When I was a new RA, I was placed in a hall with a majority of international students. Being from a small town I had little experience with people from other countries. I was intimidated by my residents. I was scared I would not pronounce their names correctly, that I wouldn’t understand their accent, that I would say something offensive. I was nervous because the population was unfamiliar to me, and I had received no specific training on how to support my specific body of residents.
Fast forward many years, I have a masters in higher education and experience working as a Residence Director at multiple institutions. I have learned a lot about how to support all sorts of specific student populations, including international students. I also now happen to be engaged to a person from west Africa, who went through the American university system as an international student. He’s given me some helpful insights on how to be supportive based on his personal experience. Here’s what I have learned in my years of experience that can hopefully help you support your international residents right from the beginning.
1) Often residents from other countries have names that you may have never heard. When you first meet someone with a name that you are unfamiliar with, take the time to try out their name right away. Ask if you are pronouncing it correctly. Try it multiple times. Write it down phonetically for you to reference later. While it may feel awkward to do this at first, I promise it will feel much more awkward to have to ask every time you see them or to try avoiding saying their name all year. This is a simple first step you can take to make your residents feel known by you.
2) Ask about their culture and their language. Your international residents are in a constant state of trying to get to know the culture they’ve moved into; give them a break from this and let them talk about what they know well. Sometimes it’s hard to talk about your own culture, because it feels so “normal” and built in, so try asking specific follow up questions. This shows that you are interested in them and want to know more about where they are from. A note on this: be careful not to just ask about commonly held stereotypes of their country. This is a shallow approach, could be offensive, and shows you didn’t think much about what you’re asking. Trying to speak some words from their language also shows a willingness to try and connect. It can also be a form of vulnerability because it’s tricky speaking a language you don’t know. This can help form empathy too for what your student is going through on a daily basis speaking a language that is not their first.
3) Culture shock is real, especially for your first year residents. They have left the safety of the familiar and entered a new world full of different smells, sights, customs, and languages. Every corner is a new challenge to face. While you can’t snap your fingers and fix culture shock, you can provide reassurance, resources, and comfort to your residents. Remind them that no question is a bad one and make sure even when they do ask questions that feel obvious to you, that you don’t make them feel silly for asking. Let them know that it is normal and okay to not know everything and that adjusting takes a lot of time. Remind yourself of this as well when your international residents aren’t adjusting as quickly as you expected.
4) Invite your international residents to hang out with you and your friends or to come to one of your events. The power of the invite cannot be overstated. It can be harder to get out and meet new people when you’re in unfamiliar territory. It can be easy to cling to the known, such as other international students going through the same experience, especially ones from the same country. Personally inviting your international residents to grab coffee with you or go to an event on campus can help them get out of their comfort zone with someone who feels safe. You can introduce them to more of the culture and more people who could be potential friends. The invite will help them feel like they belong on campus and they’re wanted in the community for who they are.
I hope these four tips can help you on your way to providing support to your international residents. As is always true when we group students together, these ideas are generalized. The most helpful thing always is to get to know your residents for who they are as individuals and support them in the specific way they need. But, we all need a place to start because it takes time to get to know people; and residents, especially international residents, need support as soon as they move on to your floor.
