Janet Rueben, from India, is our guest blogger this week. She shares with us what she wishes British people knew about international students.
As an international student in the UK, I’ve met some wonderful British people who have welcomed me into their hearts. But I’ve also experienced the opposite. These difficulties have mostly arisen from British people making wrong assumptions about me, and other international students. This is why I’d love to tell you 5 things that I wish British people knew about International students.
1) Don’t assume that every international student only speaks English at a low level.
I’m one of thousands of Indian students studying in the UK and I remember the first person I spoke to here was checking my immigration at the border. They said to me “Your English is very clear!” I took it as a compliment then. Later, however, when every third person I spoke with asked me questions like “How is your English so clear? Isn’t Hindi your mother tongue?”
I wish British people were aware that most of these international students are highly educated, many come from countries where English is the primary language used at school from the age of 5 or 6. When Brita act surprised at our language ability it unintentionally makes us feel unwanted, insecure, undervalued, and disrespected.
2) Don’t assume that international students know every single person in their country or can speak every regional language/dialect from their country.
I remember one of my British student friends asked “Hey, you're from India, do you know so-and-so who I was friends with last year at university here? He was from India too.” Or questions like “Hey you're from India, can you speak Punjabi/Haryanvi/Bengali?”
Questions like these confuse us. It may be surprising to you but I don’t know so-and-so. Sorry to disappoint you. India is a big a country with 1.3 billion people; we don't all know each other! If you don't know every random person from Aberdeen, even if you've never been there, why do you expect us to be able to do the equivalent in our own countries? Also, each international student has their own different cultural, regional, and language background.
I wish British people didn’t do this because they often get disappointed when we don’t know the person, or language, and this feeling acts as a barrier for international students to become friends with local students.
3) I wish British people didn’t assume that everyone from a country/culture will all be identical.
British people sometimes will have had some sort of bad experiences with people from particular countries. But generalising the entire population of the country on the basis of one personal experience ruins future prospects of friendships.
British people should educate themselves more about different cultures; communicate, open up, and listen to others. This would give them a new platform to make friends and remove all sorts of barriers.
4) I wish British people knew that their body language and formation of groups can exclude international students.
At one of my early meetings I didn’t know anyone and it was all new. Now, I’m outgoing so making friends isn’t difficult. But many other international students felt lost and confused as to where they should go and which group they should join.
Sometimes local people are enjoying their small groups so much they forget that international students are in danger of being ignored or isolated because they don’t know anyone. This makes international students feel unwanted, neglected, and lonely.
5) I wish British people didn’t assume that international students are extraordinarily rich.
This simply isn't true for many of us. Yes, there are some international students who have plenty of money, but not all. So when British people just assume and say, “Why do you have to worry? You have so much money!”, or “Your parents must be so rich, that's why you are studying here.”, this is offensive, and makes us feel uncomfortable and insecure.
In conclusion, life isn't easy for international students living in the UK. We're far from home, our families, and our comforts. We're just looking for things that remind us of home. I truly believe that if British people would try seeing the world through the eyes of international students they'd realise a lot.
Small changes in actions, words, gestures, behaviours, and education/awareness about internationals can make a major difference during the limited time international students have in the UK. And who knows, they just might create Life-long bonds of friendships.
To get involved in welcoming international students to Leeds just email phil.thomas@transformationsleeds.org.uk
