they have difficulties in adapting to the local culture. The findings on cross-border transition align with those of school-university transition except for the differences related to cultural adaptation. However, research on school-to-university transition has mainly focused on students in L1 (nativetongue) contexts, i.e., where language challenges do not exist, and tends to ignore overseas students studying in their L2 (second language), who experience a greater cultural transition.

Comparison Between the Two Types of Transitions Table 2.1 summarizes the similarities and differences between the major findings in both school-university and cross-border transitions. Research in both areas has been triggered by the expansion and marketization of higher education globally, and it has explored the socio-cultural and academic adaptations of students, except that the participants are different. Cross-border transition focuses on international students, whereas school-university transition focuses almost entirely on domestic students in a specific country. Students in cross-border transitions experience more changes. For example, they experience changes in culture, language, and level of education. Although a change in educational culture from school to university exists in school-university transitions, the change is mainly within the same broad cultural system since the transition is within the same country. For international students, however, the change in

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Table 2.1 Comparison between school-university and cross-border transitions Research area School– university transition

Cross-border transition

Time (nearly at the same time, similar reasons) Since the 1990s (expansion of higher education, massification of higher education)

Since the 1990s (expansion of higher education in China, marketization of higher education, growing economy, more students choose to study abroad)

Participants Students within the same country, mainly first-year students

International students (overseas Chinese students at different levels, mainly postgraduates and undergraduates)

Type of change Level of education (educational system) Becoming more mature in age

Level of education, educational system/culture, language Becoming more mature in age

Major issues and research focus 1. Social adaptation (sense of belonging: friendship, social support, social network, etc.) 2. Academic adaptation: teaching style, independent learning, change of learning behavior, academic writing 1. Socio-cultural adaption (culture shock, loneliness, social network, etc.) 2. Academic adaptation: teaching style, independent learning, change in learning behavior, academic writing 3. Development of language

language of instruction, educational culture, and the broader society complicates the transition. For academic adaptation, students in both transitions have nearly the same experience, such as experiencing change in teaching and learning styles, becoming more independent in life and learning, having new tasks such as academic writing, and so on. Independent learning is not only a problem that overseas students encounter, it is also a major challenge for Western learners transitioning from school to university in their own countries. Nevertheless, international students have to deal with this issue in a foreign language and a new culture, and therefore may experience more challenges than domestic students. Despite all of the differences, the central theme of these two transitions is the same: students are experiencing an important stage in their personal development and are becoming more mature in age; they are also becoming more independent in conducting both their daily lives and their academic studies. Autonomy is an important concept used to discuss the difficulties or achievements of international students in cross-border transition research. Whether international students, particularly Asian students including Chinese students, can adjust to the autonomous way

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of learning has long been debated. As discussed above, autonomy is also regarded as an important factor to predict student engagement in higher education. Thus, school-university transition is a particular kind of experience for first-year international students because it also involves cross-border transition. For international students, these two types of transitions are combined into one, implying that they experience changes in both transitions and require the demonstration of a greater degree of autonomy to cope with the challenges.

Directions for Future Research on Transition Autonomy has been identified as a crucial individual attribute directly related to the adjustment of students to tertiary education and has effect on the learning outcomes. However, no systematic and comprehensive study has been conducted to date to understand (1) how the construct of autonomy can explain the difficulties and challenges students go through during their school-university transition, and (2) how the sudden increase in the amount of decision-making, a very important component of autonomy required of students in university, may be stressful for students. Furthermore, little research has been conducted on the language and cultural issues in the field of autonomy for cross-border students. University students are considered more autonomous than high school students, which is also true for students who simultaneously experience cross-border transition. However, no study has examined whether autonomy comes to students naturally or whether students gain autonomy only after enduring considerable difficulties. In addition, most studies on school-university transition have been quantitative in nature, so a number of researchers, after conducting quantitative research, have recommended in-depth qualitative research into the experiences of first-year students to better understand the issue of transition (Evans, 2011; Lin & Reinders, 2019; Scott et al., 2015; Webster & Yang, 2012; Willcoxson et al., 2011). Thus, more qualitative studies that focus on the students’ experiences in a natural setting that considers their voice and observes their experiences in the process of transitioning into higher education learning are necessary. Further, a socio-cultural approach should be adopted to gain a holistic view on the adaptation process of students into higher education (Marshall et al., 2012), and to address questions such as how do these students perceive and deal with their experiences? how did their previous schooling, family, and personal attributes influence their adjustment? and how is their experience shaped by the present educational, social, and cultural contexts? As autonomy has been proposed as a feasible construct to understand the transitional experiences of students, a detailed review of the literature on autonomy is provided in the next section.

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Learner Autonomy Introduction Long before the concept of autonomy was introduced into the educational field, the concept had been heatedly discussed and debated by philosophers and psychologists alike. For instance, Galileo in the sixteenth century emphasized the importance of learner autonomy and stated, “You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself.” Jean-Jacques Rousseau from the eighteenth century argued in his book Emile that human beings should be educated according to their natural impulses and inclinations to seek independence from the very beginning of life (cited in Benson, 2011). This idea was echoed by many important educators. Karl Heinrich Gottfried Witte from Germany in the nineteenth century and Montessori (1870–1952) from Italy conducted research on child education and stated that good education should follow human nature by suggesting that human beings are curious by nature and want to be independent in thinking and learning from the very beginning of life. Karl Witte documented how he educated his son Johann Karl Witte in the book The Education of Karl Witte, which was regarded in China as an influential book to teach young parents how to educate their children.1 Senior Karl Witte always taught his son based on his son’s interests. He suggested that the growing process of a child is a one of becoming independent and autonomous, and that caretakers and educators should create a free environment for the child to pursue his/her curiosity and help him/her to achieve autonomy. Another early influence on the theory of autonomy was psychologist George Kelly (cited in Benson, 2011), who, in 1963, proposed personal construct theory. This theory was developed into the constructivist view of learning: “knowledge cannot be taught but must be constructed by the learner” (Candy, 1991, p. 252). Constructivist approaches to the psychology of learning assume that effective learning begins from the active participation of learners in the process of learning, including decision-making on the content and process of learning. Constructivists believe that learners become more motivated and the learning process becomes more interesting to them if they share more responsibility for their own learning. Innovation in education from behaviorist teaching to more humanistic teaching occurred in the 1970s and the 1980s. The change in theories behind teaching led directly to the change in the roles of the teacher and the student, from a teachercentered mode of teaching to a more learner-centered mode. Learning is more effective and efficient only when the learners, rather than the teacher, have more responsibilities and become more autonomous in the learning process. A detailed review on autonomy is conducted in the subsequent sections, focusing on themes relevant to the present study, such as the definition of autonomy and the dimensions of autonomy, the conditions for autonomy and its feasibility in specific contexts, autonomy and culture, and social dimensions of autonomy. Although 1

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Witte

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autonomy is an important concept in other areas such as philosophy, law, feminist research, medicine and organizational management, etc., autonomy in language learning has generated the largest amount of literature among all areas (Benson, 2011, p. 4). Therefore, the literature on autonomy reviewed in this study is mainly from the field of language education.

Definition and Dimensions of Autonomy The concept of learner autonomy was originally implemented in adult education by the Council of Europe at the end of the 1970s, aiming to equip adults with the confidence and knowledge for democratic participation in societal affairs. Inspired by this trend in adult education, Holec (1981) implemented the idea of learner autonomy in foreign language learning. He defined autonomy in language learning as “the ability to take charge of one’s own learning,” which is to “take the responsibility for all the decisions concerning all aspects of his learning, for example, determining the objectives, defining the contents and progressions, selecting methods and techniques to be used, monitoring the procedure of acquisition properly speaking (rhythm, time, place, etc.), evaluating what has been acquired” (Holec, 1981, pp. 1–3). Although Holec (1981) emphasized the language-learning process of the learner, Little (1991) attached more importance to the psychological side of being autonomous and argued that autonomy is “a capacity-for detachment, critical reflection, decision-making, and independent action” (Little, 1991, p. 4). Later, Littlewood (1996) did not restrict his definition of autonomy to language learning, but considered it as autonomy that occurs in any situation. He defined autonomy as the “capacity for thinking and acting independently” (pp. 427–428). To him, the development of learning involves the development of autonomy of an individual as a person and as a student, with ability and willingness being the core components of autonomy. Thus, Littlewood (1996) developed the connection between autonomy in learning and autonomy in life. He suggested that these two are integrated. On the basis of previous research on autonomy, Benson (2011) defined languagelearning autonomy as “the capacity to take control of one’s own learning,” as he insisted that the construct of “control” was more “open to empirical investigations” (p. 58), which included the following three dimensions (Benson, 2011, pp. 92–112): 1. Control over learning management (in terms of the behavior that learners use to manage the planning, organization, and evaluation of their learning, e.g., learning strategies including metacognitive strategies). 2. Control over cognitive processes (concerned with mental processes, e.g., attention, reflection, and the development of metacognitive knowledge). 3. Control over learning content.

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Although many studies in learner autonomy are in the field of language learning, the findings, however, are applicable to learning in general. Similar to Littlewood (1996), Benson (2012) connected autonomy in language learning with autonomy in learning and then further with autonomy in life. According to Benson, “foreign language learning is a kind of learning,” and what lies beneath language learning is the learning ability of an individual. Teachers, educators, and researchers are actually cultivating autonomy in learning when they attempt to foster autonomy in language learning among their students. Moreover, they also usually integrate the personal autonomy of students (autonomy in life management) because “personal autonomy entails autonomy in learning” (Benson, 2012, p. 30). Personal autonomy pertains to individuals being autonomous in life, and the concept originates from Western political philosophy, which emphasizes that human beings can act reasonably and reflect on their actions. Personal autonomy lays the foundation for autonomy in any subject learning, including autonomy in English learning (Benson, in Lamb, 2008, pp. 17–18). An autonomous individual is someone who can “freely direct the course of his or her own life” (Young, 1986, p. 19). Benson (2008, p. 16) argued that the concept of autonomy in language learning should not be discussed alone, but should be placed in the broader concept of “autonomy in life.” He used the language learner as an example to demonstrate that a learner who is not autonomous in learning as perceived by teachers may be autonomous in life, and that her dependence on teachers at a certain point of learning should not be regarded as an evidence of lack of autonomy. A learner’s dependence may be attributed to her ability to direct her own life, but she prioritizes something else rather than language learning. Holliday (2005) also emphasized the need to include learner behavior outside of the classroom into the evaluation or investigation of their autonomy. Personal autonomy is self-determination and the ability of an individual to take control of her personal affairs. Individuals decide for themselves within certain constraints of society. High school students do not have so many decisions to make by themselves in terms of their management of life, for instance, arranging their own daily matters, including cooking and balancing life and study, among others. The dimensions of decisions they need to make for their academic learning are much narrower than those in university. However, university students need to decide for themselves both in academic learning and in personal life, and these two parts are interwoven with each other. Therefore, their autonomy in these two areas should be considered if the development of their autonomy is investigated. As English is the medium of learning and teaching in ESL or multilingual contexts in Hong Kong universities, omitting the autonomy of students in the learning of English is impossible. To conclude, when I investigate student autonomy in learning in this study, I have to consider students’ autonomy in life management as it becomes prominent in university and affects their autonomy in academic learning. In the special context of Hong Kong, student autonomy in English learning, which is embedded in their academic learning, should also be considered.

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Nature of Autonomy and Autonomous Behaviors Many studies, both theoretical and empirical, mainly in the field of language learning, have been conducted since the 1980s. In theory, researchers have attempted to establish the implications of autonomy, its legitimate position in education, and its feasibility for implementing self-directed learning in culturally different educational organizations and to identify the conditions for it. The following are some wellaccepted statements about autonomy: 1. Autonomy is not an inborn ability, but it can be acquired later by learners through “natural” means or “through formal learning in a systematic, deliberate way” (Holec, 1981, pp. 1–4). 2. Autonomy is not an “all or nothing” attribute, and its acquisition is a long, developmental process (Nunan, 1997, p. 92). 3. “Learner autonomy entails not only learning but learning how to learn” (Little, 1994, p. 41). 4. Learner autonomy implies freedom for ourselves; that is, the ultimate goal of developing autonomy is to empower ourselves to enable us to always transcend our personal limitations. Autonomy is the outcome of developmental and experiential learning (Little, 1995). 5. Pursuing autonomy is human nature, but autonomy does not mean isolation; our nature of being social creatures means that we will always develop our independence within the limits of our interdependence on each other (Kohonen, 1992; Little, 1995). 6. Learners accept the responsibility for their learning only to an extent that is within their present capabilities (Little, 1999). 7. Autonomy is a multi-dimensional capacity, which has different forms for different individuals even for the same individual in different contexts or at different times; the learning context influences the possibility and relevance of control; autonomy is a capacity, but not necessarily observable behaviors; autonomy is a developmental process (Benson, 2011). ... On the basis of previous literature, Candy (1991, p. 459) identified more than 100 ways to demonstrate autonomy in learning. Autonomy in learning is classified into the following broader categories (with some examples attached): Be disciplined: plan learning ahead, make effective use of time, establish personal priorities, be able to organize; Demonstrate curiosity/openness/motivation: be self-starting, be curious, be open to learning opportunities, confront questions and problems willingly; Be flexible: stick to plans—modify as necessary, be able to modify one’s own plans and behavior; Be persistent/responsible: be emotionally stable, objective, be organized, be selfregulating and systematic at work, tolerate frustration, have energy and determination at work, detect and cope with personal and situational blocks to learning;

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Be reflective: understand one’s own learning style and be willing to try others, know one’s own strength and weakness, and recognize when help is needed, understand one’s own values and interests; Be interdependent/interpersonally competent: be competent in social interactions, be able to work cooperatively with others, yet enjoy being independent in learning, be willing to learn from others and share ideas, know how and when to ask for help or direction, relate to teachers as facilitators; Show confidence: be able to disagree, be unafraid to be different, know how to achieve goals; Be independent: relate to others without depending on them, take initiative and work independently in learning, be able to work cooperatively with others; Be creative: be capable of original thinking, be able to discover new possibilities, be a risk taker; Develop information seeking skills: be able to “dig up” material, be able to choose relevant resources; Have knowledge about and be skilled in “learning processes:” be able to report what one learns in a variety of ways; be able to decode a message—textual, auditory, or visual; have developed skills in note taking, remembering and relating; Be analytical and logical: be able to organize one’s thoughts, enjoy questioning, be able to break general goals down into specific objectives and define criteria for their achievement; Develop criteria for evaluating: be able to select what is of value from the mass of information available, be able to evaluate data and learning activities. Candy (1991) listed different ways that individual learners can demonstrate their autonomy, the actual ways that learners can take control of their learning. These items will serve as indicators of one’s autonomy and will, and to some extent, guide the coding of data.

Conditions for Autonomy According to Wall (2003, p. 308), the realization of autonomy needs several conditions. To realize autonomy, one should have (1) the capacity to form complex intentions and to sustain commitments, (2) the independence necessary to chart one’s own course through life and to develop one’s own understanding of what is valuable and worth doing, (3) the selfconsciousness and vigor necessary to take control of one’s affairs, and (4) access to an environment that provides a wide range of valuable options. Elements (1) and (3) refer to mental capacities and virtues. Element (2) refers to one’s relations with other persons who could exercise power over others. Element (4) refers to the environment in which one lives.

However, formal educational organizations have no complete self-directed learning. If a learner wants complete autonomy in learning, he does not need school. Autonomy in any educational setting can only be confined within the constraints of

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the structure of the specific setting. As Benson (2011, p. 60) points out, control over learning content is usually a result of a collective decision. A good educational setting or an autonomy-supportive educational setting should try its best to maximize the space and provide the most opportunities possible for learners to demonstrate their autonomy.

Autonomy and Educational Culture As discussed in previous sections, a much researched area in autonomy is its relationship with culture. The first understanding of culture is national/ethnic cultures such as Chinese culture or Western culture. The second understanding of culture refers to the values people hold and the behavioral codes they observe in different communities, such as classroom or school. This understanding is usually referred to as the culture of learning, which is part of national culture (Palfreyman & Smith, 2003, p. 1). Riley (1988) first challenged the cultural appropriateness of the concept of autonomy in language learning, and this challenge was shared by Ho and Crookall (1995). They assumed that Asian cultures in general are collectivist, under which the authority and power are more acceptable; therefore, “[Chinese] cultural traits. . .may be an obstacle to the promotion of autonomy” (Ho & Crookall, 1995, p. 235). Young (1986) further supported this claim by claiming that the concept of autonomy is associated with independence, self-fulfillment, and freedom from external constraints. It is argued that judging Eastern culture with western notions, such as autonomy, could engender cultural imperialism (Pennycook, 1997). Researchers have argued that autonomy should be interpreted differently depending on the cultural context (Dickinson, 1996; Sinclair, 1997). Little and Dam (1998) considered autonomy as a crucial characteristic of humanity. Further, Little (1999, p. 11) argued that “learner autonomy has always existed independently of particular pedagogies;” “it is a human universal, . . . and as long as there are successful learners, there is learner autonomy.” Little (1991, p. 11) claimed that autonomy should be the “goal of all developmental learning.” However, we must also consider the features of the particular culture in which autonomy can either be enhanced or hindered in the formal learning environment. Littlewood (1999) pointed out that Asian students may show their academic autonomy in a different way because of the differences in the educational system. He separated autonomy into two levels, namely, proactive and reactive autonomy. Proactive autonomy, which coincides with the original meaning of autonomy given by Holec (1981), means that one is able to take responsibility for one’s own learning, including choosing objectives, methods, and arranging schedules. Reactive autonomy means that once a goal has been set for the learner by someone else, the learner is able to organize his/her own studies autonomously. In opposition to the idea that Asian culture is mainly unsuitable for developing learner autonomy, Kirtikara (1997) found that autonomy is encouraged in traditional

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rural teaching in Thailand. Pierson (1996, p. 56) also found roots of autonomy in ancient Chinese philosophy. He quoted the famous Chinese scholar Zhu Xi, who lived between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and encouraged autonomy in learning: If you are in doubt, think it out by yourself. Do not depend on others for explanation. Suppose there was no one you could ask, should you stop learning? If you could get rid of the habit of being dependent on others, you will make your advancement in your study.

Many people blame Confucian thinking for the seemingly passive Chinese way of teaching and learning; however, a close look at the work of Confucius suggests this view is wrong. Confucius not only recognized individual differences in learning, but also remarked that only those who show real interest in what they are learning can truly learn and be critical. He pointed out that reflective thinking is critical to one’s learning and emphasized that “they who know the truth are not equal to those who love it, and they who love it are not equal to those who delight it” and “seeking knowledge without thinking is labor lost; thinking without seeking knowledge is perilous” (cited in Lee et al., 2004, p. 141). Thus, independent thinking is an important feature of autonomy, and this is actually supported by ancient Chinese scholars. Wu (2011) argued that Confucianism is often wrongly accused of being responsible for producing passive learners and teacher-centered practices in Asian educational contexts including China. He claimed that the true Confucian ideology actually supports student autonomy and places student agency at the center of learning. Wu based his argument on the analysis of two classroom texts from the “philosophical perspective of language.” One instance occurred between Confucius and his students and the other is an excerpt from a modern classroom interaction between teacher and students. He explained that the modern educational system in China is a result of various reforms throughout history, as well as a “hybridization” (Wu, 2011, p. 571) of Western and Eastern educational ideologies. Wu argued that the Confucian method of teaching has long been marginalized or “lost in the name of progress and integration.” As mentioned in the review of cross-border transition, recent researchers on the learning style and virtue of Asian students have the tendency to adopt a small culture approach instead of applying the large culture one, which views an individual as the product of a fixed culture. Wu’s claim (2011) can be regarded as supporting evidence to show the inadequacy of cultural determinism for dealing with cross-border transition or studies on international students. Thus, a situated socio-cultural approach to learning should be flexible and also a feasible way to explain the learning behavior of learners, including their demonstration of autonomy.

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Social Dimension of Autonomy A recent trend in the field of autonomy research is to focus on the social side of autonomy, which emphasizes the significant role of the social context, including social relations, social support, and the social and supportive environment in autonomy development. The social side of autonomy in language learning and education was pointed out by Little (1994) with his notion of interdependence: As social beings our independence is always balanced by dependence; our essential condition is one of interdependence. Total detachment is a principal determining feature not of autonomy but of autism. (p. 81)

Little (2000, p. 18) extended his argument by adopting Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) to illustrate the conditions for the development of individual autonomy: “autonomy (independent problem solving) is the goal of all learning” and that new levels of autonomy are achieved only through interaction with others, for instance, in collaboration with more capable peers. The social side of autonomy was illustrated by feminist researchers (Mackenzie & Stoljar, 2000) through the theory of relational autonomy in order to criticize the overemphasis on “masculine” individualism in the traditional construct of autonomy. This theory proposes that, as social beings, our autonomy should also incorporate a social side. According to Westlund (2012, p. 59), autonomy should “be understood to be a relational capacity. . .[and]. . . it is compatible with human embeddedness in social and personal relationships,” and “in some important respects depends on these relationships.” This concept may be understood in two ways in terms of autonomy in learning or in daily life. First, individual autonomy, which means that individuals make decisions based on their preferences and values, is always situated in social contexts that enable individuals to balance their autonomy with their social relationships. Individuals can sometimes choose to be independent, but can also be interdependent with others because of their social or emotional needs. Second, individuals develop autonomy in social relations, as social constructivism proposes that learning and human development occur in social interaction. Depending on the type of learning and development, autonomy also develops in the process of interaction with significant others. Individuals can learn to act more autonomously with the guidance and support of more autonomous others. Their autonomy is protected and enhanced within harmonious collaborative relationships. However, their individual autonomy can also be undermined by their social relations when their individual autonomy is not well protected and respected. For instance, for children in a family with controlling parents, or in a school with controlling teachers, their autonomy development will be impeded and hindered. The social dimension of individual autonomy is supported and further developed by other researchers in applied linguistics (Aoki, 1999; Benson, 2007; Benson & Cooker, 2013; Holliday, 2003; Oxford, 2003; Palfreyman, 2006, 2011, 2014; Toohey & Norton, 2003). Shifting from the initial emphasis on the individual side of autonomy “associated with independence” to the social side “related to interdependence,” researchers have applied “social oriented theories” to explore the social dimensions of autonomy,

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namely, the emotional, spatial (space of learning), and political dimensions (Murray, 2014, pp. 5–6). In doing so, they have demonstrated that autonomy is a social construct socially mediated and usually developed “through interdependence and cooperation in social setting[s]” (Murray, 2014, pp. 5–6). Applying the theory of ecology, Palfreyman (2014) compared language learning to an ecological system, in which learners, teachers, learning materials, and the context interact with each other, creating its own ecology. Language learning is usually the result of these interactions. Autonomous learners are usually those who can use any resource in the ecological system. With the metaphor of ecology, Palfreyman (2014) highlighted the social dimension of autonomy and emphasized the “dynamic interdependence among learners and resources” (p. 191). This notion of a social dimension of autonomy calls for more research on learner autonomy development in the natural setting to further explore the interaction between the individual and the social and contextual settings.

Measure of Autonomy Considering the importance of autonomy in higher education, researchers and educators have long been discussing the need to assess students’ autonomy (Morrison, 2005; Scott et al., 2015). However, due to the complexity and multidimensionality of autonomy, many of these attempts have remained unfulfilled (Benson, 2010), and empirical evaluation of learners’ autonomy development is still limited (Henri et al., 2018; Macaskill & Taylor, 2010). In response to the need to assess students’ progress in attaining autonomy in higher education, Macaskill and Taylor (2010) developed a psychometrical measure of autonomous learning of university students, called the Autonomous Learning Scale (ALS), with 12 items focusing on two important sub-scales of autonomy: independence of learning and learning habits. Adopting this measure, studies have been conducted to evaluate the autonomy development of university students. For instance, combining Macaskill and Taylor’s ALS and qualitative data, Scott and others (2015) assessed the autonomy of four year-groups of biological students. It was found that students’ autonomy did increase as students progressed between years at university but individuals rather than cohorts mattered more and mature students were not necessarily more autonomous than younger ones. The authors suggested that qualitative research should be applied to understand the individual differences of autonomy development (Ding & Yu, 2021). Similarly, scholars suggested whether and how students’ autonomy can be measured is still debatable. Benson (2010), for instance, holds a cautious view towards the measurement of autonomy since it entails a set of dimensions such as personal attributes and skills, and individuals may demonstrate their autonomy in different ways. Nevertheless, he proposed a multi-dimensional model of control in learning (Benson, 2010) to help understand each individual learner’s autonomy development, which suggests an individualistic and qualitative approach to understand the issue (Ding & Yu, 2021).

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Directions for Future Research on Autonomy Few studies have investigated the process of developing autonomy in a natural setting and how different aspects of autonomy fit together and develop over a long period of time. Benson (2011, p. 197) proposed a holistic approach to explore the long-term development of autonomy of learners in a natural setting and to connect the events in classrooms with events in the lives of the learners. Huang (2009, p. 3) echoed this statement while observing that “research on the long-term development of autonomy is scant.” He conducted the first research of this kind by investigating the long-term autonomy development of a group of English-as-a-foreign-language learners in the Chinese university context. He suggested that more research should be performed in other contexts to better understand the autonomy development of learners across a long period of time. Furthermore, most research on learner autonomy has been conducted from the perspective of teachers and not from the perspective of students. Few social theories have examined the social expectations of learners to become more autonomous, and how this expectation may create real pressure on students and challenge both their academic and psychological well-being. When students transition from school to university, they are required not only to be more autonomous in learning, but also to be more autonomous in their lives because they are most likely to study in a university far from their home. They have to take care of themselves in nearly all daily matters as well as in their studies (Ding, 2017; Ding & Yu, 2021). Holec (1981, p. 33) suggested that autonomous learning should be introduced gradually into the existing system of learning and teaching in formal education by gradual training toward autonomy for learners, with learning support provided by the teachers without any radical alternation in the institutional structure.” The huge gaps caused by the transition from a lower education sector to a higher one could fundamentally challenge student autonomy. Responding to the need to explore the role of autonomy in both cross-border and school-university transitions and to the need for research to understand the development of students in a natural setting for a longer period of time, this study addresses the autonomy development of some mainland Chinese students as they transitioned from schools in mainland China to a university in Hong Kong. The double transition that students experienced requires them to be more independent and assume more responsibility for their studies. Will this requirement cause any setback to mainland Chinese students in their academic life? As emotional issues (e.g., anxiety, fear, loneliness, and homesickness) are closely connected with the intercultural adjustment of students (Ding & Curtis, 2020; Jackson, 2008, p. 84), how will mainland Chinese students manage their emotional issues while adapting to university life in Hong Kong? All these questions require an in-depth investigation into the processes involved as these students develop their autonomy while they adjust to this new educational culture.

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Operationalization of Autonomy in the Present Study This study aims to explore the autonomy development of the participants during a one-year transitional period. To collect evidence to demonstrate their development, the notion of autonomy should be operationalized to guide the data collection and analysis. Benson’s multi-dimensional model of control (2010) has been adopted in this study to analyze the autonomy development of the participants. The model was originally used to analyze autonomy in language learning, but it can be extended to include other domains of autonomy, such as autonomy in learning and autonomy in life management. Benson (2010, p. 80) suggested “three poles of attraction in regard to control over learning: student control, other control, and no control” over different dimensions of learning, such as planning, attention, learning activities, and so on (Fig. 2.1). The third pole (no control) is applied in this model to indicate that a dimension that is not under any control is possible. For example, planning for learning can be a result of the combination of control from the student and others (e.g., teachers and parents), controlled solely by the student or not controlled by anyone, in which case no planning for learning exists. The model has two important points: (1) autonomy in learning is multidimensional and (2) the dimensions are those of control over learning. No uniform dimension exists for different individuals, and even for the same individual, the dimensions vary in different contexts. Benson (2010, p. 83) maintained that having an “international test of autonomy” across different students is not feasible, but he suggested that this model could help us to understand the change in any individual learner over time in terms of autonomy. Using this model, we can determine, for instance, how students take control over their daily lives, their learning and their English learning as it changes from school to university.

Fig. 2.1 Multi-dimensional model of control in learning (Benson, 2010, p. 81)

Conclusion

29

The development of learner autonomy is regarded as a process of “psychological de-conditioning” (Holec, 1985). In the development process of student autonomy, we observe the gradual growth of control in students and the gradual decline of control by others. In the context of school-university and cross-border transitions, the dimensions of both learning and management of life expand considerably. When students attempt to adapt to the new educational environment in university where more learner independence is required, they have to overcome old habits of dependence on teachers and parents and make decisions on their own. Whether students are in control of all the new dimensions, and what they experience while they attempt to take more control of their life and learning is worth investigating. Based on the interpretation of the literature, three domains of student autonomy (English learning, academic learning, and personal life) are proposed as relevant in the double transitions of the participants. In this study, the dimensions of control in each of these domains are generated from the data to understand how students take control of these three areas.

Conclusion This chapter reviewed the literature in three areas, namely, cross-border transition, school-university transition, and autonomy. It has been demonstrated that autonomy is an important attribute that affects the adjustment of students in both cross-border and school-university transitions. However, systematic and qualitative research conducted to understand the relationship between autonomy and transition is limited. By exploring the first-year experience of a group of mainland Chinese students studying in a Hong Kong university, this study aims to fill a gap in the literature. Mainland Chinese students studying in Hong Kong universities experience crossborder transition while undergoing school-university transition. They experience both social and academic adaptations and are required to become more autonomous in both their studies and personal life. As English is the major teaching medium in all Hong Kong tertiary institutions, their autonomy in English learning is also included, as summarized in Table 2.2. Adopting a longitudinal qualitative research method, this study attempts to understand the transitional issues these students encounter and how these issues are related to their autonomy. To be specific, this study aims to answer the following three questions: 1. What major issues do students encounter during their transition from mainland Chinese schools to English-medium teaching in a Hong Kong university? 2. How and why do these issues challenge learner autonomy in the management of personal life, autonomy in learning, and learning and use of the English language? 3. How do facing and dealing with these issues present opportunities for autonomy development?

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2 Transition and Autonomy

Table 2.2 Mainland students in Hong Kong universities Changes experienced during the transition Change in culture (multilingual, multicultural) Change in educational system Change in educational level Change in language for instruction

Adaptation to be made Social adaptation Academic adaptation: (teaching style, independent learning, change in behavior, etc.) Development of languages (English & Cantonese)

This chapter has provided the theoretical framework of the study. The next chapter presents a detailed description of the research methodology adopted for this study, including the rationale for choosing the specific method and the step-bystep procedures of data collection and analysis. Ethical issues on performing the study are also explored in the next chapter.

Chapter 3

Methodology: Multiple-Case Qualitative Study

This longitudinal multiple-case study is qualitative in nature, with data collection lasting for more than a year. As this study set out to understand the experiences, feelings, emotions, conceptions, and understanding of students about their experiences, a qualitative research approach was adopted to “identify issues from the perspective of” the participants, and to study them in a natural setting (Hennink et al., 2011, p. 9). A case study is commonly used to answer the “how” and “why” questions “asked about a contemporary set of events, over which the investigator has little or no control” (Yin, 2003, p. 9). In this study, I set out to understand (1) how a group of mainland Chinese students adjusted to a particular academic environment in Hong Kong, and what major issues they encountered during their school-university and cross-border transitions, (2) why they had these issues, (3) how and why these issues challenged their autonomy in life, autonomy in learning, and autonomy in English language learning and using, and (4) how they managed to deal with the issues and challenges. The case study approach was adopted because all these experiences occurred in their natural environment. In a case study, an issue is usually examined through a specific case that can illustrate the complexity of an issue (Creswell, 2007, p. 93). A major strength of case studies is that it offers the “opportunity to use many different sources of evidence” (Yin, 2003, p. 97). It is “an excellent method for obtaining a thick description of a complex social issue embedded within a cultural context” and provides “an unparalleled understanding of longitudinal processes” (Dörnyei, 2007, pp. 154–155). According to Stake (2006), multiple cases are studied to investigate and understand a more general matter. In this study, each participant is a case. The multiple-case approach was used to understand the complexity of the experience of nine mainland Chinese students in their school-university and cross-border transitions, their problems, and reasons behind the complexity. As this qualitative inquiry intends to obtain a “situated or contextual understanding” of the issue under investigation (Willis, 2007, p. 188), a detailed description regarding the context of the real-life experiences of the participants in the transitional © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 F. Ding, First Year in a Multilingual University, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0796-7_3

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3 Methodology: Multiple-Case Qualitative Study

period is necessary. The context in this study refers to both the broader context of Hong Kong and the smaller context of the university where the participants studied.

Research Setting Hong Kong: The Broader Context Many mainland students prefer to pursue their higher education in Hong Kong because of its geographic proximity to mainland China, its internationally recognized high quality of education, and its unique features that combine Eastern and Western cultures, serving as a bridge between mainland China and the outside world (Gao, 2010). An increasing number of top students have applied to study in Hong Kong since the Ministry of Education in mainland China allowed the eight government-funded universities in Hong Kong to recruit undergraduates through the National Joint Colleges and Universities Enrollment System (Xie, 2010). The total number of mainland Chinese undergraduates increased at an annual rate of 38%, from 4348 students in the 2008–2009 cohort to 6315 undergraduates in the 2012–2013 academic year.1 In the academic year 1997–1998, only seven undergraduate students from the mainland studied in Hong Kong universities.2 The eight universities in Hong Kong have high enrollment requirements for mainland Chinese students who apply for degree courses. The applicants should meet the first-tier university enrollment in mainland China to gain admission into the universities in Hong Kong. Nearly all universities have specific requirements for the English proficiency of applicants as English is the medium of instruction for most courses except for some Chinese language courses. The minimum score for the matriculation exam in most universities is 120 out of 150 for English.

Hong Kong–Mainland China Relationship Although Hong Kong was returned to China more than 15 years ago, many Hong Kong people were reluctant to identify themselves as Chinese citizens. In a 2012 public poll, only 59% of Hong Kong locals regarded themselves as Chinese citizens compared with 63.6% who claimed to be “global citizens” and 68% who considered themselves as Hong Kong citizens.3 Many Hong Kong people distanced themselves

1

Apple Newspaper, 28/04/2013, http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20130428/18242744 Source: http://life.dayoo.com/edu/113887/201301/22/113887_28581159.htm 3 University of Hong Kong Public Poll, 2012. http://hkupop.hku.hk/english/release/release937.html 2

Research Setting

33

from mainland China, and resentment of Hong Kong society toward mainland China and its people has grown in recent years. Some Hong Kong people have referred to mainlanders as locusts because they compete with locals for “job opportunities and social welfare” (Chee, 2012, p. 93). The rude behavior of some mainlanders has also been a target of criticism. The anti-mainland sentiment was rampant between 2012 and 2015 because of the numerous arguments between Hong Kong and mainland people in public media, particularly on the Internet. Mainland Chinese students who study in Hong Kong universities also have to endure resentment because some locals believe that accepting more mainland Chinese students into Hong Kong universities decreases the opportunity for local students to receive higher education. In an online writing forum, a student wrote the following: “While others contend that Chinese graduates may stay and generate profits for Hong Kong. . . I honestly believe that importing students from the mainland will surely deteriorate Hong Kong’s relationship with mainland China, shade the future of Hong Kong students and lead to [a]misallocation of government resources.”4 The current study was conducted under such a broad shadow.

Research Site The research site in this study is the University (pseudonym), one of the eight government-funded universities in Hong Kong that specializes in primary and secondary teacher education. Nearly 84% primary and 30% secondary school teachers working in Hong Kong graduated from the university. The main focus of the university is on teacher education. The university also strives to strengthen its research ability and to develop itself into a “multi-disciplinary institution” (the university website). The university is now a tertiary institution with four faculties and three institutional research centers, offering bachelor, masters, and doctoral degrees. The university also provides a wide range of professional development programs to pre-service and in-service teachers. Many mainland students choose to study in this university because of its favorable employment prospects, with over 90% of its graduates securing jobs after graduation consistently for years. Graduates from the university, particularly education majors, are competitive in the Hong Kong job market. The university is located in the hills, far from the metropolitan hustle and bustle of central Hong Kong. The university is isolated, requiring an approximately 10-minute bus ride to the nearest town center. The campus is small compared with other universities, with only one canteen on campus, open from 7 am to 8 pm on working days and closed on public holidays and Sunday afternoon. Students who stay on

4

Buddy writer, 2010-1011 http://web02.carmelss.edu.hk/buddingwriters/index.php?option¼com_ content&view¼article&id¼971:importing-students-from-the-mainland-brings-more-harm-thangood-to-hong-kong&catid¼109&Itemid¼66

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3 Methodology: Multiple-Case Qualitative Study

campus have to prepare their own food on those days. The only library on campus is considered the best in Asia in terms of its collection of educational resources. Occupying nearly half of the ground floor of the library is the 7  24 center, which is open seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and nearly all year around. The four student residence halls on campus cannot accommodate all its full time students (4731 students of September 30, 2013). The majority of the local students are not eligible to live in residence halls after their first year of study, whereas nearly all mainland students in government-funded programs have assured places because they live too far from their home. In each of the four residence halls, cooking facilities are provided for students to prepare their own meals. This situation is unlike the universities in mainland China, where students have no place to prepare their own food and they have meals at the university canteen at fixed times three times a day. Compared with other universities, the University had the smallest proportion of mainland undergraduates at only 75 in the 2012–2013 academic year compared with approximately 1000 local students in first year (information from the Registry Office). Cantonese is the most widely used language on campus although the medium of instruction is largely English. The location and setting of the campus are important elements for the present study because they affected the daily life of the participants, including their time arrangements, social networking, and so on, which is explained in the later chapters.

The Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) CSSA is a nonprofit, voluntary organization composed of mainland Chinese students and is present in many universities around the world. Starting from 2012, CSSA in the University took over the Student Affairs Office to take charge of most issues related to mainland Chinese students. This organization exists because it is closely involved in the life of mainland students in the university as demonstrated in later chapters. One of its tasks is to assist first-year mainland students to manage their cross-border transition. For example, CSSA established an online social network called Group QQ (hereinafter “GQ”) for mainland students who study at the university to share information and to help them keep in touch with one another. Tencent QQ, commonly known as QQ, is one of the most popular instant messaging applications in mainland China, providing various services including micro-blogging and group/individual chatting. A group of people can create a group QQ for online chatting or information sharing. The GQ organized by CSSA comprised roughly 350 students. In the middle of October 2013, I received approximately 4000 pages of instant GQ messages, starting from September 2, 2012 to October 10, 2013. These messages provided abundant background information on the university life of participants, which helped me to better understand their experiences (Ding & Stapleton,

Data Collection Methods

35

2015). After a detailed elaboration of the research context, the research steps are discussed in the following sections.

Data Collection Methods Qualitative data are mainly collected using three methods, namely, in-depth, openended interviews, direct observations, and written documents, including correspondence, official reports, personal diaries, letters, and so on (Patton, 2002, p. 4). In this study, interviews, email correspondence, personal diaries of the participants, face-toface casual chatting, online chatting, and the researcher’s field notes were the data collection tools used to obtain a holistic view on the growth process of the participants.

Interview as the Major Tool In this study, the in-depth, semi-structured interview was the major data collection tool used at different stages. Each time, an interview guide (basic interviewing questions) was formulated to provide a baseline for all the interviews, but more questions were asked simultaneously depending on the responses of the participants. The interview was kept open to generate data from the participants with their own unique features. In my study, the themes identified in the first phase were construed as the basic themes for the second interview, and those from the second phase were the focus of the third interview, and so on. The interviews at a later stage were based on the information generated in the previous interviews so as to obtain a continuous story of the participants’ growth in autonomy.

