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Theoretical Analysis, Classroom Practice, Opinion Essays 

 

Academic Engagement, Social Integration, and Academic Socialization:  

English as an Additional Language in Higher Education 

 

Rubaiyat Jabeen 

Queen’s University 

 

Peiyu Wang 

Queen’s University 

 

Liying Cheng 

Queen’s University 

 

Abstract 

 

With a fast-growing population of immigrant and international students entering English-

medium higher education in Canada, it is critical to understand the nature of academic 

experiences for these students and what contributes to their academic acculturation and post-

secondary success. As such, a literature review was carried out to identify emerging themes 

related to students using English as an additional language in post-secondary settings. This 

article is based on a literature review of 87 empirical studies, conducted between 2008 and 2018, 

related to the academic acculturation journey of international students using English as an 

additional language in English medium higher education setting. Three major themes—academic 

engagement, academic socialization, and social integration in relation to English language 

ability—emerged from the literature among a multitude of influential factors. The findings of 

this literature review point to the importance of supporting students using English as an 

additional language as they navigate a new academic culture. 

 

Introduction 

 

Previous research on the academic acculturation and post-secondary success of international 

students using English as an additional language1 within the context of higher education in 

English-medium universities has identified a multitude of influential factors ranging from 

motivation, self-efficacy, psychological and emotional adaptation, to financial obligations—to 

mention a few. Among these influential factors, academic engagement, social integration, and 

academic socialization are consistently the three major factors examined by recent empirical 

studies (Wang & Jabeen, 2019). With growing numbers of international students coming to 

Canada to study, it is important that institutions be prepared to support their academic success. In 

2017 alone, international student enrolments were up 11% from the previous year (Statistics 

Canada, 2018). Around 500,000 international students were studying in Canada in 2017. British 

Columbia is one of the top destinations for international students, with about 24% of these 

students choosing British Columbia for their studies (Canadian Bureau for International 

Education, 2018). The themes of academic engagement, social integration, and academic 

 
1 Throughout this article, “international students” refers to students who are not permanent residents of the country 

where they are studying and who use English as an additional language. 

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socialization point to important considerations for Canadian, and British Columbian, post-

secondary institutions who enrol international students in their programs. 

 

This article provides a theoretical lens through which we examine emergent themes from a 

review of 87 empirical studies published between 2008 and 2018. Prior to discussing the factors 

that make up these three themes in depth, it is important to mention that the common thread 

embedded in these factors shows that the English language is a critical bridge that connects the 

three major factors. The possession of sufficiently strong English language ability is increasingly 

seen as critical for international students in keeping up with the academic demands and 

challenges associated with higher education (Roessingh & Douglas, 2012). The lack of the 

English language ability, consequently, negatively impacts the entire academic experience of 

international students (Smith & Demjanenko, 2011). The three main themes and their associated 

sub-themes (Figure 1) represent the interrelationship between the role of language (that is, the 

English language) and international students’ academic experiences in higher education. 

Broadly, academic acculturation and post-secondary success are demonstrated through academic 

engagement and social integration with an overlapping theme of academic socialization. These 

three themes are discussed first from right to left followed by the overlapping theme of academic 

socialization in the middle as illustrated in Figure 1. To emphasize, these themes are discussed 

within the larger context of the critical role the English language played in the academic 

acculturation and post-secondary success of international students. 

 

 It is also important to acknowledge the diverse heterogeneous nature of international 

students as reviewed in the article. The international students in the research studies reviewed 

here are broadly from widely varied socio-cultural and linguistic backgrounds (e.g., 

geographically from regions such as Africa, East Asia, South Asia and the Middle East, Europe, 

and South America) and speak English as an additional language. To gain admission into 

English-medium universities, these students are typically required to demonstrate their English 

language proficiency through English language proficiency test scores or by graduating from 

foundational English for academic purposes (EAP) language programs.  

