Promoting intercultural contact on campus: A project to connect and engage international and host students

Abstract

International students’ adjustment to living in an unfamiliar cultural environment and studying in a different educational system and language has been a topic of much research. Literature has shown that support from the host community could be the difference between a smooth transition and one fraught with problems and difficulties. This article describes a “buddy project” used in an intercultural communication class in which each student was a buddy for a newly arrived international student for a semester. The purpose of the project was to give social support to international students in the crucial first few months of their sojourn while at the same time complementing host students’ class-based theoretical learning with practical, meaningful experience with peers from another culture. The article discusses the outcomes, challenges, and students’ evaluations of the experiential learning exercise. Recommendations for future projects are outlined.