Direct Observation In this study, direct observation was used to complement the data obtained from interviews to deepen the understanding. As I lived and studied on the same campus with the participants, I was able to have in-depth observations of the setting they were in, including their living and learning environments. Sometimes, I took part in their activities as this approach was an effective way to develop rapport and obtain a better understanding of their lives. For instance, I sometimes had meals with the participants, took a walk or went shopping with them, or participated in other activities with them. I also attempted to talk with some of their friends or fellow students to know them better from another perspective. However, I constantly reminded myself of my role as a researcher to maintain a sufficient distance from

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the participants to ensure a more objective view of the entire scene and to “separate interpretation from observation” (Hennink et al., 2011, p. 184).

Written Documents The participants of this study were asked to maintain a journal of the important moments in their university life. However, most participants tended to post pictures or journals in their QQ or Wechat space, describing the latest developments in their lives, which provided valuable data. This tendency of the participants helped me obtain a holistic view of their university life. Other means, such as casual face-to-face chatting or online chatting provided a great deal of supplementary information about the participants. For instance, information about the relationship of some participants with their parents and friends and about the stress they endured in the new environment when they first came to the university would not have been revealed if my contact with the participants was not in a relaxed manner. This casual communication provided timely responses and clarification to some of my questions about the participants. As speaking out in interviews or face-to-face chatting can be difficult, casual and online chatting provided the opportunity for the participants to confide in me more easily. Another advantage of online chatting is that the communication process can be stored without the added task of recording or transcribing. The communication between the researcher and the participants was convenient because of this technology. With QQ and Weixin (also called Wechat, a recent popular online social networking platform mainly used on mobile phones by mainland Chinese), I could chat with the participants when necessary. Field notes, in which I noted down my reflective thoughts in the process of the research, were an indispensable source of data. In the field notes, I noted down some important events and decisions related to the research. I also gave detailed descriptions of the context of some events or interpretation of the events that occurred during the interviews, observations, or interaction with the participants. The course schedules, assignments, and some relevant documents in the study and life of the participants were also useful sources of information to understand the academic, social, and cultural environments.

Participants Nine mainland Chinese first-year undergraduates from the academic year 2012–2013 cohort were the final participants of the study as they completed all the five interviews over the one-year period. As this was an in-depth longitudinal qualitative study, the study obtained a rich description of the development of the participants; therefore, the small number of participants was adequate for this study

Participants

37

(Yin, 1994). Considering the possibility of attrition, I recruited 18 participants in the beginning, three males and 15 females, from 10 different provinces in mainland China. Only nine participants completed all five interviews because of the difficulty to set a time for the interviews with some participants. This thesis was based on the data obtained from these nine participants.

Locating the Participants Purposeful sampling was used in the selection of the participants for the current study to ensure an “information-rich case” (Patton, 2002, p. 230). The method became a self-selection process in the end, because once the invitation letter was sent out, the participants had to decide whether to participate in the entire process of the project or not. The participants could drop out the research project at any time. To obtain information-rich cases, I chose the University, the institute where I studied, as the site of data collection because of the following considerations. First, I needed to establish contact with the participants before they entered the university, but obtaining the information of students from other universities was difficult. I had to rely on the Registry Office of the University to send the invitation letters to the potential participants as I had no right to contact the participants directly considering the protection of students’ privacy. Second, as longitudinal studies require intensive participant observation, I needed to develop rapport with the participants. Living on the same campus with them made this possible. Furthermore, different institutional backgrounds were not a factor that I wanted to include into the study. Rather, I wanted to demonstrate that, even in the same context, different participants could create different meanings because of the experiences and conceptions they bring into the context. According to Yin (1994), case studies do not aim to make generalization to a general population, but rather to expand the theoretical proposition. Dörnyei (2007, p. 126) also suggested that “qualitative inquiry is not concerned with how representative the respondent sample is or how the experience is distributed in the population, instead, the main goal of sampling is to find individuals who can provide rich and varied insights into the phenomenon under investigation so as to maximize what we can learn.”

Initial Contact with Participants As this study was a longitudinal one that focused on the double transition of the participants from high school to university and from mainland China to Hong Kong, getting to know the participants and interviewing them before they came to Hong Kong to start university life was crucial. I wanted to document their previous learning experience and their expectations for university life right before they left for Hong Kong. After I obtained ethical approval from the Human Research Ethics

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Table 3.1 Basic information of the 16 participants who participated in the first interview Major

Number and gender

Bachelor of Education (English) Six females One male

Bachelor of Education (Chinese) Two females One male

Bachelor of English One female

Bachelor of Psychology Two females

Bachelor of Sociology One female

Bachelor of Environment Two females

Committee at the end of July 2012; the Registry Office helped to send invitation letters to 75 mainland students who accepted the offer to study in the University to recruit volunteer participants. Considering that people are generally reluctant to respond to research project invitations, I asked those who chose “not” to participate in my project to respond to the invitation letter. This strategy is commonly used to nudge participants in the desired direction (Thaler & Sunstein, 2009). Immediately after the Registry Office sent out the invitation letter through email, I started to receive emails from the students. To my surprise, they did not send me an email to say “no” to my project, but rather asked to participate in it. I thought that they did not understand the invitation letter, but some students clarified that they understood the letter, but still wanted to send me an email to express their willingness to participate. By August 3, 2012, I had established contact with 18 participants, 3 males and 15 females. I hoped that the remaining 57 students who had received the invitation letter would agree to participate in my project. I attempted to recruit more male participants through Group QQ but failed. Considering the gender disproportion reflected that of the university, where the ratio of female to male students was 7:1 (nearly the same for mainland students), the result seemed reasonable. I contacted the 18 participants directly, by sending them the invitation letter again together with the consent forms, and scheduled a time for the first interview. Only 16 students, 2 males and 14 females, were interviewed before they traveled to Hong Kong because of the difficulty in fixing a time for the online interview. Table 3.1 shows the basic information of the 16 participants. As English is the main medium of instruction for students in all majors except Chinese (where fewer courses are taught in English than other majors), students from various subject disciplines were recruited. Although the required level for English is not the same for students in different disciplines, I considered English as important to students of all majors and autonomy in learning English as highly relevant to all participants. In terms of learning English, participants from different subject disciplines offered equal opportunities and value for investigation.

Data Collection Data collection lasted for one year: the transitional year of the students, and the first year is usually regarded as a phase for students to fully adapt to a new academic environment (Evans, 2011; Reason et al., 2006). The language of the interview was

Data Collection

39

mainly Mandarin Chinese to guarantee efficiency and accuracy of communication. English was used in the interview upon the request of some participants. Other types of communication, such as email and online chatting, were either in Mandarin Chinese or English, or sometimes both as the participants preferred. For instance, Dora (pseudonym, please refer to Table 3.5 for the participants’ demographic information) communicated with me in English through emails and sent me English journals. During all the five interviews, the participants were articulate and provided a large amount of data except Cathy, who was as cooperative as the others, but comparatively less articulate. Each of her interviews was less than an hour and sometimes around half an hour only. Although the data from Cathy was less than sufficient, she provided adequate data on her development. Table 3.2 outlines the basic information for the five stages of data collection followed by more detailed descriptions.

First Phase Data collection tools in the first stage included email, online chatting, phone calls, observation, field notes, and interviews. Before the formal interview, I established contact and developed rapport with the participants through email and online casual message exchange. The first interview was conducted in August 2012 before the participants arrived in Hong Kong on August 25. I interviewed 13 of the participants through the QQ audio chatting tool. Two participants could not find the time for the interview and asked if they could send me a written version of their answers to the interview questions. The first interview (Appendix A) focused on the previous English learning experiences of the participants, the reasons why they chose to study in Hong Kong, and their goals and expectations in life and study in Hong Kong. I also asked about the educational styles in high school and their relations with their parents to determine how much control the participants had over their own studies and their level of independence. Through the entire interview process, I tried to avoid using the word “autonomy” and it did not appear in my interview guide. Although the participants’ autonomy of learning was an important part of my investigation, I did not clarify the term to the participants. I did not want them to provide me with answers that made them feel good but might not be true. However, my thoughts changed at the later stages, as I will explain in the next section. I made a list of questions to guide my interviews, but I did not follow the questions in the same order. Depending on the responses of different participants, I asked them different follow-up questions. One principle I followed was to keep the interview open, and this principle was closely observed in interviews at all the following stages. All 13 interviews at this stage were conducted in Mandarin Chinese, and the average duration of each interview was one and a half hours. At the end of each interview, I suggested to the participants to keep a journal as they

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Table 3.2 Five stages of data collection

Research stages Phase I

Phase II

Phase III

Phase IV Phase V

Focus Previous English learning experiences of the participants Reasons for coming to HK to study Their goals and expectations for the future life and study in HK The major educational modes they experienced in high school Parental styles How independent they are Adaptation of the participants Changes in life and studies (e.g., ways of teaching and learning) English learning Social relations Time management English learning Social relations Conceptions of autonomy Similar to phase III A cumulative report on the growth of the participants in the first year

Time August 2012

Participants 15

Average duration of interview (hour) 1:30

Same as Phase I

October 2012

11

1:45

Same as Phase I

December 2012

9

1:30

Same as Phase I Same as Phase I

March 2013 September 2013

9

1:30

9

1:10

Data-collecting tools Interviews Email correspondence Personal diary of the participants Face-to-face casual chatting Online chatting Observation notes Field notes

start their new life in Hong Kong. I told them that they could share their stories with me if they wanted, or just keep them to themselves. After the first interview, I felt closer to the participants and learned much about their educational backgrounds, particularly their English learning experiences. I also understood their future goals and expectations of university life and study. This insight enabled me to see some potential gaps they might experience when they would come to Hong Kong.

Data Collection

41

Second Phase In the second stage, the main data collection tools were interviews, journals of the participants, my field notes, and informal contact with the participants through online social networking, such as email and QQ. Apart from these, I also observed the participants through GQ and their real-life activities on campus, including their learning in the classroom. I observed some classes to obtain a direct experience of their studies. At this stage, I tried not to get too close to the participants or too involved in their lives to avoid influencing their new experience. I expected them to experience the difference between their school life and that of university. I continued to communicate with them through email and online chatting. During the first month, one participant (Dora) sent me her English journals to share with me her experiences and feelings about her new life. A few other participants left me messages on QQ about the developments in their lives. I also learned many details about their life from GQ where they discussed with other mainland students about course selection, their experience in English lectures, the strange accents of some teachers, and so on. The second interview was conducted in October 2012, around one month after the participants started their formal classes on September 10, 2012 in the university. The timing for the interviews at this stage became more difficult than the first round of interviews because of the different schedules of the participants. Usually, I would meet a participant only after several attempts to reschedule the time of the meeting. Completing all the interviews took me nearly a month. I gave up on five participants who either did not return my messages or could not fix a time after several changes. The number of participants at this stage dropped to 11, which was still a good figure. Table 3.3 shows the basic information of the participants for the second round. The second interview (Appendix B) focused on the adaptation of the participants, including the changes they observed in their lives and studies, including the differences they experienced in teaching and learning, the difficulties they encountered, and their English learning and social interaction. Casual chats at the beginning of the interview were natural because most of the participants had not met me in person before. The casual chat enabled both parties to relax and develop a rapport. The average duration of the interview in stage two was approximately one hour and 45 minutes. All the interviews were conducted in Mandarin Chinese except with Hanna, who requested the interview to be in English. After completing the second round of interviews, I sent another invitation to all 11 participants to request that they maintain a journal to record their changes or growth and, if possible, to send me an entry on a weekly basis. I attached some Table 3.3 Participants in the second interview Major Number and gender

BEd English Four females One male

BEd Chinese One female

BA Psychology Two females

BA Sociology One female

BA Environment Two females

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examples to the invitations. All the participants agreed, but only Dora, Anna, and Hanna sent me journals once in a while. I understood that they were busy so I did not push them. However, I kept communicating with them on QQ in this stage. The most important information of some of the participants was revealed through our casual chats when we took walks together. For instance, I spent time with Hanna two to three times a month, once a month with Fiona, and a few times with Dora. Some participants enjoyed walking and talking with me and I felt likewise. The most challenging aspects identified by the participants in the second phase were poor time management; having to completely rely on themselves in life and study; difficulty in academic reading and writing; poor English proficiency compared with some local students; lack of opportunity to practice English, particularly oral English; lack of real communication with local students and feeling like an outsider; and no sense of belonging. I also asked the participants to identify the important social relations they had regular contact with in the first two months, which, together with the difficulties they identified, formulated a continuing focus for stages three, four, and five.

Third Phase As time passed, I established a friendly relationship with the participants. I continued to communicate with them online and offline to informally observe their daily lives and studies, for instance, in the canteen, the residence hall, the library, or in other places on campus. I also reminded them to send me their journals if they kept one. Many of them suggested that I follow their updates in their QQ space. The third interview was conducted at the end of the first semester. I interviewed 10 participants (Table 3.4) but missed one because of her difficult schedule. The average duration of the interview was one hour and 40 minutes. The third interview (Appendix C) focused on the themes identified in the second phase, such as time management of the participants, their English learning, their involvement with the local students and culture, and their social relations. As mentioned above, I had tried to avoid asking direct questions about autonomy; instead, I asked them about various aspects of their life and studies to see if they demonstrated their autonomy or not. In the second interview, I asked the participants about the largest difference they discovered between their learning in secondary school and that in university. Nearly all of them mentioned that autonomous learning (zizhu xuexi—自主学习was how they called in Chinese) was an important part of Table 3.4 Participants in the third interview Major Number and gender

BEd English Three females One male

BEd Chinese One female

BA Psychology Two females

BA Sociology One female

BA Environment Two females

Data Collection

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university life. They used different terms, for instance, autonomous learning ability (zizhu xuexi nengli—自主学习能力), being independent in learning (duli xuexi— 独立学习), self-study ability (zixue nengli—自学能力), self-managing ability (ziwo guanli nengli—自我管理能力), and so on. In our conversations, the participants seemed to be honest and objective about themselves. They showed their strengths and weaknesses in managing their life and studies. Thus, I was convinced that, even if I asked them to discuss their autonomous learning ability, they would show me what they were really thinking and that I should not worry about my questions forcing new ideas into their minds. As autonomous learning has been established as a crucial goal in various educational sectors in China (Ministry of Education, 2007), the students were no longer unfamiliar with the term. The high school where Hanna graduated even has “to create space for the students’ autonomous learning” (gei xuesheng chuangzao zizhu xuexi de kongjian—给学生创造自主学习的空间) as its motto. Asking what autonomous learning meant to the participants and how they demonstrated their autonomous learning was therefore worthwhile. Aside from following the above-mentioned themes, I asked the participants the following questions: 1. What does autonomous ability (zizhu xuexi nengli—自主能力) mean to you personally? 2. How do you consider your own autonomous ability? 3. How do you demonstrate your autonomous ability in your studies? 4. How do you hope to further develop your autonomous ability? The third interview also addressed individual differences by asking the participants questions I found interesting and worth exploring in the second phase, including their different social networks.

Fourth and Fifth Phases Phase four continued with investigating the themes in phase three to examine the growth of the participants in different aspects, such as in dealing with their personal affairs, maintaining a balance between life and study, setting short- and long-term goals for study, time management, finding their own ways of learning, dealing with problems in academic learning and English language learning, their social interaction, and so on. The fourth interview (Appendix D) was conducted in March 2013. My experience in conducting this research showed me that sometimes a researcher obtains valuable data from informal interactions with participants. I spent more time on informal interactions with the participants than the formal interviews because I developed good rapport with them at this stage. I spent a good deal of time talking casually or walking with them as a way to deepen our communication and obtain a clear idea about the events in their lives.

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The fifth interview (Appendix E) was conducted at the beginning of the participants’ second academic year to capture the main issues they encountered and their growth in the first year of study retrospectively. At this stage, I provided the participants with a summary of the data related to them for clarification and validation, and they clarified some of the points I had misunderstood and updated me with their latest developments. Nine participants completed all five interviews (Table 3.5). Pseudonyms were given to the participants for confidentiality. In the end, Justin was the only male participant. They were from seven different provinces in mainland China and five different disciplinary backgrounds. All of them were the only child of the family.

Data Analysis Framework of Data Analysis In Chap. 2, I reviewed the literature on cross-border transition, school-university transition, and autonomy, which comprised the theoretical framework of this study. Specifically, the double transition and development of the participants in the three domains of autonomy (life, academic learning, and English learning and using) formulated a framework that informed the research questions and data collection, and then guided the data analysis. The data analysis focused on the pre-entry learning experience of the participants, the problems and challenges they encountered in the first year, their coping strategies, and their growth in life and study. The purpose of analyzing the data at five different stages was to form a linear description of the transition and the development of each participant. Content analysis was adopted to analyze data in this study. Data analysis is the “process of identifying, coding, and categorizing the primary patterns in the data” (Patton, 1990, p. 381) by performing constant comparing steps (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Before the actual analysis started, the interviews were recorded digitally and then transcribed verbatim. I transcribed a small part of the interviews directly into English, but realized that some valuable information might have been lost because of the inaccuracy of the translation. To guarantee the accurate interpretation of the data at later analysis stage, the remaining interviews were transcribed in the original language, Mandarin Chinese. The English used for quotes in this thesis were my translation, with some parts originally in English produced by the participants, which is then clearly stated. As the Graduate School in the university provided doctoral students with research funds to hire student helpers from the same university, I hired my participants to transcribe their interview recordings. I considered this as good practice because the privacy of the participants could have been compromised if I had asked someone else to transcribe the text. The transcription of the interviews by the participants was also a validation process. The participants could note any misunderstanding that occurred in the interview and provide some explanations or add new thoughts while

BEd English Dora Guangdong

BEd English Hanna Henan

BA bachelor, BEd bachelor of education

Name Home province

Major

BEd English Justin Guangdong

Table 3.5 Participants who completed all five interviews BA Psychology Serena Anhui

BA Psychology Claire Hunan

BA Sociology Fiona Anhui

BA Environment Anna Guiyang

BA Environment Natalie Shandong

BA Chinese Cathy Tianjin

Data Analysis 45

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3 Methodology: Multiple-Case Qualitative Study

they transcribed their responses, which I invited them to do. The transcriptions were of high quality. Some participants provided explanations if any misunderstandings occurred in the interview. In this way, I collected more data. Hiring student helpers saved me a great amount of time and energy, and enabled me to focus more on the data analysis. Data analysis in this study began during the data collection process. Through the five stages, a cyclical or iterative analysis of the data was adopted to allow important themes and categories to emerge naturally (Dörnyei, 2007; Hennink et al., 2011). After the data collection was completed, the collected data were saved in separate files for each individual, including the interview transcriptions at five different times, the observation notes, correspondence and online chats between the researcher and the individual participants, and field notes related to that specific participant. The raw data were read and re-read many times to ensure full understanding. Summaries were written down for each interview, and preliminary interpretations were made.

Steps of Coding Coding is the actual step to analyze the data. “Coding has both an organizational and an analytic role” (Bazeley & Richards, 2000). I coded the data after becoming familiar with them. I first coded the data manually using paper and pen. Then, I conducted the coding process again through the qualitative data analyzing software NVivo 8. The advantage of using NVivo is that the software can store the data neatly and present the analysis and the results in a vivid and organized way. Furthermore, conducting a second coding enabled me to verify my initial analysis. Coding is never permanent; I went back and forth and coded and recoded the same data. The following is the procedure I followed in using NVivo 8 to code and categorize my data. I established a separate project for each interview of each participant. For instance, for participant A, I created five projects: A1 for the first interview, A2 for the second interview, and so on. This process enabled me to easily compare between in-case and across-case when necessary. Each participant had five projects for all five interviews. At the end, I created a sixth project for participant A to include all the information of the five interviews. In this manner, I could compare in-case and observe the longitudinal development of the participants over time. I was also able to go across cases to view how different participants reacted differently in the same stage. For example, I could obtain data from the first interview of all nine participants and determine how different individuals responded to the different areas of inquiry. Table 3.6 graphically shows how my analysis was conducted. As qualitative research is emergent and frequently involves back and forth movement between theory and practice, the approach usually adopts both deductive and inductive processes (Willis, 2007, p. 213). In my coding, I used both deductive and inductive codes (Hennink et al., 2011). The deductive codes were those mainly developed from the research literature, which informed my interview questions.

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47

Table 3.6 Illustration of the coding process Interview Participant

Interview One

A

Interview Two

Interview Three

Interview Four

Interview Five

A2

A3

A4

A5

A1 B

B1

C

C1

D

D1

E

E1

F

F1

G

G1

H

H1

I

I1

The blue arrow refers to in-case comparison and the red arrow refers to cross-case comparison

Deductive analysis was used mainly in the first cycle of coding. Reorganizing data according to the broad topic areas requires a more broad-brush coding. I obtained an “overview of the range and depth of topics covered” (Bazeley & Richards, 2000, p. 55). For instance, the data were classified into broad categories, such as the background of participants, major issues in the new environment, gradual adjustment to university, school-university differences, and so on. These broad categories were informed by the research questions and interview questions, which were guided by the framework of double transition and the three domains of autonomy. The second cycle of coding used an inductive coding process, conducted under broad deductive codes. Table 3.7 presents an example of these two types of codes. The school-university difference was a deductive code, which came from the interview questions, and the further detailed analysis led to the generation of inductive codes. The inductive codes were developed mainly in the second cycle of coding, and they came “directly from the data” and reflected “the issues raised by participants” (Hennink et al., 2011, p. 218). In Table 3.7, the 1–11 codes are inductive ones, in which Anna gave a detailed example to demonstrate her understanding of the difference between school and university life. Refer to Appendix F for a more detailed illustration of the coding process in NVivo. Codes in NVivo are known as nodes, which are topics or concepts (Bazeley & Richards, 2000, p. 24). From the detailed coding, a list of free nodes was generated. These free nodes were then categorized according to different themes and developed into different tree nodes. Some of the tree nodes might have existed already from the

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3 Methodology: Multiple-Case Qualitative Study

Table 3.7 Coding sample (school-university difference) Interview transcription: Anna (Second interview, 10/10/ 2012) Learning style in university is definitely different from that in high school. It focuses more on autonomous learning It is not only about finishing the teachers’ assignments In the first few weeks, we had nothing to do after the class, no assignment. The only assignment the teacher gave us in English class was to print out the material for next time. We thought, “Wow, is that all?” Then we became less disciplined and lazy It is not like in high school when the teacher gave us detailed instructions. Each step was clearly instructed and all we had to do was follow the teachers closely In university, we have to manage our learning by ourselves and make our own study plans and finish them My roommate writes down her plans on the Schedule Book At first, I didn’t have the slightest idea (about making plans). I would only preview the class next day. And then I noticed that my roommate was doing this and realized that it might be a good strategy Life in college seems laidback, but once it is the time for you to hand in the papers or do a presentation, things begin to pile up and you become extremely busy. We really have to manage our time well It is not like this in high school. In high school, we had nearly the same schedules; it was quite repetitious But in colleges, it is different. There are some unexpected things

Codes 1. Autonomous learning for university 2. Finishing teachers’ assignment is not enough 3. Do not know what to do with spare time

4. Poor self-discipline 5. Detailed instruction from teacher in school 6. In university, one has to take control of one’s own study 7. Good example of autonomous learning 8. Realized the need to make plans

9. Without planning, life in university will be a mess

10. Fixed schedule in school, no need to make plans 11. Unexpected events in university

deductive coding, and some were newly generated. To compare in-case and crosscase, I analyzed the transcripts of other participants with the tree nodes identified from the first participant, and added some new nodes for each participant because of their unique situation. I also omitted the use of some nodes that were unsuitable for a certain participant. The tree nodes with the most references form the major themes of analysis and writing. Table 3.8 shows the categorization process. Developing autonomy in life is one of the categories identified from the literature review, with two examples of its sub-categories, under which are some examples of codes. From the upper category to the lower one, we can observe the developmental nature of the different dimensions of student life. Although the exact codes may vary for different participants, the two broad sub-categories exist for all participants.

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49

Table 3.8 Example of codes and categories Codes/free nodes 1. Do not know how to manage time 2. No clear goals and difficult to set own goals 3. Lack of confidence 4. . . . 1. Learn to manage time 2. Work out new goals in university 3. Become more confident in making decisions 4. . . .

Conceptual framework (double transition & three domains of autonomy)

Research questions

Sub-categories/father tree nodes Major issues in the new environment

Category/grandfather tree nodes Autonomy development in life

Gradual adjustment to university life

Raw data—verbatim interview transcriptions, online chatting records, participants’ journals/emails, research journals, and observational notes

Data management: Read and re-read data; Initial coding; Forming categories and themes out of codes

Description of data: summarizing and synthesizing categories and themes; building links among different dimensions of content; Formulating descriptive account of participants

Interview questions Interpretation of data: Explaining and interpreting themes and concepts with the literature and conceptual framework; Modifying conceptual framework. Fig. 3.1 Framework of data analysis

Based on the literature of different researchers (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007; Miles & Huberman, 1994; Strauss & Corbin, 1998), a flow chart (Fig. 3.1) is formulated to sum up the data analysis process in this study.

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Writing up of the Findings Nine participants completed all five stages of investigation and generated a massive amount of data. Major themes emerged from these data, such as the difficulties and growth of the participants in the three domains of autonomy, namely, autonomy in life, autonomy in learning, and autonomy in English learning and using. These major issues are shared by all students who experience school-university and cross-border transitions. Although not every student goes through all these issues in the same fashion, they are the most important issues that exist in the transition period for many students. The next four chapters report the findings. Chapter 4 provides a brief introduction to all the nine participants, laying the foundation to understand the experience of the participants in university. Chapters 5, 6, and 7 focus on each of the three broad themes and report their development in the three domains of autonomy. Chapter 5 analyzes the adaptation of the participants to their independent lifestyle. Chapter 6 focuses on adaptation to a more independent learning style in the new academic system, and Chap. 7 discusses the autonomy development of the participants in the learning and use of English in the multilingual Hong Kong context.

Reflective Thinking Building Trustworthiness The quality of a qualitative research is usually determined by its trustworthiness, which can be enhanced by providing a detailed description of the research methods and procedures. The purpose of qualitative inquiry is not to generalize statistically to other populations, but to provide an analytical generalization to other research. By providing a detailed description of the methods and procedures, a study can set a theoretical or analytic model for other researchers to follow (Yin, 2003). The trustworthiness of the qualitative study can also be enhanced by triangulating data and validation. Dörnyei (2007, p. 60) suggested that keeping field notes and presenting detailed and contextualized findings, identifying the researcher’s role in the study, and applying a longitudinal research design are all good measures to enhance trustworthiness. The trustworthiness of this study was enhanced by, first, the detailed description of my research methods and procedures in this chapter. Second, data triangulation was enhanced by the data collected from the different sources.

Reflective Thinking

51

Researcher’s Role in the Study In qualitative research, the researcher is the main research instrument whose background, values, and conceptions affect the “creation of research data” (Hennink et al., 2011, p. 15). Dörnyei (2007, p. 28) stated that “at the heart of any qualitative analysis is still the researcher’s subjective sensitivity, training, and experience.” Therefore, a detailed description of the researcher in the qualitative study is necessary. In the present study, I had the double identity of an insider and an outsider in relation to the experiences of my participants. As a Ph.D. student in the university, I was like them, new to this environment, and a student from mainland China. I experienced similar things as they did, including the local Hong Kong culture and the institutional culture in the university. I lived with them on the same campus and with most of them in the same residence hall. Therefore, I understood their experiences in dealing with daily life, including their relationships with their peers. Their experiences in the university easily resonated with me, an insider to their experiences. However, as someone who had stayed in the University for over half a year before the participants arrived and who was much older than them, I also remained an outsider to many of the participants’ experiences, which kept a necessary distance between me and the participants to obtain an objective view of their experiences. This objectivity is crucial to qualitative research. During the research, I constantly reflected on my position and my relationship with the participants. Learning how to maintain a balance between staying attached to and detached from the participants at the same time was a delicate task. The research process was a learning and problem-solving process for me. For instance, in Claire’s second email to me, she asked for some information about the university and suggestions to help her as a freshman. I was troubled by this request at first because I did not know how to handle it. On the one hand, I did not want to influence her too much because I wanted her to experience the new life and the change by herself so that I could obtain “intact” information from her in the next interview. On the other hand, I did not want to disappoint her. I decided that I should answer her question after I interviewed her regarding her expectations from university. I considered that sharing some of my ideas with her was acceptable. As a researcher, I needed the support of the participants, and at the same time, I should reciprocate their kindness in appropriate ways. From this experience, I learned that in qualitative research, remaining objective but emotionally involved with the participant is impossible. In the first interview, some participants asked me how to improve their English, which also caught me in a dilemma. Should I give them some suggestions or not? If I wanted to determine their autonomous English learning experiences, would giving them suggestions affect their way of learning and affect the trustworthiness of my research? I discussed this situation with my supervisor and some research friends. I realized that refusing to answer their questions or reasonable requests for help would be unfair to the participants. It was against the ethics of being a researcher of

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integrity. I decided to abide by the following principle: do not take the initiative to offer help to participants unless they take initiative to seek help from me. While offering help, do not provide direct instruction about what they should do but instead to ask them questions and help them to determine their problems and possible solutions. I understood that I was only one of the many resources from which the participants could seek help. Without my help, they could always seek help from others. Not responding to their help would put me in an immoral position. Most important of all is that their initiative to seek help from me was also an indicator of their being autonomous. For those who were not autonomous enough, even if I told them what to do about English learning, and how they could make better use of the facilities in the university, they might not take advantage of these opportunities. By listening to their questions, I could understand better what the students were going through in life and what kind of problems they had in their studies. Throughout the research process, I also found that my interviewing skills improved greatly. When I listened to the first interviews, I realized that I asked too many questions, and sometimes my language was not good enough for the participants to understand my questions. Therefore, I adjusted my interview techniques. For instance, I first asked a participant, “To what extent do you think you could take more control of your life and studies in university than in school?” She seemed puzzled, and then I tried again, “Do you make more decisions for yourself in university rather than in school? Take one day as an example. What kind of decisions do you have to make for yourself in terms of life and studying?” Then, the participant gave me a detailed report of the decisions she had to make for herself each day. Later interviews were more satisfactory as I did less talking and asked better questions. During the research process, I tried to remain reflective by keeping field notes and writing down all my reflections. I realized that research involving human beings cannot completely avoid the influence of the researcher because by asking them questions, we are stimulating their thoughts. After completing my first interview, Anna said she never thought about her expectations for university life, her future plans, or goals before the interview. She was happy that my interview helped her to think more about her future university life. Justin revealed that he regarded his participation in my project as a good learning experience as my research was a longterm one. By talking with me at different times, he could reflect more about his own life and studies, which he considered beneficial and important.

Ethical Considerations A researcher’s ethical consideration towards a study’s participants is considered the primary indicator of the validity of a qualitative study (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000). Three core principles have been identified (Hennink et al., 2011, p. 63).

Ethical Considerations

53

Respect of persons. Participants should be respected and provided with adequate information about the research and allowed to decide whether to participate in the research or not in their own free will. Benefits. Researchers should try their best to “maximize the benefits of the research for wider society, and to minimize the potential risks to research participants.” Justice. Researchers should ensure that the research procedures are administered in a fair, non-exploitative, and well-considered manner. (p. 63) In the present research, ethical approval was obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committee before the research started, and a consent form was provided for the participants to sign after clear explanations. I made it very clear at the beginning of the research that the participants had the right to withdraw from this research at any stage and that the data collected in this research would remain confidential at all times. The real names and any other information that might reveal the real identities of the participants would remain confidential and anonymous. To show my gratitude and reciprocate the efforts of the participants, I gave them a small gift each time. Many participants regarded the sharing of their experiences and feelings as a kind of reward for them. My being much older than them seemed not to bother them at all. Being a female senior made some of them feel more relaxed and candid with me. As a result, most of the interviews were rich in content, and a close bond was developed between me and the participants. This bond continued even after the research was completed.

Chapter 4

Profile of the Participants

In this book, I explore the transition of participants to university life and their autonomy development in life, academic learning and their learning and use of English. Therefore, describing the pre-entry learning experience of the participants and their expectations of university life is necessary. In this chapter, I provide the background information of the participants to understand the foundations of their experience in university. The data for this chapter were mainly drawn from the first interview in which I inquired about the English learning experience of the participants from the very beginning, which varied from kindergarten to senior high school. These data provide a global understanding of their learning habits and strategies, as well as factors that affected their learning, for instance, parents, teachers, and the learning culture in their schools. In the subsequent interviews, additional background information of the participants was supplemented to deepen my understanding of their personalities and experiences. The data from the first interview were coded mainly into two broad categories, namely, the English learning experience of the participants and their expectations of university life. Information about personalities, school culture, and relationships with parents was drawn from various interviews, coded as sub-categories, and placed under the broad category of background information. These three broad categories form the main content of this chapter. The quotes in this chapter were obtained from the first interview with the participants so the source of the data is not given separately. Not all participants produced the same amount of data because of their different personalities. For instance, all five interviews with Cathy were the shortest despite my attempt to prompt her to obtain additional information. Thus, she provided the least amount of data. Natalie was conservative in the first interview, but became open and relaxed in subsequent interviews. The other participants were more enthusiastic than Cathy and Natalie in sharing their thoughts in all interviews and therefore provided more data. The interviews were semi-structured and open to elicit the personal voice of the participants as much as possible. Thus, some participants came up with topics that © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 F. Ding, First Year in a Multilingual University, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0796-7_4

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might not be of the same value to other participants. Therefore, in this and the following chapters, data vary in terms of amount and theme, which is the nature of qualitative research.

Profile of the Nine Participants All nine participants were only-children, due to the one-child policy in mainland China at the time of their birth. Table 4.1 shows biographical information of the nine participants. They were from seven different provinces in mainland China and majored in five different disciplines. Three participants had scholarships: Hanna had a full scholarship, and Natalie and Cathy had partial scholarships. All the participants obtained similar English scores in the matriculation exam. However, the English examination varies across provinces. For instance, Hanna told me that the English examination in her province was easier in the year that she took it than the ones previously. Only Justin spoke Cantonese among the participants. The other eight participants communicated with other people either in their local dialects or Mandarin Chinese. Data of the participants prior to their arrival in Hong Kong are presented in the following sections with a specific focus on their English learning experiences.

Table 4.1 Basic information of the participants Name Dora Fiona Hanna Claire Natalie Serena Anna Cathy Justin

Major BEd English BA Sociology BEd English BA Psychology BA Environment BA Psychology BA Environment BA Chinese BEd English

Home province Guangdong

Scholarship None

English score in the matriculation exam 138/150

Anhui

None

134/150

Henan

Full scholarship

136/150

Hunan

None

135/150

Shandong

135/150

Anhui

Partial scholarship None

138/150

Guiyang

None

134/150

Tian Jin

Partial scholarship None

130/150

Guangdong

134/150

Dora

57

Dora Based on my observation of Dora for over one year, she was warm-hearted, perceptive, creative, and artistic. She had a wide range of hobbies, such as handicrafts and photography. She was the first participant to send me an email expressing her willingness to take part in my research. She was kind enough to provide contact details, including cell phone, landline, and QQ numbers. She was also the first to set a date for the first interview online. Dora grew up in Shenzhen, a mainland city near Hong Kong. The population of Shenzhen consists mainly of immigrants from different areas of China. Thus, Mandarin Chinese is the dominant language in Shenzhen so Dora knew little Cantonese before coming to Hong Kong. Confident with her English and willing to experience the educational system in Hong Kong, Dora took her parents’ advice and selected English Education as her major in the university. She perceived being a teacher in the future as a good choice for a woman. Dora had a close relationship with her mother, who was sometimes overprotective of Dora. For instance, Dora’s mother would not allow her to travel even with her classmates and friends. In the last year of senior high, her mother hired someone to drive her to school and back home every day. Dora said her mother would always urge her to accept her mother’s opinions in a gentle manner. To show obedience and respect to her mother, Dora would listen to her, but secretly wished to make decisions on her own.

Dora’s English Learning Experience When she was in Primary 1, Dora was sent by her mother to a private English tutoring class. She hated the class initially because of the intensive and examinationoriented nature of the class. Instruction in English at school formally began in Primary 3. By that time, Dora’s English was quite good, better than that of the other students because of her private English class. Dora joined other English private tutoring classes throughout her school days. For example, she joined an English summer camp once or twice to practice her English-speaking skills. Dora had her own way of learning English. She enjoyed reading English articles aloud and did not care whether the articles would be helpful for exams or not. She thought that practicing and maintaining the feel of English were important. She also attached great importance to using language in the right context. Dora would often chat with her classmates in high school in English during her spare time. Dora liked listening to English tapes since primary school, a habit that she carried until secondary school. She liked the native accent and imitated the intonation and pronunciation. In senior high, Dora watched English TV dramas, such as Downton Abbey and Ugly Betty. She enjoyed the way language and culture were combined,

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but she confessed that she mainly followed the plot and paid little attention to the language. She also liked English songs. She understood that English was important and helpful for learning about the world.

Dora’s Expectations of University Life In our first interview, Dora complained that her teachers in high school were strict and gave students too many tasks. Students needed to follow teachers passively. She wanted to have more free time to plan her learning in her own way. Dora said that if she had more free time, she would read English books. Dora commented, “Although the English may be unclear to us, we can improve our English in our daily life. For instance, when we see an English word on a soda can, we should try to read it aloud. If we do not know the word, then we should find out its meaning. I think that once you have the interest, it should be easy to learn the language.” She was confident about her English and understood that she had to become more independent in university than in high school. She looked forward to a new life.

Fiona Fiona was a warm-hearted young woman and was willing to do anything for the benefit of others even at the expense of her own interest. She came from a happy and financially comfortable family. Her father was a business man, who would usually attend trade fairs in Hong Kong. Her father’s job affected Fiona’s decision to study in Hong Kong. Communicating frequently with foreign businessmen, Fiona’s father spoke English well and often encouraged his daughter to learn English. Fiona’s parents were strict. For instance, her mother would not allow her to watch TV for a long time nor use the computer often. Her parents advised her to devote her time wholeheartedly to her studies. Nevertheless, they gave her freedom to choose her own major and university. Fiona was well disciplined in the sense that she would not do what she should not do, such as reading novels during study time. Fiona had a clear understanding of what she should do in terms of learning. She said that listening to teachers and finishing homework were inadequate. She believed that extra effort, such as making plans for reviewing, was needed. Fiona confessed that she had poor time management skills. She liked making plans but would seldom carry them out. She often found her plans lacked practicality.

Hanna

59

Fiona’s English Learning Experience Fiona began learning English in Primary 3. At the beginning, English was difficult for her, so she enrolled in a private tutoring class. Her interest in English grew gradually and later, she became one of the best students in the primary school. In junior high school, Fiona was sent to Singapore as an exchange student for two weeks mainly because she was one of the best students in terms of English communication skills. In senior high school, she found that her English was still lacking but she managed to improve with the help of her teacher. Fiona found recitation helpful in learning English and felt a sense of achievement when doing it. It benefited her writing as well. She would recite speeches of famous individuals, such as Steve Jobs, and include some useful expressions in her writing. Fiona began reading English books in Senior 3, as instructed by her teacher who attached great importance to the students’ listening and reading skills. Besides Harry Potter, she also read English newspapers. In the summer before entering the university, she bought Pride and Prejudice, but admitted that she was a slow reader. Fiona also watched English news programs, such as CNN, VOA, and BBC, although the spoken English in those shows was too fast for her to follow. She also watched English movies, such as Pride and Prejudice, and enjoyed hearing British accents.