 
Figure 1. The Interrelationship between the role of the English Language and Academic 

Engagement, Academic Socialization, and Social Integration  

English Language as the 

Bridge to Academic 

Acculturation and Post-

secondary Success

Academic Engagement

• Academic Literacy Skills

• Seeking Academic Help

• Language Proficiency and 

Academic Challenges

• Strategy Use

• Adapting to a New 

Academic Environment

Academic Socialization Social Integration

• Culture Shock, e.g., 
positive integration, 

social Engagement

• Social Networks, e.g., 

belonginess, social 

contacts with native 
students 

• Social Support

• Academic English Proficiency 
and Coping Strategies

• Collaboration Skills

• Expert Skills, e.g., critical 

thinking, identities of 

epistemic stance, intertextual 
connections , collaborative 

meaning-making 

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Academic Engagement 

 

This theme and the five sub-themes that emerged from the literature review focus on the factors 

impacting the academic engagement of international students in English-medium universities. 

The sub-themes of academic engagement include academic literacy skills, seeking academic 

help, language proficiency and academic challenges, strategy use, and adapting to a new 

academic environment as important for the academic engagement of the international students.   

 

Academic Literacy Skills 

 

Developing academic literacy (reading and writing) skills is critical for international students’ 

academic success. English writing ability is a key predictor of international students’ academic 

performance (Cheng, Myles, & Curtis, 2004; Li, Chen & Duanmu, 2010). Campbell & Li (2008) 

researched the challenges faced by international students from Asia in an English-medium 

university in New Zealand and found that writing assignments, such as literature reviews, critical 

reviews and essays, business and field reports, research proposals, and case study analyses, were 

regarded as the most difficult by the participants due to their insufficient knowledge of academic 

writing skills. In an ethnographic study, Correa (2010) demonstrated how a student faced 

difficulties using her own voice in essay writing due to the lack of her knowledge of English 

vocabulary. As academic writing is related to academic reading, Campbell & Li (2008) pointed 

out how international students in their study found the assigned readings quite difficult because 

of the required critical thinking skills. Gebhard (2011) examined the adjustment of international 

students from countries in Africa and East Asia, and Poland at a university in the United States. 

In this study, the international students emphasized the challenges with academic reading by 

stating that they were expected to do too many readings with content that they struggled to 

follow and comprehend. However, Gebhard (2011) also found that developing reading strategies 

like understanding the main ideas and how authors supported those ideas was more helpful than 

trying to understand every word of a reading text.  

 

Seeking Academic Help 

 

In addition to having academic literacy skills, this review found that seeking and obtaining 

academic help positively impacts the academic engagement and adjustment of international 

students in English-medium universities. Bastien, Seifen-Adkins & Johnson (2018) examined 

factors impacting the academic adjustment of international students in the United States and 

revealed a significant correlation with students’ tendency and willingness to seek academic help, 

such as the use of the writing centre, career services, tutors, professors’ office hours, and 

conversation groups with American buddies. Gebhard (2011) found that study groups, where 

international students could seek help from domestic students, positively impacted their 

academic success. However, international students do not always seek the academic help they 

need. In most cases, international students’ reluctance to reach out for academic help can be 

attributed to the language barrier. For example, on investigating English as an additional 

language students’ perceptions of academic acculturation and the role of EAP instruction at three 

Canadian universities, Cheng & Fox (2008) showed that the majority of students in their study 

experienced significant levels of anxiety and shyness when seeking help from instructors and 

English speaking classmates due to their self-perceived limitations in language proficiency. 

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Campbell and Li (2008) found that in addition to communicating with instructors, the language 

barrier also hindered their socialization with domestic students. This implies the need for future 

research to investigate how academic help can be made more approachable for international 

students.  

