DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
The problems faced by the students in this particular campus centred on institutional organisational practices and policies and the teaching skills of the lecturers and tutors.The picture we obtained was that the majority of students interviewed were very resilient.However，in relation to emotional states，the only students who felt isolated，confused or homesick seemed to be those whose parents had made the decision for them to study in Australia.It seemed that a common motivation for parents to send them here was to develop their independence.It was interesting to note that parents felt that by sending their children to Australia to study，they were creating opportunities for maturation.Logically，if parents were sensing their children's immaturity，then being sent away would be expected to cause a certain degree of trauma.These students were basically“thrown from the nest”.Interestingly enough though，they were accepting of the need for such actions and generally respected parents for showing such concern for them.These students all came from Taiwan，China，and Thailand.The difficulties increased for the Taiwanese，Chinese and Thai students as they came with very limited English.Thus they seemed to suffer the“loss of identity”which Miller（1922）and Reichman（1997）outlined.This research clearly showed the link between language skills and a sense of self.Nevertheless，all mentioned that their problems only existed for a short time after they arrived.Their ability to find a number of students from the same countries，or the fact that they actually came to Australia with someone they knew，meant the problems were not unmanageable.Furthermore many were able to return home at regular intervals or contact parents by telephone or email.It was interesting to note too that few sought any form of counselling during these difficult times.All students interviewed，whether they faced these problems or not，still relayed a reluctance to seek any counselling.They stated that in their countries such behaviour was only undertaken by the severely unstable or mentally ill.Traditionally parents or friends were used for this purpose.In their absence it became the role of a respected family friend.One student made the interesting comment that“the Koran is my counsellor”.A number of the Chinese，Thai and Indian students mentioned going to the LSU staff for advice because they trusted them.However，this was normally in relation to academic not personal matters.
None of the Indians and Pakistanis mentioned having any difficulties with the transition.One of the possible reasons could have been the fact that many were older，had completed degrees，had made the decision to study overseas for themselves and had good English language skills.They were also part of the majority of students studying at this campus.They maintained a very strong sense of self，found it easy to find work and support networks and were clearly more confident and outspoken than other groups.Also，all groups had a substantial number of students from their own countries already studying at the campus.This meant they did not face many of the problems others may at mainstream universities where they are in a minority.
Firstly，the students all tackled their accommodation problems by resorting to their personal networks and/or friends and relatives.In all，the majority of students at this campus were sharing a house with another person/s from the same cultural background who spoke the same language.As mentioned，many came to Australia with friends or relatives and shared homes with them.Furthermore，the extensive multi-cultural infrastructure，which exists in Australia，was mentioned as making things easier.The students need only walk a few hundred metres to find a range of Asian media，food and general retail outlets.This was especially true for those who were worried about the food they might have to eat or for those looking for work.
These living arrangements and proximity to familiar environments did remove pressure in one area but it created problems in others.The main one seeming to be the lack of exposure to English speaking associates.
Students mentioned that social contact with Australians was negligible.It was also to be noted that for a number of the students interviewed，the lack of intercultural experience was closely linked to their motives for coming to Australia.If a students'main concern was to get a degree and return home，then consideration of intercultural experiences seemed insignificant.Institutional processes like fast tracking and granting of credits supported this.It also seemed to imply that the isolation some researchers have focussed on in the past could be the result of choice.
On the other hand，those who had sought some form of intercultural experience became very frustrated when it was not forthcoming especially in the educational context.So，students often blamed teachers for not orchestrating situations within the classroom where they would have been forced to relate with students from other cultural groups.This was only one of the problems students stated they faced with tutors and lecturers.Discussions showed that the majority of students interviewed were not impressed by the quality of teaching they received.
The majority of students expressed frustration at the lack of information and direction and the lack of involvement in meaningful discussion.They also commended on the fact that many of their questions were not answered or that tutors did not even“know their names”.This provides an interesting insight into the skills and/or attitudes of staff.It also shatters the stereotypical image of students from Asian backgrounds.Thus supporting Pearso's（2000）research which disputes the fact that these students were：“...rote learners who rely on memorization，lack critical analytical skills and seldom question the content of what they read“.
It was evident that regardless of their backgrounds，these students had a clearly defined idea of what they expected from teachers whilst the Indian and Pakistani students were the most confident and outspoken，all students indicated that they expected：
· Fair and equitable treatment especially in relation to assessment
· More involvement with staff
· Time to discuss issues and ideas
· Demanding teachers who clearly showed knowledge of their subject matter
· Teachers to put in a real effort into helping them understand concepts and work through work requirements and provide useful feedback
· Teachers who knew something about their backgrounds
Such information questions the stereotype.These were not submissive，little“sponges”who expected to sit in classes paying homage to lecturers or tutors as they spilled out reams of information.Nor were these students going to accept a deficit model of themselves.They knew exactly what they wanted.What they wanted was clearly a more“meaningful relationship”with their teachers.However if we take into account the suggestion of Byrne and Fitzgerald（2001）that some staff do in fact see it as the student's responsibility to make all the adjustments.From our research and our discussions with staff，what is clear is that there is a gulf between what students wanted and what some staff were prepared to deliver.So，whilst the attitude of being the“expert”and taking on the traditional role of“lecturer”or“tutor”is understandable，it is no longer acceptable if effective learning is to take place.