Fiona’s Expectations of University Life Fiona learned from some senior students studying in Hong Kong universities that they had to write essays of 2000 to 4000 words. She became worried about this because in high school, she used to write essays of only 250 words. She also feared that she might not understand English-medium instruction (EMI). She expected to improve her English in Hong Kong, which is known for its good English language environment. She expected that English would be used widely in daily life, as it is used in English-speaking countries. Fiona understood that adapting to the new life in university would take some time, and she believed that things would be better after the adaptation period.

Hanna Even before my first face-to-face meeting with Hanna, I was struck by her delightful and humorous manner of speaking. With a pleasant personality, Hanna was good at communicating and very expressive. Hanna’s father was a history teacher, and her mother was a bank clerk. With high marks in the matriculation exam, Hanna was rewarded a full scholarship in Primary English Education. Securing this scholarship for the next four years was Hanna’s top

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priority in university because she wanted to reduce her parents’ financial burden. In her words, she would have to rely on herself for her own future because her family was not rich. Hanna graduated from the best middle school in Shangdong Province and one of the top 100 high schools in mainland China. The motto of her school was to “create space for students’ autonomy development” (gei xuesheng chuangzao zizhu xuexi de kongjian—给学生创造自主学习的空间). Hanna described her school as follows: . . .compared with other schools in mainland China, they (the teachers in her school) took less control of students’ learning. In most schools, teachers would give extra lessons to students during summer vacation in the second and third years of senior high. We didn’t have to stay in school for make-up lessons. We had regular vacations, and we could go home every weekend. I was in a boarding school, and I could go home every weekend. In the evening self-study class, we could decide for ourselves how long to study. In the last year of senior high, some students would go to bed once the light in the bedroom was out, whereas some students would choose to study for the whole night. We had the freedom to choose our own way of studying. (First interview, Hanna, 04/08/2012)

In that school, Hanna was surrounded by hardworking and autonomous fellow students for three years. Teachers tried to give students freedom and seldom forced them to study, leaving the students to decide on whether to study or not. Thus, the students had good motivation to learn. Hanna said that her self-discipline was not as strong as that of her classmates and that she was always reminded by her fellow students to study hard. Interestingly enough, her parents did not give her much pressure to study hard either. Instead, they would often tell her to go outdoors to have fun. When she did not finish her homework, her parents would suggest that she seek help from her fellow students. Hanna’s parents gave her only general guidance in daily life and gave her plenty of freedom to do things. However, her decision to study in the university was mostly her father’s decision, as her father once joined an exchange program at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and had a favorable opinion about Hong Kong’s higher education system. Hanna’s academic performance was good enough for her to apply to other universities in Hong Kong, but she applied only to the university because it had the highest employment rate for graduates. Her parents also thought that teaching was a suitable career for young women like Hanna. Hanna chose English as her major because English was one of the top majors in the University; Chinese was the other best option. Hanna admitted to not being good in Chinese. She mentioned that she was inspired by the interesting and active teaching style of the teachers in New Oriental English School (Xing Dong Fang -XDF- 新东方 in Chinese), the most famous private English training company in mainland China). She wanted to like them in the future to bring enjoyment to students while teaching English.

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Hanna’s English Learning Experiences Hanna’s mother taught her basic English expressions when she was in kindergarten. According to Hanna, “In my third year in primary school, we started to learn English in school. In my fourth year, I registered in an English tutoring class taught only by foreign teachers. In my second year in junior high, I took a class in XDF by chance and was thrilled to find out that English could be learned in a fun way.” Since then, Hanna had taken various English classes in XDF. The teachers in XDF aroused Hanna’s interest in English. Apart from this, Hanna already had a practical understanding of English learning: without good English skills, she would not be able to go to a good university and without going to a good university, she would not be able to find a good job. Therefore, Hanna worked hard to improve her English. Hanna told me that she never had an intrinsic interest in English and her English had never been the best in her class. To her, English was only a tool, a language in which, if not required by school and jobs, she would not invest her energy. During her school years, Hanna was in the top 10 in her class in English most of the time. However, at the beginning of senior high, she ranked in the last 10 once or twice. Therefore, she sought help from her fellow students by asking them to show her how to do well in reading exercises. As her fellow students had good grades, she would be easily left behind if she did not work hard. She did not consider herself to be an excellent student because of this experience.

Hanna’s Expectations of University Life Before entering university, Hanna enrolled in a spoken English class in XDF to prepare for EMI classes in university. She was worried that she would not be able to fully understand the EMI lectures in university. However, she said that she would study hard to maintain the full scholarship and secure a good job in the future.

Claire Claire was the youngest participant in this project at barely 18 years old when she entered university. From the first interview, Claire impressed me with her passion and confidence. Subsequent interviews and my daily encounters with her confirmed her passion for and curiosity about life. Claire regarded herself as an extrovert and outgoing person. For instance, she would take the initiative to talk to teachers to discuss her strengths and weaknesses. In high school, she had a counselor who constantly encouraged and coached her through her final year. According to the counselor, Claire developed fast mentally

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and psychologically, even faster than many of her fellow students of the same age because she was reflective and resilient. Claire’s parents supported her in her studies and daily life since her early years. She made the decision on which senior high school to attend and what to do in the future. She chose to study psychology when she was still in primary school against her parents’ will, although she knew that this major might not guarantee an affluent life in the future. Her dream was supported by the unwavering support of Claire’s counselor. Claire had many dreams, the biggest of which was to build her own school in the future.

Claire’s English Learning Experience Claire “fell in love with English” when her mother enrolled her in an English tutoring class in Primary 2. Formal English teaching started in her school in Primary 3. At the beginning, her English was not so good. Thus, she went to a private class as a regular student. Since Primary 5, she had foreign teachers in tutoring class and she took various private tutoring classes until Senior 3. Claire was passionate about learning, well disciplined, and well organized. Her enthusiasm in learning English was strong. She took the initiative to learn English because of her love of the language. Claire had good learning habits. For instance, she listened to and spoke English often. She would listen to tapes and imitate the pronunciation and intonation of speakers. If she could not pronounce a sentence well, she would listen to it repeatedly, even for an hour. She ended up wearing out three tape recorders in school. She read English every morning from childhood until she was in Senior 3. When she watched a movie, she would pay attention to the manner that English was spoken. Claire was grateful that she had an experienced English teacher in high school. The teacher insisted on reading English articles on the Yahoo website for two hours each day and gave students reading materials about the latest development in different fields. Even in Senior 3, when the schedule was tight, the teacher required the students to deliver a speech in the first five minutes of class. Sometimes, he interviewed students spontaneously about their lives. Reading scientific articles had always been challenging for Claire; however, her teacher advised her to read such articles aloud to get a feel for the special genre. Claire loved to read and had read nearly all the Chinese versions of world classics even in Primary school, such as Little Women, Jane Eyre, and Pride and Prejudice. In Senior 3, she tried to read English novels, such as Harry Potter, but did not finish them because her father took them away fearing they might distract her from preparing for the matriculation exam. In the summer vacation before entering university, Claire bought some English books, such as the Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and enjoyed them very much. Claire’s English was greatly enhanced by English training classes out of school. She was proud of this experience because it was different from the

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examination-oriented teaching in school and provided an effective platform to learn and practice English. She said that the interesting textbooks used in these private classes and the active and humorous method of teaching helped sustain her motivation in learning English. Most teachers in these tutoring classes were native English speakers. Claire took part in a variety of English activities that helped cultivate her courage and manner in expressing herself in public. Claire had regular conversations with other people in English, including some of her foreign teachers. Sometimes, she would also talk to herself in English when she was alone.

Claire’s Expectations of University Claire looked forward to studying in Hong Kong. Confident in her English communication skills, Claire was not worried about English as the medium of instruction in university. What concerned Claire was choosing her own courses in university. She was afraid that she might be unable to make reasonable arrangements for herself. Claire was a little worried about Cantonese too because she did not know a single word of the language. However, she liked the feeling of being thrown into a completely new place, to have the “sink or swim” feeling. Claire called herself a “sensation seeker,” that is, someone who likes challenges and adventures. Steve Jobs’ “follow your heart” statement was her motto. Claire was excited about her upcoming university life and expected that her ideas would be respected in university. She felt that her independent thinking spirit was not respected in high school. She liked asking questions, but her teachers in high school did not understand her and regarded her as weird. Claire understood that she had to be more autonomous (zizhu—自主Chinese) in university. That is, “we can have more freedom to make arrangements for our lives and be more independent.”

Natalie Speaking in a low voice, Natalie looked more mature and calmer than most of her peers. She seemed emotionally stable most of the time. She said that she could make friends with different types of people and was emotionally independent. Natalie called me before our first interview, seeking advice on how to prepare for EMI courses in university. She sounded a little worried about her English. My later encounter with her showed that she was hardworking and attached great importance to academic learning. By obtaining 51 points higher than the enrollment line in the University, Natalie was awarded a scholarship. Therefore, maintaining the scholarship in the next three years was one of her top priorities. Natalie had high expectations of herself and aimed high in academic learning. Natalie had good learning habits in school. She had been an independent learner since junior high. Her parents did not worry about her studies at all and gave her the

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freedom to make decisions. She came from a good school in Shandong, where most of her friends were hardworking and did well in school. When she had problems in her studies, she would observe and learn from them.

Natalie’s English Learning Experience Natalie began her formal English learning in Primary 3. However, she had private tutoring classes from kindergarten until the end of junior high. Her interest in English was strong and stable. She remained one of the best students in English in school, although she admitted that she had always been poor in memorizing English words. Natalie preferred to read English materials instead of memorizing English words individually. She tried to combine listening, speaking, reading, and writing to fundamentally improve her English. She read some English magazines and watched English movies to make her English learning more interesting. Natalie understood that English is important and that it would enable her to communicate with others. She participated in several English activities, such as English speech contests in school and in private tutoring class. She read English magazines and watched English movies in high school. Her senior high school created a good English learning atmosphere. For instance, the school would broadcast speeches of famous people every week and give a photocopied transcript to each student. Natalie started watching online English courses from famous universities, such as Stanford University before entering university to prepare for the EMI courses. She realized that these online courses were difficult to understand. Natalie said they had some foreign teachers in school or in private tutoring class, but these teachers spoke slowly to match the students’ level of English, different from the normal way of communication.

Natalie’s Expectations of University Natalie had long thought of studying abroad. She had always been interested in experiencing new things. She applied for Global and Environmental Studies, which she thought was an interesting major with good prospects for the future. She expected to be able to conduct research with her major. She looked forward to improving her English in Hong Kong but was worried that the EMI courses would be too difficult. Natalie was also concerned about communicating in Cantonese, which she could not speak. Natalie understood that she had to be more independent (duli—独立Chinese) in university. She would have more free time in university, but knew that she would be busy adjusting to the EMI setting and preparing for the international English language testing system (IELTS) test.

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Justin Justin, the only male participant, was an easy-going, good-natured young man. He was born in Northeastern China. When he was six, he moved with his family to Guangdong Province, where he learned to speak Cantonese. He was the only participant who spoke Cantonese and the only one who did not attend a private English tutoring class. Justin had a close relationship with his parents, especially with his father. Whenever he had problems, he would talk to his father. His father graduated from a famous university in mainland China, and he became a good example for Justin in both study and in life. Justin learned to be organized from his father. For instance, he and his father would plan their family trips. Justin considered himself adaptable, although he had never lived in a boarding school before.

Justin’s English Learning Experience English was Justin’s favorite subject, and he had been good at it throughout school. He always ranked in the top five in English class. He owed his ability to his mother, who was a high school English teacher. When he was young, his mother let him listen to English tapes and provided English materials for reading. Justin had a strong interest in learning English and had a good feel for it. In primary school, he needed to copy and memorize new English words deliberately. In secondary school, he would remember most new words he found by reading quickly without deliberately memorizing them. He could write a word if he could read it. Justin thought highly of morning reading and reciting. In school, he would wake up early in the morning and read English aloud. He liked learning English at odd times, such as in the morning and evening, because English was easy for him. He would spend the rest of his time on difficult subjects. He had a good high school English teacher who asked the class to recite texts regularly, which Justin found useful. Justin liked to watch English movies and programs, such as Discovery. This hobby greatly enhanced his listening ability. He used to watch Discovery before going to bed in junior high. In fact, he had watched more than 100 episodes of the show. He had to let go of this habit during his Senior 3 year when he had to prepare for the matriculation exam.

Justin’s Expectations of University Justin was accepted by a university in mainland China, but he chose to study in Hong Kong because his father encouraged him to challenge himself while he was still

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young. He also wanted to improve his English in an EMI setting. He expected English to be used everywhere in Hong Kong. Justin anticipated that EMI classes would be difficult so he started to read China Daily to improve his reading before entering university. He understood that reading exercises in school was inadequate. Moreover, reading in school was usually done without really understanding the main information. He realized that he needed to understand the message when reading a newspaper. He found that he read slowly and that he needed more practice. Moreover, his vocabulary was not broad enough, so he was worried about his reading skills in university. As he was adaptable, he did not worry about EMI and adjusting to university life. Justin understood that learning in university was different from that of middle school, where students were “pushed to learn by teachers.” “In university, nobody cares if you learn or not. It all depends on your choices.”

Anna Anna was a quiet young girl. Although she spoke in a gentle voice, she was actually expressive and analytical. She was honest with me, especially about her weaknesses. For instance, she told me that she was lazy and did not like making plans or did not follow through with them even if she made them. Anna did not want to become a teacher because she did not possess what she believed were the right qualities: being hardworking and selfless. Thus, she chose to study Global and Environmental Studies, although she did not know much about this major. Anna said that she would make plans for her future after she adapted to university life and became familiar with her program. Doing so would take a year or more. Anna took the initiative for her own learning in school, but most decisions were made by her teachers. Students were supposed to merely follow their teachers. Although Anna considered some arrangements of their teachers to be reasonable, she wanted to have the freedom to decide for herself, such as what to learn and how to learn. She wanted to find the most suitable way of learning for herself.

Anna’s English Learning Experience Anna started to learn English at the age of eight in primary school. She did not like English at first. However, her interest in English increased and was sustained after she began taking a private English class. Anna’s English was not that good when she was in junior high and was about average at first when she was in senior high. Realizing that English was a subject that required plenty of practice, she decided to put additional effort into learning it. She read English aloud every morning and took notes in class attentively. Her English improved, and she became one of the best in

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this subject later in high school. She found learning English and doing English assignments relaxing and it gradually became her favorite subject. She enjoyed learning English and regarded it as an important medium to make friends. “When I talk to others in English, I feel fashionable and international,” Anna said. In her spare time, Anna would listen to English songs and watch English movies, which helped improve her spoken English. Anna read few English books before entering university aside from the reading exercises assigned by her teacher. She once bought an English novel with Chinese translations, but ended up reading the Chinese version of it. She tried to read the English version later, but lost interest because she already knew the main idea.

Anna’s Expectations of University Life Anna anticipated university life to be busy and tough, yet colorful. She believed that she would have the freedom and time to do what she liked. She would be more independent and would have to take care of herself. At the same time, she would have to make her own study plans instead of following the teachers’ plans, just like in school. She felt nervous, but excited at the same time about studying in an international learning environment. She understood that it would be challenging to study in Hong Kong, but she knew that it was a good chance to see the world and broaden her horizons. Anna wanted to learn more about society and expected to make friends in university.

Serena Serena seemed quiet and shy, but she was actually energetic and outgoing. She liked to experience new things. She was good tempered and considerate. Her friends said that she was the person they would turn to for comfort when in trouble. Serena chose psychology as her major for two reasons. First, in her hometown, a city in Anhui Province, psychology was a field that did not receive much attention. One of her classmates experienced great pressure immediately before the matriculation examination, but nobody helped her deal with it. She felt the counselors had failed to do their job. Second, Serena considered psychology to have great potential to provide her with good job prospects in the future in mainland China.

Serena’s English Learning Experience Serena started learning English in Primary 3. Having no interest in English at the beginning, she used Chinese Pinyin to memorize English pronunciation. The

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examination-oriented teaching style made it difficult for her to become interested in learning English. She then took private tutoring classes in Primary 5, which helped her with pronunciation and aroused her interest. Her English improved, and she became one of the best students in her class. She took further private classes in junior high. English teaching in her junior and senior high was interesting because of the various English activities, such as role plays and English speech contests. However, English class became teacher centered and exam oriented in Senior 2 and 3. Students seldom had the chance to express themselves in English. Furthermore, Serena found her grammar to be problematic and she had to self-study systematically. By the end of Senior 3, her grammar had improved. Serena developed a strong interest in English, and it became even stronger as she considered studying in Hong Kong. However, she seldom read English books other than textbooks in school.

Serena’s Expectations of University Life Serena obtained 138/150 in the matriculation exam, but she remained worried that her English would not be good enough to express herself in Hong Kong. Not confident enough about her English, she started watching American TV dramas, such as Prison Break, and tried to imitate English pronunciation. She also began listening to This is America. Serena knew that the educational system in Hong Kong was different from what she had experienced in school. She was concerned about choosing her own courses and the courses taught in Cantonese, so she preferred English lectures to Cantonese ones. Serena expected English to be widely used in Hong Kong and looked forward to improving her English. Serena had a rigid schedule in school and had little chance to take the initiative in learning, with everything arranged by her teacher. She said, “The road is paved for us. The only thing that we can do is to walk on it. We cannot choose not to walk.” Thus, she looked forward to university life and expected to have space for improvement and expressing herself. She hoped for better communication between teachers and students. She understood that the teachers in Hong Kong did not control the way students would do things, although they would have a standard for evaluating the students. Students were expected to be autonomous (zizhu—自主Chinese). She said, “The teacher will give you some tasks, but you can choose your own way of doing it. They will still care about the students and will be responsible for them.” Serena also expected to make friends in university. She was aware that the people in Hong Kong have unfavorable opinions about mainland Chinese, but this thinking should be changed by communicating with the local people.

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Cathy Cathy had dreamed of becoming a doctor since she was in primary school. However, her score in the matriculation examination was not high enough for her to be admitted to a medical school. Thus, she chose to study Chinese in the university because she also liked to write. Growing up in Northern China, Cathy did not learn Cantonese before going to Hong Kong. Compared with students from other majors, Cathy would have more Cantonese courses and fewer English courses. Since primary school, Cathy’s parents had provided opportunities for her to take control of her studies, which improved her self-discipline. She came from a good high school, where the teachers were not strict and they trusted students to take control of their studies. After finishing the tasks given by teachers, Cathy took on additional tasks for herself. Cathy liked to make plans and would obtain a sense of fulfillment whenever she finished these tasks.

Cathy’s English Learning Experience Cathy’s mother was an English teacher in primary school and taught Cathy some English words and songs since she began to speak as an infant. Her mother created a good English learning environment as Cathy grew up. For instance, she would take home English books for Cathy to read. Moreover, Cathy’s mother had many foreign friends who would often visit them. Cathy had the chance to speak English with native speakers at a young age. When Cathy was in junior and senior high, her mother hired foreign teachers to improve Cathy’s oral English skills once a week. In school, Cathy read English e-journals, listened to English songs, and watched English movies to improve her English. Cathy also took some non-examinationoriented English tutoring classes during vacations.

Cathy’s Expectations of University Cathy was worried about courses taught in Cantonese because she did not speak the language. Unfortunately, most of her courses would be taught in Cantonese. Cathy understood that students had to be autonomous in university, which means that they could no longer depend on teachers for guidance on what to learn and how to learn. They had to take control of their own learning. She was confident about this fact.

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Summary Table 4.2 summarizes the main information on the participants in terms of the age they began learning English, English learning experiences, and expectations of university life. From the general introduction to the personal background and English learning experiences of the nine participants, the following common conclusions were drawn: 1. All nine participants began English learning at a young age, with the earliest in kindergarten (i.e., Natalie, Hanna, and Cathy) and the latest in Primary 3, when formal English teaching began in mainland China. Nearly all participants were among the top 10 in their class at the end of high school in terms of English. Hanna ranked among the lowest 10 once or twice but managed to catch up and be on the top 10. 2. All participants liked English and regarded it as their favorite subject in high school. Hanna, however, remarked that English was only a tool, and she would not have learned it if it had not been required for her future job. English was easy for Anna, Dora, and Justin, and they usually spent little time on English. They spent most of their time studying the more difficult subjects. 3. All participants had private English tutoring classes except Justin. His mother, an English teacher, taught him English when he was young. 4. Parents played an important role in the learning of English of the participants by enrolling them in English tutoring classes at a young age (except for Justin), teaching them English (Justin, Cathy, and Hanna), or encouraging them to learn English (Fiona). 5. Teachers motivated the English learning of students. Several participants (i.e., Dora, Claire, Serena, Hanna, and Fiona) mentioned that their interest in learning English was either negatively or positively affected by their teachers. 6. English class in senior high was usually examination oriented so it was boring and provided students little chance to practice their spoken English. However, Claire and Fiona mentioned that their teachers attached great importance to reading and listening, and provided time for practicing non-examination-oriented skills. 7. All the participants looked forward to studying in university and seemed worried about EMI teaching. Nonetheless, they sounded excited and confident. 8. Hanna, Cathy, and Natalie were the three participants who received scholarships in the university. Hanna received a full scholarship, and Cathy and Natalie received partial scholarships. Their priority in university was to maintain their scholarships. All of them mentioned that their high schools were among the good ones in mainland China. Their high schools supported autonomy; that is, the teachers did not push students, but rather gave them freedom to make learning decisions. Hanna, Cathy, and Natalie also mentioned that most of their fellow students in school were hardworking and good at studying. 9. On the basis of their English learning experiences, all nine participants had their own understanding of and strategies in learning English, looked forward to taking control of their English learning, and demonstrated their autonomy in

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Table 4.2 Participants’ English learning experiences and expectation of university

Name Dora

Beginning of English learning and private English lessons Taking Started in primary 1, took different private classes throughout school

Fiona

Started formal English learning first in primary 3, and then took private classes, on and off throughout school

Hanna

Kindergarten (Her mother taught her simple English words), formal English learning began in Primary 3, began taking private class in Primary 4 and on and off throughout school, mainly in the New Oriental English School (XDF)

Claire

Primary 2, private classes on and off, foreign teachers in private class since Primary 5

Understanding of English learning Enjoyed reading English aloud, considered English is important, used English in context, watched English TV dramas, listened to English songs, talked to fellow students in English, and spoke English both in private classes and in school Went to Singapore as an exchange student for two weeks because she was good in English in junior high, read original English books (e.g., Harry Porter and Pride and Prejudice), recited paragraphs, read English newspapers, listened to English programs (e.g., CNN, BBC, and VOA), loved the English language Knew that learning English was important, enrolled in an English class in XDF (e.g., vocabulary class, new concept English, and oral English), asked fellow students for help in reading, learned from different students to find a good study method Loved English, read aloud, imitated pronunciation heard from tapes, wore out three recorders to practice her English; had many opportunities to practice her spoken English and express herself in English, took part in an English speech contest, watched English movies, understood that learning a language is learning culture

Expectation of university Looked forward to having free time and making decisions on learning

Looked forward to meeting international students and communicating with them in English, expected to improve her English in the Hong Kong English environment, worried about EMI lectures and writing long English essays

Feared that she might not be able to understand EMI lectures, took spoken English class in XDF as preparation, determined to study hard to keep the full scholarship

Confident about her English communication ability, not worried about EMI teaching, a bit worried yet excited about Cantonese and choosing her own courses, looked forward to having freedom in expressing her ideas

(continued)

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Table 4.2 (continued)

Name Natalie

Beginning of English learning and private English lessons Taking Kindergarten, various private English classes until the end of junior high

Justin

His mother taught him English when he was young, listened to English tapes and read English materials

Anna

Started formal English in Primary 3 first, and then took private English classes

Serena

Primary 3, began taking private English classes in Primary 5 through junior high

Cathy

Her mother taught her English words and simple expressions when she began speaking, took some non-examination-oriented private English classes

Understanding of English learning Had a strong and stable interest in English, hated memorizing vocabulary words, knew English was important for communication, read English magazines, watched English movies, participated in English activities

Read English texts aloud in the morning, recited English texts regularly, watched more than 100 episodes of Discovery from junior to senior high Read English aloud, realized she needed practice, enjoyed learning English, especially speaking, felt “international” when speaking English, listened to English songs, watched English movies but read few English books Liked English, participated in English activities in junior and senior high, seldom read English books that were not textbooks in school Had opportunities to communicate with native speakers since junior high, had foreign tutors in junior and senior high, read English journals, listened to English songs, and watched English movies

Expectation of university Slightly worried about EMI and communicating in Cantonese, looked forward to improving her English in Hong Kong and getting a deeper understanding of her major; knew she would have free time in university, expected to be busy because she had to get used to EMI and take an IELTS test, wanted to work hard to keep her scholarship Anticipated difficulty in EMI classes, considered his reading speed to be slow, confident because he considered himself quite adaptable Expected to improve her English and speak fluently with a pure accent, found her own way of learning English, made friends, nervous but excited, anticipated that life in Hong Kong would be challenging Worried about expressing herself in Hong Kong; watched English TV dramas to prepare for the EMI setting, made friends, anticipated to have more room for self-development Slightly worried about Cantonese courses in university, understood that she had to be autonomous in university in terms of what to learn and how to learn

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learning the language. For instance, most of the participants considered reading English aloud and reciting English texts were useful. They all mentioned that English would be learned better if reading and listening or other skills were combined together. For Dora, Claire, Anna, and Hanna, learning English was like learning culture. Cathy, Claire, Fiona, and Natalie read English novels or magazines because of their own interest. All nine participants listened to English tapes or watched English movies or programs. 10. Most participants mentioned that English teaching in school was examination oriented, and they had opportunities to practice their listening and speaking skills through private English tutoring classes. Claire and Cathy seemed to have the most practice in spoken English or real communication with native speakers. Dora practiced spoken English in English training class and with fellow students in a conversational manner. Other participants, such as Serena and Hanna, had some discussions or answered questions in English, but had had no real deep conversations in English. All nine participants looked forward to improving their English in Hong Kong. However, they all showed different degrees of concern about the EMI setting in university. In my first interviews with them, all nine participants sounded happy and confident about their new life in university. 11. All nine participants understood that they had to be independent in university and had to take control of their studies. Dora, Anna, and Serena disliked the rigid schedule in school, as it had left little room for them to make their own learning decisions. They expected to have free time in university to learn things in their own way and to attend to their personal life. Looking into the double transition, some participants expressed concern about English as the medium of instruction and the need to communicate in Cantonese. However, they seemed to understand that they would be able to get used to it. They did not anticipate great problems in terms of academic and cultural adaptation. Furthermore, none of the nine participants anticipated great difficulty in managing their daily life, coping with an independent lifestyle, and learning. Before entering university, they might not have known what being independent in university really meant nor its requirements. To sum up, this chapter has provided a brief introduction of the participants, focusing on their English learning experiences. The evidence of their autonomy can be identified from their autonomous behavior in English learning. On the basis of their subjective judgment, the nine participants considered themselves autonomous enough and looked forward to becoming even more independent in university. The next three chapters will discuss the lives of the participants in university, focusing on their adaptation and common problems during their first year. Data from the subsequent four interviews were analyzed. The following three categories of problems were identified: getting used to a more independent life, adjusting to a more independent style in academic learning, and adapting to the EMI and multilinguistic setting. In the university setting in Hong Kong or any environment that involves both school-university transition and cross-border transition, these three categories of problems are closely integrated and difficult to distinguish. For the sake of elaboration, the three chapters discuss these three categories separately.

Chapter 5

Becoming More Independent in Life

Free in time but not free in mind.

In this chapter, the first thematic category, that is, familiarizing with the more independent lifestyle in university, is the focus. This was a crucial step and, to some extent, affected the participants’ adaptation to the new academic learning environment. All nine participants went through different problems regarding adaptation to a more independent lifestyle in university in their first year. They had more free time at their own disposal than when they were in high school. Thus, they had to learn to manage their own time, regulate their own schedule, balance life and studies, and complete multiple tasks at the same time. Prior to arrival in Hong Kong, all the students understood that they had to be more independent in university. Some of them (e.g., Dora, Anna, and Serena) looked forward to having more free time and space for making their own decisions and becoming more independent. In reality, the new life in university turned out to be challenging for all of them. They had to figure out their new goals and learn to make life and study plans. Apart from this, they had to get used to being alone most of the time, which was a challenge for several mainland Chinese students who were used to the collective system in school. They needed to learn to regulate their own emotions when coping with the stress caused by these challenges. All these issues challenged the autonomy of the nine students in their management of daily life. However, more importantly, the students developed their autonomy as they learned to deal with these issues (Ding, 2017). In this chapter, the following issues are described and analyzed: a life that requires more independence, getting used to being alone and lonely, measures for coping with these issues, the social support they obtained in the process, and the autonomy development of the participants in life management.

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 F. Ding, First Year in a Multilingual University, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0796-7_5

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A Life that Requires More Independence The Need to Take Care of Oneself in Daily Life As described before, the research site, the University, is located in a quiet hilly part of Hong Kong and is a 10-minute bus ride from the nearest suburban town center. It has four student halls and provides accommodation for only some of its students because of limited space. All mainland Chinese students stay in student halls, as their families live all the way in mainland China. Therefore, hall life is an indispensable part of the lives of mainland Chinese students in the University. In the student halls, most students can choose to share a room with one or two students. One of the four halls provides a limited number of single rooms for a few students who want to live alone. Four residence halls in the university are wellequipped with modern cooking and laundry facilities. Students can make their own food when they do not want to dine in the canteen or when it is closed during public holidays and Sunday evenings. Some mainland Chinese students make their own food in the residence halls to save money because having meals in the canteen all the time is expensive. Students have to pay to use public washing machines in halls. However, most of them choose to wash their clothes by hand to save money, especially when they only have a few clothes to wash. Among the participants, only Hanna and Serena had lived in a student hall during their school days. In most universities in mainland China, students have three meals a day in university canteens. They do not need to cook their own meals, and even if they wanted to, cooking facilities are not provided. Entering a university in Hong Kong and being away from their families, the participants needed to make more decisions for themselves, including cooking, washing clothes, opening a bank account, and dealing with other trivial matters in life. In the first few months of university life, several students might have felt the same as Anna did. She said, “At the beginning, I was not used to the life here because I had to handle everything by myself” (Anna, second interview, 10/10/2012). However, the participants seemed to have adapted to university life quickly. For some participants, taking care of themselves daily seemed to be a natural thing to do. For instance, Fiona had little difficulty in taking care of herself in life. In the first two months, she learned how to cook meals of which she felt proud. Justin also found his new life easy. He learned to wash his own clothes and to cook his own meals. He was adaptable and was able to take good care of himself, especially when he had no one to rely on. Natalie learned to take care of herself after the first month learning to prepare three meals a day for herself and dealing with some practical issues in life (e.g., opening a bank account and applying for a Hong Kong identity card), and budgeting her money. She also considered doing some financial investments in currency transaction. According to Cathy, it took her some time to determine the best time for having meals. Some of her classes were scheduled during lunch or dinner time. Nonetheless,

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the canteen was open all day long during weekdays, and thus she could always get something to eat when she needed to. Some participants had difficulty adjusting to their new daily life, however. Dora found out that learning to take care of herself was an essential step before handling other issues in university. . . .At first I thought that studying was the most important thing, but now, I think that taking good care of oneself in daily life is the most important thing. Only after you have a good sleep and good meals will you have energy to do other things. Otherwise, your efficiency will be very low. (Dora, third interview, 12/12/2012)

During her first few weeks in university, Dora found that taking care of herself was stressful. She did not realize the importance of living a regular and healthy life. Furthermore, she lived in a three-bed room and had to negotiate schedules with her two other roommates. She would stay up late to finish her assignments or be forced to do so because the other two students did not go to bed early. More than one month later, Dora found her biological cycle totally disrupted. She did poorly in the first few assignments, which discouraged her greatly. She lost interest in everything and became so depressed that she nearly ended her life at one point. Dora was about to jump off a cliff, but she realized it would be too selfish to do so. Dora had tried not to tell her mother the negative side of her life since entering university because she wanted to be independent. But at that point, she realized that she could not go through the hardships alone. She called her mother, and explained her situation. Dora’s mother went to Hong Kong and stayed for a month, taking care of Dora and helping her life on track. A friend of theirs, who lived in Hong Kong also offered help, comforting Dora, and helping her learn to regulate emotions. More than one month later, Dora gradually got her life back on track while moving to a single room. She realized that taking care of her body was crucial. She firmly subscribed to the notion that a sound body equals a sound mind. From this experience, Dora learned a bitter lesson and understood fully that she should manage her time better. I readjusted my schedule. and I found that I could not go to bed too late. I need to get up early and then. . .speed up things a little bit, like washing up and having breakfast sooner, spending some time to do meaningful things, and spending the daytime reading or doing my assignments. (Dora, second interview, 11/11/2012)

Dora learned to readjust her schedule and to manage her time for life and study. When she began to have a regular and healthy life, her mood greatly improved and she regained her energy and interest so that she could cope with her studies (Ding & Curtis, 2020). For most students who have never lived in a student hall in school and have been taken care of by their families, training in some basic life skills is necessary if they would like to study abroad. They require a good understanding of their own physical needs including taking care of their body. Furthermore, self-discipline is also important if students want to live a healthy lifestyle in a new environment. If students have had the opportunity to make their own decisions in life before going abroad, then they are less likely to lose track easily.

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In a new environment, students need time to find their own rhythm. Claire described how she learned to arrange her time as follows: I do not plan on getting up at a certain time. One time, I tried to set an alarm to wake me up so I could revise my work in Psychology, but I later found out that I was not efficient at all. I thought it would be better for me to go back to sleep. From then on, I seldom get up very early. I do not force myself to do something that I cannot do. If I go to bed at 10 pm or 11 pm, I can get up early, but I still want to have enough sleep so I can be more efficient. Otherwise, my eyes will be on the same page for a long time. If I sleep one more hour, I may be able to read more quickly and absorb more. (Claire, third interview, 15/12/2012)

Claire learned from experience that she should not set a rigid schedule for herself, but instead keep the schedule flexible, allowing herself to rest before concentrating on her studies. Looking back at the initial stage of their university life, nearly all the participants were aware of their growth in dealing with an independent lifestyle (Ding, 2017). Fiona shared the following during the third interview: Feeling more independent was the biggest achievement for me during the first three months. I knew that I had to be independent. I’m alone for most of the day. (R-researcher: what’s your understanding of being independent?) I have cultivated some basic life skills (cooking and taking care of my daily life). I’m managing my own study, and I have developed my own opinions about things. (Fiona, third interview, 14/12/2012)

Learning some basic life skills, such as cooking and dealing with other daily issues, gave Fiona a sense of achievement. She felt that she had become more independent in thinking as well. Hanna described a similar feeling during the third interview. “I feel that I’m no longer a child. I was forced to grow up and learned how to cook, save money, and take good care of myself” (Hanna, third interview, 17/12/ 2012). Unlike Hanna who felt that her growth was forced by external forces, Justin felt that his growth was natural and anticipated: I think growth could be anticipated, although I have never lived in a boarding school. My parents worried that the distance was too great for me, that is, staying in a boarding school in Hong Kong far away from home. I didn’t think there would be a problem. My parents worried how I could cope with university life since at home I never washed my own clothes and cooked a meal. I think I handled it all right. I can cook noodles now and hand-wash my own clothes. If I am too lazy, I will use the washing machine. No problem. I think one’s independence changes with the environment [one is in). I consider myself adaptive. (Justin, third interview, 03/12/2012)

Justin attributed his growth to his adaptability and regarded independence as something flexible and one that changes with the environment. He emphasized that one could be as independent as needed, for instance, in study, as long as that individual was willing to do so. He insisted that some students were not as independent as expected by teachers because they chose not to prioritize their studies. For Justin, being independent was nearly equal to being motivated. It might not have occurred to him that becoming independent does not come easily to other students. Moreover, Justin’s independence might have been carefully nurtured by his parents, as demonstrated in Chap. 4.

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As mentioned above, being able to take care of oneself was crucial for the participants, but it is only a small part of daily life. Life during their school days and life in university greatly differ. The first year in university requires considerable adaptation.

Life Is Less Structured in University Schools in mainland China and universities in Hong Kong have great differences. Life in schools in mainland China is highly structured because they give students little chance to make their own decisions on what and when to learn. By contrast, life in universities in Hong Kong is less structured. Hanna, Dora, Serena, and Fiona claimed that they missed the structured life in school, although the schedule was tight and they were busy. They said that they were lighthearted in school, but were stressed out in university despite having more free time. This confession was surprising considering that several participants (e.g., Anna, Dora, and Serena) complained in the first interview about the busy and monotonous life in their senior high school where they had almost no chance to make their own decisions. They did not expect that life would be stressful despite the freedom in university. In high school, Dora was always busy and the only time she could have control was during the 10-minute break after each class. In university, no one tells you that you should have eight or nine classes a day or what you should do at what time. In school, we had less free time but studying in that way was actually more enjoyable. We didn’t need to worry about scheduling. I did only one thing at a time, which was easy. (Dora, fourth interview, 07/03/2013)

Too much free time was intimidating to some participants. They did not know how to deal with it. If they did not make full use of the time, they felt guilty, but they did not know how, and that became problematic. Hanna, whose high school attached great importance to developing students’ autonomy in learning, considered herself to have adjusted to university life sooner than the other students. However, she was not used to the freedom she had in university because to her, “freedom is just for the time, not for the heart, not for the mind” (Hanna, second interview, 29/09/2012). Although Hanna seemed to have considerable free time, she had many assignments to do. Besides finishing the tasks given by teachers, she had to study further to improve her learning. University was just like another senior high for her, that is, tiring and stressful. However, in high school, the goal was clear for her: study hard to go to a good university. The assessment standard was explicit as well. By contrast, in university, she did not have a clear and fixed goal and an evaluation standard, which will be explained in Chap. 6. Hanna revealed that most first-year students shared similar feelings. They missed high school life and wanted to go back to high school because they felt that life was more controllable then and they easily obtained a sense of achievement. They were clear about what was waiting for them and what the expectations were. Although life

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was busy in high school, they felt more secure. They knew they would be moving closer to the goal ahead: matriculation examination. In university, they did not know what the teachers expected from them, how well they should perform, and how to meet the expectations. Without a clear goal, they did not know how to use their time. Serena became tired of the rigid study life in school, which was largely controlled by teachers and school regulations. Deep in her heart, she longed for freedom to manage her own learning and was eager to make her own choices like a child eager to walk on her own. In university, where she had more time at her disposal and the teacher no longer took control of her studies and did not give them detailed guidance about what to learn, she felt nervous and wanted to return to having a controlled life. She was unsure about her own ability of walking well; she did not trust that she could learn well independently. “I was scared of walking alone (metaphor) because no one would tell me if I was walking in the right way” (Serena, third interview, 18/12/ 2012). Other participants echoed this confusion. With too much free time came much pressure for them because they realized that they were not good enough at managing it. Dora described her feelings in an email as follows: I don’t know exactly how to arrange my spare time, especially when class is over. I can hardly decide where to go and so I just go back to my dorm. Sometimes, when I lie in bed with some random thoughts, I feel guilty about being so self-indulgent, but I still can’t find a way out. (Dora, English email, 4/10/2012)

Dora felt bad about wasting time, but had no idea about how to use it properly. Dora reiterated the stress of time management in our second interview. In school, time was managed by other people. At that time, she longed for free time that she could manage on her own. She was scared when she was faced with the great amount of free time she had in university because having free time does not equate to freedom. “You know you will have freedom only after you have arranged your time well. Otherwise, you will feel that you cannot balance study and play well. . .” (Dora, second interview, 11/11/2012). Dora could not manage her time well and considered her life to be a mess when assignments would pile up. Dora explained that learning to manage time well is a skill highly required of all university students because they are supposed to take responsibility for their studies. Teachers and parents are no longer hovering over them, nudging them to study. University students have to discipline themselves and learn to manage their time well. Otherwise, they will panic. In the first term, Justin was dissatisfied with the way he managed his time. He planned to read books and participate in several activities, but he could not find the time. In the first semester, he felt that he was always busy, but did not know what he was busy with. He did not have a regular life and constantly felt tired. His life was a mess, and he could not find the rhythm he was comfortable with. Justin noticed that some of his peers could balance their time and find time for both study and fun, but he could not. He analyzed his own situation and concluded that he spent too much time on one task because he was a perfectionist, leaving little time for other tasks. Fiona echoed Justin’s experience in time management:

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I’m really bad at managing time. I waste a considerable amount of time every day. I’m slow in doing things, not fast enough. Did you make plans in the past? Yes, but I was not good at carrying out plans. I made plans to make myself busy, but sometimes I would spend too much time on one task and then had to put off other tasks. I became discouraged and did not follow the plan any more. (Fiona, second interview, 06/11/2012)

Most university students realized that arranging their own time well was their own responsibility, but they might not be equipped with the proper set of skills at the moment. Thus, they had to learn how to arrange their time gradually. Most of the participants felt that they became more independent after a few months in the university. Fiona learned how to manage her time for studying, and Dora learned how to organize her life and know what to take and what to give up.

