Essay on Interviewing an International Student:

                Interviewing an international student can be a very rewarding experience. Although the interview might be rewarding, that doesn’t mean you won’t experience some obstacles along the way to the finish product. You should try to be ready for some challenges that you may experience. But don’t worry the benefits out way the challenges and in the end, it is worth it.

                First of all the challenges, some challenges you may encounter will be more difficult to handle than others. First off, starting the conversation may be difficult. If you are not around international students often, you may not know what to say or how to address the person. If you are not an international student, you could have difficulties even finding one if you don’t know many international students. This could pose a huge problem. Another major problem you might have is the language barrier. Every international student is at a different level of English speaking, which could make interviewing them difficult. Silence doesn’t mean a sign of disrespect or lack of know knowledge. The interviewee might need time to formulate his/hers answer into English or have some time to process the questions (1). Remember English isn’t their first language. The interviewee may not know some words, so be prepared to reword your questions if necessary. You may also have some mispronunciation or misuse of some words as well. They may experience trouble continuing their thought process. Another problem that may occur is some questions might be misunderstood, so your answer could be wrong or not make sense, so you might need to talk some time to clarify the answers. The interviewer should try their best not to do anything that could come off offensive. Body language, actions, questions, and some words may be offensive to the international student. Some improper topics to address could be: race, religion, ethnicity, and sexuality (2).  The last challenge you may encounter would be the time situation. Some cultures “on time” are different that your own idea of what “on time” really is.  Also you and your international student interviewee may have extremely conflicting schedules, so finding a time may be difficult.

                Secondly the benefits of interviewing an international student are quit rewarding. The interviewer gets to meet a new person who they might have not even thought about approaching before, a person from a different country with a different culture. The interviewer will gain a firsthand experience in talking to them face to face. They will learn new cultures, traditions, food, clothing, music, manners, what is offensive to them, art, educational systems, politics, and about their family. You will learn how the foreign exchange process works, and how they got the opportunity to come study here in the United States. Also the meeting between an international student and you will be more professional. You won’t have as much small talk because you two will lack common interests. That will help the interview process because you will stay on topic and not introduce small talk. You will also gain a perspective on their nonverbal communication. You will be able to see what topics make them uncomfortable and how they respond to certain subjects and questions.

                So in conclusion, I think interviewing an international student is quite difficult. But I feel that even though you may have more challenges than benefits, the benefits will out way the challenges and you will have a rewarding experience.

 Resources:

1.       http://www.relocation.com/library/career_guide/interview_challenges.html , October 16, 2012

2.       http://www.relocation.com/library/career_guide/interview_challenges.html, October 16, 2012

Interviewing an International Student:

Challenges and Benefits of interviewing an international student:

Challenges:

1.        Difficult to find an international student

2.        Language barrier

3.        International student may be shy to talk

4.        Might slip and say something offensive

5.        Not a high level English speaker

6.        International students might not know some words

7.        International students may have difficulty in expressing what they want to say

8.        Some actions could come off offensive on accident

9.        Some questions might scare/offend the interviewee

10.     Body language could be offensive

11.     Certain questions may be misunderstood

12.     International students may have troubles continuing a thought because it is not in their native language

13.     Mispronunciation on words

14.     Miss use of words

15.     Might have to stop the interview to ask a questions because might be unclear on the answer

16.     Starting the conversation

17.     Not on time (culture difference on what “on time” is)

18.     Trouble finding time on when to meet – conflicting schedules

 

Benefits:

1.        Firsthand experience with a country

2.        Meet a new person from a different country

3.        Learning about a new culture

4.        More professional – less small talk

5.        Arrange and execute a professional meeting

6.        Learn how/where/time they will want to meet

7.        Learn about new customs

8.        Learn new Traditions

9.        Learn how a different culture goes about a professional meeting

10.     Learn about clothing

11.     Learn about their food

12.     Learn about their educational background

13.     Learn about their family

14.     Won’t speak in local small talk – helps stay on subject

15.     Talk more professional due to a common interest

16.     Learning about nonverbal communication

17.     Learn about their manners

18.     Learn about the foreign exchange process

Interview Objectives and Core Questions

The country I chose that I will be interviewing people from is Mali. Now it is time to find 3 individuals that are from Mali and start interviewing. I have never formally interviewed anybody before so it is slightly nerve racking. But it will be OK. My objectives are:

• Learn more about Mali
• Learn how the difference in our educational systems
• Learn how their experience was coming to the United States
• Gain an experience on their life
• Get to know the culture of Mali

The twelve core questions that I will be using are:

1. Could you tell me about yourself? (your name, and home country)

2. Why did you chose St. Cloud State University?

3. What would you like to tell me about your country?
4. Can you tell me about activities that young people like to do in your country?
5. What are major holidays in your country?
6. What is your traditional food?
7. How is the political system of your country structured?
8. What are your country's major religions? 
9. What’s considered offensive in your country?
10. What do you perceive as differences between your culture and the American culture?
11. Is there anything you would like to add before we end our interview?
12. Do you have any questions for me, now that I have had the pleasure of asking you about so many things.

Those are my core 12 questions, but as I am interviewing I might add more, depending on how the interview goes.

Three Countries:

The three countries I chose to research are Mali, Nigeria, and Liberia. I chose these countries because I am very interested in Africa and this continent interests me a lot. I also have several African friends that would be able to help me out on the interview process.