 

Language Proficiency and Academic Challenges  

 

Similar to not being able to develop academic literacy skills and seek academic help, insufficient 

language proficiency also prevents international students from following lectures, grasping 

instructions, understanding assessment criteria and procedures, completing assignments, and 

taking tests (Campbell & Li, 2008). After examining the academic achievement of Canadian 

undergraduate students from English as an additional language learning backgrounds, Roessingh 

& Douglas (2012) suggested that developing levels of English language proficiency may have 

affected the participants’ academic success in the long run. Hepworth, Littlepage, & Hancock 

(2018), in their exploration of factors influencing international students’ academic success, 

indicated a significant relationship between higher academic preparedness of international 

students (such as higher high school GPA, higher standardized test scores, and fewer remedial 

courses at university) and higher academic performance.  

 

Strategy Use  

 

When the lack of sufficient language proficiency can be a barrier to acquiring academic literacy 

and reaching out for help for successful academic engagement, it becomes helpful to practice 

non-language skills, such as strategy use. International students with successful academic 

engagement and acculturation processes are usually more involved in strategy use, such as 

planning, time-management strategies, reading ahead to prepare for lectures, completing 

assignments with time for proof reading, reading selectively, taking notes, and small group 

discussions (Cheng & Fox, 2008). Investigating the impact of 36 English language programs in 

26 English-medium Canadian universities, Fox, Cheng, & Zumbo (2014) further reinforced the 

positive outcome of strategy use by revealing that it has a mediating effect on the academic and 

social engagement of international students. Gebhard (2011) also discussed the positive effect of 

using strategies to manage problems that international students face in academic life. An 

observation and imitation strategy that involves the use of positive behaviours can facilitate 

academic adjustment. In Gebhard (2011), students reported using this strategy to familiarize 

themselves with how Americans greet each other, enter a classroom late, listen to lectures, take a 

turn in group discussion, and give classroom presentations. 

 

Adapting to a New Academic Environment 

 

To begin the process of academic engagement, it is first important for international students to 

adapt to their new academic environment. Unfamiliar ways of classroom interaction, academic 

norms, and inadequate learning support can obstruct their academic success (Campbell & Li, 

2008). However, this adaptation is challenging as international students may live across two or 

more academic cultures and constantly compare them to their personal perspectives. According 

to Campbell and Li (2008), the international students in their study expected instructors to 

“push” them even though they understood the importance of independent learning. They enjoyed 

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communicative teaching approaches yet felt reluctant to participate and contribute to class 

discussions. They expected some amount of competition even though they enjoyed the pressure-

free learning environment.  

 

Gebhard (2011) revealed more challenges related to adapting to a new academic 

environment. For example, this study found that often it becomes a challenge for international 

students to follow professors’ ideas when they tell stories about their family lives in the middle 

of a lecture. Many international students were not accustomed to professors diverging to personal 

stories during lectures. To resolves such issues, Yan and Sendall (2016) emphasized the success 

of First Year Experience (FYE) courses to help international students become aware of college 

resources, adjust better to American classrooms, and understand American culture. 

 

Social Integration 

 

The academic performance of international students in higher education has been well 

documented for the past decade. In addition to academic engagement, a range of factors has been 

revealed that contributes or impedes international students’ academic progress, including social, 

psychological, cognitive, and demographic factors (McKenzie & Schweitzer, 2001). This section 

focuses on the social factors, illustrated by three sub-themes that impact academic success for 

international students: cultural shock, social networks, and social support.  

 

Culture Shock 

 

When international students enter a new linguistic and cultural environment, they typically face 

multiple life issues and stresses, which include personal concerns such as job opportunities, visa 

problems, and dating issues, as well as sociocultural concerns such as homesickness, difficulties 

in adapting to a new culture, and instances of prejudice and discrimination (Russell, Rosenthal & 

Thomson, 2010; Yan & Berliner, 2012). Berry (1999) regarded this process as acculturation—

“changes that take place in individuals or groups in response to environmental demands” (p. 13). 

When describing the psychological impacts on individuals, “culture shock” has been commonly 

used to illustrate the “process of initial adjustment to an unfamiliar environment” (Pedersen, 

1995). According to Tinto’s theory of Student Departure (1975; 1993), students not only have to 

persist in their studies, in order to graduate, but also must participate in the student culture, both 

within and outside of the immediate learning environment.  

