Managing acculturative stress and building an effective intercultural relation: A case study among international students at universiti Malaysia Sabah

Migration is a centuries old issue and intercultural contact is an inevitable phenomenon that occurs globally and the rate increases annually in most countries in the world. Moving into and settling around a new cultural environment can be both exciting as well as challenging. Employing a qualitative method approach and Berry’s Acculturation Theory as well as Kim’s Cross-Cultural Adaptation Theory, this study investigates the intercultural experiences which focuses on acculturative stress experienced and coping strategies employed by the international students in an institution of higher learning in Sabah, Malaysia, namely Universiti Malaysia Sabah, particularly among the Chinese students from the People Republic of China (PRC). It is interesting to note that eventhough there are lots of problems and hurdles in managing the teaching and learning of the PRC students, the number of PRC students enrolment in the university continues to grow yearly and the figure is outnumbered compare to other international students. Normally, the sojourners will experience a certain degree of acculturative stress or culture shock at the early phase of migration especially among those who are adopting the separation and marginalization strategy of acculturation. Contrastingly, the findings reveal something different. Eventhough some of them have experienced a certain degree (minor) of acculturative stress, most of them were able to handle their migrating life as sojourners in Sabah quite comfortably. The results of this study contribute to the understanding of the obstacles and constraints faced by the sojourners as well as factors that lead to their succesfull adaptation. It offers positive implications and constructive recommendations towards building a conducive intercultural relation between the sojourners and the host.