Thesis and Dissertation Writing in a Second Language: a handbook for Supervisors

particularly in the early stages, can help with transition issues (Al-Sharideh
and Goe 1998; Myles and Cheng 2003; Sung 2000). It is certainly the case
that international students desire contact with locals, and particularly with
native speakers of English, and this is to be encouraged. Supervisors should
however bear in mind that the local community of fellow country people
may have a role to play in assisting the new student settle in and they may
want to try to facilitate this contact, through, for example, linking the stu-
dent to a national society on the campus. Supervisors should be aware of the
role that informal social networks can play in facilitating student adjust-
ment, particularly when there are a number of students from the same
country who already participate in these networks. These can help with
accommodation, child and spousal support, as well as providing informal
mentoring. Humphrey and McCarthy (1999) found that students from
countries with few students studying at their university tended to have the
most unrealistic expectations as they were not able to benefit from advice
from returning students or from existing informal networks on arrival in
terms of accommodation and settling in. Bradley (2000: 428) reports that a
Box 2.1 Dai’s story
Dai was a student from China in her late thirties who enrolled for a
PhD at an Australian university. Her spoken and written English was
poor and she also had little prior knowledge of the new area to which
she was moving. In her supervisor’s view she was effectively learning
two languages – that of the new disciplinary area and academic English.
Despite attending numerous writing courses and working very hard,
she made very slow progress and her supervisor became extremely con-
cerned. Making Dai’s life harder was the fact that she had left her
husband and young daughter in China and there was little likelihood
that they would join her. Dai was socially isolated partly due to her
poor language skills but also due to her total immersion in her study
which was in part due to her poor language skills but also to the con-
ceptual gaps. After a year, she returned home. She was awarded a
Graduate Diploma, allowing her to salvage something from the situa-
tion. It later emerged that Dai had not met the university’s English
language requirements but a well-intentioned member of the faculty
had exercised his right to admit her, despite her lack of previous work
in the area.

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Working with second-language speakers of English
35
student in the UK told her that ‘students need the empathy and under-
standing from their own country’ as locals appeared initially, but ultimately
superficially, friendly. It is also important that students understand that the
new environment is in fact a multicultural one, where the norm is that stu-
dents and supervisors from a range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds
interact on a daily basis and that this presents a unique opportunity (Myles
and Cheng 2003).
Sung contrasts two very different student experiences:
We have an international lab. The majority is internationals, including
my advisor. We have two Indian girls, 2–3 American guys, 2 Taiwanese
guys, and other internationals. The atmosphere is relaxing. Some of my
good friends are from the lab because we work every day together ... We
have a lot of fun.
(Taiwanese student in Chemistry, third year of doctoral 
programme; cited in Sung 2000: 182)
Typically, I eat, sleep, spend time with my wife, and study. I don’t social-
ize with Americans ... I went out of class immediately after class is
dismissed ... We attend Chinese church ... This is the primary social
activity I have. I don’t attend departmental activities. I don’t have a sense
of belonging because of my English and stutter ...
(Taiwanese student in Industrial Health, third year 
of doctoral programme; cited in Sung 2000: 120)