OVERCOMING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES: A STUDY OF MALAYSIAN AND INDONESIAN INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

Abstract

This research aims to identify cultural challenges faced by Malaysian and Indonesian international students during their studies abroad and the strategies they employed to overcome such challenges. The respondents of this qualitative research consisted of two groups; eight Indonesian students from Universitas Airlangga Surabaya who participated in a mobility program at Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Kelantan, Malaysia and seven Malaysian students studying at Universitas Sumatera Utara, Indonesia.  The oral data were collected through semi-structured interviews before they were analysed by categorizing the types of challenges faced by the respondents and the strategies employed to overcome such challenges according to specific themes. The findings revealed that both groups of students faced challenges related to language use, food, and academic life, time management and a few other cultural aspects. Something uniquely experienced by Malaysian students in Indonesia was that, unlike the situation in Malaysia, their instructors displayed impersonalized relationship with others including their students and colleagues of different position grades. On strategies to overcome cultural challenges, students in both groups tried to learn and blend with the culture of their hosting countries. This was done by asking for information and learning from the host internationals as well as building relationships with them. Malaysian students particularly reported that they learned to speak Indonesian language for group-acceptance while Indonesian students reported that despite speaking their local language, their Malaysian counterparts showed high level of acceptance that made them comfortable amongst their group members.