There is little doubt that most tutors and lecturers in most universities in Australia face similar problems coping with international students.However，even if these do not adapt their traditional teaching styles，only a minority of students may suffer.At institutes like this one studied it is the majority who will suffer.Thus the need for adjustment to attitudes and ideas is much more urgent.
Teachers in campuses like this one must understand that traditional beliefs are no longer adequate.Managers must understand that superimposing traditional organisational structures like two-hour lectures followed by two-hour tutorials with academics who are still adhering to a predominantly Anglo-Saxon model are also totally inappropriate.
From the students'comments a lack of time to think posed many problems.Often students walk straight out of a two-hour lecture into a two-hour tutorial where tutors are expecting students to display an understanding of the concepts raised in the lecture.Winskel's（2000 cited in Chanock 2000）work on“The Application of Schema Theory to Academic Discourse”is very important if we are to understand how inappropriate such practices are.
If we understand that“Memory takes the form of schema which provides a mental representation or framework for understanding，remembering and applying information...Schemata are created through experience with the world and the person's culture，which includes the interactions with people，objects and events with that culture”.（Rumelhart 1980 cited in Winskel 2000 cited in Chanock 2001 p.341.）We can begin to see that such traditional approaches create great problems for the international student.Whilst sitting in a lecture，the international student would be anxiously trying to find the schemata for their areas of study.They would be attempting to do this whilst trying to translate the language and with little experience or exposure to the culture upon which the work is based.The LSU coordinator in her work as study skills advisor noted that a great deal of the difficulty faced in working with international students relates to the students'lack of schema to draw on.So they have no“hook”on which to hang the information lecturers and tutors are throwing at them.Whilst the students accepted that studies in Australia would focus on an Australian context and tutors could also rightfully expect this，it still does not negate the fact that if these students are to be helped，concepts need to be broken down and a great deal of scaffolding needs to occur.One recent assignment students attended the LSU for help with provides an excellent case in point.The students attended with a case study which they had to analyse.It was found that if the students were to understand the case study then they needed to have the following“hooks”ready：
· New Zealand indigenous land rights
· New Zealand's geography
· Whaling industry
· The role of government departments like Department of conservation
· Tourism/Ecotourism and impacts on the economy and environment
· Conservation groups and movements
· Political processes like lobbying
· New Zealand's economy，political and socio-cultural situation
· Business strategies
Knowledge of the above was essential to understand the case study and clearly without that understanding the work requirement could not be completed satisfactorily.
It was clear that no matter how many times students attempted this work，the pieces did not fall into place.However，by following Winzel's model and providing the“hooks”students were able to make a reasonable attempt at the assignment.Without this any worthwhile analysis was impossible.
Tutors and lecturers often do not seem to understand the blocks to these basic learning concepts and choose to explain the problem by resorting to language difficulties.Therefore，tutors and lecturers assume that levels of understanding are low because competency in English is low.Tutors and lecturers seemed extremely frustrated with such low levels of English and the majority of those spoken to clearly felt it was either too big a problem to address or that it was not their responsibility.
Obviously such attitudes exacerbated students'problems.Besides this there seemed to be a great deal of confusion about the role of the student in a tutorial.This was also exacerbated by the fact that often the lecturer and tutor were the same person，the tutorial followed immediately after the lecture and tutor and lecturer delivered information in the same way whether it was a tutorial or a lecture.Generally students found it difficult to distinguish between the two.One student also made the comment that it didn't matter anyway as only a handful of tutors/lecturers engaged in any discussion.Students mentioned that both lecturers and tutors focused on transfer of information not interaction or engagement.A number of students complained that often their participation was overshadowed by other students who had superior language skills and confidence.They saw the responsibility for rectifying this residing with the tutors.They saw this failure of tutors to draw students out and make them feel valued or relaxed as a problem.Bartlett（2000，cited in Chanock 2000：43）commented that；“for academics there is a considerable lack of client awareness”.This seems very true of the situation at this campus.
Like many other lecturers and tutors throughout Australia，academics in this campus seemed to assume that levels of understanding of academic writing conventions and/or disciplinary discourse equated with those of native born Australians.Many，being unfamiliar with the IELTS（International English Language Testing System）system，also seemed to assume that the level six+expected for entry into universities is more than the“moderate”level，which it actually is.Coley（2000，cited in Chanock 2000）also showed that even this standardized entry requirement does not occur.Bartlett（2000，cited in Chanock 2000）further states“the tendency is to assume that if students have satisfied university requirements，then the student should be fluent and able to cope，and if not，then it is the students'fault.”If we add the previous discussion on identity to this，then we can see just how and why international students face problems.The“sessionalisation”of employment which occurs in all Australian education does nothing to help this.
