Abstract:
Since the income of the export education industry has become one of the main pillars of New
Zealand's economic income, international students in New Zealand have received more and
more attention (Beehive, 2018). The reason why New Zealand can maintain a strong
competitiveness in the fierce world of export education market is mainly because of its good
reputation (New Zealand Government, 2018). Due to the pandemic, the export education
industry of New Zealand has been severely affected. A good reputation could improve New
Zealand's competitiveness in the global export education industry (Beehive, 2020). The
experiences of international students in New Zealand can influence the reputation of New
Zealand’ export education industry (New Zealand Government, 2018). As Chinese students
account for the largest group of New Zealand international students, the experiences of
Chinese international students is gaining increasing focus (New Zealand Government, 2018).
This thesis aims to investigate the experiences of Chinese international students in Auckland
and understand their experience of the adaptation process. This thesis employs qualitative
methodology and social constructionist theory to investigate the experiences of Chinese
international students and the reasons behind these experiences. A qualitative interview
method is applied to collect the data. The latticework approach is used to analysis the results
of interview. This study finds that cultural adaptation, language competency, socialization,
life satisfaction, and academic performance are the five main experiences of Chinese
international students. Almost every experience has a positive and negative impact on the life
of Chinese international students. This thesis concludes that most of the challenges met by
Chinese international students are related to cultural shock. Although many experiences have
more negative affects than positive effects, Chinese international students tend to develop a
multicultural identity and learn to be global citizen in the process of overcoming the
challenges.