Balancing Social Activities and Study Apart from academic learning, social activities are another important part of the lives of most students. Different associations and activities in the university attract students’ attention. Most students choose to participate in these social activities to pursue their interests, enlarge their socialization circle, and practice their practical skills, such as organizing. For students who join associations or social activities in university, managing their time well and balancing their social activities and study may be a challenging issue. Since the first semester, Serena participated in some social activities and associations and found that she could not manage her time well. She became extremely busy when her deadlines approached. She was the secretary of the CSSA and she also participated in voluntary work, which took much of her time and affected her studies. She realized that she had to manage her time well to avoid conflicts between social activities and studying. Most of the time, it’s okay, but when the deadlines are approaching, I find it really hard to balance. I had a deadline for an essay coming (last time), and I was running out of time and did quite poorly in that essay. I was afraid the teacher would ask me to resubmit. There were conflicts between my studies and social activities. (Serena, third interview, 18/12/2012)

Serena mentioned that some mainland Chinese students she knew received poor grades in assignments because they could not balance their social life and study well, and thus were greatly frustrated. Serena had to put considerable time into the CSSA, which definitely affected her studies. She was worried because she had high expectations and wanted to get scholarships if possible. She was about to quit the CSSA when she shared her worries with friends and tried to evaluate the pros and cons. She observed senior students in the CSSA and realized that senior students working in the CSSA had more pressure from academic studies, and their work in the CSSA was

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even more challenging than hers, but none of them complained about their workload. Instead, they remained energetic, responsible, and professional. Serena was influenced by their positive and optimistic attitude; thus, she decided to continue her job in the CSSA. She convinced herself that she should be able to do what other students could do. She learned not to complain, but to accept reality. For both study and life, I think one’s attitude is the most important thing. I have to do well in what I have chosen to do. I should focus on one thing at a time and not think about studying while I’m working and vice versa. I have to learn to maintain a balance. Everyone has a heavy workload, and I need to push myself a little harder. (Serena, third interview, 18/12/ 2012)

Participating in these social activities changed Serena’s attitude towards life and provided what she could not learn from textbooks and coursework, such as having a hard-working spirit. In the second semester, Serena had to put in additional time in the CSSA. As an organizing committee member, she had to participate in the drafting of a proposal and planning activities for the mainland Chinese students in the university in the following year. She had to deal with other students’ consultations, which took considerable time. Sometimes, she had to stay up late for several nights in a row. Although she was tired and stressed out because of the conflicts between her studies and social activities, she felt that participating in those activities was necessary to develop her practical abilities. Furthermore, these experiences were important for her in the future for job hunting. Like Serena, Justin also struggled with juggling between social activities and studying. At the beginning of the semester, Justin joined the CSSA as an assistant and had to devote considerable time to the association. Initially, he found time management difficult. He wanted everything to be perfect. He once spent five to six hours writing a letter and had little time for other matters. He had to learn to be more efficient and to balance his studying and work better. After two to three months, he became better in prioritizing. He studied first and worked on CSSArelated tasks afterwards. As suggested by his parents, Justin also tried to include sports in his daily schedule and found that it benefited his health. His father told him that as long as he could see the importance of something, he should always be able to find time for it. Justin followed his father’s advice and succeeded in managing his time. Claire echoed Justin in describing her efforts in handling multiple tasks in her life better. For instance, studying was her priority in the first semester: I had no choice this year because I just got here (the University), and I was not used to the life here yet. I’m not as good as others. I have to work harder. Some people say that it’s not meaningful for me to stay in library all the time, but at least I know that I have accomplished many things. (Claire, third interview, 15/12/2012)

Claire realized that she wanted to do other things, for instance, participate in activities and attend seminars. However, she would spare more time for those things only after she gained more confidence in her academic learning. Learning to manage one’s time is usually a gradual process that goes through trial and retrial. Claire

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reported her progress in time management in the second semester. She managed to include social activities in her schedule: Remember when I told you that I wanted to participate in sports, memorize English vocabulary words, and participate in social activities? Well, I did them all. I also read more books. It seemed that I read fewer books in university than in school because I only focused on my coursework and academic articles (in the first semester). Now, I’ve started to read some books I used to like, such as Western classic novels. I told you that I’d read most of these classics in Chinese in primary school. Now, I read the English versions. I want to finish one book a week. (Claire, fourth interview, 10/04/2013)

After adapting to the new environment and academic learning in the first semester, Claire became more flexible with time management and could spare more time for what she longed to do in the second semester, for instance, read world classics in English and participate in social activities, to make her university life richer than before. Interestingly, English became part of her schedule only after she had settled her academic learning. Furthermore, English learning was only one of her tasks. As will be discussed in Chap. 7, English played an important role in academic learning, but students’ attention and energy were drawn to some other essential matters in their first year, such as daily matters and adapting to a more independent lifestyle and the new academic system. Students usually have their own pace of growing up, as demonstrated in this section. The participants had different degrees of difficulties in different areas of life. In the above examples, the participants revealed that through their own efforts and learning from others, they managed to find the best way to deal with different tasks in university and made progress gradually.

Learning to Set Goals Most of the first-year university students felt lost once they entered university. In her journals and third interview, Dora described how she felt at the beginning of the university life. I am frustrated. I know that time flies by, but I feel helpless. I am nervous and anxious. But the worst thing is that I don’t really know why I have this anxiety. Maybe it’s because I don’t have any goals in life. . .I have dreams, but some people say that academic performance in university is not that important. Then what is my goal? Now, I don’t want to study for scholarship. (Dora, third interview, 12/12/2012)

The examination-oriented school education had internalized in most students that their goal of study should to obtain high scores in examinations. Examination results are an important evaluation of students’ success in school. Therefore, the ultimate goal of students is to obtain high scores in the matriculation examination to enter a university. Once in university, the evaluation of students’ success is no longer a onefor-all thing. It becomes multifaceted and complex. As Dora said, academic performance in university is not as important as in school. She did not want to study hard

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for the sake of a scholarship. That being the case, what should be her goal(s) in university? She had no idea and was therefore frustrated. Dora was not the only student that had no clear goals in the beginning. In the second interview, Anna wished that she could have a clear goal for the future like other senior students who intended to complete a master’s degree after graduation. Anna did not have a clear goal. She would simply finish the assignments that the teachers gave. I didn’t read the supplementary materials the teachers distributed but did not discuss in class. I simply finished the assignments before the deadline and looked for the materials I needed. I finished what the teachers would ask us to do and had no plans of doing something extra. I thought that it was enough for me to do well what I should at the moment. I do not have longterm plans. I have no idea what I will do in the future, and I intend to wait for the future to unfold itself. Plans could never catch up with changes, so I have no plans for the future. None at all. (Anna, third interview, 05/12/2012)

According to Anna, students should determine what they really want and what abilities they want to develop before they set goals. This process of goal setting can be long. It is influenced by various factors, such as the general situation in society, the cultural environment of the university, the requirements of their families, and their own understanding of university education. In high school, Fiona focused only on studying for the matriculation examination. She did not think about other things, such as what she would like to do in the future. She only started to think about her future, that is, her career, after two months of studying in university. To her, this represented great progress in her life. I think about my future now, which is an important feeling. I think about what kind of person I will be in the future, what I should learn to become that person, and what I’m interested in doing. I think about these issues now. (Fiona, third interview, 06/11/2012)

A senior student, who had already graduated from the university, gave Fiona advice on how to plan her university life and how to prepare for her future career or pursue further study. In the first semester, Fiona had little idea about university and did not know what a university student should do. She did not take academic study seriously. She was usually slower than others in responding to the new environment. All she did was simply attend classes and finish what the teachers assigned. She was unclear about her goals for a long time. “Let it be” was her normal state in the first semester. It was not until the second semester that she took her academic studies more seriously. She realized that studying should be her first priority in university, but at the same time, she wanted to participate in social activities and to cultivate other abilities. She did not feel any pressure to study hard for a scholarship, but she did want to get a high GPA (above 3 should be enough in her opinion) to apply for a master’s program after her graduation. She also wanted to determine what major she should take for her future development. I have a clear goal to complete a master’s degree in Hong Kong University or Chinese University of Hong Kong, but I don’t know in what I should major yet. I will work hard for my goal. (Fiona, third interview, 14/12/2013)

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Gradually, Fiona was able to determine her future goals; that is, she planned to pursue a master’s degree. She became more devoted to her studies than before. As revealed in the first interview, Hanna, Natalie, and Cathy obtained scholarships for their first year. Thus, one of their priorities in university was to work hard to maintain their scholarships. These three participants set up their goals earlier than the other participants. Claire’s goal in the first semester was also to focus exclusively on her studies because she thought she was weaker than most of her fellow students. She spent more time on social activities in the second semester when she felt confident about her grades. As discussed in the previous section, Justin and Serena learned to balance their studies and social activities through goal setting. By contrast, Dora and Fiona did not initially have a clear goal and did not feel the pressure to study hard for scholarships. Thus, they took their time to figure out what goals they should live for. Anna was in a similar situation, but had a more relaxed attitude than Dora and Fiona. She was waiting for the future to unfold itself. Nonetheless, the interviews show that the confusion about goal setting did not last long. Goals became clearer for all participants after the first or second semester, but kept changing. For instance, Hanna obtained very satisfactory scores that put her in the top five in her major, and thus she set a new goal for herself for the second year, that is, to stay in the top 10 in her major. Her goal was no longer simply to get a GPA high enough to keep her full scholarship, but rather to push herself to her limit. Natalie and Claire focused mainly on their studies, but they also participated in social activities in the second semester. Dora, Cathy, and Justin, who devoted most of their time to social activities in the first semester, gradually withdrew from some of them and paid attention to their studies. Anna, Serena, and Fiona attached importance to both studying and social activities in the second semester as in the first and maintained a balanced attitude to both.

Learning to Make Plans In university, students need to set their goals and plan to achieve them. The participants realized that no one would be telling them what to do in university and that making plans is their own responsibility. Some students found planning easy, but others had to learn gradually because they had not have so much free time before. Anna did not “have the slightest idea [about making plans]” in the beginning of university and would “only preview the class for the next day.” She realized that she needed to make her own plans if she wanted a balanced and fulfilling university life, and she realized this only after she found out that her roommates had been making plans. Her roommates also taught her that she should not procrastinate. My roommates make plans with a schedule book. . .It was different from the way I did things in the past. I used to put off doing things until the next time or the weekend. I realized that it was not good. . .so now I think I should finish what I need to each day. . .I note down the

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Influenced by her roommates, Anna started to make her own plans, including long-term ones, such as choosing courses. At the beginning of the second year, she realized that she had made gradual progress and could make better arrangements. Before, I would choose courses casually, but now I consider more things, for instance, whether a course is easy to take or whether its content matches with my major. Of course, I choose courses mainly according to my own interest, but if I cannot successfully choose the course I’m interested in, then I tend to choose the courses that will help me understand my major better. (Anna, fifth interview, 25/09/2013)

Anna tended to choose courses that interested her and would help her understand her major, which is quite a rational consideration. Choosing their own courses is a big decision to make for university students, as it involves considerable planning. Students from mainland China seldom need to choose their own courses in school. As reported in Chap. 4, Claire was worried about choosing her courses before entering university. Based on my observation of the Group QQ, most students were anxious about these choices. First-year students would usually ask senior students for advice about selecting courses because they had no prior experience in doing so. After one year of studying and familiarizing themselves with the learning culture in the university, the participants became rational and mature in making their own choices of courses. According to Dora, First, I will choose compulsory courses. Now, I no longer care whether the teacher is a “killer” because I already experienced a low period in the first semester that made me stronger. (R: Then what is your standard in choosing other courses?). Time is important. I’m not a morning person, and I need eight and a half hours of sleep to guarantee my energy for the whole day. I go to bed at 12 midnight and get up at 8:30 in the morning. This is the best schedule for me. I choose courses according to my personal schedule, and I ask senior students about the quality of the teaching before I choose a course. (Dora, fifth interview, 28/09/2013)

Avoiding “killer” teachers is an important principle most students follow when choosing their courses. Killer teachers are those who are strict with students and tend to give low grades. Students generally want to obtain high GPAs to have a good academic report, which can bring them benefits such as scholarships. Several activities, such as exchange programs and summer internships, among others, usually set up minimum requirements for GPAs of students. Dora became more mature in making her course choices. She did not care much about whether the course was taught by a killer teacher. She would choose a course that she considered high quality and beneficial. Moreover, she became practical and began paying attention to her physical needs. Dora attributed her growth to the lessons she learned from her difficult times during the first year, which made her able to face the challenges ahead (Ding & Curtis, 2020). Dora was able to make better plans after two months of study: Now, I can take control of my own studies. When an assignment is given, I make plans for it. I no longer wait for others to push me as before. (Dora, second interview, 11/11/2012)

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To sum up, this section recounts the issues the participants had to deal with in their first year in university. These issues challenged their ability to manage time, set goals, make plans, prioritize different tasks, and take care of themselves. All participants reported various degrees of confusion and development in coping with these issues. Transitioning from school to university does not merely involve becoming physically independent. In entering a new environment, students are separated from their old social network and have to set up a new one. They have to become emotionally independent, and this process can take a long time and cause a great deal of stress to most students. The students have to take control of their emotions, which is also a part of autonomy development. The next section discusses the more emotional side of the development of the participants in terms of independence.

Feeling Lonely and Lacking a Sense of Belonging When they are far away from their family and former friends, most first-year students become lonely. Most of the nine participants expressed feelings of homesickness and loneliness in the first few months. Some students overcame this period quite early, but others took longer to cope with the changes because of various factors. . . .at the beginning, when I got to university, I was very homesick. Especially during the mid-autumn festival and when the other students had left, I was alone in my bedroom, eating moon cakes. I felt really bad. (Anna, first interview, 29/9/2012) I was homesick. Things were so different. I knew several people who were also not used to the life here. I did my best to get used to it. (Claire, third interview, 15/12/2012)

The nine participants had two things in common: they were all in Hong Kong, a region that is different from mainland China, and their university is different from their schools in various ways. These differences, to a great extent, caused their loneliness and lack of a sense of belonging.

Social Context and Cultural Differences As mentioned in Chap. 3, Hong Kong is different from mainland China politically, economically, and culturally. An increasing number of mainland Chinese students have been pursuing higher education in Hong Kong universities, but they remain a minority group. Local Cantonese-speaking students comprise the largest proportion of the student population at the University, the research site of this study and one of eight government-funded universities. Learning Cantonese is a great obstacle for students from mainland China because, although it is a dialect of the Chinese language, it is

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remarkably different from the national language, Mandarin. In fact, the wide use of Cantonese is a greater problem for mainland Chinese students than if English were to be used as the main language, as the latter is a school subject they have studied for nearly 10 years. Most mainland Chinese students are at a disadvantage for not speaking the local language. Moreover, some local Hong Kong students are not good at or unwilling to communicate in Mandarin Chinese. The potential socializing circle of the mainland students, therefore, shrinks dramatically and extends only to other mainland Chinese students. The delicate relationship between Hong Kong and mainland China at the moment has made the situation of mainland Chinese students even more complicated. Most students have become sensitive to the hostility between Hong Kong and mainland China, which has surged in recent years. In the first year, nearly all participants found achieving a sense of belonging in the university difficult. Hanna insisted that most mainland Chinese students felt the same. From her conversation with some local students, Hanna observed that only a few locals would identify themselves as Chinese. This observation confirmed what she had seen on TV in 2012. At that time, only 59% of Hong Kong people regarded themselves as Chinese and the rest considered themselves Hong Kong people. Thus, Hanna felt uncomfortable or not confident in Hong Kong. Each time she spoke Mandarin Chinese, she felt that she revealed her identity as a mainlander, an outsider not welcome in Hong Kong. She felt that many local people had a sense of superiority over mainlanders. Hanna said that this feeling lasted for the whole first year, but turned better in the second year when she had local friends and an understanding of Hong Kong. Fiona agreed with Hanna that she could not feel a sense of belonging during her first year. According to Justin, most local students lived with or went home to their families on weekends. The students staying on campus on weekends were mainly mainland Chinese students. Therefore, mainland Chinese students naturally clustered together. They usually stayed together for mutual support and collective warmth because most of them felt lonely in the new environment and did not have a sense of belonging. I think mainland Chinese (students) need more emotional support. Local students can go home every weekend. During weekends, only mainland Chinese stay on campus. Some students look forward to going home as the vacation approaches. We feel that we don’t belong here. (Justin, third interview, 03/12/2012)

Furthermore, different lifestyles and daily schedules are practical reasons that keep mainland Chinese and some local students apart. All participants reported that most mainland Chinese students lived a regular life, went to bed early, and got up early. By contrast, many local students stay up late at night or the whole night and then sleep during the daytime. My observation and experience in the university support this observation. The time for work and study of many local and mainland Chinese students is quite different. Therefore, the students have little opportunity to communicate even if they live together. This situation was the case for Justin. In his first year, he shared a room with two local students with whom he got along well. However, they had different schedules, and thus seldom had deep communication. Justin was always alone in the room. When he got up for class, his roommates would

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still be asleep; when he got back from class, his roommates would be gone and would not come back until late at night when Justin was usually asleep. Thus, the three roommates had no quality time together and thus had shallow communication. Mainland Chinese students had to build their new social network among the small circle of mainland Chinese students. This feat is not as easy as it was in school. This difficulty can be partially attributed to the different operation of the university in terms of the student management system and teaching schedules.

School-University Difference in the Student Management System The student management system in Hong Kong universities is different from that of mainland China. In nearly all mainland Chinese schools or universities, students are managed in the unit of ban, which means “class” in English. Students in a ban usually stick together throughout the school or university days. They have the same compulsory classes at the same time and usually have their fixed classroom for studying. Students of the same gender typically live together. In other words, classmates are likely to be roommates as well. In this way, students can feel a sense of belonging immediately and develop deep friendships easily. In the university, students do not have a fixed ban. They go to different classes with different people. It is uncommon to find two students with the exact same classes. Students go to various classes and have different classmates. This setting enables them to meet different people, but it leaves little room for meaningful communication for developing a deep relationship. Dora illustrated her frustration during the first few months as follows: In high school, friends were loyal to one another, but now I feel that we come across new faces all the time. I don’t know who I can trust and can make friends with, and I will not take the initiative to contact them [after we part]. (Dora, second interview, 11/11/2012)

The inability to develop a deep friendship with others put Dora in a fragile position. In high school, friendships seemed to occur naturally and easily for her. She did not expect that the development of new friendships needed more deliberate effort in university. She refrained from taking the initiative to make friends because she was not sure who she could trust and make friends with. According to Dora, getting used to being alone all the time was the most challenging aspect that mainland Chinese students should be mentally prepared for before they study in Hong Kong universities. This feeling probably left her with unpleasant memories. I want to tell first-year students that, although collectivism is important, it’s really hard to find the collectivistic warmth in university, unlike in school. Especially when the deadlines come, everybody is busy with their own concerns, and they have to get used to arranging their own time and doing things alone. . .I was quite dependent on others, which was well accepted by my friends (in school), but now I find this dependence unpleasant. (Dora, fourth interview, 07/03/2013)

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Dora was not alone in feeling this way. Fiona, Serena, Claire, and Hanna all experienced being alone. Hanna echoed Dora and said that previously in school, she would go to the canteen or even to the restroom with her classmates. I have never tried to do things alone. In this university, each person has his/her own matters to take care of. It’s impossible for students to stay together all the time like we did in school, so I have learned to walk alone or go to the canteen alone, although I constantly feel lonely. But I know that this is a natural process of growing up. It’s impossible to have company all the time. My father told me it’s comforting to be alone sometimes. (Hanna, fourth interview, 5/3/2013)

Hanna showed a sharp contrast between the collective life she enjoyed in school and the lonely time she had in the university, which presented a difficult time for her. Nonetheless, she knew that being alone is unavoidable and a natural part of growing up. Her father comforted her and told her that after she got used to being alone, she would be able to appreciate it. The change in the student management system makes establishing friendships immediately difficult for first-year students. Therefore, many students feel lonely for a long time, making their adaptation to university more difficult than it already is. Compared with students in mainland Chinese universities, those in Hong Kong universities experience a long period of loneliness and take a long time to build their new social network in university. According to Dora, some postgraduates who completed their first degree in universities in mainland China had told her that they were also managed in ban and tended to stick together in groups, unlike in foreign countries or Hong Kong, where individualism is emphasized. Dora said, “We have been sticking to groups for 18 years, and now suddenly we have to be independent. Both Fiona and I are not used to it” (Dora, fourth interview, 7/3/2013). Feeling lonely in the first semester is a common issue faced by many first-year students, especially international students who are far from their home. Many mainland Chinese students become detached from their family and friends for the first time. The feeling of loneliness is understandable. The loneliness described by Dora was also echoed by Fiona. Similar to other firstyear students, Fiona had to learn to become independent in various aspects. As mentioned in section “Evidence of Growth”, she had little difficulty in taking care of herself. She learned to cook meals in the first two months. What troubled Fiona for the whole first year until the start of the second year was the lack of friends in university. She and another girl, Vicky, were the only mainland Chinese in her major. Fiona had little chance to communicate with others because of the different schedules of students. She claimed local students tend to stay together, and most of them go home after class, so she had little chance to know them. Vicky was the only friend she had, but they had different schedules so she felt lonely most of the time. Fiona considered herself as someone who needed friendship. “I like to study alone, but I like to do things, for instance, go shopping or have fun, with friends” (Fiona, second interview, 06/11/2012). The state of being alone and the feeling of loneliness lasted for quite some time for Fiona. At the end of the first semester, she had the following to say:

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What I’m still not used to is that I have no intimate friends here. In high school, I had several good friends, very intimate friends. We were together nearly every day. I could tell them anything. We got along very well in terms of personality. Here, although I come across many people, it’s hard to find someone who shares common interests with me and with whom I get along. Not even one until now. I feel a bit disappointed in this. I am alone all day long. In the past, I had company with me even when I fetched drinking water. (Fiona, third interview, 14/12/2012)

Fiona tried to communicate with her former friends, but found that they shared less common interests now as they had been separated and living differently. I’m alone every day. I sometimes chat with my former friends online, but we now have fewer things in common. I feel a bit strange now. I know this is unavoidable but I really feel sad about this kind of strangeness. . .I know that we will not lose one another, but we have different concerns in life now. (Fiona, fourth interview, 5/03/2013)

Friendship is important to students who need emotional support from others. For Fiona, finding a suitable friend seemed to be more difficult than for other participants because only two mainland Chinese students were in her major. Moreover, their personalities did not match well. Fiona reiterated her loneliness even at the beginning of her second year: It’s totally different from high school in lifestyle and mentality. I don’t know how to overcome the loneliness deep inside me. I find it really hard to get used to being alone all the time. I’m really not used to it. I need a friend who I can meet up with whenever I want to. This makes me very sad but I really do not know how to deal with it. (Fiona, fifth interview, 23/09/2013)

Fiona communicated well with Vicky and regarded her as a good friend. However, they had some conflicts while participating in the work-and-travel program in the USA during the summer vacation before their second academic year. Vicky was irritated with Fiona’s being too dependent on her for many things. Fiona felt frustrated for a long time. The conflicts between Vicky and her affected her profoundly. Fiona felt she was pushed to be alone and forced to be detached from others. Fiona:

Researcher: Fiona:

Now, when I want to ask friends for help, I have to give it another thought. If I can do it alone, then I will not trouble others. I don’t know whether this is a change for better or worse. Anyhow, this is my state at the moment. . .emotionally, I’m now used to being alone, but I can’t help but be sad sometimes. I fear that I will isolate myself if I continue to be alone like this. Do you think that being emotionally independent may not be a good thing? No. It’s not necessarily a good thing. . .but I know this is a natural process. I know that people can experience a lonely time in the process of growing up, and now it’s my time. It has its good side in that I can do things alone without relying on others. But friendship, kinship, and love are all mutual. It will be too bad if I stay isolated as a result of becoming emotionally independent. (Fiona, fifth interview, 23/09/2013)

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Being emotionally detached from friends and becoming more independent in terms of emotions and behaviors were agonizing processes for Fiona. She felt sorry for the change she had to make to get along with her friends. For her, mutual reliance among friends was not a bad thing or an indicator of dependence. Rather, it was an indicator of loyalty and support among friends. Being emotionally detached or physically independent from others may not indicate real independence. Balancing interdependence and independence is a delicate issue. It is a long process of trial and negotiating among different individuals. Fiona needed to work hard to adjust to being lonely in university. She tried to change her ways of getting along with friends. From my later informal communication with Fiona (after the data collection period was over) in their second year, I learned that Fiona and Vicky got along well again and Fiona had more communication with other students. She told me that she changed her attitude and accepted the need to be more independent. Dora and Fiona needed more emotional support or attachment than the others. Thus, loneliness was less bearable for them than for the others. However, this finding can be explained from another perspective: the other participants might have had fewer difficulties in finding and making new friends, which provided them with the sense of belonging early, and thus they did not complain so much about being lonely (see Pittman & Richmond, 2008). For instance, Anna lived with two local students who were friendly and supportive of her. With the harmonious atmosphere in her department, the local and mainland Chinese students mingled well. Natalie, who was in the same department as Anna, echoed this condition. Both of them found being involved in the new environment to be easy. Claire and Serena belonged to a small department in the university. Most students had classes together so they had a chance to get to know one another in a short time. Thus, both Claire and Serena reported less loneliness than the other participants. Cathy, who belonged to the Chinese department where local students speak good Mandarin Chinese, found making friends easy with both mainland Chinese and local students. Justin, who spoke Cantonese and actively participated in several social activities, made some good friends. Hanna, on the other hand, found making friends difficult and felt lonely. However, with her strong motivation to perform well academically, she spent nearly all her energy on studying, leaving her little time to worry about other issues. To sum up, a combination of factors contributed to students’ feelings towards the new environment: the social context they were in, their own personalities, their needs or goals in life, the department they were in, activities they were involved in, and the people they met. The dynamic interaction of all these factors affected the adjustment of a student to a new environment.

Coping Strategies In the previous sections, the various issues that first-year students faced while adjusting to the more independent lifestyle in university were explored along with their development while coping with these issues. As illustrated by the examples of

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some of the participants, they adopted various strategies to cope with the problems they encountered. For instance, they observed others (Serena), practiced their life skills (Fiona), reflected on their own behaviors (nearly all participants), and learned from other people. Help from others also played an important role in their development. For example, nearly all participants mentioned that their parents or fellow students helped them. This issue will be further explored later. In the following section, a few more strategies that the participants applied are highlighted, including self-discipline, self-reflection, and seeking help from other sources, such as books and other people.

Self-discipline Setting goals and making plans are relatively easy for students. However, carrying out or sticking to the plan may be difficult and require willpower. Anna commented: The first thing I needed to overcome was the desire to go to sleep. We reached a conclusion in a discussion with some other students that the bedroom is not a place for study because a bed and a computer are nearby. Very possibly you will either sleep or use the computer for entertainment. If you really want to study, the library is the best place to go. . .You have to be strong willed. Otherwise, you will be easily distracted by other things. . .One can settle down and study in the library, which is similar to classrooms. Everybody is so quiet there, and you will be able to concentrate on studying. (Anna, second interview, 10/10/2012)

With considerable free time and freedom, students can choose to do what they like. They can either idle away the time or use it properly. Self-discipline is needed for the latter. As Anna explained, she needed willpower to put her plans into practice. Otherwise, a plan would always be just a plan. Thus, she preferred to go to the library than to study in her room, which held some distractions. Justin emphasized that the two most important qualities for university students are self-discipline and time management ability. He realized that university teachers no longer pushed students to study like high school teachers. For instance, in literature class, the teacher assigns materials for us to read. If we don’t read, what will we do in class? In high school, if we didn’t read as we should, we would be scolded and our teachers would talk to our parents. If you didn’t want to study, someone would force you to study; if you didn’t want to read, someone would force you to read. Things are different in university. (Justin, third interview, 03/12/2012)

Justin remarked that his fellow students with poor self-discipline and who did not prepare would not benefit from attending class as much as those who prepared. Claire regarded herself as a well-disciplined and organized student who liked making plans. She seldom spent time chatting with others in online social networks, for instance, in GQ, which she considered a waste of time. She said she had more important things to do. She was always ahead of others in her studies. For example, when other students were still writing the outline of an essay, she would already be finished with the first draft. She would then give it to the teacher for feedback and

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then improve it based on the teacher’s comments. In this way, the quality of her assignments could be guaranteed. Claire: Researcher: Claire:

Well, sometimes I think others can have fun, but I can’t. Why not? It’s not that I shouldn’t have fun. But it’s because I’m at a much lower academic level than others. (Third interview, 15/12/2013)

In the first semester, Claire was determined to work hard to catch up with others. She adjusted well to academic learning and allowed herself more time to participate in social activities in the second semester. Not every person has the strong willpower that Claire demonstrated. Therefore, some students resort to external forces to manage themselves. For students who grew up in a place with a collectivistic culture, peer influence may prove to be a good external force on which they can rely. Dora discussed the positive influence of her hard-working friend in another university. She learned to set a certain amount of time each evening to focus exclusively on her studies, and it proved to be beneficial. Anna started to think about making plans only after she observed what her roommates had done. Sometimes, she would intentionally cooperate with her peers to discipline each other. I’ve only finished my PE (physical education) teacher’s assignment. I plan to do exercises together with my classmates. We supervise one another, so I have almost reached the goal. (Anna, second interview, 10/10/2012)

Anna and her fellow students supervised one another in finishing assignments because they knew that persistence would be difficult to maintain if they did tasks alone. Seeing groups of mainland Chinese students studying in the library is common. They try to apply peer influence to discipline themselves aside from relying on one another for collective support. Thus, interdependence can be a good method for enhancing one’s independence.

Self-reflection Self-reflection refers to the ability to think over what one has done and find space for improvement. It is one of the core components of one’s autonomy (Holec, 1981; Candy, 1991; Little, 1991). Being reflective can be demonstrated in various ways, including knowing one’s own strengths and weaknesses, understanding one’s own values, interests, and learning style, and being willing to try different strategies. Selfreflection is a technique individuals often apply as they grow up. Dora recovered from her down period with the help of her mother and some friends. Nevertheless, she adapted fully to university life because of her selfreflection. She reflected about her own weaknesses, self-discipline, relationship with her mother, and her attitude toward her studies. The following is an example of her self-reflection:

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I think I’m not good enough at self-discipline. I think I should at least know what to do and what I haven’t done well. . .I was frustrated about this before but now I feel better. . .I think I can ask for help if I know my self-discipline is not good enough, such as ask someone to give me a little push. I shouldn’t expect myself to become very strong in a short time. (Dora, second interview, 11/11/2012)

Dora admitted that her self-discipline was weak and that she needed to ask others to help discipline herself. In the past, she refused to admit her weaknesses, but later, she realized that facing her shortcomings and accepting her failure was good. By reflecting on her down period in the first semester, she understood that she still needed to improve. She had a poor academic record in the first semester, and she convinced herself to accept the fact. “The past is past, and I can only take control of the future,” she said. Dora realized that failing her first assignment could have been avoided if she had known the teacher’s requirements earlier and understood how she could improve her situation by communicating with her teacher. Dora mentioned in her emails that she was afraid to speak in public. Later, she worked hard to overcome her shyness and timidity. I was too self-conscious to communicate with my teachers. Actually, I should have come to my teachers once I realized that I was not capable enough. I should have taken the initiative to seek help from my teachers. When I have emotional problems, I should talk to someone. (Dora, fourth interview, 07/03/2013)

With constant reflection about what she had done and not done about her academic studies, Dora resolved to be devoted to her study. She tried to make preparations for classes and review what she had learned. Pressure from studying and social activities pushed her to reflect. I think that pressure from studying pushed me to reflect on myself. Without the pressure, working in the CSSA would’ve been relaxing. I don’t think there will be any improvement in my ability to reflect and in my personal growth. (Dora, fourth interview, 07/03/2013)

Claire also conducted constant self-reflection. She liked to make plans, but more importantly, she wanted to further improve her planning skills. Specifically, she wanted to learn how to prioritize. The following is her reflection on planning, specifically on what she could do to further improve her time management skills: I think I have done well enough. Next semester, I think that I will apply the lessons I learned from this semester. I realized that I would always rush to finish my assignments. I put off all things until the last minute. . .This time, once I get the assignment, I will start doing it instead of waiting for the deadline. It’s really bad to procrastinate. If you put off one thing, you will actually put off several things. (Claire, third interview, 15/12/2012)

In the fourth interview, she told me she had made progress in managing her time. For instance, aside from studying, she participated in more activities and found more time to read the books she liked. She also found time to read magazines and English novels before going to bed, as well as memorize English words. For Claire, improving oneself is a life-long process. She was not satisfied with herself too easily because she would always find weaknesses. Thus, she would need to constantly change.

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Reading Books on Time Management Time management skills can be improved in different ways. As discussed in the previous sections, participants learned to improve their time management skills from others, through self-reflection, and by trial and error. The participants also reported reading relevant books to help themselves grow. For instance, Dora read several books on self-help and improving time management skills because she was not confident about her self-discipline and time management skills. Making friends with time (He Shijian Zuo Pengyou) was one of the books that helped her. Following the advice given in the book, she wrote down what she did each day and the amount of time spent on each activity and then reflected on their reasonability. In this way, she could get a clear picture about what she had accomplished, and she would know whether she had wasted time, enabling her to make improvements next time. This method of managing time worked well for Dora. In the first semester, she felt constantly caught up in various tasks. From the second semester onwards, however, she felt that she had better control of her life. She had one schedule book for writing down her daily activities and another one for writing down long-term plans. She tried it for nearly a semester. In the second academic year, she was capable of managing her time and doing things well without writing down details.

Social Support Social support networks are crucial in learner development, especially during critical periods, such as the transition to university life of first-year students (Jackson, 2012; Naylor et al., 2018; Pittman & Richmond, 2008). An individual’s social support network consists of parents, relatives, friends, and peers. Family members are usually the first group that students turn to when they have problems, especially when they have good communication with their families. As mentioned before, Justin had good communication with his parents, and he would always share his thoughts and concerns with them. In the first semester, Justin had difficulty in managing his life, and thus his parents gave him suggestions on how to live a balanced life. Justin followed their suggestion of including sports in his tight schedule. He then felt healthy and happier. In October, I was really down. My parents told me that I needed sports in my life. We will feel down if we sit too long in an air-conditioned room while not exercising regularly. (Justin, third interview, 03/12/2013)

Support from peers has been claimed to be an important buffer to the stress caused during school-university transition (Tao et al., 2000; Timmis, 2012). In this study, the participants gradually turned to their peers more often for help than to their parents as time went on because they were in the same environment, had similar experiences with their peers, and could understand and comfort each other better.

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The data collected from the Group QQ (GQ) generated good evidence of peer support. To triangulate the data collected, I observed the participants through the GQ set up by the CSSA. Although not all participants actively participated in it, they all stated that the GQ provided them with important information in their initial stages and gave them a sense of belonging. From the instant message exchanges of students from different cohorts, I obtained a larger picture of their social network and how their lives could be affected by it. For instance, I observed how the senior students helped the junior students and passed on traditions from one cohort to the next. Observing the two cohorts of students going through similar things at similar times of the year was interesting. This observation provided both important contextual information and crucial supporting evidence for my findings (Ding & Stapleton, 2015). The analysis of the messages showed four major functions of the GQ: it provided informational, instrumental, and emotional support to those in need and was a venue for enjoyment. As indicated by the messages, a large amount of chatting was to seek information among the students. This allowed new students to become familiar with the university even before they arrived. The GQ provided students with many handson experiences that helped the first-year students to be familiar with the new academic and social environment efficiently. The students also offered or obtained practical help from each other through GQ, for instance, borrowing and lending things and organizing activities. Most importantly, the students obtained emotional support from one another by sharing their happiness, loneliness, and frustration. The first month was more about seeking information to become familiar with the physical environment of the university as quickly as possible. In the first few days, many questions were asked about registration and checking in at the dormitory. Students excitedly communicated with one another about their room allocations in the dormitory. As many of the mainland students became familiar with one another through online chatting, a certain degree of closeness had developed among them even before they had face-to-face meetings. As the students could use the Internet nearly anytime and anywhere, they could ask questions whenever they needed. In the first few weeks, they asked questions about how to use the facilities in the university, including the facilities in the dormitory (e.g., how to switch on the tap in the washroom and how to use the air-conditioner and the washing machine); how to use the sports facilities; and how to apply for lockers, among others. Questions were also asked about how to get around the university and what transportation was available nearby. The GQ commonly served as an announcement board where anyone who needed help could leave a message and have a high possibility of getting back many responses. The following is an example of a typical textchat. To protect the students’ privacy, I deleted the students’ QQ number and instead indicate the different speakers by using students A, B, etc.

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BEd-EL-(student A) Anybody here? BEd (P) (student B) -BEd-EL- (student C) ? BEd (music) (student D) I am here BEd (music) (student D) What’s up BEd (EL) (student E) I am having dinner BEd-EL- (student F) In the dormitory BEd (music) (student D) Woke up just now, in the bedroom BEd-EL- (student A) Does anybody have an extra plug adapter? BED(P) (student B) I am on my way to the basketball playground BEd-EL- (student A) I just got back to Hong Kong 34 BEd-EL- (student A) Now in the dorm, anybody lives in Hall B? BEd (P) (student B) I do not have that thing BEd-EL- (student F) Yes, I have BEd-EL- (student F) I am in Hall B

This conversation took place in the late afternoon on September 5, 2012, about 10 days after the students entered university. Student A needed a plug adapter and he wanted to find out who had one. Instead of making a phone call, with only one person receiving the message, he left a message in the GQ, which brought up a list of responses from a group of people. This outcome brought warmth and a sense of belonging to that person in need. Moreover, a practical problem was immediately solved. Many examples of this kind can be found in the GQ. Aside from seeking or sharing information, students also organized activities together through the GQ. For instance, in the first few weeks, many mainland students made plans to cook together on weekends through the GQ. Sometimes, when students had some food to share, they would leave a message in the GQ to invite whoever happened to see the message to get together and enjoy the food. The students would then turn from this virtual meeting place to a real one. For the firstyear mainland students who were far away from home, feeling lonely at the beginning of their university life was inevitable. The GQ definitely made it easier for these students to handle their loneliness because they could easily find company through the GQ. The following is an example of students looking for company: Student A: Student A:

It is the weekend again, what is everyone doing? I just finished the rehearsal.

