One of the first things we must do as educators if we help to guide our international students towards success is to empathize with their situation – to try to walk in their shoes and get a sense of their ‘life situation’. We must also consider the needs, weaknesses, and potential of each individual student, not group them all together as one ‘type’ or ‘category’ of students.
As numbers of international students attending Canadian schools continues to surge, we can’t overlook the inherent problems that come with such dramatic increases. Beyond the aforementioned challenges facing ESL students and their teachers, there are many other important factors that school administration and government must be aware of. According to government statistics, there are over 150,000 internationals students attending schools in Ontario (Government of Canada, 2017). The same statistics go on to say that international students contribute a whopping $5.7 billion dollars to the provincial economy each year. One school in British Columbia has seen an increase of Indian students by a remarkable 40 times in just three years (Todd, 2018). Imagine for a moment that this source of revenue dries up due to an international dispute between Canada and one of these countries. Recently, after diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia soured, authorities in Saudi Arabia ordered all Saudi students to return home. Although this group makes up a rather small percentage of the total, countries such as India and China are an entirely different story (Dehaas, 2018). Losing these students would amount to unimaginable losses of income for schools.
There are already disputes breaking out among Indian students in Canada, especially in British Columbia where existing Indo-Canadian populations are strong. Whereas, historically, students from overseas came from upper middle class and wealthy families, today with the Canadian government’s new Express Entry policy for foreign students, which is designed to encourage skilled, educated foreigners to emigrate to Canada to make up for our ageing population and lower birth rate, many are now coming from poorer families in the hopes student success can lead to family sponsorship and permanent residency down the road (Smith, 2017). While still difficult to obtain, permanent residency in Canada is easier than many other foreign countries. Students who arrive with little to no financial support from back home might actually be pressured to work more than the permitted 20 hours per week so they can send much-needed funds back home and in some cases they are exploited by employers who take advantage of their desperate situation (Gogia, 2018). Some students are so desperate and so disillusioned with the way their Canadian dream is playing out, they are even deciding to make ‘easy money’ in the drug trade (Gogia, 2018).
Back home in India, officials are unhappy with the growing exodus of students to foreign schools and the so-called brain drain that comes with it (Todd, 2018). Indian students studying in Canada are critical of some fellow students claiming they are only attending Canadian schools in order to get work permits, are working illegally, and are subsequently good Indo-Canadians jobs (Todd, 2018).
All of this has an impact on international student school attendance, energy level, and ultimately the potential for academic success. Although no different from some domestic students, the new culture, new language, financial stresses, difficulties with transportation and getting affordable accommodation, this is something that can’t be overlooked when we are faced with a classroom full of exhausted, struggling international students and we must finds creative ways to solve this growing problem.
Header image soucred from beta.prx.org/ stories/94050-in-india-everyone-wants-to-be-an-engineer
References:
Dehaas, J. (2018). Why Ontario universities shouldn’t rely on international students. Retrieved from https://tvo.org/article/current-affairs/why-ontario-universities-shoudnt-rely-on-international-students
Gogia, S. (2018). The international student from India: A victim or a culprit? Retrieved from http://www.desitoday.ca/the-international-student-from-india-a-victim-or-a-culprit/
Government of Canada, (2017). Economic impact of international education in Canada – 2017 update. Retrieved from https://www.international.gc.ca/education/report-rapport/impact-2017/appendix-annexe_5.aspx?lang=eng
Smith, C. (2017). Canada Beckons International Students With a Path to Citizenship. Retrieved from https://nytimes.com/2017/01/26/world/canada/international-students-canadian-citizenship.html
Todd, D. (2018). Indo-Canadians in uproar over surge of foreign students. Retrieved from https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-indo-canadians-in-uproar-over-surge-of-foreign-students
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