 

Culture shock has an impact on various outcomes during such an acculturation process, 

and it has been remarked that loneliness and homesickness negatively impact international 

academic progress (Banjong, 2015). Zhou and Zhang (2014) surveyed 350 first-year 

international students attending a Canadian university and reported that international students 

commonly face challenges when integrating into a new environment, and such difficulties can be 

attributed to language barriers, culture shock, and distinctive academic cultural capital.  

 

Social integration has also been considered a salient predictor of international academic 

success. Positive social integration such as sharing accommodation with others, participating in 

study associations, joining student communities and clubs, and having enough friends from the 

host and home countries may foster international students’ social integration and facilitate 

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smoother academic progress (Li, Chen, & Duanmu, 2010; Wilcox, Winn & Marylynn, 2005; 

Young et al., 2013; Zhang & Zhou, 2014). Li, Chen, & Duanmu (2010) surveyed 178 

international students at universities in the United Kingdom to investigate the determinants of 

their academic success and revealed that social interaction with other students from their home 

countries was the largest predictor of the participants’ academic achievement. This result is 

consistent with Young et al (2013), who claimed that international students’ academic 

achievement was significantly correlated with the level of empathy (noticing when someone is in 

trouble), open-mindedness (being interested in other cultures), social initiative (making contacts 

easily), and contact with international students from other nationalities. However, contradictory 

conclusions have been drawn in other research (Mannan, 2007; Rienties et al., 2011; Zepke & 

Leach, 2005), which claimed that social integration is negatively correlated with international 

academic achievement. International students who have busy extra-curricular social schedules 

are more likely to obtain relatively low scores. Neri and Ville (2008) surveyed 173 international 

students at an Australia university to investigate how and to what extent they renewed their 

social capital and whether such investment promoted academic success. This study highlighted 

that many international students experienced culture shock upon arriving in the host country. 

Most of them actively expanded their social circle through engaging in university clubs, the 

university community, and undertaking paid employment. However, such social renewal did not 

necessarily promote academic development, and at worst, produced courter effects. This result, 

as the researchers explained, was due to their social circle being centred on people from their 

country of origin and other international students.  

 

Social Networks 

 

Belongingness is another factor that has been identify as directly impacting international 

students’ academic achievement (Finley, 2018; Glass & Westmont, 2014; Meeuwisse et al., 

2010; Severiens & Wolff, 2008). International students who feel at home and who engage with 

their fellow students and teachers while participating in activities in and out of school are more 

likely to graduate (Glass & Westmont, 2014; Severiens & Wolff, 2008). Research has validated 

this view by emphasizing the importance of social networks when investigating the acculturation 

of international students. Hendrickson, Rosen, and Aune (2001) reported that having a sufficient 

number of local students as friends reduced international students’ feeling of loneliness and 

homesickness and increased their sense of belonging. Cheng and Fox (2008) interviewed three 

groups of EAP students to compare the perceived factors impacting academic acculturation and 

found that EAP students generally were able to make friends regardless of ethnicity, language, 

and culture and more likely to interact with culturally diverse classmates. However, establishing 

friendships with local students has commonly challenged international students (Jiao, 2006; 

Zhang & Zhou, 2010; Zhou, Knoke & Sakamoto, 2005, Zhou & Zhang, 2014). Even though 

many international students believe that interacting with Canadian peers beyond the classroom 

would “enhance knowledge of one another, increase comfort in communication, and indirectly 

improve their classroom performance” (Zhou, Knoke & Sakamoto, 2005, p. 297), international 

students still have difficulty interacting with their Canadian classmates, and their interaction is 

superficial. In this study, it seemed that international students only socialized and sought help 

from individuals who shared the same cultural background, which did not contribute to these 

students learning and gaining social experience with their host society (Jiao, 2006; Zhang & 

Zhou, 2010). Interestingly, Montgomery, and MacDowell (2009) found that international 

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students can have a successful learning experience through working together and helping each 

other even if they do not have close social and cultural contact with local students.  