Social Support

Student B: Student C: Student D: Student B: Student D: Student D: Student D:

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Playing “three kingdom” (a game)? Play badminton? Yes. Have we booked the court? Tomorrow morning. We can book now. For the morning on the 15th.

This chat occurred at the beginning of a new academic year. A senior student (A) checked how the junior students were settling in and what they were doing. He initiated a plan to organize an activity that elicited immediate responses from several junior students (B, C, and D). An activity (playing badminton) was soon planned. As mainland students lived in different dormitories and different rooms, the GQ became the most convenient way of communication among them because it was free and the messages could be received by a large audience. For instance, when students wanted to do some shopping, they would leave a message in the GQ to see who was available. When students wanted to play sports, they would make an announcement in the GQ to invite those who wanted to play. As they were used to the collective life in secondary school in mainland China, many students found being alone in the new university environment unbearable. Thus, they preferred to seek company whenever they could. As the GQ had many members, students could find company when they needed it, at least at the beginning of the first semester when formal teaching had not yet started and students were not so busy. Once the academic life started, many students had a more difficult time finding company because they all had different schedules. With the help of the GQ, students were able to remind each other about upcoming events. Student A: Student B: Student B: Student A: Student B: Student A: Student B: Student B:

The first quiz is before Sept. 22. Right, you must keep this in mind. Do you have a quiz each week. Yes. You’d better write down all the deadlines and tick one when it is done. Good idea. Because there will be many (deadlines). . . It is really easy to forget the quiz and comment each week.

This is a conversation between a senior student and a junior student. At first, the junior student tried to remind her peers about the coming quiz, and then the senior student shared her experience with the junior one, asking her to write down all the deadlines so that she would not forget them. This example is only one of the many that show how the senior students offered help to the junior students. Students could also seek or offer practical and emotional support. For instance, they could share their problems, solve them together, and comfort each other. When

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students felt sick, they could ask for help from their fellow students. In response, other students would offer help by giving advice or offering medicine. Many students feel lonely in their first year because they do not have friends yet. Eventually, they find friends in the new environment. At the beginning of the second year, most of the participants were more relaxed and felt more adapted to the university life. An important reason for this is that they had already established a stable circle of friends. In the past, I would call my mum every day, and I didn’t know how to cook. Now, I have friends living with me. We communicate with each other and keep each other company, which helps me adapt to this environment more easily. For instance, we go shopping and cook together. We have meetings together to share our experiences, which increases our adaptability. (Serena, fifth interview, 26/09/2013)

After a year, many participants made some good friends, and some even applied to live in the same flat or on the same floor with their friends. When they spoke about this with me, they all appeared happy and satisfied. According to Hanna, she shared the bedroom with one of her friends. At the same time, several of her other friends lived on the same floor with her, so she did not feel lonely any more. To conclude, social support, especially peer support, played an important role in enhancing the adaptation process of the first-year students.

Growth of Autonomy in Life Management Autonomy in Life Management In this chapter, I have described some of the common lifestyle issues first-year students encountered in the initial stages of university life. These issues were caused mainly by the differences between school and university, the differences between the mainland China and Hong Kong contexts (i.e., problems caused by double transition), and the students’ not being able to adapt to the changes and solve the problems quickly enough. The students had difficulty in managing time because they had to take control of multiple tasks in their lives at the same time, including disciplining themselves, taking care of daily life, keeping balance between social activities and study, and regulating the stress caused by being lonely. As stated in Chap. 2, Candy (1991, p.459) listed more than 100 autonomous behaviors, such as setting goals, making plans, managing time, and self-reflecting, among others. The issues discussed in this chapter are all related to the students’ autonomy in life management. Problems occur when students’ autonomy level does not align with what is required of them. Without preparation or previous training and without a certain degree of help, many students may not be able to handle all these matters well. Unlike in their previous life experiences, the requirement for autonomy increases tremendously in university. Facing the challenge is usually coupled with a great deal

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of emotional struggle because, in this transitional period, the students go through emotional detachment from their families and former friends, and are forced to become independent abruptly to some extent. Being able to deal with these issues is an important indicator of the students’ autonomy. Based on the analysis of the data in this study, in the context of school-university transition and cross-border transition, autonomy in life is demonstrated as an individuals’ ability to take control of the part of their life beyond their studies. It refers to the ability to make decisions and take action in terms of setting goals for life, making long- and short-term plans in life, managing daily schedules, balancing life and study, managing free time, regulating emotions, and taking care of daily needs (e.g., food, laundry, shopping, budgeting own money, etc.), among others. Students’ autonomy in life management is the foundation for other matters in their lives, such as academic learning and related issues.

Evidence of Growth By adopting Benson’s (2010) multi-dimension model of control, we can obtain a clearer idea of how the transition from school to university challenged the participants’ autonomy. As depicted in Fig. 5.1, in school (top picture), the participants needed to make fewer decisions than they had in university (bottom picture) in terms of daily life issues. As identified from the data, the dimensions of life that the students needed to take control of in school were limited to going to school, coming home, and managing a few hours of spare time each school day, which was usually crammed with assignments from school. Although Hanna, Natalie, and Cathy might have had more time at their disposal as their schools allowed them more freedom to make their decisions in learning, the other participants claimed that they seldom had much spare time, especially in the last year of senior high. Most participants, except Hanna and Serena, lived at home with their parents and thus had their parents to take care of them. Nevertheless, Hanna and Serena, who lived in boarding schools, did not need to worry much about their daily lives because they had meals with fellow students at the same time and in the same place every day. Note that, for students, their autonomy in life and autonomy in learning are closely related because much of their life is spent studying, especially so in school. As demonstrated in Fig. 5.1, the participants took control of their lives in more dimensions and in greater degrees in university than in school. Identified from the data, A in Fig. 5.1 refers to time management, B to setting goals, and C to balancing life and study. A, B, and C are the dimensions that exist in all stages. Other dimensions may exist in the stage of school that have not been identified here. In the university stage, some new dimensions of life that were not a concern in school were clearly identified by the participants. The new dimensions include (D, E, F, etc.) taking care of one’s daily life, budgeting one’s money, and setting up a new social network, among others. The participants were forced to become more independent as they tried to deal with these various dimensions in life. They reported

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growth in independence at different stages, as mentioned in the previous sections. In their second year, their growth was obvious when they compared themselves with the junior students in the new cohort.

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When I spoke with her at the beginning of her second year, Dora considered herself more mature than the first-year students, that is, not mature in appearance, but in mentality. I think I was too naïve a year ago. I overestimated my own abilities, but I turned out to be weak in practice. I would always compare my own weaknesses with other peoples’ strengths, constantly feeling lost, but I didn’t know where the problem was. Now, I’m more adapted to the environment. I know what my weaknesses are, and I feel more peaceful. Of course, there is room for more improvement. This semester, I can control my emotions (tiaojie qingxu 调节情绪) better and don’t have big ups and downs. I make a reasonable schedule for myself, unlike before when I was exhausted with too many classes and activities. (Dora, fifth interview, 26/09/2013)

In retrospect, Dora could see her weaknesses more clearly and her improvements in her first year. She gained more confidence in herself and was certain that she had adapted better into the university life. She was also more rational in realizing that she could still improve much. Dora considered herself on the right track in her second academic year in both her studies and social life, including her work in the CSSA. In comparing herself with the new cohort of students, Fiona more deeply understood the true meaning of taking part in different social activities. That is, participating in activities should not be done for the sake of participating, but for the cultivation of students’ ability to take the initiative to organize their own activities in the future, not as a participator but as a controller and initiator. I can still see myself a year ago in the first-year students of this cohort. I was just like them in many ways, in appearance and mentality. Just like them, I attended all kinds of activities without really thinking of the purposes of these activities. Now, I have a much better understanding. We shouldn’t just attend an activity, but also foster our abilities to create and organize similar kinds of activities in the future. That’s what the University wants us to know and I only came to know this now. (Fiona, fifth interview, 28/09/2013)

After one year in university, Natalie had a better understanding of her own weaknesses and strengths, her major, and the curriculum. She also recognized the essence of being a university student, that is, making more decisions for her own learning and growth. Generally, I’m more mature now. I know what I want to do now, what my weaknesses are, and how to overcome them. I have a better understanding of my courses. I’m now trying different things so that I can decide better on what I want to do in the future and what kind of life I want to lead. I have clearer goals now and know what it’s like to be a university student. (Natalie, fifth interview, 28/09/2013)

Anna did not have the slightest idea about making plans at the beginning of her first year. Nevertheless, part of her growth was that she could make better decisions for herself. She became more independent in thinking and could make decisions for herself independently in terms of both her daily life and her studies. I’m more mature now in thinking, and I know how to make decisions independently on many small things and also know how to make schedules accordingly. I’m more independent in both life and study. I think I have adapted to the life here (the University) and begun to enjoy the life and studying here. (Anna, fifth interview, 25/09/2013)

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Naturally, all nine participants obtained a sense of growing up after their first year of university life. The above comments are representative excerpts taken from their interviews to demonstrate their own conception of growth in different aspects of life. Based on the evidence discussed in this chapter, becoming more autonomous in life involves several steps: obtaining a better understanding of oneself in terms of what one can and cannot do at a certain stage, finding appropriate strategies to improve the situation, and trying, retrying, and evaluating one’s own progress. As indicated in the previous sections, by going through the changes from school to university and from mainland China to Hong Kong, the participants obtained a better understanding of themselves. Moreover, through practice and reflection, they continuously modified their behaviors to meet the requirements as university students to be more autonomous both in life and study.

Summary In this chapter, the major issues of the participants in adapting to a more independent lifestyle in university were described and analyzed. Evidence was given to demonstrate the participants’ growth in their autonomy in life management. After their first year, all participants became more independent in thinking, in managing their daily lives in university, and in time management. In the next two chapters, more examples from the participants are used to illustrate how they coped with their studies and English language learning in a multilingual context. As mentioned earlier, in the context of the university, where English is the major medium of instruction, students’ academic learning is closely interwoven with their English learning. However, for the convenience of presentation, the next two chapters focus on different sides of the same story. For the nine participants, content knowledge delivered through English presented different challenges. Some participants were challenged by the academic learning style or content knowledge, whereas others had more problems in English learning.

Chapter 6

Becoming More Independent in Academic Learning

R: Do you have any difficulty in studying lately? H: I need a leader. R: What’s that? H: Someone to tell me how to study, how to study better, and what I should study. R: You need a leader. You need someone to guide you. . . like a teacher? H: Yes. I need someone to whom I can ask questions. When I was in secondary school, I had many classmates to whom I could ask. But now everybody is busy with homework. It’s hard to ask others. (Hanna, first interview, 29/09/2012)

In this chapter, I focus on the second major issue experienced by the participants: adapting to the new academic learning system in university, which involves being familiar with a new major subject and a new evaluation system. From the interviews, I learned that the participants chose to study in Hong Kong for different reasons, but all of them were motivated to study hard. Moreover, the tuition fee in Hong Kong universities is high compared to mainland China. Thus, the participants worked hard in the hope of applying for scholarships to reduce some of the financial burden on their parents. Thus, they wanted to make sure that they learned as much as possible to make the money spent on their education was worthwhile. Dora said that without a good academic record, mainland Chinese students would not be competitive enough in the job market if they wanted to work in Hong Kong after graduation. Compared with learning in school, learning in university requires a higher level of student autonomy in terms of making decisions about what, when, where, and how to learn. Students have to take control of their learning to a greater degree in university than in school. As for when and where to learn, Chap. 4 showed the participants’ process of finding their own best time and place for studying while discussing their time management and planning. Participants tried to manage multiple tasks and prioritize their studies among other tasks. However, this aspect is only part of the story. The what, how, and with whom questions still needed to be answered. These issues put greater stress on many students, especially those who © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 F. Ding, First Year in a Multilingual University, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0796-7_6

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regard academics as their top priority in university, just like Hanna, who expressed her frustration in the interview extract at the beginning of this chapter. In this chapter, I describe and analyze the major what, how, and with whom issues the participants reported in their academic learning, for instance, selecting their own courses and learning materials; getting familiar with a new subject, new evaluation standards, and new assessment forms; and the participants’ development of their independent learning ability in a new academic system and the factors that helped them grow.

Selecting Their Own Courses and Learning Materials In the university, students of most majors have to decide on what courses to take each semester. The core courses for each major are fixed for students, but the time is usually flexible and students can choose the time that suits their schedule. Aside from the core courses, a variety of elective courses are available for students. All these choices may cause difficulties for students because they are not certain how to make this important decision for themselves. As explained in Chap. 5, selecting courses requires students to make long-term plans for themselves. Therefore, students should have a clear goal about their academic learning in their four or five years of study in university. Even before entering university, Claire expressed her worries about selecting her own courses. My observation of the GQ revealed that many mainland students shared Claire’s worries, especially first-year students. The following are two excerpts of conversations among several first-year students taken from the message exchanges in the GQ in September 2012. Excerpt one: Student A: Even though I have read its description, I still do not know how to select . . . . Student B: So, selecting a course depends a lot on our luck. Student C: Even if we know what is taught in the course, how would we know if it would kill our GPA? Student A: I feel that looking at the title of the course will not tell us what it is all about. Student C: I feel really uncertain about the teachers we will have next semester. Student D: I chose Mr. Smith’s course with the same uncertainty last semester. Student A: Anybody taking the course Information Progressing or Governance: concepts, issues, and perspectives? The time for these two courses suits me, and I want to get some ideas about them. . . Student B: While others are worried about selecting courses, students from the Chinese Department feel no pressure at all. . . our courses are all chosen for us. . . although we feel a bit unhappy, we feel relaxed too. . . just like the system in mainland Chinese university. . . .[picture] Student E: They are all worried about electives. . . Student A: Do not you students of the Chinese Department need to select your own courses?

Excerpt two:

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Student A: Have you listened to the course introduction in the Orientation? Student B: Yes, I did, but I still do not understand it. Student C: I just wanted to ask if it was the explanation that was not clear or if you did not really get it? Student B: They really did not make it clear enough. I have to select the course tomorrow, very nervous.

Here, the students shared their worries about selecting their courses. First, they were not clear about what they would learn in a certain course. The title of the course or even the course description did not give them a clear idea about the course. Second, they had doubts about the teacher they would get. They feared getting a strict one (a killer in their words) because it would mean having difficulty in getting satisfactory marks in that course. On the basis of the conversation, students of the Chinese Department had a more relaxed time because they did not need to choose their own courses. As student B, a student of the Chinese Department, explained, the courses in their department had been decided for them, just like in universities in mainland China. Although the students were a little unhappy being deprived of choices, they were relieved about it because they had better circumstances than other struggling students. Course orientation was organized for new students, but many students still did not find it helpful enough, as mentioned above. Thus, they were nervous and tried to seek more first-hand experience from senior students. To a great extent, many firstyear students relied on senior students to provide them with information and guidance about how to select courses and about the teachers they would choose. Support from senior students played the role of scaffolding, helping first-year students become more independent in decision-making. According to the participants, in school, mainland Chinese students seldom needed to make decisions about what courses to take. All courses were fixed for them and all students had the same courses at the same time. Thus, when it was time for them to choose their own courses in university, they underwent great pressure. As Claire commented, she was not confident about her own choices. The participants became more comfortable with selecting courses after having some experience, having accumulated more knowledge from different sources, or having their teachers’ guidance and fellow students’ suggestions. Anna and Natalie both reported that their academic advisors asked them to hand in personal plans at the end of the first semester, indicating the courses they would take and when they would take them during their four years in university. The teachers provided them with the necessary information about the courses and helped them to identify their own interests and potential direction for future development. To a great extent, this strategy helped the students set up their goals and make plans for their academic development earlier. Claire and Serena mentioned similar experiences. As reported in Chap. 5, the participants became more mature and confident in selecting their own courses in the second year. Selecting a course is the first step in deciding what to learn; the next step is to choose learning materials. The participants understood that they should be more

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independent in learning in university, as demonstrated in their first interviews. It was only after having studied in university for a while that they realized that this implied they had to learn more than what the teachers taught in class. To better prepare for class, they needed to read many course-related materials, which might not be assigned by the teacher. The assessment criteria in university, such as presentation and academic essays, also require students to choose their own learning materials. Choosing what and what not to learn and how to learn is a demonstration of autonomy. For some students, occasionally choosing not to go to a certain lecture is also a demonstration of autonomy. For instance, in the second semester, after finding out that he could not learn much from a lecturer, Justin decided not to attend his class. Instead, he chose to self-study, which he considered more efficient. According to Justin, not attending class, but to self-study instead, was not acceptable and would be punished by the teacher. He would not have considered skipping class during his school days because it would have been disrespectful. However, after gaining more confidence in his ability to make decisions in university, Justin believed that a truly autonomous student should be able to choose when and when not to follow the teacher. Hanna and Serena echoed this sentiment as they had to rely on themselves by self-studying most of the time during their first year. As they could not learn much from their teachers, they resorted to self-studying, which gave them more confidence in their independent learning ability. This finding shows that the students changed from being dependent on the teachers in learning to being more dependent on themselves. Their independent learning ability became stronger, boosting their overall confidence as autonomous students taking more control of their lives.

Entering a New Field When students start to take subjects in their major, learning becomes different from that in school in terms of breadth and depth. Entering a new field is not easy for students. Not fully understanding her major at the beginning was one of the factors that frustrated Dora in her first semester. English was her strongest subject in high school, and she thought that learning her major in education (English language for primary school) would be similar to studying English in school. However, to her surprise, English majors had to do much more. They had to take literature, linguistics, and other theoretical courses, to which she was resistant at the very beginning. Dora had no motivation to learn. She also had other concerns in her life at that time, such as the time management, daily life, and emotional issues. Thus, Dora was not devoted at all to her academic learning in the first few months. However, after the first semester when her other issues were almost resolved, she had more time and energy to think about her major and started to understand it better (Ding & Curtis, 2020). I now understand that majoring in English Language Education is not only about learning the English language, but we also need to know about English literature. We need to know others things. My false understanding of this major directly caused my negative attitude

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toward it. I completely wasted my previous semester. I consider it as a lesson learned though. I don’t mind telling others how frustrated I was with my academic studies last semester. I want to hear more sharing of experiences from others. . .I felt so desperate for the first time, and the feeling didn’t pass quickly enough. I have learned to give in to the environment and accept it. It’s a positive acceptance. . .I accept the fact that I’m not good enough, that my major is tough, and that I need to spend more time on it. (Dora, fourth interview, 07/03/2013)

Dora majored in education (English language for primary school), which meant that she would become a primary English teacher in the future. At the beginning of university life, Dora was not happy about this prospect because she considered it too low a position. Later, she realized that being a primary teacher has its advantages. Working with children made her happy and put her talent in handicrafts to good use. After reflecting on what she had and had not accomplished in her academic studies, Dora decided to accept her major and devoted more time to study. She became more realistic about her goals and accepted that academic study would be her priority in university even if she remained active in some social activities that were also important for her. She attempted to follow the lessons her teachers taught, to prepare for classes and review what she had learned, and to balance between social activities and academic learning, as described in the following excerpt: I used Moodle (a digital learning platform) to learn independently. I read my notes, plan for revision, and take the initiative to ask questions. In March, we will have a busy period in CSSA. I need to improve my preparation and avoid unexpected activities. (Dora, fourth interview, 07/03/2013)

As discussed in Chap. 5, Claire fully devoted her time to her studies in the first semester, spending most of her time in the library because she thought she was at a lower level than her fellow students. Claire had difficulties in the main course of her psychology major. She could not understand the English lectures in the first few weeks. She said that it was not because her English was not proficient but that the content knowledge was new and too difficult for her to understand.

R: About the teaching, is there anything you like about it? C: Yes, I love all courses instructed in English even if I do not understand English well. R: You do not understand the English? C: I cannot say that I do not understand because I always thought that understanding the language and understanding the knowledge delivered through the language are two different things. I think knowledge should be digested to obtain meaning, which cannot be achieved by simply understanding the English that the teachers spoke. (Claire, second interview, 07/10/ 2012)

Claire listened to what her teacher taught, but could not grasp the deeper meaning because she spent all her time attempting to understand the surface meaning of the English words. She did not have the time to digest the information. Usually, she would only listen to her teacher speak, but would not know what he was talking about. Most English sentences sounded simple to her, but she could not understand the meaning beyond the language. In the third interview, Claire recalled her experience in the first few weeks and shared her coping strategies.

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I could not understand the lectures at first and I was so scared. I did not know what to do. They talked about behaviorism, and I knew nothing about that topic. Maybe, I was deficient in this aspect. After class, I talked to my other classmates and found that they understood more than I did. I found that I was behind and needed to catch up. I decided to prepare in advance. (Claire, third interview, 15/12/2012)

Claire explained that content knowledge, and not her English proficiency, was the aspect that affected her understanding. Thus, she tried to solve the problem by reading some Chinese materials first to obtain some background information and a better understanding of the content knowledge before going to class. This method worked well for her, and she became more efficient in studying. Claire also emphasized the importance of previewing lessons. She did not do this at first and thus she could not understand the teacher’s lesson. In previewing, she would study the lecture notes the teachers sent them beforehand rather than the textbooks to make better use of her time and found this strategy to be effective. Becoming familiar with a new subject means students have to be familiar with or even memorize a great number of new terms in English. Justin, Natalie, Fiona, Anna, and Serena all mentioned this. They tried to cope with this by preparing before class, reading the presentation slides the teachers had sent beforehand, checking new words, and reviewing what they had learned. If they had time, they would also read some course-related materials not assigned by their teachers. Moreover, they had to understand what they were expected to learn in the new subject areas. According to Anna, First, the teacher lectured about philosophy, I think. The difference between facts and opinions, what is knowledge, some abstract concepts like this. . . I was thinking: what on earth did the teacher wanted us to know? And then in the tutorial, a smaller class, the teacher asked us if we could understand him because he could not speak Mandarin Chinese. He spoke in Cantonese mixed with English. He asked us what difficulties we faced, and we told him that we didn’t know what he wanted us to learn. (Anna, second interview, 10/10/2012)

Not knowing what expectations the teachers had for them may set students back. It can also explain why many first-year students do not have clear goals and are confused.

Not Clear About the Evaluation Standard Many students are determined to study hard in university, but doing so is completely different from that of high school. In high school, the evaluation standard is clear for both teachers and students because it is exam oriented. The dimensions of the assessment have been made clear to them. In university, however, exams are no longer the only way to assess students. More often than not, a larger part of the assessment is done through other means, such as presentations, projects, and writing reports, which are quite new to students from mainland China. Some of the participants received poor results in their first assignment.

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I got a C+ for the first assignment. I felt bad for a few days. It was my first assignment, to design a study about luxuries. What on earth do I know about designing a study? I had no experience at all. I had to rely on my common sense. I handed in my draft to the teacher and asked him for advice for improvement, but he gave me a C+ and asked me to focus on the second assignment. I felt bad that I didn’t do well in the first assignment. What’s worse is that I didn’t learn much from that experience. The teacher should’ve given me a chance to improve. (Fiona, third interview. 14/12/2012)

In her first writing project, Fiona had no foundation and was not clear about the standard of evaluation. She received a poor grade, which was a great disappointment to her. What she disliked most was that she did not learn anything from the experience and she was still unclear about the teachers’ expectation. In the first two months in university, Hanna had an overwhelming feeling of wanting to learn, but she did not know how. “I do not know in which direction I should run. I do not know the direction. I feel eager to learn but do not know how.” What made things worse was that she could not find anyone to turn to for help, which was not the case in high school. Her first assignment was new to all first-year students, and Hanna was one of the earliest to handle it. In our second interview, one month after she entered university, Hanna repeated several times that she needed a leader, someone who would “tell me how to study, how to study better, and what to study.” Because study was Hanna’s top priority, she worried tremendously about her assignments. She wanted to work hard but she did not know where to channel her energy because she did not know what the teachers’ requirements and evaluation standards were. She wanted to read books for her project but did not know what books to read. She desperately needed a “leader” (her own words) to give her specific guidance in studying, but there was no one to guide her. When writing assignments in high school, I knew that I’d better use various sentence patterns. We also had a lot of practice in writing but I didn’t know if it was the same kind of writing here or not. I don’t know which way to go. Although I really want to study hard, I don’t know how. (Hanna, second interview, 29/09/2012)

As proposed by researchers (e.g., Wingate, 2007), first-year undergraduates should discover how to learn to become independent. In this process, most of them need to be trained to have discipline-related skills in terms of knowing how to learn. What troubled Hanna was the lack of skills needed to write academic papers in her new discipline and the lack of understanding of the rules and regulations of academic writing, presentations, and exams (see Bacon, 2002). These practices were new to her, and even if the exams were familiar to her, the rules were still not clear. Well, to be honest, I haven’t been in the right mood to study recently. I have an exam approaching, but I just can’t concentrate. It’s not like in high school or in primary school when I looked forward to exams. Now, I don’t have the enthusiasm anymore. Maybe it’s because I haven’t taken exams for a long time. Well, it’s also because no one tells me what will be examined, how I should prepare for it, and what the correct ways of answering questions are. (Hanna, 17/12/2012)

Not knowing the evaluation standard affected the students’ academic performance. Some of the participants obtained low GPAs for their first semester. Anna was shocked by her academic record in the first semester. However, she knew that

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things could turn for the better after she understood the evaluation standard and accumulated some experience after the first semester. Anna insisted that if she had known the evaluation standard earlier, she might have been able to set up her goals earlier. As discussed in Chap. 5, Anna did not have a clear idea about her goals in university for a while. I wish I could figure out what my goal is. Well, my short-term goal is related to grades, but as I’m not so clear about the evaluation standard, I find it hard to set my short-term goals. (Anna, third interview, 05/03/2013)

After one year of practice in doing oral presentation, projects, academic papers, and exams, the students gradually became aware of the requirements of the courses, which helped them modify their way of learning. They also became more familiar with all the regulations, such as the requirements for applying for scholarships and the benefits of participating in associations, among others. Although they may have missed some opportunities to get higher GPAs because of their lack of knowledge about these regulations, the experience of their first year was an important part of learning and growing up. The problems experienced by the students can be considered opportunities for the development of autonomy, which help increase their critical and independent thinking.

New Assessments: Presentations and Group Work In the university, oral presentations, projects, and essay writing are important assessment methods that can be conducted individually or in groups. The end product of a project may be a presentation or a written report. The oral presentation is a new and challenging task for many mainland students because they had seldom done it in school. Nearly all participants expressed anxiety at the beginning about coping with this new form of assessment. Usually, they had to conduct a presentation in English, which made the process even more stressful. Details on this issue will be presented in Chap. 7. Conducting a good presentation requires considerable effort from students, such as their ability to state their opinions clearly and convincingly. To reach this goal, students have to search widely for supportive evidence, which means that they have to read many relevant materials. They have to make decisions about what materials to choose. Dora expressed her confusion in the second interview about this. She did not know what materials to use, and how to synthesize information from the reading materials and present it to the audience clearly. Dora received a C for her first presentation because it was too long. She was very frustrated about it because many students got a B or B+, and she expected to get at least a B. Dora was not alone in feeling confused and frustrated. Serena, Fiona, and Anna also expressed anxiety and frustration in conducting presentations. The following is how Anna described her first presentation:

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I still remember the first time we did a presentation for science class. The teacher criticized our presentation for being too long, too complicated, and too detailed. The teacher said that it didn’t seem like a presentation. It was quite a blow to me. . . and then in English class, the teacher showed us videos on how to do presentations and gave us an example. Before that, I didn’t know what a presentation should be like. We had no examples to follow. I only knew after watching the local students do it. (Anna, third interview, 05/12/2012)

Anna had never done a presentation before, so she was not clear about the standards of doing a good presentation. Receiving negative feedback from her teacher was a big blow to her. To improve her presentation skills, she closely observed and tried to follow the example of some local students who were experienced in conducting presentations. She also watched videos of good presentations given by the English teacher. Anna felt more confident in doing presentations after three or four trials. Although she was still not fond of doing presentations, she admitted in the fifth interview that this mode of learning influenced her the most. It was different from the oral reports she had done in school, in which the students would read or recite a few sentences or a short paragraph. To conduct an in-depth and thought-provoking presentation, one has to read widely, digest the information, and deliver it effectively to the audience. In a word, one has to put in a great amount of effort into it. Students were sometimes required to do a group presentation, with several students cooperating and finishing a task. It presents both a challenge and good practice for many students. According to Fiona, A group presentation is a good thing. Its process is simple: search for materials, make a PowerPoint presentation, and then present it to the audience. However, it is more than that. First, you have to choose a topic; second, you need to assign tasks among your group members; and third, you need to choose the most relevant information to deliver. (Fiona, fourth interview, 05/03/2013)

Anna agreed with Fiona in saying that discussing with group members was good practice for her. She learned to discuss with others about taking different tasks and responsibilities and facing other students’ challenges while presenting. For Justin, group work is an important learning mode because it requires cooperation and a team spirit among group members, which are crucial in future jobs. Because in the future, working alone is impossible. You have to learn to communicate with people with different personalities. Through group work, we encounter different opinions and cope with different types of people. How to communicate, how to set the time, and how to solve unexpected problems. For example, what should we do if a group member tells us he is too busy and asks us to carry his share of the workload? (Justin, second interview, 18/10/ 2012)

Justin understood that group work prepares students for their future roles in society and cultivates their ability to communicate with different people and solve various problems. However, he and several other participants said that they should be mentally prepared for any conflicts or problems that might occur during their group work. For instance, some Hong Kong local students were not as devoted as many mainland students to studying and tended to leave assignments until the last minute. Thus, most mainland Chinese students usually chose to work with their

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fellow mainland students. Although Fiona preferred doing a presentation or a project alone because it was less troublesome and did not necessitate discussions with other people, she was well aware of the benefits of group work. Realizing that her group members had different opinions and strengths was inspiring for her. For instance, one of the members was good at summarizing. Fiona found that she could not summarize as well as that student. This small discovery was a great learning experience for her. Group work is a well-intended mode of learning that can benefit students greatly if it is conducted well because it helps students learn to cooperate with others. However, not all students are as devoted as others, which can then deprive other students of the opportunity for learning. In his literature tutorial, Justin complained that the teacher gave much time for group discussion, but most of the students did not prepare for class and did not read what had been assigned to them. Thus, the group discussion was not conducted smoothly. Justin’s group members tended to rely on him to answer the teachers’ questions or report to the class. In this case, Justin did not learn much from other students, and thus he considered group discussion as a waste of time. He maintained that the class would be better if it was more teachercentered so that he could learn more. Serena agreed with Justin. Although cooperative learning itself was a good form of communication and learning, it had to rely greatly on cooperation among all group members. The group dynamics could become complicated and stressful when working with not-so-cooperative group members. To sum up, in this section, the students’ major issues in academic learning were analyzed, including the selection of their own courses and learning materials and familiarizing themselves with the new subject area, including the new evaluation standard and new assessment forms. These issues presented difficulties for the students and challenged their autonomy in solving the problems. Although many students were confused, these issues constituted a great learning process for them and presented them with opportunities for development. In the following section, the students’ development in learning is discussed.

Participants’ Development in Learning Figure 6.1 illustrates the participants’ general route of development. They faced various changes in learning while transitioning from secondary school to university. For instance, learning in secondary school was controlled more by the teachers and the school as the students did not have much control over the learning content and the learning schedules, among others. Thus, in university, they encountered different challenges in the new academic environment, as illustrated in the previous sections. These challenges put great pressure on the participants, but at the same time brought them opportunities for self-development. After one year of study, the participants considered themselves to have adapted to their studies and to have made progress in the following aspects.

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Learning in secondary school Exam oriented

What was experienced in the changing process

Fixed courses Fixed schedules of students Learning focused mainly on textbooks

Struggling period: stress, anguish,

Assessment mode: mainly exams

confusion, and lack of confidence

Overall, the learning process is more teacher-centered, as

Coping period: seeking help from

students have little control over the textbooks, courses,

senior students, teachers, and other

learning goals, and schedules.

possible sources; pushing oneself for trial and error, and failure and

Learning in university

success; observing others and further

GPA oriented/ learning oriented

modifying learning behaviors

Fixed core courses + elective courses

Self-asserting stage: better

No fixed schedule

performance in oral presentation,

Lectures + tutorials + students doing research after class

writing, and exams; becoming more

Assessment mode: oral presentation, written report,

independent in thinking and learning,

projects, and exams—assessed both individually and in

boosted confidence, and interest in

groups

learning; becoming more

To conclude: learning is more student centered as students

autonomous

make more decisions about courses, schedules, learning goals, and when/what/how and with whom to learn

Fig. 6.1 Development route of the participants

First, the participants knew how to make more rational decisions in selecting courses, considering more about their own interest and future development. For example, in their second year, Dora and Anna no longer relied on the senior students’ opinions about what courses to choose. They chose courses according to what they thought would be beneficial for their future development and those that were of high quality. They no longer avoided strict teachers for the sake of getting high GPAs. The participants were also better at choosing their own learning materials after class and preparing for lectures, projects, and oral/ written tasks because of repeated trial and error. Second, the participants (e.g., Dora and Claire) had a better understanding of their respective majors and gained more knowledge about their fields. They became more engaged in academic learning and gained more confidence. Both Fiona and Serena came to appreciate their respective majors. In school, Serena had no strong interest in gaining knowledge and her learning was passive and exam oriented. In university, however, she became more motivated to learn because she found her major (psychology) truly interesting. After reading some books, she knew she had learned something new, and it made her excited and more motivated to learn. I really like my major. It’s different from high school. I had no enthusiasm for knowledge at that time. Studying was all for the matriculation exam. But now, after reading a chapter, I feel that I’ve learned something and feel very happy. Another important thing is that what we are learning is closely related to what we will do in the future. It must be something I like; otherwise, it will be horrible to work in an area in which I have no interest. (Serena, fifth interview, 26/09/2013)

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Third, after some time of learning in university, all the participants achieved a better understanding of what was required of them in their academic studies and of the different types of evaluation. According to Anna, “(In the first semester), we knew little about the exam and the way of teaching. It was only after we began the second semester that we got a better idea with the help of the experience we gained in the first semester. It became clearer” (Anna, fifth interview, 25/09/2013). Hanna discovered that, in academic writing, one’s thought and logic were more important than the language used. She understood that learning in university is not simply an evaluation of the students’ English proficiency. For example, the academic writing used in literature involves one’s knowledge of literature or even a foundation of Chinese. Writing also tests one’s logic and the depth of one’s thought. English is only a medium for delivering information, but it is not the most important aspect. According to Hanna, “It’s like some of the famous works of great people. Thinking is the most important thing” (Hanna, fourth interview, 05/03/2013). Hanna, Serena, Claire, and Natalie were more aware of and more confident about their own ways of learning after one year of study. Fourth, some of the participants emphasized the benefits they gained in presenting and group work. For example, Anna reported that doing presentations and group work helped to cultivate her autonomous learning and independent thinking. “You have to think through a problem from the very beginning until you are able to solve it. It is a process of independent thinking.” She said that group work is focused more on cooperative learning. We have group presentations in some courses. A group of students work together to solve a problem. In the past, we studied alone and only when we had something that we didn’t understand would we ask other students for help. But we never worked in groups. (In group work), we have to work both independently and cooperatively with others. Both (abilities) are very important. (Anna, second interview, 10/10/2012)

Anna considered herself lazy, someone who did not like challenges. In school, she seldom thought of a solution whenever she encountered problems. Nevertheless, she would finish all her assignments. Usually, she was just a listener: she would listen to others talking about their thoughts instead of putting forward her own opinions. However, in group work, she was influenced by her classmates who were devoted to learning and being active in thinking. “When you see that everybody is sharing their ideas, you feel the urge to share your own opinions as well,” Anna explained. Thus, she gradually learned to think actively and tried to share her opinions and ideas in group work. Both her independent thinking ability and cooperative spirit were cultivated in group work. Her parents’ comments also helped her realize her own growth. My parents noticed this change in me when I chatted with them online. They told me that I was more independent. (Anna, second interview, 10/10/2012)

The cooperative learning atmosphere in group work helped Anna to become more independent, confirming the notion that interdependence is a precondition and part of independence (Deci & Flaste, 1995).

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Group discussions helped Fiona to develop her independent thinking and communication, along with her presentation skills. “Conducting presentations is a practical way to demonstrate your own stance and your independent thinking,” she said at the end of the first semester. She made great progress after several presentations; she became more fluent and confident. She tended to choose interesting topics that would demonstrate her unique thinking. She wanted to do something different from others. Group projects also promoted the participants’ cooperative learning skill, as reported by Justin, Anna, Serena, and Fiona. They learned to share their opinions with others in group tasks. Fiona learned how to write a proper academic paper after practicing in the first semester, similar to Anna and Justin. They had no training in academic writing in school, and thus writing a long essay in a formal academic format was a new thing. They all learned to reference properly and understood the necessity of acknowledging other writers, which raised their awareness on the rigors of academic writing.

Factors That Helped Them Develop Students’ Hard Work and Self-Discipline Although most of them experienced a stressful time in coping with challenges in academic learning, they were determined to succeed. For most students, acquiring new content knowledge in English is challenging because they have no foundation in the subject matter and have to solve problems on their own. They have to find proper ways to cope with difficulties and to manage anxiety and stress arising from the process. For Claire, although she could not understand the content of core courses in her major (psychology), she tried to read many Chinese supplementary materials after class to become familiar with the new content. She gradually caught up with the lesson and began to read more English supplementary materials because she knew that most of those books were originally written in English. Moreover, reading the original books could help her understand the writers’ intention better. In the learning process, the students had to discipline themselves, as demonstrated in earlier sections of this chapter. Anna, Claire, Serena, and Justin would go to the library to study because it provided a better learning environment and they could be influenced by their hard-working peers. Students also learned to make study plans according to their own needs. They prepared for lectures and memorized new terms in their special fields. In a word, most of the participants devoted themselves to academic learning. They adapted to the new academic system by observing good examples. For instance, Anna learned to make better presentations by watching videos on presenting and the local students who gave good presentations. Dora learned to be more devoted to learning by following the example of her hardworking friends. Compared with most of her peers in university, Hanna was a well-organized person. She always planned ahead of time. For example, she took English classes in

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the summer vacation before entering university to “prepare herself for Englishinstructed courses in university.” She had clear goals for herself even before entering university: 1. To get B in all courses to secure the scholarship 2. To look for a part-time job tutoring to accumulate teaching experience 3. As an English major, she wanted to practice her English so that she could speak as well as a native speaker in the future, which was her ultimate goal. With clear goals, Hanna was better prepared for independent learning in university. However, the freedom would sometimes put her in a confused and stressed state. In order to cope, she tried to live a regular life, go to bed early, and get up early. “I think I should take good care of myself because I’m far away from home. I have to go to bed early. I know that even if I stay up late, I may not get things done. Time is usually wasted. I’d rather get up earlier the next day” (Hanna, second interview, 29/09/2012). Only with a hard-working spirit and strong self-discipline were the students able to adapt to the transition more smoothly.

