Special project 2: Write advice on social roles, relationships, or behavior rules that might help new international students at MSU
Write 400–600 words of advice related to Module 4 (Part 3) topics for an international student about to start their freshman year at MSU Imagine the MSU Office of International Students and Scholars has hired you to work with a team of other MSU undergraduates. Your team must create a student-authored advice package for new international students about to start their freshman year at MSU. Select one important topic from Part 3 (Different Rules for Behavior) that you think will help them more successfully navigate life in their new home. You should not just mention the general topic, but describe specific aspects of it as it relates to undergraduate life at MSU. You also have to write some paragraphs justifying your choice of topic.
Use the following format. For grading purposes, please LABEL IN BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS EACH OF THE SECTIONS OF YOUR ASSIGNMENT: SUMMARY; EXPLANATION AND JUSTIFICATION; LIMITATIONS/CAUTIONS:
SUMMARY Describe the topic and the specific advice students should know about this topic.
EXPLANATION AND JUSTIFICATION Briefly describe in general terms the Module 4 topic that your advice relates to (in a way that gives us, the graders, a sense that you mastered what Module 4 taught you about that material). For example, if you are giving the new student specific advice about friendship, you should summarize some general observations from Module 4 about why, in general, people need to approach this topic from a “navigating another culture” perspective. Assume the new student does not know much about the idea of “navigating other cultures” so s/he needs to be advised about the idea that notions of friendship, for example, vary cross-culturally.
LIMITATIONS/CAUTIONS Do two things here. One, provide specific advice from the Module 3 topic “Cautions about culture” that makes the student aware of the possible limitations of your advice. Example: you warn them that you are specifically talking about friendship in the context of young people at a university and based on your experiences as a female from a small town. Two, explain what is the basis for your deciding this is an important topic for new international students, and assure your boss that your advice is not based on stereotypes about international students (for example, if you provide advice about the need to be more “outspoken” in class, is this based on many observations of international students, just speculation, or on one isolated experience you had?
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Some tips for this assignment
We all know the term “international student” covers a wide range of people, nationalities, personalities, and experiences. Assume your reader is an international student who has not spent much time in the United States before coming to MSU.
When you describe the general topic of your advice in Part 2, feel free to paraphrase (to quote in your own words) specific things about that general topic from module 4. This will help the grader see that you read and absorbed what module 4 said about this topic. But, be sure to cite where you got that information.
Be able to justify your choice of topic for this locale and for this situation. For example, for a visitor to the United States, water or food safety would probably not be a matter of concern. An incoming freshman probably does not immediately need to know about workplace etiquette; likewise, a visitor from country X might need to know more about gender issues than a visitor from country Y; etc. Also, in part 3 assure your reader your advice is not based on some stereotype about international students. For example, if you advise them to “respect pedestrian rights”, what is your basis for assuming they need this advice more than domestic students do? Make sure you are not addressing your advice to a stereotypical international student who may in fact not reflect the population of international students.
Try to be as “culturally neutral” as possible when giving your advice. YOU WILL BE DOWNGRADED IF YOU PROVIDE VAGUE ADVICE. For example, don’t just tell a visitor to be “friendly” or “respectful” or “polite” because as we have discussed, different cultural groups may interpret these differently, so these words are worthless for international visitors unless they have a specific explanation of what “friendly” (etc.) means in your cultural context, in terms of specific behaviors and words. Again, don’t assume the visitor knows what you mean by certain terms, the whole point is you’re explaining to them how to understand and behave appropriately in their new cultural context. For example, a statement like, “it is more likely that people will want to help you if you show them respect and are polite to them.” that has no additional specific explanation for international students of what that means in the context of undergraduate life at MSU would be downgraded.
