Cambodian and Laotian Students' Experience of Language Barriers, Cultural Differences, and Teacher-Student Rapport in a University in Vietnam: A Grounded Theory Approach

摘要

An increasing number of international students have enrolled in university degreeprogrammes in Vietnam in recent years and this has presented a range of new pedagogicalopportunities and challenges in the higher education context of the nation. Currently, littleis known about international students’ academic experiences in Vietnamese universitiesalthough the literature suggests that effective teacher–student relationships are an importantfactor in establishing effective teaching and learning processes. This study employsgrounded theory to examine the influence of teacher–student relationships on internationalstudents’ academic experiences at a university in Vietnam that is located in a region thatdraws in students from the neighbouring countries of Cambodia and Laos. A mixedresearch design combining data from questionnaires and in-depth interviews was used inthis research. Data from questionnaires were collected from all Cambodian and Laotianinternational students who were enrolled at a university in the An Giang province inVietnam’s Mekong Delta. These data were supplemented by in-depth interviews with asample group of the students. The findings from this study show that while the Cambodianand Laotian international students reported good relationships with their Vietnameseteachers and having no difficulty in adapting to Vietnamese culture, they also struggledwith the challenges of studying in a new language and this made it difficult for them tocommunicate effectively with their teachers or participate fully in classroom activities.