Social Support Teachers’ Support Teachers in university tend to have less contact time with students than teachers in high school, but they also affect students’ learning considerably and become an indispensable source of help to students. Anna spoke about her experience of seeking help from teachers: I can understand what the teachers teach in class. However, when I go over what we learned after class, I meet a lot of problems and so I email my teachers. They can help me solve these problems. In the past, the teacher would wait outside the classroom so we could ask questions, but I seldom asked any. Here, my peers may not know the answers to my questions. Therefore, the best way is to ask the teacher. (Anna, second interview, 10/10/ 2012)

Most first-year students are at the same level in terms of understanding the new academic system. They are in the same state of confusion and thus cannot help each other. Hanna found that seeking help among peers difficult. She would sometimes seek the help of senior students, but they were not always available because of different schedules. Anna agreed with Hanna on this issue as she also thought that her fellow students might not have the answers to her questions. Thus, she had to turn to her teacher for help. In high school, she was afraid to ask questions because her teachers were standoffish. If the students asked the wrong questions, the teachers would criticize them. By contrast, Anna’s teachers in university welcomed the students’ questions, and the students could make appointments with them for a consultation or send them emails to ask questions. It seems that one of the best ways for teachers to motivate their students to learn, support them, and prepare them

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for the independent learning required in the later phase is to encourage the students to ask questions and be curious.

Peer Support The data generated from the Group QQ show that peer support played a great role in students’ adaptation in university. As illustrated in previous sections, students tended to ask the senior students many questions about how to select courses. Becoming familiar with the new organizational and learning culture of a university is an essential step that students should take before they can finally adapt to the independent learning mode required in higher education (Harley et al., 2007). For example, students have to be familiar with the physical environment of the university, various facilities, regulations, and requirements. Many students experienced a feeling of disorientation and uncertainty in the initial stage. Information delivered to students through orientation programs and course introductions proved to be insufficient as this information was usually delivered intensively in the first few weeks while students were still in a state of feeling disoriented. Students might be unable to take in the information thoroughly. Some information could be ignored by students because of its lack of immediate relevance to what was going on at that moment. Some time may pass before students can fully understand the organization of the university and its culture, including the teachers’ expectations and the evaluation standards. Students encounter many issues and therefore ask questions constantly. Providing information at the right time when the students need it would be more efficient. As the information from the GQ was provided by peers who had the same experiences, it was most relevant. Moreover, the information was usually passed with empathy and understanding of the peers, making the information easier to receive (Ding & Stapleton, 2015).

A Special Case of Getting Support from Others Claire’s growth was mainly the result of her own hard work, her frequent reflection, and the constantly modified ways of learning she adopted. Nevertheless, she also benefitted from other people’s help. What was special about her case is that Claire had the guidance of a counselor teacher from her last year in high school until she went to university. In high school, Claire was regarded as a problematic student because she liked to ask many questions. She was also considered weird and was not welcomed by her teachers. However, against other teachers’ negative judgment of Claire, the counselor teacher stood by her side, comforting her and encouraging her all the time. Claire got to know the teacher in their counseling class in senior high school and thereafter took the initiative to discuss problems that troubled her. As Claire cared about her own mental or psychological health, she often went to her counselor

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teacher for advice in life and study, and this practice continued until she went to university. The counselor teacher likes those students who take the initiative to seek help. All the students in our school knew about this but they were too shy to go. Students like me who are quite extrovert and outgoing would seek help from her. She is a very good teacher and is also experienced. She told me many things that I didn’t know. (Claire, third interview, 15/12/ 2012)

Whenever Claire was confused about her relationship with others or doubted herself, the counselor teacher would help her to analyze her situation and deal with her feelings. She helped Claire to gain faith in herself. I went through many hardships. Many of my teachers had biases or were prejudiced against me because I behaved differently from others. I would discover different things and ask different questions. When all my teachers thought I was stubborn, my counselor would tell me that I have strong points. She said my stubbornness would bring me many things that others don’t have. Actually that’s not stubbornness but persistence. My counselor taught me many things and helped me through many hardships. I thought that her philosophy was right and what she said was excellent. She said that whereas others see what is on the surface, I should always try to see what is behind the surface. (Claire, third interview, 15/12/2013)

In all five interviews with Claire, she always mentioned the counselor. Claire was grateful that she had a professional to support her. Thus, she was determined to take psychology as her major because of her counselor.

Participants’ Unique Coping Strategies The participants all had their own strategies for coping with the difficulties they faced. The cases of Hanna and Claire are reported in this section because they elaborated much more than other participants on the unique coping strategies they used and seemed proud of their strategies. This section presents these coping strategies to show how help-seeking and self-motivating helped them through the difficult moments in their first year.

Seeking Help Hanna demonstrated her autonomy through a unique way of coping with difficulties—taking the initiative to seek help. She had been using this technique since junior high school, meaning she knew how to make use of the resources around her. She would often approach her teachers to ask questions. She could not remember everything that her teachers taught in class because of her poor memory, so she would constantly ask questions to her teachers. Many students did not like asking questions in class because they cared too much about “face.” However, Hanna did not care if she lost face by asking her teachers what may have been perceived as silly questions.

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Hanna also sought help from different students. She knew the strengths of her classmates, for instance, who was good at what subject, who took the neatest notes, and who was best at summarizing. She would then ask them for help with different problems. The following is an example of her asking for help with English reading: At the beginning of senior high school, my English was poor, especially my reading comprehension. I had problems with understanding, and my Chinese reading was not good either. I found some students whose English was not that good but they were good at reading comprehension. I asked them to do exercises with me for a few days. I learned their method (of doing reading comprehension) and my English improved thereafter. (Hanna, 17/12/2012)

Hanna considered seeking help from others as her secret weapon. In this way, she could save much time in studying, and obtain good results in exams. Hanna became frustrated in the first semester in university because she was worried about her studies and did not know where to seek help. Her teachers were busy and there were no students whom she could ask questions. Hanna expected someone to give her specific or detailed instructions in university, for instance, on what books or articles to read for writing a good essay. She was unsure about making her own decisions. Her fellow students were also experiencing the same difficulties and could not give her help. Hanna also found little time to communicate with others because of their different schedules. As discussed in Chap. 5, the student management system is different in Hong Kong universities from that in mainland Chinese schools and universities. Students are not managed on the basis of fixed classes. This system made it practically difficult for Hanna to find help from her fellow students. Hanna had to seek help from other resources. For example, because she was initially not clear about the format and the evaluation standard for academic writing, she sought help from the Language Center on her first writing assignment and asked teachers for suggestions to improve it. She also approached me for help. Before our second interview, she took the initiative to contact me several times and asked for my suggestions whenever she encountered difficulties in her study. At first I was worried about my role as a researcher as I should not give too much help to those being researched, but I understood that turning her down would be an ethical issue. Furthermore, I realized that it was her way of demonstrating autonomy, as indicated later by more evidence of this type. “Seeking for a ladder to climb” (Hanna’s words) was her unique technique of coping with difficulties in learning. As described in Chap. 3, instead of giving direct answers to her questions, I tried to help her find the solutions by herself. Hanna also asked for help from one of her former classmates who was studying in a joint program offered by Chinese and British universities. That friend of hers was taking an academic writing course at that time so she was able to help her with writing. Another friend studying in the United Kingdom also helped to correct her errors in writing. Constructivists (Vygotsky, 1978) proposed that scaffolding is crucial in human learning and development, especially during the process of becoming more

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autonomous. In her case, Hanna demonstrated her need of scaffolding in the transition from being dependent on others (teachers and peers) in learning to being more dependent on herself. When she could not obtain the support she needed from her teachers and fellow students, she took the initiative to obtain it from other sources. I once met Hanna in the university canteen at lunch (at the beginning of her second academic year). She was talking with a year-four student, asking for advice on how to prepare for a standard English test in Hong Kong. She seemed anxious to know how to improve her listening skills. She explained that she had difficulty in focusing on both taking notes and understanding the content. This episode demonstrates again that Hanna was a help-seeker. Interestingly, Hanna was not only good at seeking help from others, but was also generous in offering help to others. I met up with Hanna shortly after my formal interviews were finished in October 2013. We were walking when someone called her to ask for help with academic writing. Hanna told me that she had become a consultant for many of her fellow junior mainland students. As she was one of the strongest students, many first-year mainland Chinese students would come to her for advice about their studies. Hanna was happy with her role and tried her best to share her experiences with others. She told me that she did this because she got help from others in the past and she wanted to pay back the kindness by helping others. She also had another reason for helping other students: she remembered how desperate she had once been because she was not able to find the support she needed in her first year. She understood how the first-year students felt and thus she wanted to help in any way she could.

Self-Motivation Claire demonstrated her autonomy in controlling her own emotions. With the help of her friends or through her own reflection, she could quickly recover from her failures or setbacks. For instance, she got a poor result in the first exam because she was not familiar with the English terminology. She felt sad about it, but was not discouraged by this setback. Instead, she welcomed the challenge because she knew it would help her gain experience. I learned my lesson from the first exam, and thus I changed my method of learning. I have a good local friend. She taught me how to review. She would read the book thoroughly once and then she would read it again and summarize it. She also takes notes of the most important points in a small notebook, which she brings with her all the time, and memorizes the points whenever she has time. (Claire, third interview, 15/12/2012)

Once Claire learned from the local student how to review lessons and how to take notes, her performance improved greatly in the second exam. Claire aimed to obtain a scholarship at the end of her first year. She worked very hard, but she barely missed out. Of course, she was disappointed, but she recovered right away. She believed that, as long as she had faith in herself and worked hard toward her goals, she would

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get what she wanted. In her QQ space, she often motivated herself with statements such as, “Thousands of mountains and waters only stop those who do not want to come.” The following English entry in her QQ space in November 2012 demonstrates her self-motivating strategy: It is so hard to learn, right? But you can learn by yourself if you put your heart to it. Standing still doesn’t help. You have to keep on moving. This is your dream, these are the things that move your soul, and these are the things you really want. Move on even if the step is tiny, even if it is so hard and you’ve never tried it before.

Claire tried to be positive all the time. She said she would allow herself to make mistakes, to feel lost sometimes and to take time to make her own way out. She might lose her way, but she would pick herself up and seek help when she could not solve her problems alone. Claire constantly reflected on her own growth and motivated herself to look at the bright side of life.

Growth of Autonomy in Academic Learning By applying Benson’s (2010) multi-dimension model of control, we can obtain an idea about how students gain more control over their learning. As shown in Fig. 6.2, students take control of more dimensions of academic learning in university than in school. The top triangle (A) in all three stages (in school, beginning of university, adapted to university) represents learning content. In school, X is more towards other control, which means that the learning content is more controlled by others. By contrast, in university, the X moves towards student control, which means that learning content is more controlled by the students themselves. Triangles B and C represent time and place for learning, respectively, which means that time and place for learning is increasingly controlled by the students while they transit from school to university. The stage of university has more triangles (D, E, etc.) than school. These triangles represent how and with whom to learn, which have become important to students as the learning mode has become more varied in university where cooperative learning and group work have become the norm. Therefore, the dimensions of control increase in university. Although not many details of change can be illustrated here, the multi-control model can aid us to better see the direction of change and the students’ growing autonomy.

Conclusion To conclude, in this chapter, the general academic-related issues the participants experienced in their first year were illustrated. Transition from school to university means the transition to a new academic system, which requires students’ autonomy

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Other control x

x x

C

B

A

Student control No control In school

DEE

C

B

A x

E x

x

x

x

Beginning of university

B

A

C

DEE

E

x

Adapted to university A content of learning D how to learn

B time C place for learning E with whom to learn

Fig. 6.2 Multi-dimensional model of control in academic learning

in learning to a greater degree. Students have to become familiar with a new major and understand the new evaluation standards and assessment forms. These issues may be challenging to some students, but they also present good opportunities to develop the students’ autonomy. Examples were used to illustrate students’ development of autonomy while coping with various challenges in academic learning.

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In the EMI educational setting of Hong Kong universities, students face difficulties both from content knowledge and the English language. Which of these causes more problems for students is difficult to say because these two problems are interwoven. In this study, some participants, such as Hanna and Claire, suggested that the new major and the new evaluation standard, rather than the English language were what brought them more trouble. However, Anna and Serena explicitly stated that the English language stood in their way of understanding the content knowledge in their academic learning. Natalie reported that much of her effort was devoted to catching up with EMI teaching. In the following chapter, the focus will be on the participants’ adaptation to EMI teaching in the multilingual context of Hong Kong. The participants had various problems with EMI teaching, such as understanding the lectures, reading, and writing. Most of the participants reported that they did not have many opportunities to speak English. Their need to improve Cantonese also mediated their use and learning of English.

Chapter 7

Becoming More Independent in a Multilingual Context

As reported in Chap. 4, some participants understood the complex linguistic situation in Hong Kong before their arrival to the region and had shown their concern about having to speak Cantonese before entering the university. But some participants did not expect the Cantonese language to be so prevalent in Hong Kong. Serena, Claire, and Fiona were unaware that Cantonese was widely used in Hong Kong and that some local people could not even understand Mandarin Chinese, the official and dominant language across mainland China. Some participants even expected English to be commonly used in the region. For instance, Fiona expected English to be the dominant language in Hong Kong and expected Hong Kong to be “just like a foreign country, only with the population mainly comprised of Chinese.” Upon her arrival in the university, Claire was disappointed when the managerial staff members in the student residence hall did not respond to her when she talked to them in English. She eventually learned that English was mainly used for business, education, and other professional activities in Hong Kong. Mainland students who are enrolled in Hong Kong universities generally have fair English language skills. Specifically, mainland students must obtain a minimum score of 120 out of 150 in their English matriculation exams when planning to enroll in Hong Kong universities. As shown in Chap. 4, the English language learning experiences of the participants revealed their proficiency in English, their excellent English language learning skills when studying with peers, and their confidence with their English skills before entering the university. Despite scoring higher than 130 in their English matriculation exams, most of the participants were still challenged by the English-medium instruction (EMI) in Hong Kong. The participants reported various challenges during their adaptation to EMI education. They could not easily accomplish their academic tasks as their English skills were not developed enough. After comparing themselves with some English-speaking local and international students, many participants realized their limitations and were pressured to learn the language further, as confirmed by my observations and the reports of the participants. They expressed their frustrations during our interviews. I observed in both the Group QQ and the classroom that many first-year mainland undergraduates © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 F. Ding, First Year in a Multilingual University, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0796-7_7

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endured great stress in their studies, which was exacerbated by the daily use of the Cantonese language in Hong Kong. This chapter explores (a) the experiences of the participants with EMI education in the multilingual context of Hong Kong, (b) how their English learning was mediated by contextual factors, and (c) how their challenges became opportunities for their English learning.

Entering an EMI Setting In Group QQ, I observed that most students discussed EMI and their experiences in an English-speaking environment during their first few months in university (Ding & Stapleton, 2015). Most of them complained that the mail they received from the university were all written in English, which was difficult for them to understand. Therefore, many students were misinformed or confused about the activities of the university. Some students even used Google to translate their email to Chinese to understand their messages. For example, Hanna continuously relied on Google throughout her first year to translate some of her unimportant emails. She would only read English emails carefully if they were sent by her teachers. Various orientation programs and workshops were organized for the first-year students at the beginning of the first semester. However, most of these programs were conducted in English, which discouraged many mainland students from attending such events. This behavior is illustrated in the following GQ text message between two students:

Student A: Are there any other activities tomorrow except the one in the library? Student B: That activity will be conducted in English. Student A: I am not going then.

The following is extracted from a conversation in GQ between two students during a workshop:

Student: What is he talking about? I cannot understand him. Student B: He seems to be talking about a test in computer applications, but I cannot clearly understand him because I have poor English skills. Student A: He says that we are going to have a test? Student B: Yes. Student A: What is he talking about now? Student B: I am not sure whether he is talking about taking the test online or on printed paper. Student A: What on earth is that on the screen? Student B: When he speaks English, his tongue is never in the right place. I can hardly understand his English. Student A: . . . Student B: Do not worry, nobody can understand him. Let us wait for the email.

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Student A: The local students seem to understand what he is saying. Student B: Let us ask them. Student A: I think this foreign teacher is not bad. Student B: He is also handsome.

At the beginning, many mainland Chinese students found it difficult to understand lectures or workshops that were entirely delivered in English. Although nearly all participants anticipated some difficulties in adjusting to such a setting, their experiences during their first few weeks were surprising. They absorbed only limited information from the English workshops and lectures. Their struggles were more prominent compared with those students who were accustomed to EMI. Compared with English learning in high school, which was mostly guided by teachers, learning English in university was mainly the responsibility of the students. The difficulties faced by the participants in different English skill areas are presented in the following sections. These sections also focus on how the participants demonstrated and further developed their autonomy amid such challenges. Several mini cases are used in each sub-section to provide a vivid description of the struggles and growth of the participants. The cases of Anna and Serena are used frequently in the following sections as adapting to EMI education was their most prominent concern. Thus, their cases provided a large amount of data in this area, more than that of those provided by the other participants.

Listening Most of the participants were challenged in the courses delivered in English. Most of the discussions in the GQ between September 2012 and October 2012 were about students’ feelings of their first few classes and their struggles in learning the English language. The following is taken from a conversation among three students during that period:

Student A: I felt lost in class today. Student B: I feel painful because I cannot understand English. Student C: I am very worried. Student B: I wish they would give me Chinese subtitles in my English classes.

The above conversation reflects what many mainland students experience during their first few weeks in the university. To demonstrate the situation more clearly, the cases of Anna, Serena, Natalie, Hanna, and Cathy are illustrated as follows:

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Anna When Anna took her General Education foundation course, she could understand every sentence that her teacher spoke but could not understand the main idea. . . .when the teacher speaks very fast, I sometimes cannot understand her, so I must concentrate on the discussion. The biggest difference between the courses that are taught in Chinese and those in English is that in the former, I can still understand my teacher even after I do not focus on the discussion for a while. However, I cannot follow the discussion any further in my English classes if I do not listen to my teacher even for a short while. I have to concentrate on these classes. (Anna, second interview, 10/10/2012)

All the main courses for environment majors are taught in English. At the initial stage of her university study, Anna had to concentrate hard on her classes to follow what her teachers were saying. However, she still could not easily understand them. Nevertheless, after a month, she began to understand what most of her teachers taught in class. To improve her listening ability, Anna watched English movies and listened to English songs during her spare time. She also watched some American dramas, such as The Big Bang Theory and tried to avoid looking at the Chinese subtitles when watching them.

Serena Similar to Anna, Serena faced severe challenges in her EMI classes. She could not understand her teachers, and she claimed that her English skills were poor compared with those of her classmates. She spent most of her first year studying outside her classes to understand what her teachers were teaching. The English classes not taught by English native speakers were even more challenging to students. Several students complained about their teachers who spoke English with foreign accents, such as Korean, Japanese, or Singaporean. Serena could not understand her core course teacher, who spoke English with a heavy Hong Kong accent, and it made her psychology course—a new major—even more difficult. She could only understand around 10% to 20% of her lectures during the first few weeks and had to review these lectures after class. She was so nervous that she sweated in class. During the second interview, Serena reported, “I was very nervous and I could feel my heart trying to jump out of my chest. The more nervous I was, the harder it was for me to understand my teacher.” To prepare for her classes, Serena printed out the PowerPoint presentations that her teachers would send out before class, checked the definitions of unfamiliar words that were used in the presentation, and tried to understand the entire presentation before the class. However, her teachers also taught other things that were not covered in their PowerPoints during class. Thus, Serena still could not understand her teachers despite her preparation. Thus, she asked her local peers to explain what the teacher had taught and tried to reread her textbooks after class. To prepare herself for her classes and to improve her English skills, Serena listened to online learning

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resources that came as a package with her textbooks. She also watched the open courses of some famous universities, such as Yale University, on the Internet, which gradually improved her English listening skills. Serena’s listening skills greatly improved in the second semester. She was able to understand 80% of the English lectures that were delivered by her teachers. Her English rapidly improved after staying in Ireland for two months in 2013 as part of a summer internship program. She took several jobs in Ireland, including a teaching assistant in an international school, a gatekeeper, and an office clerk, which gave her many opportunities to speak to different people as well as interact with her local colleagues and friends. By improving her listening skills, Serena gradually understood English words that were spoken in different accents. After returning to university in her second academic year, Serena could understand more than 90% of the lectures and felt more confident and comfortable in her classes.

Natalie I met Natalie in our second interview more than one month after she entered university. She had blisters on her lips because of the pressure she felt from her studies. Natalie said that the first few weeks were a great challenge for her as the teaching style in university was confusing. She could not easily follow her teachers. To understand the lectures, Natalie had to reread the teaching materials after class. She also previewed the materials given by her teachers before going to her classes. Similar to Serena, Natalie identified new words in the PowerPoint presentations of her teachers and wrote them in her notebook or typed them into her mobile phone for reviewing. In this way, Natalie managed to understand her lessons in the first semester. N: I do not even have the time to understand what our teacher is trying to discuss. I have to focus on the basics. R: Is this problem caused by the large number of unfamiliar words? Even if the lecture is delivered in Chinese, you still have to understand such terms. N: Chinese is simpler than English because I took art subjects in school and we learned about what a country is made up of and its rules. If the lectures are delivered in Chinese, I can save plenty of time. (Natalie, second interview, 19/10/ 2012)

The courses that were taught in English were difficult for Natalie to understand. Although she seemed to understand what her teacher taught in class, she could not comprehend the deeper meaning of her lectures. To understand her lectures better, Natalie spent much of her time previewing her lessons, thus leaving her little time for going through the recommended English readings in each course. Natalie also had to spend time searching the Internet for English terms and their Chinese equivalents, which was not always easy. A month later, Natalie became accustomed to listening to English-instructed lectures and, by accumulating more knowledge on her major, she began to understand her lectures much better. She then tried to make up for what

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she had missed in the first few weeks and planned to have a systematic review of her lessons during her upcoming winter vacation.

Hanna Although Hanna was one of the top students in her major, her first few weeks in the EMI setting were so stressful that she nearly dropped out of the university. She was thinking of studying in high school for another year until she could apply for a university in mainland China. Hanna desperately wanted to escape from such difficult setting. Although she had anticipated her EMI courses would be difficult, she did not expect the gravity of such difficulty, especially when comparing herself with her fellow students who were native English speakers or spoke native-like English. Therefore, her first semester was marked with panic and great pressure. “All of my courses are in English. My head becomes heavy when I listen to English. I just cannot understand that language” (Hanna, second interview, 29/09/2012). As Hanna looked back at her early experiences, she understood that her inability to understand her lectures or seminars was caused by her high anxiety, which later diminished after she exposed herself further to the English language. H: In the first one and half weeks, I could not understand my English lectures like my other classmates. R: By other classmates, do you mean the local students? H: No, I am referring to the mainland students who attend the same classes as me. They have better listening abilities, and they can understand our lectures better. At the beginning, I could not understand my teachers regardless of the topic. I began watching several English movies and listening to English dialogues after class. A month later, I could understand my teachers and felt more relaxed during my classes. R: You have improved your English skills after watching a few movies? H: Actually, I should have been able to understand my English lectures. The fear and pressure that I felt during my classes held me back from processing information when my teacher was speaking. Therefore, I trained and immersed myself in the English environment to improve my listening skills. (Hanna, second interview, 29/09/2012)

Hanna realized that her inability to understand her English lectures at the beginning was greatly affected by her anxiety. Therefore, she tried to control her emotions and exposed herself further to the English language by watching English movies after class. In this way, she became more accustomed to listening to long English lectures and her anxiety level gradually decreased. Hanna reported in the second interview that she became accustomed to her EMI courses after two weeks of following such a routine. However, she still had to spend much of her time understanding her English lectures, which she failed to achieve after a whole year. In the fifth interview, Hanna reported that she longed for the same flow feeling that she experienced in her previous Chinese-instructed classes, but could never experience in her EMI courses.

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Cathy As her major was Chinese, Cathy had fewer EMI courses than the other participants, but had more Cantonese-instructed courses. Comparatively, she had less difficulty in understanding English lectures than Cantonese ones at the beginning. However, she put in effort to sustain her English level by enrolling in English courses each semester. She also spent her time memorizing English words from an online website (tuoci.com), a habit that she had practiced even before coming to Hong Kong.

Reading Academic reading is another challenging task for many students. The following excerpts were taken from the chat record of the GQ in October 2012: Excerpt one Student A: Reading this material is very annoying. Has anybody finished reading the text? Student A: English is very annoying. Student B: I have not read the material. Student C: I have already finished two to three pages, but I do not think that I can go on further. Student A: I cannot read further. Student A: This material has many pages! Excerpt two Student A: Has anybody finished reading the 30-page reading material for General Education? Student A: I spent hours checking up the new words. When I finished reading the first nine pages, I could no longer go on reading! Student B: I am completely lost. I cannot read this material at all.

The English reading passages in secondary school were much easier and shorter than those in university. University students had to read long and difficult texts in English. The purpose of reading English also changed from performing comprehension exercises to understanding the content of a new major. The participants had difficulty in adjusting to these changes considering their limited English skills. The cases of Anna and Serena are used to demonstrate the English reading struggles of the participants because these two participants reported more difficulties in reading than the others. Chapter 4 reported that both Anna and Serena had limited experience in reading long original English materials in school, which could be one of the causes of their difficulty in reading.

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Anna Anna considered the English language as a major hindrance in her understanding of the content of her reading materials. She had to pause many times throughout the text to check the definitions of unfamiliar words. As she often checked new words in the dictionary, she would eventually “lose track of the main idea” and could not understand the entire article even if she clarified every word in the text. “I become frustrated and unable to read academic papers.” Anna stressed that academic reading was the greatest problem in her studies. “These articles are boring to read, even when you read them in Chinese. As these texts are written in English, they hardly arouse my interest. I cannot understand their message and main idea quickly enough” (Anna, second interview, 10/10/ 2012). Anna still had difficulty in reading English materials during the second semester. Her reading speed was not fast enough and her texts had too many unfamiliar words. As she spent most of her time consulting the dictionary, she lost interest in reading. She normally had to read an article four or five times to understand its main idea. Anna tried to cope with such difficulties by applying the intensive reading skills she previously learned in school. She checked the definitions of every new word and focused on the details instead of the overall information. Her local friends taught her to focus on the main information of an article without checking the definition of every new word. Anna began to change her reading skills to finish reading her materials. Anna also changed her way of memorizing new words. As recommended by one of her university teachers, she memorized new words in exemplary sentences and focused on the use of the English words in different contexts instead of memorizing new words one by one. Independent English learning greatly relies on the dictionary, which is an important learning tool. Anna needed to decide on which dictionary to use. When checking the definitions of unfamiliar words, she either used a hard copy of a dictionary, such as an Oxford dictionary, or an online dictionary. (Fiona shared the same experience when choosing dictionaries. She had to decide whether using an English–English dictionary was easier than an English–Chinese dictionary, or vice versa.) Not long after the second interview, Anna sent me a short journal entry telling me that she used the Youdao online dictionary to memorize new words during her spare time. This online dictionary kept a record of words that the users had searched for and regularly reminded them to review such words. Anna came across many new words while reading her English materials and tried to memorize these words purposefully. Although her English vocabulary expanded at the end of the first semester, reading in English remained a challenge for Anna. Anna repeated her problems in English reading during the third, fourth, and fifth interviews. Despite making some improvements in her listening skills, she still could not concentrate on her reading. Anna said that she missed the feeling of reading Chinese materials, such as novels, in a steady flow. Following the advice of her peers, Anna began to read e-newspapers in the e-library of the university. She planned to read at least once a week after finishing her coursework. The independent

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learning task in her Academic English course also helped Anna to become aware of the different resources for learning English. However, she confessed that she was not persistent and disciplined enough in using such resources.

Serena Serena considered herself to be a slow reader. She would usually spend more than two days to read the materials for one lesson. She was anxious, and really wanted to prepare herself before attending her classes. However, she could not keep up with her teacher because of her slow reading speed. She still used the skills that she learned from intensive reading in school, which involved analyzing the structure of a sentence and focusing on language forms. Serena sought help from her academic advisor, who in turn suggested that Serena ask the lecturer about the central topic of each lesson and then focus on it while reading her materials. Teachers usually give their students a list of reading materials and expect them to read these materials selectively. Otherwise, they would not have enough time to finish all the readings. Serena gradually learned to select the materials that she needed to read and switch her attention from the language forms to the message while reading. Although a long process, this strategy helped Serena improve her reading speed after a great amount of practice. The challenges that Serena faced in her reading skills turned out to be opportunities that promoted her autonomy in learning. Initially, she was not used to independent learning, such as reading the materials without guidance from the teacher, because she had developed the habit of being told what to do and how to think. I formed an ideology during my school days. I believed that my own understanding might not be correct, and someone, specifically our teacher, could provide me with the correct answer. However, my teachers here in the university only provide limited information, and the students must spend a lot of time outside class reading the recommended materials. The teacher will no longer tell you what to learn and what not to. They will only give you direction, provide some suggestions, encourage you to read anything that is related to your major as much as possible, and ask you to prepare for your studies in your own way. (Serena, fourth interview, 03/03/2013)

Serena found her adjustment to independent learning mode a stressful experience. She had to rely on herself when studying, but she doubted her own learning ability. “Like a toddler, I had to learn how to walk on my own. I was scared and full of uncertainty during my first semester.”(Ding & Stapleton, 2016) Serena had to devise the best way to improve her learning. She noticed that some students could read fast and extract information from their learning materials quickly. She tried to achieve the same, but to no avail. She then tried to focus on the important parts of her learning materials by reading them slowly, taking down notes, and adding some of her own understanding. In this way, she felt that she learned something from her reading. After some experimentation, she eventually found the best way to learn. She

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began to feel confident after her first two quizzes. She found that she could receive satisfactory scores on her quizzes by relying on herself when studying. At the end of the first semester, Serena’s vocabulary and reading speed greatly improved because of the large volume of reading materials she had read. She could finish reading a chapter within an hour or even half an hour, when before it would take her two days to finish.

Speaking Hong Kong universities require their students to be skilled in speaking. Therefore, oral presentations are commonly used by Hong Kong educators to evaluate their students. However, these presentations pose another challenge for many mainland Chinese students aside from listening to and communicating in English daily. This section mainly uses the cases of Anna and Serena, and presents supporting evidence from other participants and my classroom observations.

Anna Anna’s goal was to speak English with a native-like accent during her stay in the university. She believed that excellent pronunciation and intonation denoted excellent English-speaking skills. She anticipated that English vocabulary and speaking would be the two major challenges for her in the EMI setting. She was determined to solve these problems and to speak English fluently within a year. Before entering university, she firmly believed that she would succeed: “I think I will succeed if I believe in myself and keep on practicing.” However, university was much more complicated than what she had imagined. Her first oral presentation was rated poorly, as described in Chap. 6. Presenting in English was a challenging task for Anna, and she was worried about making mistakes while speaking. I am more nervous when I present in English than Chinese . . . I can express myself better in my native language. When I speak in English, I have the habit of worrying whether the sentences I use are complete or grammatically correct. Worrying makes me more nervous. . . I care about the accuracy of my English. My parents and other people have told me that I do not need to use complete sentences when communicating with foreigners. They can understand me even if I speak only a few words or even if I make some mistakes. However, I just cannot become accustomed to such practice. I feel terrible if I speak without thinking carefully about my words and I feel that I commit many mistakes whenever I speak in English. (Anna, second interview, 10/10/2012)

Given the limited opportunities to speak English in school, Anna became selfconscious whenever she presented in English. Her great concern over the accuracy of her English drove her to write down what she wanted to say before delivering her presentation. However, she did not want to read aloud during her presentations because she would not be able to maintain eye contact and interact with her

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audience. She tried to memorize her presentation, but she remained nervous and concerned about her English. Her forgetfulness increased along with her nervousness. “I wished that they would let me deliver my presentation in Chinese,” Anna said. Anna gave four or five presentations during the first semester and became more comfortable and confident after understanding the expectations of her teachers. However, she regretted that she did not have the time to practice her Englishspeaking skills after class (this problem was echoed by the other participants, which will be explained further later). Speaking was Anna’s weakest area. She was reluctant to speak in English in her interview for the university, and she received the lowest mark for speaking in her first English exam in university. Anna tried to find some opportunities to practice her spoken English. She registered in an Englishspeaking class that was taught by native English-speaking students who were practicing for their internship in the university. She enjoyed speaking in English in a friendly and relaxing atmosphere, but she was only registered for a four-period class. She complained that such “opportunities were rare.” Anna began to speak in English more frequently during the second semester and especially in the second academic year. She communicated with international students and local students in English and used the same language while chatting with her peers over What’s up, a popular chatting application in Hong Kong. These conversations gave her the opportunity to practice her spoken English. Anna became used to English as a second language and increasingly found comfort and confidence while expressing herself in English. She learned that making mistakes while speaking was acceptable as long as the communicative purpose was achieved.

Serena Similar to other students, Serena felt great pressure and anxiety when presenting in English. In one of her experiences, two groups were assigned to deliver an English presentation during the same day. The first group was comprised of foreign students from North Ireland, and Serena and a local Hong Kong student were in the other group. Serena was very impressed by the presentation of the first group. She said that she had never listened to such a wonderful presentation. “Their English was very expressive, and their presentation was more of a show in which they expressed their own uniqueness and thoughts. They had no difficulty in expressing themselves. I felt like I was watching the news broadcast during their presentation. Those students were very expressive.” After comparing herself with her native English-speaking fellow students, Serena and her group partner felt great pressure. Serena was worried that she would forget what she wanted to say in the middle of her presentation. “I had to read my presentation. I could not talk as freely as the foreign students did in their presentation.” Serena and her partner comforted and encouraged each other. Then, they decided to read part of their diaries in Mandarin Chinese during their presentation to “show that we could also speak very fluently in our mother tongue, which would also

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pressure our foreign peers (laughs) because we could not understand them very well when they spoke fast in English.” Unfortunately, the teacher asked them to translate the Chinese part of their presentation to English, which further embarrassed Serena and her partner. Eventually, her partner summarized their presentation in one English sentence and then ended their presentation quickly (Serena, third interview, 03/03/2013). Compared with the native English-speaking students, many mainland Chinese students such as Serena cannot express themselves well in English. Therefore, most of these students experience great anxiety when delivering English presentations.

Classroom Observations My classroom observations confirmed that delivering presentations in English was a challenging task for most of the participants. In the first academic semester of 2013, I observed a GE class, which included Claire and Fiona, for nearly the entire semester. I noticed that the English-speaking skills of the students in this class varied drastically. Some students were native English speakers or were able to speak nearly native-like English, and a few students spoke poor English with broken and grammatically incorrect sentences. Those students with native-like English could present themselves freely and fluently as if they were just having one of their daily conversations. They showed some English videos without subtitles, which I found difficult to understand. I was sure that many students in the class, including Claire and Fiona, also found these videos confusing. Claire and Fiona had fair English-speaking skills, but they still could not deliver their presentations freely. They needed to prepare themselves carefully and think of the proper words and expressions to present to their classmates so they would understand their presentation. The class was assigned to deliver a presentation on 28, November 2013. I expected Claire and Fiona to deliver their presentations, but they were not prepared and asked their teacher to excuse them until the next week. Both Claire and Fiona were hoping to deliver an excellent presentation. Fiona was anxious about the presentation and could not sleep well for several nights. Claire and Fiona chose to be among the last groups to deliver their presentations to give them more time to prepare. With their hard work and practice, they received satisfactory marks for their presentation, with Claire receiving an A—and Fiona receiving a B. However, most students who went through a great amount of pressure similar to Claire and Fiona while delivering their English presentation could not produce satisfactory results because of their comparatively low English proficiency.

Academic Writing Academic writing was even more daunting for most students as they had never written English essays longer than 250 words, and they were now required to write

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longer essays in a formal academic style. In the following conversation, the students were worried that they did not have the English writing skills to write 1000 words, and that they had no idea what to write about in their paper. They also needed to compose their paper following a proper academic style. This meant they had to learn how to cite references, insert direct quotations, and avoid plagiarism, which were completely new concepts for many first-year students who had no training in academic writing in school. The following conversation took place in the GQ among a group of mainland Chinese English education students who were texting about their writing project: Student A: I do not have the slightest idea (about what to do). Student B: Neither do I. Student A: I have very poor English skills. I cannot possibly write more than 1000 words. Student B: Citing references is very troublesome. Student B: I also have to be careful about my grammar. Student A: I am still confused about how references must be cited. Student C: We are very inexperienced in this activity. My English skills are worse than all of yours.

Despite this uncertainty, nearly all the participants reported that they could write English essays more easily after familiarizing themselves with the format and structure of academic papers and after writing several English papers in their first semester. Natalie provided detailed examples on how she improved her academic writing skills.

Natalie Natalie liked to write and was happy to know that essay writing activities outnumbered exams in the university. She usually wrote her essays long before the deadline to gain more time to revise her composition before their submission. “The teachers usually have very clear requirements for the essay, so as long as I treat this activity seriously and spend more time on my compositions, I am confident that I can write an excellent essay” (Natalie, fourth interview, 01/03/2013). Natalie had her own way of learning how to write an essay. For instance, when reading the English materials for her coursework, Natalie would read slowly and carefully to learn the language used in these materials. “If I focus on the main information of an article, I can finish my reading quickly. I also underline some inspirational sentences and excellent expressions that I can use in my own writing. I also pay attention to how these writers connect their sentences and how they present their viewpoints” (Natalie, fourth interview, 01/03/2013). Natalie focused on the structure and logic of her essays while writing. “I think organization and logic are the most important elements of an essay. . . an essay should be convincing. I attach great importance to these two elements. I also pay attention to the language I use, the connections between sentences, and some of the

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details in my essay” (Natalie, fourth interview, 01/03/2013). With improved skills, Natalie believed that her English writing would be improved. To improve her English vocabulary, Natalie used Youdao to memorize new words. She typed any new English words into her smart phone, which would remind her regularly to review the words. Natalie revealed that she consistently followed this practice and spent most of her spare time, such as when waiting for the bus, memorizing her collected words. Natalie used to hate memorizing English words and she used to be very poor at memorizing words. However, after listening to the same words being repeated in her university lectures, she began to memorize and read English words easily. In sum, this section has reported different issues the participants experienced while adapting to the EMI setting. At the initial stage, all participants experienced a great amount of foreign language anxiety in EMI classes and some students (e.g. Serena) reported unwillingness to communicate in English discussions (see Jackson, 2002). The participants’ anxiety was mainly caused by (1) their language proficiency being not as high as required to understand the teacher; (2) not being used to all-English classes; and (3) the subject content being new to them. As for the problems in the four language skill areas, they reported experiencing different degrees of problems in reading (Anna & Serena), listening (Hanna, Claire, Anna, Natalie & Serena), speaking (Anna & Serena), and writing (Hanna). The next section further analyzes the adaptation and autonomy development of the students in the EMI setting.

Autonomy Development in the EMI Setting Although the students did not follow a definite schedule for developing their English skills in the EMI setting, a general development pattern could be drawn from the data. The participants went through three phases in their learning and usage of English during their first year in university. The first phase covered the first three or four weeks in university, during which the students were placed and left alone in an EMI setting. The students were shocked, confused, frustrated, and struggled to survive during this period. The first phase focuses on how students grew accustomed to the English environment, during which they obtained limited information from their teachers and peers. For instance, while Hanna had difficulty processing the information that she received from her lectures, Anna and Natalie tried hard to concentrate in their classes, and Serena was full of anxiety and desperation to understand the lectures. The students were also frequently frustrated when reading and doing presentations (Anna and Serena). Thus, they coped with their problems using different strategies. Although the first phase was the most challenging stage in their development, the students experienced great development during it. The autonomy of the participants was enhanced as they began to control their emotions and actively coped with their stress and frustration.

