This research is a phenomenological study that seeks to understand the challenges Japanese female graduate students face while adjusting to speaking English and socializing with peers in a U.S. university. Because they crossed the border out of Japan and crossed the border into the United States of America I termed them “border crossers.” In this research, I focused on what kind of coping and adjustment strategies they utilized at a Midwestern U.S. university. The study investigated language-related challenges. Respondents felt fearful when they first experienced American living styles and using English in American educational settings. The study also explored on- and off-campus experiences, and this section revealed difficulties interacting with American roommates and public service members. In addition, this study examined academic challenges on U.S. campuses.
The design of this research was a case study to critically examine social reality and to describe in-depth analysis. Adopting a qualitative research, this study was conducted in a Midwestern U.S. university where there were few networks of international communities. Participants for this study included nine Japanese graduate female students purposively sampled. Data analysis focused on the interview transcripts and observational descriptions, while coding categories and finding themes. Based on each research question, categories and themes were described based on patterns.
The examinations of this study disclosed six findings based on participants’ voices and observations. These include fear of living in a new country, challenges of intercultural communications, identity development, anxiety in the classroom, and impact from Japanese education and gender roles. Fearful feelings paralyzed students’ fluency in English and this commonly happened in public service settings. The study also revealed the necessity of understanding and accepting different communication styles to avoid misunderstanding between Japanese and Americans. While Japanese used polite speech and exhibited care about others, their behavior and speech were seen as rude and with no curiosity about other cultures. Due to these differences, my border crossers struggled with having moderate self-esteem and with settling their social identity in the U.S. Similarly, they were overwhelmed by different expectation of students and faculty in the U.S. educational system.