A Study on Acculturation Strategies of International University Students

This study focused on the preferences of acculturation strategies among Arab and African international students studying at a university in North Cyprus. The study further investigated the role of learners‘ cultural, motivational, and personal factors that interplay, and the influence of these factors on their language learning performance within the acculturation process. The study adopted a mixed methods research design. The first phase included a survey with 210 students while the second phase consisted of in-depth interviews with 19 student selected based on demographic information. Findings revealed that integration was preferred over other acculturation strategies while female students generally had a higher level of acculturation than males, and African students preferred integration as an acculturation strategy more so than did Arab students. Overall, results indicated that students from abroad perceived themselves in a positive light in relation to their acculturation in North Cyprus. Findings reflected very little antipathy towards the host nation or disappointment with the university, especially teachers not always using English as a medium of instruction in class even though Eastern Mediterranean University is an English-medium university. Overall, participants adopted different strategies to deal with stress, tension, and homesickness. In conclusion, the results indicated that the safe environment with the absence of fear, war, and civil conflict made the university attractive to many students from countries experiencing social unrest. Keywords: Acculturation, North Cyprus, Foreign Language Education, Language Learner Motivation, Cultural Diversity, Multicultural Environment.