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The second phase started from the second month, during which they began to grow accustomed to listening to English-instructed lectures and workshops, although they might not have understood the main idea thoroughly. This phase lasted until the end of the first semester, during which the students became more confident and relaxed in the EMI setting. The participants had to modify their learning strategies to achieve long-term development in their academic learning in the EMI setting. They had to meet new requirements that involved academic reading, writing, listening and speaking. The students had to find their own ways to achieve sustainable and long-term development in their academic learning. The students further realized their autonomy during this phase by managing their learning strategies, behavior, and emotions. Specifically, the students learned (1) how to read faster by switching their focus from language forms to information (Anna, Serena, and Claire); (2) how to memorize more English words (Natalie and Anna); and (3) how to improve their presentations (Anna and Serena). From the second semester onwards, the students entered the third phase—a more peaceful and steady stage of development. The students became more familiar with the practices and basic requirements in the EMI setting and more confident in their learning abilities. Their development remained at a steady state. They set higher goals and actively sought ways to improve their English proficiency as they began to manage their life and studies better. For example, Anna, Fiona, and Hanna sought more opportunities to practice and develop their oral English skills in authentic and natural settings by participating in work-and-travel trips (Fiona), international internship programs (Serena); they also created opportunities to use English in daily communication (Hanna, Anna, Claire, and Fiona), such as writing English blogs and journals (Dora and Claire) and reading English novels (Claire, as reported in Chap. 6). The participants changed from being reactive to being proactive in demonstrating their autonomy from the first to the last phase. Thus, they assumed more control over their learning and usage of English. They were passive at the beginning, but later they tried to adapt to the EMI setting, and gradually became more active in controlling the development of their English skills by planning their studies and creating English learning opportunities. However, during their first year, most of the participants spent much of their time on receptive rather than productive activities, consistent with the findings of previous research (Evans, 2011; Hyland, 2004). To cope with their EMI learning tasks, the self-initiated English learning activities of the participants were mostly focused on reading and listening (i.e., receptive learning strategies). Only Fiona, Hanna, and Claire used English in writing and speaking (i.e., productive learning strategies). Figure 7.1 illustrates the development stages of the participants while adapting themselves to the EMI setting.

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Phase I: Shock, confusion, and frustration (first 3 or 4 weeks) Manage anxiety, control emotions, face problems actively, and cope with EMI courses

Phase II: Practicing for sustainable development (the rest of the first semester) Develop coping strategies by analyzing problems, modifying learning behaviors, and coping with EMI courses, assignments, and projects

Phase III: Peaceful development (after the first semester) Changed learning strategies, changed attitude toward English, increased confidence, plans for the further improvement of English, skills and usage of English in authentic and natural settings rather than in the EMI setting

Fig. 7.1 Three-phase development process in EMI adaptation

Changing One’s Understanding of English The participants understood the changing role of English during their first two months in university. They realized that English had changed from a school subject into a medium for daily communication and academic learning. For Claire, in school, English was only a subject she learned to pass her exams. Her stay in the university helped Claire realize that English enabled her to communicate with other people and to learn. For instance, many books on psychology are written in English. Anna echoed the statements of Claire by describing the following experience that helped her understand such change in her perception of English: I came across two people in the elevator while I was on my way to meet you. One was a local student and the other was an international student. They were talking in English fluently and could easily express their emotions, similar to how we speak Mandarin Chinese. When we communicate in English, we try hard to make our feelings clear. However, these students demonstrated a real kind of communication in which their emotions and feelings were expressed well. Their conversation was natural and without obstacles. They laughed during their conversation, but I could not understand why they were laughing. I was actually trying to listen to their conversation, but their speech was too fast to understand.” (Anna, second interview, 10/10/2012)

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Anna understood that English is a natural medium of communication for many people she came across in Hong Kong. They are either native English-speakers or people who can speak very good English. Although she could use English as her communication medium, Anna feared that learning how to communicate her feelings naturally in English would take her much time. With this realization, Anna changed her attitude toward learning English. As indicated in the previous section, Anna realized that making mistakes while communicating in English was acceptable, and that the delivery of information was more important than the language form that was used. Dora also changed her perception of English and became more tolerant of the errors she made whenever she communicated in English. During her first few weeks in university, Dora became nervous whenever she was called to stand in front of the class and deliver a presentation, fearing that others would judge her negatively if she made mistakes. Dora realized that her worries about making mistakes prevented her from actively participating in class activities and demonstrating her capability to learn. She also realized that anybody could make mistakes and that one could always learn from others. By reflecting upon her mistakes and interacting with her teachers and fellow students, Dora gradually changed her learning attitude and enjoyed sharing her opinions with others. Aside from being a medium of communication, English has become the medium of teaching and learning in university as well as a major hindrance in the academic learning of many students. Therefore, these students had to change their strategies for learning English accordingly. For example, Serena considered English a great obstacle in her studies in the first semester. She needed to learn English deliberately by memorizing English words and watching online courses from famous universities, such as the Yale University. After improving her English skills, Serena realized that learning English is integrated with content learning and thus spent less effort in learning the language deliberately: English is integrated into my academic study. English and content learning are integrated and difficult to separate. Therefore, I do not need to learn one thing before I learn the other. I place more emphasis on information accumulation and do not invest much of my time in learning the language. Upon entering university, English was not integrated into my academic learning and I considered the language a major hindrance in my development. Thus, I spent much of my time and effort in learning the language. I no longer experience such a conflict, and English no longer affects my academic learning. I only spend my time in memorizing some unfamiliar English words. (Serena, fifth interview, 29/09/2013)

Serena claimed that she would spend extra time in learning English only if she would be taking an English exam, such as IELTS or TOEFL, which she considered unrelated to her academic study. Serena believed that she was simultaneously improving her English while coping with her academic studies in the EMI setting. This achievement marked huge progress for Serena and demonstrated the development of her autonomy. Serena took control of her English learning, balanced her English development with the other aspects of her life, and incorporated language learning into her academic learning. This change was echoed by other participants, such as Natalie, Fiona, and Anna.

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The changing role of English from a school subject to a medium of instruction and communication can cause confusion to some students. For instance, Justin was confused when he received poor marks on his IELTS at the beginning of his second academic year. He felt his English had improved a lot after one year of EMI education, but his progress was not reflected in the IELTS exam. IELTS is only a test, the words and sentences I memorized while preparing for this exam would not be used in my daily study or life. I have been thinking about this problem recently. . . I felt that my English was greatly improved during my first year, but my ability in taking English exams remained poor. (Justin, fifth interview, 05/03/2013)

As reflected in Justin’s description, the students could easily assess their own English level when the teaching was exam oriented. However, they could not easily monitor their progress when the teaching was usage oriented. The participants felt the close involvement of English in their life when studying the language in the EMI setting. The language was also integrated into their plans for the future. Natalie realized the importance of having a favorable command of English because such a skill could provide better opportunities for the future. For example, studying abroad and gaining employment there usually requires good English skills. She indicated that her experiences in university taught her about the true value of learning English. She was previously unaware of the effect of English on her life and often doubted the time and energy she invested in learning it. In sum, as the role of English changed from a school subject to a medium of learning and communication, English learning became integrated into content learning. In this process, the participants’ understanding of English, their attitude toward the language and their strategies and investments for learning the language changed accordingly (see Norton, 2000), as illustrated in the following section.

Multilingual Context Complicates the Situation Perceived Need for English in a Multilingual Context Although most participants expected to improve their English skills as much as possible upon entering university, they did not spend much of their extra time on learning the language. First, the energy and time of the participants were spent on their other daily needs and their adaptation to a new academic system, as shown in Chaps. 5 and 6. Second, most of the participants did not feel an urgent need to improve their English as long as they could handle their academic tasks. Anna expected the university to be an English language environment before her arrival in Hong Kong. She expected English to be used everywhere in the region. She later realized that the language was mainly used by her teachers in their classes. Students converse in multiple languages—English, Mandarin Chinese, or Cantonese; therefore, “one is not forced to use English all the time, but “one can survive well with Mandarin Chinese.”

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Anna tried to communicate with her teachers in English if they had no common language, but often had trouble in expressing herself. She would shift to Mandarin Chinese when the teacher could understand the language. University teachers focused on information exchange rather than on the medium of communication. They usually allowed their students to express themselves in the language they preferred as long as others could understand them. Students could speak in English, Cantonese, or Mandarin Chinese if the teacher could understand all three languages. In this case, English was not the only medium of communication, and the students did not have the urgent need to improve their English skills. Anna was able to survive her classes with her present level of English skills, although she thought that improving herself in the language was important. Therefore, she preferred to read Chinese books rather than English books during her spare time. Natalie claimed that learning English was only limited to her academic studies. She did not feel the need to spend extra time and energy in learning the language because she already received much practice in her English listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills during her coursework. She said that an excellent performance in her coursework, such as writing excellent essays and obtaining high marks in exams, would indicate that her English skills were good enough because having good English skills was a precondition for receiving favorable results. As English teaching in school was heavily exam oriented and focused on grammar instead of practical usage, Natalie spent much of her time and energy in learning the language after classes by buying English magazines and watching English programs or movies. However, she did not see the need to improve her English during her stay in university. She would only study English deliberately when planning to take IELTS or TOEFL and when preparing herself for exchange programs. “My needs vary at different times,” Natalie said (Natalie, fourth interview, 01/03/2013). English learning in the EFL context is different from that of the EMI context, in which English serves as the medium of teaching, learning, and communication. Students may not need to learn the language deliberately, and their learning behavior is mediated by their present context.

Life Was Complicated by a New Language The efforts of the students towards learning English were also hindered by the requirement to learn another new language, Cantonese. As described at the beginning of this chapter, Cantonese is the dominant language for daily communication in Hong Kong. Mainland Chinese students in the university were required to learn Cantonese to prepare them for employment in Hong Kong. Bi-literacy and tri-lingualism has been the language policy for primary and secondary education sectors since the handover of Hong Kong to mainland China (Glenwright & Wang, 2013). As future teachers, many mainland Chinese students were required to take a Cantonese course and pass a certain exam. The students did not feel pressured when taking such exams because they were not difficult. However, what the students

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learned in their few Cantonese classes was far from enough to be used in their daily communication. Dora was frustrated with the Cantonese-dominant environment in the orientation camp organized for all first-year students at the end of August before the formal start of the academic year. This camp was aimed to help first-year students familiarize themselves with their new environment and achieve a sense of belonging as quickly as possible. All types of activities were organized for the students to know one another quickly. However, all of these activities were conducted in Cantonese. The following passage was taken from Dora’s English journal written in August 2012: The most important thing is that I cannot speak Cantonese. I had difficulty in communicating with others and participating in activities. I could only sit with these people foolishly and sometimes nervously without understanding what exactly they were discussing or why they were laughing.

Dora began to enjoy the activities in the camp after some local students volunteered to be her interpreter. As described in Chap. 5, not knowing Cantonese at the beginning caused much inconvenience and, to some extent, affected the social patterns of many mainland Chinese students. They tended to stay together for comfort. When they felt lonely, they would turn to those who could communicate with them easily, in this case, the mainland students who could speak Mandarin Chinese. The previous section shows that most of the participants were disappointed to study in an environment that was not English-dominant as they had expected. They also did not expect Hong Kong to be dominated by the Cantonese language. Before coming to Hong Kong, Serena did not know that Cantonese was the dominant language in the region. Some students were surprised, and agonized that Cantonese was widely used in some of their EMI courses. My observation of the GQ indicated that the frustration of students in their English classes was sometimes exacerbated by the fact that some local students spoke Cantonese during their classes, which created another communication obstacle for mainland Chinese students. The following is a conversation taken from a chat record of the GQ that took place in September 2012: Student A: Does anybody feel painful in class? Student A: I am now in class, and I am the only mainland student. Student B: Yes, I feel that my tongue is tied during class. Student A: I cannot understand the English language of my foreign teacher. To make things worse, some local students use Cantonese in group discussion. Student C: I have not attended a small class yet. Student B: Fortunately, I am in the English department. All of our discussions are held in English. Student A: I am also in the English department, but my peers prefer to discuss in Cantonese! Student B: However, our professor asked us to speak English in class. Student C: You can ask your tutors to ask their students to speak English in class. Student A: I feel very frustrated. Student C: I feel frustrated when I cannot understand the discussion. Student A: I am very depressed. Student D: I heard that you can ask a group of students to speak in English. Student E: I have a CLE class that is also conducted in English, and I am the only mainland student in my class. My English is not very good, which makes me very sad.

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Student E: I want to ask others if they could speak Mandarin Chinese. Student F: I agree!

Although they were excited to learn in an English environment, many students were frustrated at first because they could neither understand their teachers nor express themselves well. Student A’s situation was worsened as she was surrounded by local students who held their discussions in Cantonese, which was a more difficult language to learn for mainland students compared with English. Student A was frustrated and isolated in that situation because she could not communicate with the people around her. Therefore, she had to turn to other mainland students through the GQ for comfort. These students empathized with her because they had similar experiences in this new environment. The mainland students felt pressured to learn Cantonese. Given their poor Cantonese skills, many students were deprived of opportunities to participate in some social activities. For instance, both Serena and Natalie mentioned that they failed several interviews for social activities during their first year because they could not speak Cantonese. One interviewer even admonished Serena: “You should not expect others to change for you. If you do not know Cantonese, you will lose many opportunities.” Serena became frustrated, but she accepted what the interviewer said to her. She understood that she had to change herself to meet the requirements of her environment, and thus she decided to work hard in improving her Cantonese skills. Natalie echoed the comments of Serena and explained that Cantonese is the most important requirement for many activities. Except for Justin, none of the participants knew Cantonese before coming to Hong Kong. One of their tasks during their first year was to learn Cantonese, which was even more urgent than learning English because Cantonese was critical to their survival in Hong Kong. They had to use Cantonese wherever they went in Hong Kong. Some students in the GQ commented that English affected their success in academic learning, but Cantonese affected their quality of life in Hong Kong. Some students faced such challenges willingly. Calling herself a “sensation seeker,” Claire enjoyed the feeling of “sink or swim” in a new language environment. She was passionate about learning the new language and expected to speak Cantonese easily within one year. She even expected to take part in a Cantonese debate. However, some students were not interested in learning Cantonese. Fiona was reluctant to use Cantonese because she could not speak the language as fluently as she spoke English. She would rather spend her time in improving her English skills. She considered English a more useful language than Cantonese. As Fiona majored in social science and Greater China research, she would not become a teacher in the future. Even if she chose to work in Hong Kong, she said she could work in a foreign company where Cantonese is not a requirement. Nearly all the participants agreed that they would rather spend their time learning English, which they considered an important international language with some functions that might not be fulfilled by Cantonese. However, they had to spend

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their time learning Cantonese for practical purposes. Therefore, Cantonese presented these students with another task that demanded their attention and energy. To conclude, the local multilingual context of Hong Kong mediated the social life and English learning of the participants, which affected their English learning efforts (Gao, 2010). This context also provided limited opportunities to use English in their daily lives, as reported by Anna, Justin, Fiona, Claire, Serena, and Hanna. This problem is discussed further in the next section.

Not Enough Opportunities for Speaking in English As stated before, nearly all participants complained about not having enough opportunities to speak English in their daily lives. For example, Claire tried to speak in English with the managerial people in the resident hall when she first arrived in the university, but they did not understand her because of their limited English skills. Her peers in university usually spoke Cantonese or Mandarin Chinese when talking to her. Local students seldom spoke English with Claire. They only spoke in English when they could not express themselves clearly in Mandarin Chinese. Justin echoed the statements of Claire. He also did not have many opportunities to speak English after class. Unfortunately, most of the students in the university preferred to speak Mandarin Chinese or Cantonese in their classes, which was a problem among other mainland Chinese students. Some teachers did not strictly require their students to speak English in their English classes. Both Claire and Justin understood that they could make better use of their environment to practice their conversational English. Claire tried to talk with her roommates or with international students in English, but such opportunities were rare. Justin could talk with some native English speakers in his class, but he seldom communicated with them because they had different circles of friends. I speak very little English in my university. We read English materials aloud every morning in my high school, but I seldom speak English here in the University. . . . We listen to the teacher most of the time in class, which gives us limited opportunities to speak. (Justin, fifth interview, 29/09/2013)

Justin admitted that he did not try to meet new people for the sake of practicing his oral English skills. He would only speak English when the opportunity occurred naturally. He was not interested in creating more opportunities to practice his English skills. He also admitted that he could not easily approach English-speaking students to practice his oral English skills. R: Do you think there is not a good environment for learning English? J: Eh. . .it all depends on oneself, whether you want to learn or not. R: If you approach the native English-speakers for the purpose of practicing English, do you think they will be approachable or do you have to work extra hard to approach them

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J: Well, I think we have to work quite hard to approach them, because just like us mainland students, they have their own circle too, native English speakers stay together and they speak very fast. R: It is hard for you to enter their circle? J: Yes, quite hard, and I have no desire to, I am quite happy with my circle of friends at the moment. R: Well, that means that you will not do something special just for the sake of improving your English? J: No, I have never thought about that.

After receiving his IELTS result (a score of 8 for both reading and listening and only 6 for both writing and speaking) a few days after our last interview, Justin sent me a message through QQ. He said that that he needed to spend more time improving his oral English because he was very disappointed with his IELTS scores. Serena and Anna had the same mentality as Justin in that they would not deliberately create opportunities to practice their English skills. Serena agreed with Justin saying the teacher would do most of the talking in class, and that they had few opportunities to speak English after class. Although students were given many opportunities to speak English during tutorials, Serena did not like to speak much at first. She would rather listen to others and let them do the talking. Serena could easily speak up if these tutorials were held in Chinese, but she would become nervous and forgetful if she was asked to express herself in English. Thus, she chose not to speak up. The high level of anxiety she experienced in the class prevented her from participating actively in classroom activities (Liu & Jackson, 2008; Wu, 2015). Although Serena was provided with some opportunities to speak in English with exchange students, these chances were limited, and she was unwilling to seek opportunities to practice her English. She preferred to face such opportunities naturally. Serena eventually understood the importance of expressing herself in English. After realizing that many students still try to speak in English despite their limited understanding of the language, Serena began to speak up frequently, especially after her internship in Ireland. She became more capable of expressing herself in English in her second year. Hanna was one of the participants who actively created opportunities to use English. She joined the Drama Society in the first semester as a backstage helper for a production of Little Women in the hopes of practicing her English. However, her experience in the society was not helpful. For example, a local student with whom she tried to converse in English kept changing the language of their conversation to Mandarin Chinese. Hanna therefore blamed herself for her poor English skills. Hanna also tried to speak English with some international students, but opportunities were rare. She was not diligent enough to look for more opportunities, and many international students preferred to stay in their own groups similar to mainland students. Fiona demonstrated great autonomy in creating opportunities to practice her English. Before entering university, Fiona looked forward to experiencing an English environment in Hong Kong, where one could see “many English labels

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and signs similar to English-speaking countries.” Upon her arrival, she was disappointed that English was not the dominant language in Hong Kong. She eventually realized that she should actively look for opportunities if she wanted to improve her English. She should not expect, as many other students did, that her English would improve naturally by immersing herself in such an environment. Attending EMI classes could not guarantee an excellent performance of students in English. She said, “I can also do what the university students in mainland China can do. I read English materials every morning.” According to Fiona, the learning atmosphere in many mainland universities was better than that in the university because non-English majors in the university were pressured to pass Bands 4 and 6 English exams. Many students in the mainland worked very hard to develop their English. By contrast, she thought students in Hong Kong felt no pressure in learning English. Fiona said that her English could be improved by her EMI courses, but she also knew that she should exert more effort to improve her English skills further. To improve her English and broaden her horizons, Fiona participated in a workand-travel program in the USA at the end of her first academic year. She was thrilled to work in a pure English environment as her English improved considerably within three months. During my first month in the United States, I had to think for a while before I spoke. However, in my second month, I could speak without much thinking beforehand. I could express myself more freely. (Fiona, fifth interview, 26/09/2013)

Language was no longer an issue for Fiona in her second year in university after returning from the USA. Recalling her experience during her first few weeks in university, Fiona realized the progress she made in learning the language. I felt anxious in my English classes during the first semester. I could not understand my teacher. Now, I can understand my teachers clearly. In truth, I could understand my teacher in the first semester, but my fear of the language became a hindrance. Instead of focusing on what I could understand, I concentrated on what I couldn’t. Now, I no longer worry about my English classes because I can understand my teacher. I now focus on the thinking and intention of my teachers instead of the language they use. (Fiona, fifth interview, 26/09/ 2013)

Fiona began to feel more relaxed in her EMI classes and more confident in her English. She could now understand her teachers and their intentions. Fiona also began to feel natural when speaking in English. She would frequently talk to her father in English. However, Fiona was still disappointed that she did not have many opportunities to speak in English in Hong Kong. She desperately wanted to do so and tried to find opportunities to use the language. For instance, she actively collaborated with exchange or international students in their coursework. She had a strong preference for using the English language. “I am very interested in the language,” Fiona said. She changed the language settings of her cell phone and computer to English. She claimed, “I think my love for English will not wane” (Fiona, fifth interview, 26/09/ 2013).

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After returning from the USA, Fiona began to spend much of her spare time in listening to English programs or watching English television series. I also liked watching American and British TV series in the past, but I’m more passionate about it now. When watching those American TV dramas, I wanted to find the scenes that I saw in America, learn about the daily lives of Americans, and develop my knowledge about the country. (Fiona, fifth interview, 26/09/2013)

To conclude, nearly all participants agreed that their English was improved in the EMI setting, especially in terms of their reading and listening skills. However, the opportunities for them to speak English were rare, and they wished that such opportunities would come to them naturally. Some participants (i.e., Justin, Serena, and Anna) confessed that they did not actively create opportunities to speak English for the sake of practicing the language. Hanna exerted some effort to create such opportunities, but she did not push herself too hard in this aspect. Fiona was motivated to improve her spoken English because of her strong interest in the language.

Autonomous English Learning in a Multilingual Context As reported in the previous section, the participants made limited deliberate efforts to learn the English language in their spare time. Several participants (i.e., Anna, Serena, Natalie, and Justin) confessed that they could be stimulated to improve their English language skills deliberately if they had an upcoming English exam. It seemed that the motivation and methods of the participants to learn English were still restricted by their previous exam-oriented mentality. In other words, these students would only focus exclusively on English when they had an exam approaching. However, this situation can be understood in other ways. First, my original expectation for the participants was biased. I expected to see these students demonstrate great autonomy in improving their English skills because English is crucial to their survival in the EMI setting. Nevertheless, I did not anticipate that these students would have other priorities aside from learning English. They had multiple tasks that demanded their energy and time. Second, my understanding of autonomous English learning was restricted to the knowledge of learning English as a foreign language. I judged students English learning against an exam-oriented standard. I expected the students to set aside some time to focus exclusively on learning English and did not anticipate that they were improving their English skills while using it in learning and daily activities. So the participants reported no extra effort in learning the English language when they had no upcoming exams. However, the participants had actually been studying English ever since they arrived in the university. They were learning their courses through English, which would definitely improve their English skills unconsciously. They also had to read English materials, listen to English lectures and seminars, conduct most of their discussions in English, and write essays in English. They were learning English all the time, but they did not have the strong feeling that

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Development in English learning autonomy: 

Understanding the changing role of English

EFL context



in high school: English as a

Changes in English learning and using strategies



school subject

Adjusting evaluation standard of their English



Using English in an

EMI context in a multilingual Hong Kong university: English as a medium of instruction and communication

authentic context, including adapting to different accents 

Seeking opportunities to use English

Fig. 7.2 English learning autonomy of the participants as demonstrated through their adaptation in the EMI context

they were learning English because they focused on learning the content of their courses. The participants later realized that their English learning had been integrated into their academic learning. The English learning autonomy of these students in the multilingual EMI context is different from that of the EFL context. As a communication and instruction medium, the students continuously improved their English skills by using the language in their daily lives and learning other content knowledge simultaneously. Therefore, in the context of this study, the English learning autonomy of the students could be demonstrated through the changes in their understanding of English, their strategies for coping with their problems, and their English learning development, as illustrated in Fig. 7.2. To conclude, learning and using English in the EMI context were more varied and complicated than those in the ESL context, and the students also required a higher level of autonomy (Ding & Stapleton, 2016).

Conclusion Many participants experienced struggles in the EMI setting. They had trouble in understanding EMI lectures, reading English materials, giving English presentations, writing English essays, and using the English language in their daily conversations. The participants applied their own strategies to cope with their various problems, which resulted in their progress in different areas. During their adaptation process, the participants changed their perception about the role of English in their lives and adjusted their English learning from a school subject to a medium for

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acquiring content knowledge. For instance, they had to change their English learning strategies and switch their attention from language forms to information, which indicated their increased autonomy in learning and using English. Nearly all participants complained that they had limited opportunities to use English in Hong Kong. The participants had many opportunities to practice their reading and writing skills, but did not have enough opportunities to develop their speaking skills. Although nearly all the participants longed to speak fluent English, they did not see the urgent need to create opportunities for using the language. To this point, the three main findings in this study are reported in Chaps. 5, 6, and 7. In the next chapter, these findings will be summarized and analyzed comprehensively in relation to theories in school-university transition, cross-border transition, and autonomy.

Chapter 8

Discussion

The previous three chapters have discussed the three major problems the participants experienced during their first year in university. The first issue pertained to the adjustment of these students to a more independent lifestyle in university, which included arranging their own time, becoming accustomed to being alone most of the time, managing multiple tasks, and balancing their lives and studies. The second issue pertained to the adaptation of these students to a new academic learning system in university, including familiarizing themselves with a new major and a new evaluation system. The third issue pertained to the concerns of the students over the use of the English language for instruction. This study claims that these three major issues are caused by the students’ school-university and cross-border transition which challenged their autonomy. As discussed in Chap. 2, many studies have investigated the two transitions, but very few studies have examined the experiences of first-year international students. This longitudinal study provides rich qualitative data to show that first-year international students encounter various problems caused by their double transition. These students considered the transitions as a problem-solving process, in which they continued to face problems as they tried to meet the expectations of the educational system by becoming more independent (e.g., by studying independently and living away from their homes), and dealing with their subject content learning (e.g., understanding their lectures). Although solving these problems challenged these students, they eventually achieved educational growth. The findings of Chaps. 5, 6, and 7 are discussed comprehensively in this chapter to determine how the construct of autonomy can be better understood in terms of the school-university and cross-border transition. Investigating these transitions also enables us to understand the complexity of the concept of learner autonomy. For example, the emotional side of developing autonomy, the interaction among different domains of autonomy, and the complexity of individual development in autonomy are caused by personal and contextual factors, including the personalities, academic priorities, perceptions toward autonomy, family and educational background, and the social network and supportive environment of the students. At the © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 F. Ding, First Year in a Multilingual University, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0796-7_8

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end of this chapter, the double transition and three-domain model of autonomy are summarized to interpret the school-university and cross-border transitions of the participants.

School-University Transition and Autonomy As explained in Chap. 2, previous studies on school-university transition have identified autonomy as a crucial attribute directly related to the engagement and learning outcome of students (Macaskill & Denovan, 2013; Scott et al., 2015). Researchers have called for more comprehensive qualitative studies to provide empirical evidence on the role of autonomy (Fazey & Fazey, 2001; Willcoxson et al., 2011; Willison et al., 2017)). From the perspective of autonomy, this study provides data to illustrate how the increased amount of decision-making challenges the autonomy of students undergoing transition. Taking learning as an example, more dimensions and greater degrees of control are involved in university. The participants had to plan their own daily schedule (including choosing when, where, and with whom to study), set short- and long-term goals, and choose their own courses and learning materials. Comparatively, many dimensions of learning are not controlled by the learner during high school. Their learning goals are usually simpler, that is, to obtain excellent results in their exams to be admitted into a reputable university. They do not have much control over when and where to study because most of their daily schedule is set by their schools and teachers. Aside from autonomy in learning, university students have to demonstrate their autonomy in the management of their daily lives. Many university students have to make more decisions about their daily lives than about their academic learning. The participants in this study had to control more dimensions of their daily lives, such as preparing their food, washing their clothes, balancing their budget, regulating their daily schedules, managing their time, and balancing their lives with their studies. Although some dimensions of their lives were similar to those of school, such as regulating their daily schedules, the participants had to take a greater degree of control in university than in school. Although most of the participants had anticipated the differences between university and high school and knew that studying in university required a higher level of autonomy, they did not know the reality of studying in university. Autonomy has different connotations in different stages. In high school, being autonomous means following the instructions of teachers and finishing all assignments; thus, time management refers to deciding what to do in a limited few hours each day. In university, time management refers to the arrangement of hours, days, weeks, and even a few months ahead of time. Furthermore, the tasks of students in university are varied, which requires multitasking ability.

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The findings indicate that the difficulties that students face during their schooluniversity transition are caused by their additional personal and academic responsibilities, which they may not be ready or able to fulfill (Merrill & Johnston, 2011; Turner et al., 2017). For instance, Anna explained in her second interview that she did not know how to make plans, and Dora did not know how to manage her life. The findings also underscore the importance of students having clear goals while transitioning to university (Willcoxson et al., 2011). Although in high school where the students had to finish countless assignments, the participants felt secure because they knew why they were working hard. They had a clear goal and knew that they would be rewarded for their efforts as long as they followed their teachers. However, in university, most of the participants had to establish new goals. They did not have clear goals at the beginning because the standard of measuring success was no longer simple and fixed. The students needed to measure their success on several fronts because they no longer solely focused on academics. They developed various abilities in university and very often they had to devise their own system of evaluation independently (see Goldfinch & Hughes, 2007) and had to trust themselves when making their decisions, which was new and challenging. Little (1999) argued that learners accept responsibility for their learning only to an extent that is within their capabilities. Such an argument resonates with that of Deci and Flaste (1995, p. 36): To experience a sense of choice, you need to know (or be able to find out) the possibilities, the constraints, the hidden features. Without such information, being given a choice will feel more like a burden than a support for autonomy. It may well engender anxiety, and without adequate information, people are more likely to make mistakes.

Deci and Flaste argued that a real autonomy-supportive environment should provide learners with enough informed choices. Therefore, learners need to be equipped with the right skills to make choices so that they can fulfill their tasks. The participants in this study felt frustrated when assuming tasks that were beyond their capacity. Thus, autonomy can be viewed as a crucial capacity that students must possess when transitioning from high school to university (Brooman & Darwent, 2012; Chandler & Potter, 2012; Penman & Oliver, 2011). Students struggle when a large gap exists between the required level of autonomy and their present capacity (Macaskill & Taylor, 2010; Raines & Talapatra, 2019). To increase their autonomy, students have to gain their independence gradually by relying on the scaffolding built into the system at the beginning and then gradually relying on themselves. During school-university transition, the students are expected to become independent within a short period, which places a great amount of pressure on them.

Cross-Border Transition and Autonomy Studies on school-university transition have mostly focused on students transiting within a particular border (e.g., Pattengale, 2000; Wintre et al., 2006; Willcoxson et al., 2011). The situation is complicated for first-year international students who are

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concurrently going through school-university and cross-border transitions. Aside from experiencing school-university transition, the participants in this study needed to adapt themselves to the EMI educational setting and the local culture, which involved their adaptation to the local Cantonese language. As indicated in Chap. 2, language-related issues are among the major problems of most international students (Deng, 2017; Guan & Jones, 2011; Zhang & Mi, 2010). However, studies on the language issues of university students have been mainly performed in English-dominant countries and have been rarely conducted in countries or regions with English as their second language, (Evans, 2011, p.199). The participants of the present study experienced similar language challenges in the EMI context of a Hong Kong university. This study makes a distinct contribution by exploring these language challenges from the perspective of autonomy. The ability of students to cope with the difficulties in the EMI setting largely relied on their autonomy development. Nevertheless, English learning for many university students becomes “disorganized because of the pressure that they faced from their academic studies and many other things” (Gao, 2010, p. 89). This statement is especially true for first-year students who are concurrently developing their academic skills and adapting to their new environment. The personal growth of the students mainly relied on the balance among various aspects of their lives and studies (Willcoxson et al., 2011). Such growth also refers to the ability of these students to find their own rhythm in their new environment. Learning English was only part of their growth, but was not yet a part of their central goals. As explained in Chap. 7, the participants also had to adapt themselves to the local culture and language of Hong Kong. Although mainland China and Hong Kong were under the same broad culture, the participants still had trouble adjusting to the local culture and socializing with the local students, consistent with the findings of other researchers (Cheung, 2013; Xie, 2010; Yuan et al., 2019). The new student management system in Hong Kong universities and the use of Cantonese in these institutions further reduce the opportunities for mainland Chinese students to integrate themselves into local social groups, which was among the major problems they had to face during cross-border transition.

Emotional Side of Developing Autonomy During the Transitional Period While transitioning from school to university, students detach themselves from their parents, friends, and their old social networks. Those who pursue their education in another culture or country tend to become more detached. Many first-year international students experience stress while learning to become independent both physically and emotionally. During the transitional period, many students tend to develop a lesser degree of attachment while developing their autonomy (Little, 1995; Westlund, 2012). For example, Dora felt loneliness when she entered the new environment that was far from her family and old social network. She could not

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easily make new friends during her first year. Several participants also felt lonely, because of the stress of detaching themselves from their old social network, and were unable to establish new networks quickly. Fiona and Hanna both felt a desperate need to gain new friends or establish close relationships with their peers. This problem brings up an old issue that is often debated in the autonomy literature, namely, becoming autonomous and interdependent. Deci and Flaste (1995) argued that connectedness is as crucial to human beings as their need for autonomy. These two aspects should not be separated from each other, as they indicate that being autonomous does not necessarily refer to loneliness or isolation (Kohonen, 1992; Little, 1995). Being autonomous is actually a result of interdependence, rather than independence. Some participants reported that they could not easily establish connections with other people for a long time because of several external factors, which led to their frustration and loneliness. Students from mainland China may also need more emotional support and attach more importance to friendship because of their previous educational background in a collectivist society, where individuals develop more relational autonomy, rather than individual autonomy (to borrow the terms from feminist researchers, Mackenzie & Stoljar, 2000). Students raised in collectivist cultures place more emphasis on relational autonomy than those raised in individualistic cultures. In other words, students from collectivist cultures prefer doing things together. However, such preference does not necessarily indicate that these students are unable to gain autonomy. They can demonstrate their autonomy when needed, but may still lack psychological or emotional satisfaction. Students who are developing their autonomy, especially those who are detached from their old social networks, must be given emotional support.

Interaction Among the Three Domains of Autonomy Autonomy research calls for further investigation on how the different aspects of autonomy fit together and develop over time (Benson, 2002). As demonstrated in Chaps. 5, 6, and 7, the autonomy of the students in managing their lives in the university was closely related to the autonomy in their academic studies and autonomy in learning English. The participants who could not effectively manage their lives and time could not efficiently control their academic and English learning (Ding, 2017). For instance, Dora had her own way of learning English, and her autonomy was reflected by her previous learning experience (Chap. 4). However, she was not confident enough to make her own decisions, and her relatively low level of autonomy in life management affected her autonomy in academic learning at the beginning of her university life. She was confused and had no control over her academic studies. She skipped classes, performed poorly in assignments, and received poor grades, which eventually made her uninterested in her studies. She understood that university life was not only about studying, and that she should learn to take care of her body and health first. Dora eventually gained control over her academic learning after gaining control over her life.

160 Fig. 8.1 Multi-domain model of autonomy

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A--Autonomy in English learning and using B--Autonomy in academic learning C--Autonomy in management of personal life

Autonomy in life management and learning may not develop at the same rate. Some participants who depended on others for emotional support turned out to be quite independent in their thinking and learning. Fiona relied on her friends and constantly needed their presence. She could not become accustomed to being alone most of the time. Although she was independent and critical in her thinking and did not need help from others in her studies, but she was uncomfortable when doing other things alone, such as shopping or playing sports. She had more emotional needs and needs for a higher degree of relational autonomy (see Mackenzie & Stoljar, 2000; Westlund, 2012) than others because of her personality and value for friendship. In the university, where EMI is the norm, the academic performance of students is interwoven with their English proficiency. Serena argued that, although her English skills were initially poor, which became an obstacle for her academic study, she was determined to improve her English skills until they were good enough for her studies. She shifted more of her energy to her academic learning and hoped that her English would improve eventually. Other participants reported a similar allocation of attention. For instance, in the first semester, Anna and Natalie could only follow the lectures of their teachers and had no time or energy to deal with the supplementary materials they were given because they devoted much of their time to expanding their vocabulary by reading their English materials. Figure 8.1 describes the development of the participants in the three domains of autonomy identified in this study, namely, autonomy in English learning and using (A), autonomy in academic learning (B), and autonomy in life management (C). Chapters 5, 6, and 7 provide detailed descriptions of the development of the students in these three domains. The following sections further discuss the factors that condition the autonomy development of each student.

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Autonomy Development with Individualistic Features The experiences of the nine participants demonstrated that, despite growing up in the same cultural background, their different personalities, family background, and school culture could lead to different paths of autonomy development and adjustment in their new university environment (Ding & Yu, 2021). Before discussing these factors, an overview of the development of these participants over the year is provided. Table 8.1 summarizes the major focuses, problems, and perceptions of the nine participants. Although three major issues have been identified as general problems for all students in this study, these problems vary in degrees for each participant because of individual differences and other factors, which will be discussed further in the following sections.

Individual Differences The nine participants had individual differences, such as their personality type, time management skills, and motivation level, which could influence their ways of adaptation and autonomy development, consistent with the findings of other researchers (Fazey & Fazey, 2001; Goldfinch & Hughes, 2007). However, the present study provides more individualistic voices using rich qualitative data. Given her emotional personality, Dora was fragile and felt stressed out when confronted with difficulties. She spent more time adjusting to her new environment compared with the other participants. Claire had a resilient personality that stimulated her motivation to study despite difficulties. She showed a strong intrinsic motivation for learning and was devoted to her studies. Fiona had poor time management skills finishing her tasks at the last minute, but still managed to obtain high marks in her assignments. Hanna was very self-disciplined and motivated to learn; this motivation to study was probably instrumental, but her favorable learning habits were what helped her obtain excellent grades. I did not intend to compare these participants in terms of their autonomy or academic achievement as they were from different disciplinary backgrounds and had different pre-entry academic records. Their stories are used in this study to reveal the complexity of their development and autonomy. It is uncertain whether intrinsic is better than extrinsic motivation or whether poor self-discipline leads to a poor academic performance. Individuals develop at their own pace. An individualistic approach should be applied to investigate the personal attributes of students, such as their motivation and autonomy. Personal attributes are never static but fluid, and they should only be situated in a specific social and cultural context (Ding & Yu, 2021).

Background Has an overprotective mother, has few chances to make her own decisions, longs to be independent, has poor self-discipline, has an excellent English foundation, and is capable of being reflective.

Takes care of her daily life, has a strong motivation to learn English, needs more emotional support, and has poor time management and selfdiscipline.

Does not have a clear plan for her university

Name Dora

Fiona

Anna

Focused on both her studies and social activities.

Focus in university Initially invested most of her energy into her social activities but eventually managed to balance her activities.

Table 8.1 Summary of the nine participants

Takes the initiative to learn instead of

Able to think independently and critically. Able to explore things further, to find relevant materials and information, and to form own opinions. Able to arrange time well. Interest is a crucial factor of autonomy.

Definition/conception of autonomy Able to take control of her own emotions, to find her own interests, to devise her own plans, to manage time well, to discipline oneself, and to take control of her life.

Able to make plans for her future. Can take care of her own life. Has great motivation to learn. Prepares herself mentally to become more independent. Develops her critical thinking skills to become more independent. Reads more books and sets clearer goals. Has learned to make her own plans and has

What he/she can/cannot do Improved her time management, balanced her life and study, and took better control of her emotions. Remains dissatisfied with her own autonomy; rates herself 6 out of 10 in terms of autonomy.

To determine goals and plans and work

What he/she expects to do To take better control of her life, take care of herself, manage her time better, and know how to balance her life and study; Requires much guidance from others in autonomous learning and in devising better plans for her learning. Expects to improve herself in executing her plans and time management.

8

Could not easily read her English materials,

Could not become used to being alone and could not detach herself emotionally from others.