Mali:

The first country in Africa I chose was Mali. Mali is located in West Africa. It is similar to the size of Texas and California combined and inhabits 14.1 million people. Most of its population is Islam and the official language is French, but nearly 80% of its people speak Bambara. Mali’s population is made up of sub-Saharan ethnic groups, sharing similar traditions, beliefs, and history. When reading up on Mali’s history, it seemed to really interesting to me and I would love to learn more about it and talk to someone from Mali to gain a greater perspective. (1)

Nigeria:

The second country I chose is Nigeria. Nigeria is also in West Africa, and is the size of California, Nevada, and Arizona combined. Nigeria has a huge population of nearly 160 million people.  Nigeria inhabits nearly 250 different ethnic groups, the largest being Hausa-Fulani, Igbo, Yoruba, and Kanuri, and the main religions are Muslim and Christian.  I found it extremely interesting that Nigeria accounts for over half of West Africa’s population. It is the most populous country in Africa.  (2)

Liberia:

Liberia is also in West Africa, and is slightly larger than Ohio. It inhabits a little under 4 million people and the main religion is Christian. English is their official language, but they have 16 indigenous languages. There are 16 ethnic groups that make up Liberia's indigenous population. The Kpelle in central and western Liberia is the largest ethnic group. Americo-Liberians who are descendants of freed slaves that arrived in Liberia after 1820 make up less than 5% of the population. (3)

I think that all the three West African countries I chose would be interesting to research. They are all different in the people they inhabit, the religions, the languages, and even their histories. But all are fascinating to me.

1. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2828.htm , October 8, 2012 

2.http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2836.htm, October 8, 2012  

3.http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/6618.htm, October 8, 2012  

5 books from students

The first book I chose was, ZeYu Chen’s, and the title of the book is “The Opium War, 1840-1842”. The first sentence on page 15 read this “The south China city of canton lies in the latitude of Calcutta, Mecca, and Havana, on the left bank of the Canton River seventy-five miles from the sea.” (1) Just by reading this sentence, this book doesn’t seem very interesting to me.

“The Development of Nigerian Foreign Policy” was my second book I chose.

This book is about Nigeria's foreign policy. On page 15 it says: "But it would be wrong to assume that Nigerian political parties, at the beginning of the election campaign, had definitely formulated policies for the nation to follow in world affairs." (2) I do not know much about Nigeria and I find it somewhat interesting.

The third book I decided to choose was How to talk Minnesotan, which actually is really interesting for people to me because I am born and raised in Minnesota; it gave an overview of how people talk here. It read on page 15, ”Many cooks substitute pickled herring for the hamburger and use cream of mushroom soup instead of Cheese Whiz as a topping”. (3) I actually would read this book, it sounds comical.

"U.S. Economic Policy Toward Africa” is the fourth book I chose. "For instance, the foreign aid appropriations legislation for 1991 declared in part that the purpose of DFA was "to help the poor majority of men and women in sub-Saharan Africa to participate in a process of long-term development through economic growth that is equitable, participatory, environmentally sustainable, and self-reliant." (4) Is the quote that was on page 15.  I don't know anything about economic policy in Africa and I am slightly interested in it, but I would find a different book, this one doesn’t seem interesting to me.

My fifth and final book I read was “Horse Thief”. On page 15 I found: "Only merriment as they nipped and nuzzled one another." (5)This book also does not interest me, because the first sentence confuses me on what this book is actually about.

1.  Fay, Peter Ward. The opium war 1840-1842. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill 1975.

2.Cloud, S.P. (1964). The Development of Nigerian Foreign Policy, New York, USA: Northwestern University Press.

3.Mohr, Howard. (August 4th, 1987). How To Talk Minnesotan: A visitor's Guide. New York, USA: Penguin Group.

4.Herbst J. (1992). U.S. Economic Policy Toward Africa, New York, US: Council on foreign relations press New York.

5. Peck, R.N.. Horse Thief. New York, USA: Harper Collins Publishers, 2002. 

Selection of a Library Book:

Step One:
1. I chose the book South African Tragedy becasue I studied abroad in South Africa and lived there for nearly 5 and a half months and I learned about the history and it is very interesting to me. I think not many people know about it, and how it is still happening today, and how it affected the lives of millions and still affects them everyday.
2. This book only has one author, Alan Paton
3. The title is South African Tragedy
4. This book was distrubted in the United States by Charles Scribner's and Sons
5. It was printed in New York in 1965

Step Two:
The book I chose is called South African Tradegy by Alan Paton. It was printed in the New York, United States in 1965 and was distrubuted by Charles Scribners and Sons. I chose this book because I studied abroad in South Africa last year, and was there for about 5-6 months and I think the whole South African history is very interesting. This book is about the life and times of Jan Hoemeyr. This book is a fiction history novel, that incorporates the tragedy that happened in South Africa. I enjoy this becasue I learned a lot about what I have read while scimming through the book. For example, Paton talks about the aftermath of the Boer War and how the four provinces came to be in South Africa. "In 1910 the four provinces- the Transvaal, the Orange Free State, Natal, and the Cape Provinces-formed the Union of South Africa within the British Empire." (Paton, ix) I remember learning this while I was in class in South Africa.


Works Cited:
Paton, Alan. South African Tragedy; the Life and times of Jan Hofmeyr. New York: Scribner, 1965. Print.

Improvements: The Editing Process

 

 

Author:  Tareq Alsomahi 
Editor: Brittany Hofstater