 

Social Support 

 

Social support could be a non-cognitive predictor of the academic performance of international 

students (Rienties et al., 2011; Wilcox et al., 2005), and students who receive positive support 

from friends, family, teachers, and peers have been shown to have better cross-cultural 

adaptation (Baba & Hosoda, 2014). In contrast, students who drop out of higher education often 

report that they received inadequate support from social networks (Christie, Munro, & 

Fisher,2004; Meeuwisse et al. 2010). Kelly (2010) indicated communication with friends and 

family though online platforms such as email, Facebook, and Skype helped to reduce 

international students’ homesickness, but it may also have delayed the process of acculturation. 

Chavajay (2013) categorized social support into instructional and emotional support. Emotional 

support includes empathy, love, and care, whereas instructional support represents the kind of 

support a friend might provide in the form of a study session. International students in this study 

tended to gain social-emotional satisfaction when interacting with international students from 

other nationalities rather than domestic students, perhaps due to them sharing a common 

empathy for outsiders.   

 

Academic Socialization 

 

Combining the academic and social factors, academic discourse socialization has been crucial for 

international students, and this concept can be defined as the process by which newcomers “gain 

communicative competence, membership, and legitimacy” (Duff, 2007, p. 301) when 

participating in oral and written academic discourse in a community (Duff, 2010). Academic 

presentations and discussions provide unique opportunities for international students to be 

gradually apprenticed into academic discourse through communicating and negotiating with 

instructors and peers while preparing for, observing, performing, and reviewing academic tasks 

(Ho, 2011; Kobayashi, 2016; Mortia, 2000; Robinson et al., 2001; Vickers. 2007). Seloni (2012) 

investigated how first-year doctoral students using English as an additional language in the 

United States become legitimate members of the academic discourse. The results indicated that 

academic socialization occurs in three main spaces, such as initial contact frames (when 

participants first came into contact with academic knowledge), institutional academic spaces (the 

first core courses and the university’s writing centre), and an academic culture of collaboration 

(students’ out-of-class oral interactions with peer groups), which provide students using English 

as an additional language with the confidence to undertake challenging academic practices and 

be reflective participants in their discipline communities. For example, by enabling students to 

take the initiative to evaluate, appropriate, analyze, and question disciplinary expectations, the 

space of the academic culture of collaboration helped students enhance their engagement in the 

academic discourse of their doctoral program. 

 

Academic English Proficiency and Coping Strategies 

 

Academic English language proficiency could be a predictor of international students’ 

adjustment, and it has been correlated with the level of confidence students have in regard to 

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completing their programs successfully (Zhang & Goodson, 2011). Insufficient English language 

proficiency impacts many aspects of international students’ lives, including making friends with 

students from English speaking backgrounds, understanding course materials, and seeking group 

work partners (Zhang & Zhou, 2010). In English-medium universities, the academic success of 

student using English as an additional language is largely assessed by their performance on 

multiple written and oral activities. It has been commonly recognized that class discussions and 

presentations cause more stress and anxiety among students using English as an additional 

language, and these students often have challenges speaking without sufficient preparation (Kim, 

2006; Zappa-Hollman, 2007). Zappa-Hollman (2007) explored the experiences of six exchange 

students at a Canada university and identified three major factors that influenced these students’ 

academic socialization: linguistic factors (pronunciation, vocabulary, and fluency), socio-cultural 

factors (unfamiliarity with academic presentation norms) and psychological factors (fear and 

shyness of public speaking). In addition, appropriate coping and preparation strategies like 

avoiding topics or content that are of little or no interest to the presenter and the rest of the class, 

creating speech outlines, choosing familiar topics, searching for multiple sources, or speaking at 

a slower speed can help students to overcome their psychological struggles.  

