Holding on to Vietnam: motivation and the acculturation experience of Vietnamese international students in Australia

Abstract

The number of Vietnamese international students (VISs) in Australia has increased, and yet little is known about why these students chose to study abroad and how they have acculturated. The present study was designed to address these two questions.

A Vietnamese-specific psychological acculturation framework was constructed to provide the theoretical foundation for the study. Berry’s (1997) Psychological Acculturation Framework and De Jong and Fawcett’s (1981) Value-Expectancy model were combined to investigate the motivations, the moderating factors existing prior to acculturation (e.g. age), moderating factors arising during acculturation (e.g. length of stay), as well as the acculturation attitudes and acculturation behaviours of VISs in Australia. A mixed methods research design was used comprising both quantitative (in-depth interviews with 51 VISs) and qualitative methods (web-based questionnaire survey of 301 VISs across Australia).

The study revealed that ‘self-development’, ‘education’, ‘stimulation’, and ‘wealth’ were the goals research participants most wanted to attain, and that they had high expectations of achieving these goals in Australia. The desire to realize these goals influenced the participants’ acculturation attitude. Results also suggested a mismatch between the participants’ acculturation attitude and their acculturation behaviour, and between motivation to study abroad and actual acculturation. In other words, although indicating a preference for integration into Australian society and for attainment of their goals in studying abroad, the participants remained separate and poorly adapted to the mainstream culture, and their expectations were still unrealized. This mismatch was considered an ‘acculturation dilemma’. A number of ‘surface challenges’ associated with life in a foreign culture (e.g. racism) appeared to cause this dilemma. Findings suggested additional explanations for this dilemma, including cultural mistrust of local hosts and other international students, and the assertion of ethnic identity. Implications of these findings, directions for future research, and the modest contribution to theory are discussed.