The trend towards employing sessional teachers in universities explained many of the problems.Much of the students'frustration came from their inability to access staff who are part time sessional employees.Furthermore there was limited time to engage with students and develop the“meaningful relationships”often needed for effective learning to take place.It seems that many international students were reluctant to ask questions in class and preferred to request information in private for fear of being embarrassed in front of large groups.However，they were unable to do this because staff were not available.Barlett（2000 cited in Chanock 2000）states：“...what part-time tutors...legitimately cutting their consultation cloth to fit their financial frameworks...have in common with academics is an overwhelming sense of pressure and little time.”
Despite the fact that many of the students complained about tutors and/or lecturers，they all accepted this situation.None had registered a formal complaint.In fact，not one of the students interviewed had registered a formal complaint about anything even though they were quite often frustrated and angry.A possible reason why became apparent during one of the interview sessions with the LSU coordinator.Students said they did not even know they could make a complaint.This was despite the fact that they had been informed during orientation sessions and complaints procedures being outlined in handbooks.However，the common consensus was that they were given so much information all at once that they didn't even listen.One made the interesting point that all they really wanted to know on that first day was where they had to go for lectures and tutorials and what work they would be expected to do.When questioned further about what they would complain about if they had the opportunity they all mentioned the tutors and lecturers and lack of advice about subject selection.
They all stated there was a lack of time to discuss decisions about courses of study in detail and that course advisors were impatient，uninformative and rude.There was a common feeling that the advisors were unwilling or ill prepared to answer any questions.So while they stated that their enrolment took an average of three to four hours，time spent with course advisors was about ten minutes.While there are always difficulties associated with conveying accurate course advice to any students，there is no doubt greater difficulty exists for international students who lack any of the local knowledge available to local students.A number of students said vague titles for subjects like“Integrating Organisational Processes”，and“Strategy Formulation and Implementation”added to their confusion.Clearly they had no schema for these either.As a result，they all mentioned having the experience of finding themselves in courses they did not want or understand.
This campus provided an excellent opportunity to study the international students'experience of studying in Australia.It remains unique in that the student body is predominantly international and generally much older and more experienced than those who come to study in other Australian universities from a different route.As such，it was an interesting microcosm where issues relating to the international student may be intensified because they are not diluted by the presence of native-born students.Furthermore，staff at this campus have been confronted with whole classes of international students，which means they cannot escape the inherent problems.So whilst some universities have made moves to provide transition programs and extended learning support centres，the focus still seems to remain on language.This campus has also extended its learning support service but still faces a similar problem to other Australian universities in that they seem unable to come to grips with radically different educational needs and demands.So whilst individual areas like study support centres or transitional programs are being funded，they are essentially band-aid measures that deal with the symptoms not the causes.The LSU at this campus，like those of other universities，is still facing tremendous difficulty attempting to get staff to see them as more than a“grammar checking”centre where only poorly performing students go.There is still resistance to seeing the LSU as providing valuable places where students are provided with the opportunity to“engage in the kind of relationship where meaningful conversation is possible and where the uniqueness of a person and their learning needs are acknowledged”（Clarke 2000）.It is also interesting that whilst some staff have made moves to liaise closely with the LSU only a handful have actually sought the centers'advice about teaching strategies.This causes more problems in that it was found that while a number of the academic staff were unwilling or unable to make the adjustments they needed to deal with a changed clientele，they also resisted acknowledging that sometimes，even though learning support centres may not have their“expert”knowledge，they still have a great deal of“teaching”skill and knowledge.Classifying them as part of“administrative”staff emphasises the artificial gap between the learning skills staff and academic staff.
Studies by Miller（1999）；Reichmann（1997）；Urrie，Goodendow ＆ Espin（1993）and Urrietta ＆ Quach（2000）all look at the relationship of language and identity for the international or NESB（Non-English Speaking Background）student.They stress the need for understanding that“…language acquisition，institutional contexts and identity work are all vitally integrated”（Miller 1999；149）.Many universities are still failing to realise this and so stubbornly adhere to inappropriate beliefs and processes.
If Australian universities，and in particular those dealing mainly with international students like at this campus，do not understand this，many of the current issues will remain.There is clearly a need for these universities to develop more coordinated，proactive approaches to meeting the needs of international students and resist merely overlaying a traditional，Anglo-Saxon，outmoded university system and structure on what are markedly different students.
It is essential that part of this move includes transitional programs，which familiarise students with Australian educational requirements.There also needs to be an extension of the academic support network and information services.Furthermore，staff development is essential if the quality of service is to reach its full potential and staffs are able to utilise more appropriate teaching methods.Failing to implement such incentives means both staff and students are placed under a great amount of stress.