 

Collaboration Skills 

 

Collaboration skills are an integral part of international students’ success in academic 

presentations. Kobayashi (2003) explored the collaborations among students from English and 

non-English speaking backgrounds when they negotiated and reached agreement about their 

presentation performance. His study indicated that more collaboration took place among peers 

outside of class before an actual presentation, and academic presentations can serve as an 

opportunity for both language learning/practice and academic socialization. Yang (2010) also 

highlighted the role of collaboration skills while examining the process and features of in-class 

oral presentations carried out by undergraduate students using English as an additional language 

and recommended incorporating the training and development of such skills in an English as an 

additional language curriculum.  

 

Expert Skills 

 

Demonstrating critical thinking, negotiating identities of epistemic stance (speaker’s authority), 

making intertextual connections, and engaging in collaborative meaning-making can be regarded 

as expert skills in the oral socialization to a higher education context. Morita (2000) explored 

students’ academic socialization related to academic presentations in a teaching English to 

speakers of other languages (TESOL) program at a Canadian university and found that students 

had to negotiate the identities of epistemic stance and adopt many ways to show the audience 

they are an “expert” or “novice” during the process of creating and delivering academic 

presentations. Such expert identities, as Ho (2011) noted, can be constructed through critical 

thinking (critically reflecting on the subject mater) and making intertextual connections 

(referring to textbook concepts to illustrate ideas). Later, Guo, and Lin (2016) added, in addition 

to thinking critically and analytically, undergraduates using English as an additional language 

who were involved in collaborative meaning-making and were able to link self-experiences and 

society to the discipline concepts and theories would be more likely to stand out in group 

discussions.   

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Connecting the Dots 

 

This literature review, based on 87 empirical studies conducted between 2008 and 2018, portrays 

the academic acculturation journey of international students using English as an additional 

language pursuing their academic studies in English-medium higher education. The review 

demonstrated a multitude of factors, interactively influencing these students’ academic 

acculturation and post-secondary success in higher education. Three key factors—academic 

engagement, academic socialization, and social integration—are discussed in depth to show the 

interrelationships among the factors in relation to the role of English language ability. It is 

evident from these empirical studies that sufficient English language ability or proficiency is 

critical to academic acculturation and post-secondary success for these students, and English as 

an additional language ability plays an essential role in every aspect of their academic 

engagement and socialization—a core process and skill in higher education. By identifying how 

English as an additional language ability is essential to the process of academic engagement and 

socialization, this review sheds light on the need for further research examining the language 

needs of international students and the ways in which these needs can be addressed. Furthermore, 

the findings of this review have some pedagogical implications that need to be considered. 

English-medium post-secondary institutions, such as in Canada and British Columbia, need to 

provide specific and targeted support for not only English as an additional language knowledge 

but also the use of the language norms for academic writing, socialization, and academic 

socialization in English. Instructors and professors who have international students in their 

classes need to address both their linguistic and social needs while interacting with their classes 

with an increasing diverse group of students. It is important to note that those international 

students who experience on-going language barriers in this study have already met the language 

admission requirements for their academic institutions. What seems unfamiliar for them is the 

new academic culture and relevant language norms and use in the situated context of their 

academic studies. This unfamiliarity leads to communication difficulties and breakdowns, which 

restrict their involvement in academic engagement and socialization. The improvement of 

students’ academic language ability can be achieved through engaging them more in teamwork 

and collaboration. With increased engagement, international students’ identities of epistemic 

stance can transit from “novice” to “expert” and build more confidence in terms of classroom 

interaction. It is through this academic acculturation that Canadian post-secondary institutions 

can foster global citizenship and inclusion for all students.  

 

Acknowledgements 

 

The authors would like to extend their thanks to the peer reviewers for their insightful feedback 

and express gratitude to the editor of the BC TEAL Journal, Dr. Scott Roy Douglas, for his 

valuable support throughout the publication process. This research was supported by the Social 

Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. 

 

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