First Generation of Multicultural Australians and International Students

Preperations are all going to plan, the organisers here are all getting very excited about what is going to be a truly fantastic day. Here is a checklist for everything you could need to know for tomorrow:

Directions and Transport

The venue is Level 1 of the Sidney Myer Asia Center. It is located on the corner of Swanston St and Monash Rd @ University of Melbourne. If coming by public transport then get off at Flinders or Melbourne Central station, and catch any tram which says “Melbourne University” on it. Get off at Stop 1, which is the end of the line, and we are across the road.

http://maps.unimelb.edu.au/parkville/building/158

Registration

You must have already registered on the website: http://www.asiainstitute.unimelb.edu.au/events/registration_-_international_students_symposium

Schedule

Keynote speakers include Ms Alice Pung (the author of Her Father’s Daughter and Unpolished Gem and the editor of Growing up Asian in Australia), Professor  Simon Marginson (the author of Ideas for Intercultural Education, International Student Security and many more) and Ms Arfa Noor (National President of Council of International Students Australia).

I wanted to meet up with an international student friend recently, that I met in undergrad. I suggested we meet at a Japanese restaurant on Cardigan St in Carlton, because it’s roughly halfway between where we both live. My friend said that they didn’t know about it. They asked where it was, most likely expecting me to say I would pick them up from Melbourne Central (which would have been a long way out of my way) or to give detailed directions as to how to walk there.

So Cardigan St wasn’t an option, but there was no alternative suggested. And it could have easily been the end of the plan setting, which would have been a failure. Here were the causes of the communication break down as I saw them:

1. The shared responsibility of suggesting appropriate arrangements (time/place) was perceived as only being with myself, the local student.

2. My friend, the international student, didn’t already know the place, and only wants to go to places that are already familiar and close-by.

What happened next? I suggested googling the restaurant, or suggesting another place. My friend said that they didn’t have time to check it on the maps. To say you don’t have enough time to check a google map, even when the atrocious speed the University’s wi-fi is taken into account, is very doubtful. I know at other times friends have suggested going to asian desert restaurants and bubble tea. Which I didn’t originally know where these were, it is usually really easy to find them with some persistence.

Not knowing venues is a very large handicap. Making plans to meet people is one of most ‘make-or-break’ points in a friendship. If meeting is easy and efficient, then it will happen more. If I have to really struggle to make plans with someone, then its very unlikely that I’ll keep up the enthusiasm. The issues are certainly co-constructed, and readiness to engage in the first place is usually where locals could improve. But once contact and interest in fostering friendship is established, it is up to everyone to share responsibility, make suggestions, and look up venues which aren’t familiar.

As a native speaker of English who learns Mandarin Chinese, I am frequently asked why I want to learn. I want to speak Chinese mainly for instrumental, career related reasons, many of which would be obvious to anyone who has been following the ever stengthening rhetoric around Sino-Australian relations. However when I tell Chinese native speakers that I want to work in China, they usually respond with one of a few variations below:

You want to be an English teacher, don’t you.

There are many opportunities for foreigners as English teachers.

Would it not be possible to ask, “What area do you want to work in?” I often get the English teacher response even if I say I want to go there. If I respond saying that there are more options open to Australians in China rather than just being an English teacher, I’m met with puzzled looks and more questions.In contrast, Australian’s in general tend to suggest trade or diplomacy related areas.

I asked one person if she realised that this was a stereotype. She defended herself saying it wasn’t a stereotype, and no harm was meant by it, its just that this is what most people do. So it’s just based on the facts. It is likely that this is the perception of most Chinese, and native speakers of English often do go to teach English for a few years before returning home.

I feel really committed to show that I am capable of having skills beyond simply being able to speak my own first language. To break down stereotypes we need to show others that we are diverse and skilled in different ways from the norm.

What kind of person is local Japanese? If you were born in Japan, grew up in Japan, and your ancestors were Japanese, there is no doubt that you are local Japanese.

But how about immigrants?  They have different skin color. They speak a different language. They have different background. Almost all Japanese people tend to think that immigrants are different from Japanese locals. They are inclined to regard immigrants as foreigners because they are not used to seeing that kind of person.  In Japan, those people are rare. That is why it is hard for Japanese people to associate immigrants with themselves. Is there any chance that they can be local Japanese?

In my opinion, they can be. But there are a few necessary conditions. If you have Japanese citizenship, respect Japanese culture, try to fit in with Japanese customs, and have the will to succeed in the culture you can be Japanese local.  In other words, Even if you have lived for 20 years or you were born in Japan, unless you speak Japanese and try to get along with Japanese community, you cannot be local Japanese.

I am from Kochi city in Japan. There are few immigrants. I know some of them. They have own background, own homeland, and own culture. But they are enjoying Japanese culture. They speak my city dialect, join community events, and get along with local Japanese people. Their appearances are different Japanese appearances. But it does not matter anymore. They are local Japanese.

We are very excited to introduce one of our big name speakers for the conference: Prof Simon Maginson.

Professor Simon Marginson is a Professor of Higher Education in the Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) at the University of Melbourne. He is one of the Co-ordinating Editors of Higher Education, which is the principal world scholarly journal in higher education studies.

After 15 years as a policy research officer for the national unions covering students, teachers and academic staff, Simon joined the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne as a Senior Lecturer and later Associate Professor/Reader (1993-1998). He completed his PhD in the Faculty of Education at the same university in 1996 and was awarded the Chancellor’s Prize for the outstanding thesis in the social sciences, arts and humanities that year.

In the 1990s Simon focused primarily on markets, competition and public/private in education, and on Australian national policy. In the 2000s these interests were joined to inquiries into globalization and higher education, university rankings and international student security. The earlier inquiry into positional or status competition and its manifestations in higher education was maintained in this phase. The investigation of globalization continues into the 2010s, with emphases on the Asia-Pacific and on global civil society and governance, and has been joined to an investigation of the fundamentals of higher education on a comparative basis.

For more information about Prof Simon Marginson please see his full bio here: http://www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au/people/marginson.html

If you haven’t already registered, please do. We have a capacity of 100 and we are almost full now. Please register here

http://www.asiainstitute.unimelb.edu.au/events/registration_-_international_students_symposium