Major issues in university Cannot take care of her own life, has poor time management, has to make her own decisions, and experiences bouts of depression.

162 Discussion

Serena

Wants to contribute to the field of counseling in her hometown, studies in a new and small department, and has favorable relations with her fellow students.

life at the beginning, studies in a comparatively new department, shares a room with two local students, and mingles well with the local students.

Focused on both her studies and social activities.

Focused on both her studies and social activities.

Becoming used to EMI teaching and maintaining the balance between her studies and social activities.

had to learn how to make her own plans, and had to determine her goal in the university. waiting for others to tell one what to do. Able to set out plans for one’s life and study and to work toward achieving such plans. Able to think and solve problems independently and develop one’s own opinions about a certain issue. Able to grasp other learning opportunities in life instead of only relying on books and classroom lectures. Able to arrange one’s life and learning. Able to reflect on one’s previous actions. Able to make one’s own decisions, set goals, and devise plans to achieve such goals. Being independent in both life and study. Being confident in one’s own learning Became more independent in her life and excelled in her studies during the first semester. Able to distinguish what she must and must not do. Able to manage her

developed a clear direction toward her future from the second semester. Develops her own opinions in her assignments and can think more independently.

(continued)

To become more efficient in learning, to learn more things and to become more persistent in executing plans.

hard toward achieving them. To become more self-disciplined.

Autonomy Development with Individualistic Features 163

Background

Graduated from one of the top 100 schools, which indicates the cultivation of her autonomy in learning; acquired a full scholarship; and actively seeks help from others.

Name

Hanna

Table 8.1 (continued)

Primarily focused on her studies.

Focus in university

Her unfamiliarity with the new academic system, difficulty in seeking help from her teachers and peers, and becoming accustomed to EMI teaching.

Major issues in university time better. Actively tries to learn more things other than what she has learned from her coursework. Has become more confident in her independent learning ability. Relied on her teachers in junior high, relied on her fellow students in senior high, but managed to rely on herself in university. She has also learned how to seek for help, learn, and improve her time management. Can find the help and support that she requires, knows what she needs to do, and is more self-disciplined in her studies than most first-year students in university. No longer confines her learning to her

ability and way of learning. Being her own self, being able to free one’s own mind, creative, and develop critical thinking.

Being capable of learning what one is supposed to learn and to find the materials or help that one requires. An autonomous student must prioritize his/her studies, know what and how to learn, identify the materials that one must look for, and know how to seek for help. An autonomous person is aware of his/her responsibilities and has the time and ability to achieve his/her goals.

What he/she can/cannot do

Definition/conception of autonomy

Develop her abilities in searching for materials. Develop her autonomy over her responsibilities (e.g. her assignments), and her initiative in doing other things (e.g., learning English).

What he/she expects to do

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Can make her own decisions in school and in university, has loved to read classical literature since primary school, has sought support from her counselor since her senior year, and has excellent English listening and speaking skills.

Graduated from a fair school, previously surrounded by hardworking students, has become independent in her learning since junior high, and

Claire

Natalie

Primarily focused on her studies during the first year and participated in more activities later on.

Focused exclusively on her studies during the first semester and participated in more social activities in the second semester.

Becoming used to EMI teaching.

Studying a new major (psychology), could not easily digest the information from her lectures, and aims to improve her time management skills.

Knowing oneself and her responsibilities. Motivation is a precondition of autonomy. Able to devise one’s own goals, increase

Able to solve problems independently, live independently, and take the initiative to pursue one’s own desires. Autonomous learning includes both learning and application processes. Able to learn from small things in life.

textbooks. Actively looks for opportunities to learn more by reading more books. 1. Has developed a great degree of autonomy by improving her self-organization, making plans for the future, improving her self-discipline, and knowing her capabilities. 2. Has taken the initiative to learn more about herself, other things, and how to seek help from others. 3. Has gained control over her own studies. 4. Learns all the time by actively observing her surroundings. 5. Seeks help when the need arises. Has determined her future goal, which is to become a scholar. Has improved her self-discipline.

(continued)

To study harder to enhance her autonomy.

To devise better plans and become more persistent in pursuing them. To apply what she learned from her coursework.

Autonomy Development with Individualistic Features 165

Justin

Cathy

Name

Majors in Chinese, speaks fluent Chinese with her fellow local students in university, and can easily make friends with the local students. Speaks Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese fluently, can communicate well with the local students, can easily adapt himself to any situation, and has learned to become more organized from his parents.

mingles with the local students in her department.

Background

Table 8.1 (continued)

Invested most of his time on his social activities during the first semester but began to focus on his academic learning during the following semester.

Initially spent much of her time on her social activities but eventually learned to balance her studies with such activities.

Focus in university

To balance his studies and social activities as well as to improve his time management skills.

Simultaneously becoming used to EMI and Cantonese as a medium of instruction.

Major issues in university motivation for pursuing other things, do many things independently, and lessen dependence on parents, relatives, and friends. Being able to control and manage one’s own time wisely. Being able to initiate learning after finishing the tasks given by teachers. Able to decide when to study, how long to study, what to study, and how to learn. Autonomous learning includes the control of an individual over the quality of his/her learning. Able to allocate one’s time to different tasks. Able to develop strong self-discipline.

Definition/conception of autonomy

Has efficiently completed his learning tasks and has improved his time management skills. Has used external forces to discipline himself, such as sitting in the first row during class. Has improved his selfdiscipline.

Has increased her control in her studies. Has improved her time management skills.

What he/she can/cannot do

To improve his skills in executing plans; To find the motivation to learn, such as IELTs test.

To increase her efficiency in learning.

What he/she expects to do

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Different Priorities in University Although all participants regarded academic learning as their most important task, their focus in university varied at different periods. Table 8.2 illustrates the initial priorities of the students (in binary mode) between their academic and social lives as well as the subsequent changes. The left-hand side of the scale is “academic study,” and the right-hand side is “social activity.” The participants on the left-hand side focused more on their studies, whereas those on the right-hand side focused more on their social activities. The students near the middle placed nearly equal weights on both their studies and social activities. The participants with a moving arrow greatly changed their focus over time. The arrow indicates the direction of change. For instance, the right-pointing arrow means that the participant gradually placed more emphasis on his/her social activities, and the left-pointing arrow indicates that the participant gradually focused more on his/her studies. Hanna and Natalie prioritized their studies during their first year in university. Thus, they were placed on the left side of the table. They participated in fewer social activities than the other participants. Hanna focused entirely on her academic learning after acquiring a full scholarship in her first year. This scholarship gave Hanna a strong motivation to study hard and to secure full scholarship for the next four years, which could help reduce the financial burden of her parents. Natalie also focused heavily on her studies, but unlike Hanna, she also gave some weight to her social activities. Claire had a clear plan for her studies and social activities. She completely focused on her studies during the first semester and participated in activities only at the beginning of the second semester because she could only focus on one thing at a time. Upon her arrival in university, she perceived herself as having poor academic learning compared with her fellow students. Thus, she

Table 8.2 The initial priorities and changes in the priorities of the participants on an academic study and social activity scale (Ding & Yu, 2021)

Academic Study Hanna

Social Activity Anna Serena

Natalie

Claire

Fiona Cathy Claire Dora

Justin

Cathy Dora Justin

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aimed to catch up with the others in terms of academic learning before participating in social activities. By emphasizing the importance of both their studies and social activities, Serena, Anna, Cathy, and Fiona were placed near the middle in Table 8.2 between study and social activities. Dora participated in many social activities during her first semester, which affected her studies and challenged her time management skills. In the following semester, she focused on her studies more and attempted to balance her studies with her social life. Justin initially invested much of his time in social activities, which challenged his time management skills but did not affect his studies. However, he realized at the end of the second semester that an academic career might suit him better. Therefore, he decided to spend his energy on his academic studies and lessened his participation in social activities.

Different Conceptions of Autonomy The autonomy of an individual is greatly affected by his/her conception of autonomy since the behavior of learners is closely related to their beliefs and conceptions (Cotterall, 1999; Wenden, 1991). As described in Chap. 3, the participants all mentioned in their first two interviews that autonomy was important for university students. During the third, fourth, and fifth interviews, I asked the participants to explain their own conceptions of autonomy and cite examples of autonomous actions from their own lives to demonstrate their behaviors better. A close relationship was found between their conceptions of autonomy and their autonomous behaviors (Ding & Yu, 2021). Table 8.1 shows that the participants have different conceptions of autonomy, which reflects (1) what they are able to do or have done to match their behaviors with their conceptions and (2) what they want to do but are unable to at present. For instance, Dora’s conception of her autonomy reflected her desired ability, that is, the ability to control her life and emotions, because her lack of control over these factors caused her great difficulty and agony during her first year in university. Anna’s conception of her autonomy also reflected what she wanted yet was unable to achieve. Anna argued that an autonomous individual should set goals and plans for his/her life. Justin’s conception reflects what he could do and what he wanted to achieve, namely, a strong self-discipline. Fiona wanted to improve her time management skills, which was still her weakness. Claire demonstrated her autonomy in both learning and application processes, but her autonomy in the latter was still a work in progress. The conceptions of the participants generally matched their behavior, which indicates that they are capable of doing what an autonomous person can achieve. Anna and Fiona demonstrated independent thinking in learning and both reported that they had made progress with it. According to Justin, autonomous individuals take control of the quality of their learning by placing great importance on the quality of their assignments.

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The data analysis reveals that the participants’ conceptions of their autonomy either guided their behavior or were drawn from their life experiences. Conception and behavior influence each other, and their dynamic interaction is a cyclical, ongoing process that cannot be illustrated in Table 8.1. For instance, Serena’s understanding of autonomy was broadened to “becoming more confident in one’s own learning ability and independent way of learning” after achieving success in her self-study, and also after gaining more confidence in her independent learning ability. Serena’s experiences improved her understanding of autonomy, which would subsequently affect her behavior. The participants’ conceptions of autonomy were deepened over time as they became more independent and gained more control of their lives. Their understanding of such concepts also increased by facing more challenges. These conceptions of autonomy also served as guidelines for the participants. Some conceptions reveal the focus of the participants in their university life. Some participants had a broad range of focus, whereas others had a narrow and specific focus. Hanna’s conception was nearly all about academic learning, specifically the procedures that she should take to improve her academic learning. This conception matched her focus in university, which was solely directed toward her studies. Serena and Anna emphasized the importance of becoming independent in both their lives and studies, which matched their goal of investing more time in both their social activities and studies. Claire had a broad understanding of autonomy, that is, to solve problems independently and to pursue her own desires. This conception served as a guideline for her life in a broad sense, including her lifelong dream to become an educator and build her own school. Autonomy is widely defined as the capability of an individual to take control of his/her learning (Benson, 2011). This ability can be demonstrated in various ways, as illustrated by Candy (1991). The participants’ understanding of autonomy indicated their varied interpretations of this concept. They focused on different parts of autonomy, which were affected by their own individual experiences. They also had some common understanding of the concept. For instance, they all emphasized the importance of initiative, self-discipline, time management, making plans, and independent thinking, which are the core elements of being autonomous. Most participants maintained that they could not execute their plans and wished that they could become more persistent in pursuing their goals, thus indicating that the most difficult parts of being autonomous were to be persistent and to execute plans.

Family Background and School Culture Family environment has an important role in the autonomy development of individual learners. All nine participants were the only child in their families and received support from their parents. However, the type of support varied among the participants. For instance, Claire knew from a young age what she wanted and was persistent in pursuing her dreams. She also won over the support of her parents,

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which enabled her to make her own decisions most of the time. On the contrary, some participants did not have many opportunities to practice their own decisionmaking ability. For example, Dora was often persuaded by her mother in a gentle way to accept her opinions or decisions. Thus, she wanted to become more independent from the decisions of her mother. However, she eventually realized that she was not yet psychologically ready to become independent because she was scared of taking control of her own life. Being independent also indicates independence from parents. Given her overprotective mother, Dora was not confident about any decisions in which she did not consult her mother. However, at one point in her second semester, despite her mother’s disagreement, she decided to stay in the CSSA. In our last interview, Dora reported that she could better balance her time between her studies and social activities and had gained more self-confidence. The stories of the participants confirmed the Tinto’s claim (1975) that the autonomy-supportive or controlling behaviors of a family can influence the academic performance of tertiary students. The participants with autonomy-supported parents (Hanna and Claire) were able to adapt in the school-university transition more easily than those with controlling parents (Dora). Similar to family background, the previous school culture of the participants is also crucial in cultivating the learning autonomy of students. For instance, Hanna, Natalie, and Cathy all graduated from high schools that focused on developing the autonomous learning ability and mentality of their students. Therefore, these participants adapted to an independent learning style in university more easily. Hanna argued that she adjusted to university life more easily than most of her peers because of the culture in her former high school. As previous studies have not provided much data in this aspect, this study fills the gap in the literature by revealing that school culture has an important role in cultivating the autonomy of students and preparing them for tertiary education. The autonomy of an individual can be promoted in supportive social relations but also be impeded in unfavorable relationships. For instance, the autonomy of students cannot be developed in families with authoritarian parents or in a teacher-centered teaching mode in which students have few opportunities to make decisions on their own learning. Once used to a controlled life, people may not become accustomed to a life that requires a high level of autonomy. Deci and Flaste (1995, p. 148) argued that “. . .to some degree, people adapt to being controlled and act as if they don’t want the very thing that is integral to their nature—namely, the opportunity to be autonomous.” Serena lacked confidence in making her own decisions on what and how to learn because she was accustomed to being guided by her teachers in school. She also doubted her ability to make correct judgments and yearned for the past, during which she was under the control of others. She only gained confidence in her own learning ability after receiving positive feedback for her first two assignments. Those individuals whose lives are controlled by others to a great extent and for a long period cannot instantly realize their capability to become autonomous. Firstyear undergraduates who come from an education-oriented or family background in

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which their autonomy was not encouraged, experience more problems during their transition to university life, where a higher level of autonomy is required. However, students who are raised in an autonomy-supportive environment can more easily adapt to a new environment.

Social Network and a Supportive Environment in University Providing choice, in the broad sense of that term, is a central feature in supporting a person’s autonomy. (Deci & Flaste, 1995: 34)

Some contextual factors, such as social networks, were crucial to the adaptation and autonomy development of the participants. The role of social networks in language learning has been explored by some researchers (e.g., Gao, 2012; Palfreyman, 2006, 2011, 2014). The influence of this factor on the development of the participants was illustrated in Chaps. 5 and 6. Social networks, including parents, teachers, and peers, could affect the autonomy development of students. Social network also provided emotional support to the participants in various settings, enhancing their adaptation (Ding & Stapleton, 2015). The autonomy of a learner cannot be examined without considering his/her social relationships because these relational processes shape the “very discourse of the individual” (Gergen, 2009, p. 207). By exploring both the behavior and the complex web of relationships of individuals, we can better understand the complexity of their development. Therefore, the social aspects of autonomy must not be disregarded when examining this aspect. Little and Dam (1998) argued that learner autonomy implies freedom from oneself, and that the ultimate goal of developing autonomy is to empower oneself to be able to transcend personal limitations. Humans naturally pursue autonomy, but this concept is not synonymous to isolation. As social creatures, humans actively develop their independence within the limits of their interdependence on one another. Previous studies have emphasized the importance of creating space for autonomy development (Wall, 2003) and a spatial dimension of autonomy (Murray et al., 2014, in Murray, 2014). The present study confirmed that a supportive environment can affect the development of students. For instance, Natalie enjoyed the freedom to eat or sleep at any time in the university. Cathy echoed this sentiment, commenting that the university was supportive to the autonomous learning of its students. The university created an autonomy-supportive environment to provide its students the freedom to organize their lives, study more flexibly, and gain more control over their lives. Unlike the well-structured life in schools, studying in Hong Kong universities provides more space for students to make their own decisions. Students can develop their own rhythm, maintain the balance between a healthy lifestyle and a productive learning style, and find the best time to study. To conclude, although the nine participants eventually adapted to their university life and gained independence in both their life and study after a year, they

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demonstrated different trajectories in their autonomy development. Their development in autonomy was affected by various factors, including their personalities, expectations, focuses in university, and previous level of autonomy in different domains, which were in turn conditioned by their family and school education.

Double Transition and the Three Domains of Autonomy as an Interpreting Framework The complexity of autonomy development in the present context is illustrated in Fig. 8.2. This framework enables us to study the autonomy of students in a more humanistic and holistic manner, especially when the student population includes a complex mix of students from different backgrounds. Researchers in cross-border fields tend to use cultural background to explain the difficulties that confront overseas students (Biggs, 1996; Gieve & Clark, 2005; Holliday, 1999). Previous studies on school-university transition have revealed that many first-year undergraduates in English-speaking western countries experience the same difficulties that overseas Asian students encounter (e.g., Tinto, 1975; Willcoxson et al., 2011). These studies should also be able to provide enough evidence against the cultural essentialist approach. Placing the students in a continuum of autonomy development enables us to explore the development of students from different contexts in a Structured life– Less-structured

Autonomy in life

life School– University More independent learning mode

Double transition

Mainland China– Hong Kong

Autonomy in academic learning

Changed role of English

Social cultural change and learning a new local language

Fig. 8.2 Double transition and three domains of autonomy

Personal factors: 1. Personality 2. Motivation 3. Family education 4. Perception on autonomy Contextual and social factors: 1. School culture 2. Social network 3. Supportive

Learning and using academic English

environmental elements

Summary

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more rational way. As the previous autonomy level of students is affected by various factors as illustrated above, these differences cannot solely be attributed to their national backgrounds. Students from the same background may demonstrate variation in their autonomy. Reactive and proactive autonomy are usually combined in educational settings. For instance, Hanna’s learning was instrumentally motivated, thus making her autonomy initially reactive. However, she demonstrated a high level of proactive autonomy while pursuing her academic goals, seeking opportunities for learning, and improving her spoken English. The same was observed among the other participants, who demonstrated both reactive and proactive autonomy in their learning process. Students at lower education levels, such as primary or secondary school level, generally tend to demonstrate reactive autonomy. These learners should also demonstrate an increasing level of proactive autonomy as they move toward higher education and free themselves from the control of their respective educational organizations. However, their demonstration of autonomy is constrained by both their human development stages and educational settings which means when students enter university, their level of autonomy is often underdeveloped. Thus, universities should organize counseling and autonomy developing programs especially for first-year students, including instructional sessions that cultivate practical skills of students for becoming more autonomous, such as performing research through library facilities and technologies.

Summary Autonomy is a multifaceted concept that should be studied in a naturalistic setting to capture its dynamic nature. Three domains of autonomy are identified in this study to illustrate the school-university and cross-border transitions of the participants. These domains closely interact with and affect one another. The autonomy of a student is developed by the interaction among several factors, which reveals the complexity of autonomy development. The next chapter presents the contributions, limitations, and recommendations of this study for future research.

Chapter 9

Conclusion

This chapter discusses the contributions of this study in four areas: (a) research on both school-university and cross-border transitions; (b) autonomy development, specifically the social and emotional aspects of autonomy development; (c) application of EMI in higher education; and (d) methodological applications and educational practices. Limitations of the study and recommendation for future research are discussed at the end of the chapter.

Contributions A New Framework to Understand School-University and Cross-Border Transitions The most significant theoretical contribution of the study is the new framework for understanding school-university and cross-border transitions (Fig. 8.1 in Chap. 8). The three domains of autonomy are grounded on the interpretation of the literature. However, no studies have been conducted to understand the interaction of these three domains. This is the first study to link them together and explore their interaction. Furthermore, a connection has been built between the research in the field of autonomy in language learning and the field of school-university and crossborder transition, which provides a new perspective to understand the experience of first-year (international) students. The findings show that the framework helps explain the transition for most students. With solid empirical evidence, the three domains of autonomy were shown to be relevant to the double transitions of the participants in the present study. To provide individualized help to students, we need to understand the experiences of learners in their previous education in terms of their autonomy development, and take a long-term developmental perspective to nurture students’ learner autonomy © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 F. Ding, First Year in a Multilingual University, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0796-7_9

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and build a link between what they were and what they should strive to be in the continuum of autonomy development. Autonomy is considered the outcome of education, especially of higher education. However, at the same time, it is supposed to be a precondition for a successful academic performance in higher education. We cannot expect every student to be at the same level of autonomy. Therefore, teachers and educators have a duty to fine-tune their expectations to individual differences in this aspect and provide individualized service to students. New university students are essentially equipped with a certain level of autonomous learning ability. However, they take a while to tune into the new university environment. Nevertheless, some students may lack the type of autonomy needed at the moment. Thus, they need additional nurturing and scaffolding. This research can also be a significant supplement to research on the cross-border transition of Chinese students. Many studies on overseas mainland Chinese students have been conducted from the perspective of cultural adjustment, which has overemphasized the influence of culture and has been criticized as the culturist approach (Holliday, 1999; 2003). Adopting an autonomy development perspective enables us to understand the complex development process of individual students as a result of the interaction between individuals and contextual factors. Autonomous behaviors are shaped in and for a particular culture. When moving to another culture, learners need to modify their autonomous behaviors in accordance with the host culture. By adopting the perspective of a long-term development of autonomy, educators can adopt a flexible approach to dealing with students from other cultures. By regarding them as individuals rather than products of a particular culture, educators were able to focus on individual differences in terms of autonomy development. Cultural essentialism or large-culture approaches towards learning have long been criticized because they regard people of a nation or a culture as a homogenous entity, disregarding their individual differences (Clark & Gieve, 2006; Gieve & Clark, 2005; Holliday, 1999). Investigating the autonomy of students in a natural setting and combining their autonomy in both life and learning enabled teachers to adopt a humanistic approach to understand students’ individual differences before viewing them as products of a certain culture (Holliday, 2005). The literature on school-university transition indicates that students going through this transition come across a variety of problems, most of which are similar to problems that students undergoing cross-border transition encounter. Both groups of transitioning students face a new academic environment different from their previous one, and they are required to have more independence. Therefore, the problems of international students should not be attributed merely to cultural differences. Instead, the gap among different levels of education should also be considered. The long-term autonomy development view enables us to combine these two perspectives and concentrate on one line of inquiry.

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Contribution to Autonomy Research This study also sheds light on the complexity of the development of learner autonomy in a naturalistic and holistic manner. Taking English learning as an example, in this study, the development of learners’ autonomy in English learning, aside from their classroom learning experience, is also closely related to their academic learning and their personal growth, that is, their growth as independent students, which in turn is affected by numerous factors. The multiple tasks of students and how they position English in their lives affect their decision-making in relation to learning and using English. Students decide how much and when to invest their time and energy in learning English. Teachers and educators should keep in mind that students are autonomous individuals with their own thinking and different needs for English. Without this knowledge, teachers may fail to see students as whole individuals, and inevitably misjudge the ability of students, and even impede their autonomy. The findings of this study also contribute to the understanding of the social dimensions of autonomy and help us understand that the autonomy development of individuals as social beings is a result of social interaction. On the one hand, no complete individual autonomy is isolated from social constraints, and thus our autonomy is always confined within certain boundaries. On the other hand, different individuals develop their autonomy at different paces as a result of influence from different social relations, for instance, with their parents, teachers, and peers. The emotional side of autonomy development has also been emphasized by some researchers (Benson, 2001, p. 71; Littlewood, 1996; Murray, 2014). However, little research has been conducted on this issue. University students are expected to be more autonomous in various ways than they were in high school because they are physically and mentally more mature, and the learning style in university requires them to be more autonomous. Nonetheless, little is known about this process of change, such as the changes students actually experience and what factors contribute to them in terms of autonomy. The stories reported by the participants served as good examples of the anxiety and stress they went through and the various strategies they applied to overcome their problems. After dealing with their problems, such as becoming independent in life, academic learning, and EMI teaching, the participants grew confident in their learning ability.

Contribution to the Understanding of Learning English in the EMI Context This study also enriches our knowledge of learning English in an EMI context, especially the EMI setting in a multilingual context. The complex composition of student population means that the English levels of students are diverse, which

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demands diversified English training programs to cater to the different needs of students. A goal of EMI education is to prepare students for their future careers as international citizens and enable them to communicate well in verbal and written English (Hu & Lei, 2014). Therefore, English is expected to improve as a natural result of the EMI teaching. However, in practice, a disparity is found between this educational target and the real investment in terms of providing maximized opportunities for students to improve their English skills. Lectures and seminars in EMI universities remain “non-interactive” and “transmissional,” and even in group discussions, the local language, Cantonese, is used in Hong Kong (Evans, 2011, p. 154). Opportunities for students to speak English inside and outside classrooms are far from ideal, which explains why the receptive skills of students in English improve greatly, but not their productive skills (Evans, 2011; Hyland, 2004). Therefore, a better English environment should be created on campus for students to use English as much as possible, for example, establishing English learning groups with English-speaking and non-English-speaking students; organizing activities where English is the only medium of communication; organizing Englishspeaking contests or English-drama festivals which involve students on a large scale.

Methodological Application and Educational Implication Aside from theoretical contributions, this study also provided some innovative of research methods. For instance, the longitudinal qualitative approach has been recommended by several researchers (e.g., Benson, 2011; Evans, 2011; Huang, 2013; Marshall et al., 2012; Webster & Yang, 2012) in both the fields of transition and autonomy, in which most research is presently quantitative. In-depth research is needed to establish a holistic view of the individualized and varied experiences of students. In the data collection, the participants were hired as helpers to transcribe their interview recordings and to member check the data, which was also innovative. This study has practical implications for students who are studying or intend to study abroad. By being aware of the stories of others in similar situations, students can understand their own experiences and feelings and prepare for university or cross-border study. The present study can also inform educators at both the secondary and postsecondary levels of the need to help students bridge the gap between school and university and move along the continuum of autonomy more smoothly. The study provides valuable insights into Chinese educational reform. Promoting the autonomy of students has long been an aim of educational sectors at various educational levels in mainland China. However, how this aim is realized and how effective the current teaching practices are in developing the autonomy of students remains an area that requires further research. This study provides rich data from the perspective of students to illustrate how their autonomy can be promoted or hindered by some educational practices or the daily behaviors of teachers. Listening to students enables

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educators and teachers to reflect upon their policies and behavior. Modifications can then be made to provide scaffolding for the autonomy development of students and create adequate space for maximizing development. Parents can also be enlightened by the stories of the participants in this study to reflect on their families’ educational behavior and determine ways they can adapt to facilitate autonomy in their children. Parents are the most important educators in their children’s lives. Therefore, their beliefs and behavior directly affect the development of their children. Learning to maximize opportunities for the development of their children is a lifelong learning task for all parents. In this respect, this research can provide some valuable insights. This study has demonstrated the importance of social support from various sources, such as parents, peers, and teachers. Both school-university and crossborder transitions entail the interruption of the students’ old social network, both on- and offline, and the establishment of a new one. As these transitional periods are often difficult to manage for educational institutions, especially in an era of tight fiscal constraint at the tertiary level, self-emergent social support can play an indispensable role in smoothening the transition and mitigating students’ stress. Social support, especially peer support should therefore be viewed as a fundamental supplement to the management of the university (Ding & Stapleton, 2015). As revealed from the data, many students in this study experienced a feeling of disorientation and uncertainty at the initial stage. Information delivered to students through orientation programs and course introductions proved to be insufficient as all this information was usually delivered in an intensive manner during the first few weeks while students were still in a disoriented state. Teachers of first-year students, however, can incorporate orientation programs into their classes. Take English class as an example, for the first one or two months, class activities can be more centered on students’ real life experiences, helping students reflect on their school-university transition and the differences they are going through in life and study; this helps students know themselves better and to communicate with others more effectively. Students can also be encouraged to learn to set their goals in university and share their time management and learning skills in English. Focusing on students’ real life experience provides interesting and meaningful topics for communication in English classes, which in turn facilitates students’ adjustment to the new university life. First-year experience has attracted the attention of researchers and educators worldwide and initiatives have been taken by many higher educational institutions to facilitate student transition to university and enhance their learning. The initiatives include pre-entry work (Jackson, 2012), peer and mentoring programs (Snowden & Hardy, 2012; Timmis, 2012); learning skills workshops (Chandler & Potter, 2012), etc. In Hong Kong universities, first-year experience has also been on the agenda in recent years, with Lingnan University as the pioneer, setting its First Year Experience Program1 in 2009. In the university where this study was performed, a new orientation program for first-year students was developed in recognition of the 1

http://www.ln.edu.hk/ssc/ilp/fyep/aboutfyep.html.

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challenging transition all students go through upon entering university. Although these enhanced orientations could be viewed as a step towards improving the students’ transition, universities may still need to take steps towards addressing the extra transition of international students, who tend to be treated the same as domestic students during orientations. Based on the findings of this study, it is suggested that since autonomy development is one of the major issues many first-year students face, it should be an important component of first-year programs. Another important issue for first-year students, especially international ones, is their social networks, which universities should establish to facilitate students’ adjustment to the university environment.

Limitations This study has the following limitations because of various constraints. First, the sample of the study is a result of self-selection and therefore may not be representative of the general population of first-year mainland Chinese students in the university, let alone of those in other Hong Kong universities. As described in Chap. 4, all participants had private English tutoring classes except Justin, whose mother was an English teacher and taught him English since he was young. The reason that the participants chose to participate this study could be out of their interest in English since this study is partially related to their English learning. The findings of this study, therefore, cannot be generalized to the big population of mainland Chinese students in the university, or in other universities. Besides the small number of participants, the gender imbalance in the participants was strong skewed towards the experience of female students. Also, although all of the participants in the study gradually became more autonomous and adjusted to the new environment, it is possible that some of the participants who dropped out of the study and some other first-year mainland Chinese students may not have been so successful in adjusting to the new environment. Nevertheless, as stated in Chap. 3, particularity rather than generalizability is the primary concern of qualitative research. The stories of the nine individuals shed light on the complexity of the general adaptation of students to a new academic environment and their autonomy development. The nine participants created various meanings out of the same context and demonstrated different trajectories of development. Thus, these cases cannot be generalized, but the study provided an analytical framework (double transition and three dimensions of autonomy) that can be modified to interpret the experiences of those undergoing school-university and/or cross-border transition. The second limitation of the study concerned the difficulty of obtaining sufficient concrete evidence to demonstrate the growth of the participants as change occurs gradually without being noticed. When I asked the participants to reflect on their development, some of them told me that they changed without really realizing it at that moment and it was only when they looked back that they could see their development. Natalie and Serena asserted that the development could be more

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prominent among students who experienced some critical incidents. Changes might be gradual and not obvious among students who do not encounter major challenges. For those who are always learning from what is happening around them, as Claire described herself, documenting the development can be difficult. It requires intensive observation by the researcher and the constant reflection of both the researcher and the participant, which would make the task unrealistic and impossible to accomplish within the normal Ph.D. study period. Third, this study relied heavily on the subjective reports of the participants. In future studies, parents, teachers, administrative staff, and fellow students should be investigated as well to collect additional data to better understand the experiences of the participants. Another potential criticism is the chosen framework. This study adopted the perspective of autonomy to understand the transition of the mainland Chinese students studying in Hong Kong. This transition is a complex issue and autonomy is only one of the major issues involved. Other issues include the acculturation and enculturation of the students, which refers to the process the students undergo to modify their values and behavior in accordance with the culture, which includes the academic learning culture in a certain educational institution or the broader socioculture environment where the students have moved to.

Future Research The present study points the way for future research. Similar studies could be conducted in different contexts and with modified methods. First, to understand school-university transition better in the Asian context, similar research should be conducted in other Asian settings, such as mainland China, where the language of instruction is Chinese. This could help illuminate the school-university transition within the Chinese border. Details on the growth of students of various nationalities and native languages should be included to better understand their unique paths of development. Further studies are also needed to understand the transition and autonomy development of students in relation to their personal and contextual factors. Second, the perspective of long-term autonomy development provides a significant line of inquiry to explore the cross-border transition of overseas students in English-speaking countries, where English is more closely involved in students’ study and life than in the present study. How different contexts affect the way students develop their autonomy in life, academic learning, and learning and using English is worth exploring. Comparative studies can be performed in various contexts at the same time to determine the main issues students encounter and how they attempt to manage their challenges in a particular context. For instance, to understand the similarities and differences among students undergoing school-university transition in (a) Englishspeaking countries, (b) mainland China, and (c) the participants in this study. The

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present research methodology can be adopted for all these inquiries. For the ethnographic approach, like the one used in the present study, researchers should be closely involved in the lives of the participants and document details of their development in different areas. Data should also be collected from parents, teachers, and friends, who play an important role in the development of students. To understand the experience and autonomy development of first-year mainland Chinese students, similar studies can be extended to include a larger group of participants, with more factors considered. For example, a combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection can be used while including students from different universities, disciplinary backgrounds, and family backgrounds. This method would enable the identification of general patterns of autonomy development of first-year university students. It would also be interesting to investigate the experiences of students who do not adjust successfully (e.g., individuals who decide to return to mainland China or go to other institutions). Intervention programs that prepare students for school-university or cross-border transitions can be conducted in schools, after which students can be followed to investigate their experiences in university. Students who participate in the program and those who do not can be compared. Intervention programs can also be conducted in universities to investigate the effect. Studies of interventions that target mainland students who are new to tertiary education in Hong Kong can also be conducted to enable the host institutions to improve their service quality.

Conclusion From the learner autonomy perspective, this study has explored the major issues that nine mainland Chinese students encountered in their first year of study in a Hong Kong university. A framework of double transition and the three domains of autonomy were proposed to interpret the experience of first-year international students. The framework was supported by empirical evidence which revealed the major issues in adjusting to a more independent lifestyle, new academic learning system, and EMI teaching in the university. In conclusion, the school-university transition is a difficult process for most students. It may be even more challenging for students who are undergoing a cross-border transition at the same time, which usually involves the transition of language and culture. The long-term perspective of autonomy enables us to understand the transition of students in a holistic manner and to explore their growth in a natural setting. Although this study was performed in Hong Kong and involved a group of first-year mainland Chinese students, it may have important implications in other contexts that involve cross-border and/or school-university transitions.

Appendices

Appendix A: The First Interview Guide (第一次采访问题) 亲爱的同学, 由于相隔太远没法面对面交谈, 只好在这请你就下列问题尽可 能详细地谈谈, 当然你能想到的和这些问题相关的事情也可以一股脑儿地说 出来, 越多越好。你可以用英语说/写, 也可以用汉语, 随你喜欢。非常谢谢!! Dear student, because I cannot interview you face-to-face this time due to the distance, I have to ask you to talk about the following questions in details to me in email. Of course, you can talk about whatever you can think of that is related to these questions and you can choose to write in either English or Mandarin Chinese as you like. Thanks a lot! 1. 你即将要去香港学习了, 对此你是否有一些憧憬?你能具体和我说说嘛? (各个方面都行, 越具体越好) You are soon going to study in Hong Kong. Do you have any dreams or expectations for it? Could you please explain it in details to me? (anything is welcome and the more detailed the better) 2. 你是怎么选择去香港学习的? Why did you decide to study in Hong Kong? 3. 你能讲讲你对所选学校的了解吗? Would you please tell me what you know about the university you have chosen? 4. 你想象中的学校是怎样的? What is the university you have chosen like as far as you know? 5. 你能讲讲你对香港的了解吗? What do you know about Hong Kong? 6. 你想象中的香港是怎样的?(不同方面都可以讲) What is Hong Kong like as far as you know? 7. 你能讲讲你对所选专业的了解吗?你是怎么选择这个专业的?

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9.

10.

11.

12.

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What do you know about the program you have chosen in the university? Why did you decide to choose this program as your major? 你想象中你在香港的生活会是怎样的?会和现在不一样吗?会有些什么变 化?对此你有什么想法吗? In your imagination, what will your life be like in Hong Kong? Will it be different from your present life? In what ways will it be different? How do you feel about this? 你想象中即将到来的在香港的学习会是怎样的?和你以往的学习会不会有 什么不同呢?你会做些什么准备吗?想到这些你会有什么样的感受?能和我 分享吗? In your imagination, what will your study be like in Hong Kong? Will it be different from your previous way of study? What kinds of differences will there be? How do you feel about this and how will you prepare yourself for it? 去香港学习, 你对自己的英语学习有什么具体的期待吗?你会如何去实现 这些期待呢? To study in Hong Kong, do you have any expectations for your English? How are you going to achieve these expectations? 你对自己的未来有什么期待或规划吗?能具体讲讲吗? Do you have any expectation or plans for your future? Would you like to share it with me? 总结起来, 你觉得在香港上大学会有哪些方面的收获? In conclusion, what do you think you will achieve by studying in Hong Kong?

Appendix B: The Second Interview Guide Interview guide for the second interview in October, 2012, the first face-to-face interview with the participants. Phase II (1. Pay attention to the responses from students with different linguistic backgrounds which might mean different cultural backgrounds: Cantonese vs. Mandarin Chinese; 2. the participants’ relations with peers) 1. How well have you adapt to the life and study in the university? 2. What changes are there between your previous life and study and that in HK? 3. What was most difficult/challenging for you in your first month of studying in HK? 4. In what ways is studying in HK different from your expectations? 5. What is the difference between English learning now and before? 6. Has the role of English changed in your life? In what ways? 7. Do you have clear goals about your study, English learning?

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8. How do you arrange your out-of-class English learning? Can you always do what you have planned to do? 9. What kinds of activities have you taken part in and what have you learned from these activities? 10. Could you please tell me who are important in your life at the moment and in what way they are influencing you?

Appendix C: The Third Interview Guide 1. Are there any changes taking place in your life and study? Would you like to share it with me? Something interesting/happy/unpleasant/unforgettable? 2. How is your time management, academic writing, reading or communication with local students? 3. How is your English learning recently? Have you found your way of improving your English? 4. What is your understanding about autonomy? How is it demonstrated? What are the differences between being autonomous in high school and that in university? 5. What do you think of your autonomous learning ability? How is your autonomy demonstrated in your life, study and English study? 6. Is there any room for you to improve your autonomy? In what aspects do you expect to improve it?

Appendix D: The Fourth Interview Guide This interview was conducted in March, 2013, the middle of the second semester. The focus of this interview was again the participants’ changes in life and study: how did they keep balance between these two and how was their autonomy developed in the process of managing their life and study. Asked about their time management, their attitude and behavior towards study, and their English learning. I asked about their academic results of last semester at some point of the interviews, trying to be as natural as possible. I did not ask their exact marks but asked them only whether they were satisfied with the result or not, and what would be their goal for the next stage. In this way, I gave them chance to reflect their first semester and also talked about their goals for the future.

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Appendix E: The Fifth Interview Guide 1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

9. 10. 11. 12.

13. 14. 15.

Anything to share with me since the last interview? How is your study in second year? Anything different from first year? Are you satisfied with your academic record of first year? How do you evaluate your first year of study and life in university? Do you consider yourself adjust well to the university life? What kind of progresses have you made in the first year in your life and your study? What kind of major changes have you experienced? Can you describe major stages you go through in the first year? What has been done by the university to help you adapt to the university life? What has been done by other resources (parents, friends, CSSA, yourself, etc.) to help you to adapt to the university life more quickly? What kinds of social relations do you have at the moment? Have these relations changed over time? Do you feel lonely? How are your relations with local students/friends? Has your view of English changed in this year? Your way of learning it? How has the Language Center affected your English learning? How do you evaluate your autonomous learning ability now? What are the major components of your autonomous ability? What kind of courses/factors influenced you most in terms of improving your autonomous learning ability? Do you think it is mainly due to your own efforts? Has your previous experience in family and school cultivated your autonomous learning ability or not? How satisfied are you with your university life? Has my research changed you in some way? How? Do you have any plans for your following study or your future?

Appendices

Appendix F: Sample of NVivo Coding

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