Challenges and Benefits of Interviewing an International Student

My essay:

Today, in the United States, diversity is a core feature.  This is the reason why there are many challenges and benefits to conducting an interview with an international student.  Although challenges could arise due to cultural differences, there are many benefits that could result from this interaction. 

Although an interview with an international student can be considered intriguing and exciting, there can be challenges that arise.  One such challenge involves language capabilities.  This means how well each person is able to communicate and understand each other may be difficult.  This may prove to be especially difficult if there are heavy accents.  There could also be cultural differences that could cause certain questions to be taken offensively.  Also, the interviewer could ask questions about topics that could make the person being interviewed uncomfortable and therefore no longer want to participate.  What could also cause discomfort are questions that threaten or question religious views.  Religion is often a large aspect of an individual’s life, so this could be taken negatively by the person being questioned even if that is not the interviewer’s intentions.  These are the challenges that could arise in an interview with an international student.

Although there are challenges, interviewing an international student provides many benefits. One such benefit includes an opportunity to learn about another culture. According to a study regarding international student interviews by Kavita Pandit and Derek Alderman, many students found this experience to be enjoyable and were able to learn about many new aspects of a different culture. This interview would also allow the opportunity of having a meaningful interaction with another person that may or may not have occurred otherwise. This also allows involvement in a diverse situation that may not have occurred without this interview. According to the World Education Program website, an educational benefit of this cultural interaction is an "enhanced interest in global issues". This interview also provides the additional benefit of making a new friend, or acquaintance. Both students are also able to compare and contrast to their own cultures.  These are the benefits that could result from an interview with an international student.

This interview allows for many benefits, such as gaining a cultural awareness and an opportunity for benefits; however, there are challenges, such as cultural and religious boundaries that could create discomfort when talking about certain topics.  There are many challenges and benefits in conducting this interview.

Works Cited:
1. "Benefits of Student Exchange | World Education Program Australia." World Education Program Australia | Student Exchange. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2013. http://wep.org.au/info/student-exchange-benefits.

2. "Border crossings in the classroom: The international student interview as a strategy for promoting intercultural understanding | Derek Alderman - Academia.edu." Academia.edu - Share research. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2013. http://www.academia.edu/1029548/Border_crossings_in_the_classroom_The_international_student_interview_as_a_strategy_for_promoting_intercultural_understanding.


Group topic Challenges and benefits...

We chose this essay because it covered the topics we discussed coherently with a sense of structure.  The strengths that the paper had were an introduction and a conclusion following the body of the paper.