The Identity of an International Student

Interview – final form

Introductory questions

Location

Time

1. Where are you from? Country + Town + Neighborhood

2. When did you move to England?

3. When did you decide to move to England?

4. Why did you move to England?

5. What about the town – Exeter? What were your motifs for coming here?

6. When did you come to Exeter?

Family

Country of origin

Communication

Travelling

10. Can you explain your identity – parents, relatives? Their nationality

11. Do you have any relatives who live in England?

21. How often do you talk to your family/friends from your country of origin?

22. What methods of communication do you usually use?

– Phone call, skype, video call, etc.

7. How often do you go back to your national country/ country of origin?

23. How do you usually travel between the 2 countries?

– Plane, bus, train, car

8. What time of the year do you usually go back?

9. What are the main reasons for returning there?

Feelings in general at various, important moments in time which will be considered as a basis for future questions

14. Can you walk me through your feelings regarding your migration?

Scared, Terrified, Happy, Excited, Disappointed

– Upon departure

– Immediately after you got here

– During high-school

– During university

– At this moment

Language

Education

Culture adaptation

26. How do you find university life so far?

* How do you find studying in another country compared to studying in your country of origin?

19. For how long have you studied English language before coming here?

* How did you find the initial period when you moved here in terms of language? Was it hard to adapt?

* How has been so far learning in another language?

Did you face any difficulties?

Understanding, writing, lecture, exams, friends – social life etc.

28. At what degree would you say your nationality (and what I mean by nationality is your education, culture, mentality) influences your studies? What about your social life?

30. At what degree do you identify yourself with the English culture?

Would you say that you belong here?

Friends

People

* Do you feel that you have friends here?

* Would you say that you feel closer to your friends from England or to your friends from your country of origin?

* Is it hard for you to build real connections/ friendships with people in England?

English people and foreigners

16. What would you say about the people? Do you think is there any difference of mentality between the people in your country of origin and the people in England in general? What about people in Exeter?

17. Do you think you are treated differently here than you are in your country of origin?

27. Do you think your nationality has anything to do with the way people perceive you?

28. Do you consider that the way in which people treat you here influences your studies in any way?

18. Have you ever faced an anti-migration attitude or have you felt that you were in any kind disadvantaged because of your immigrant status?

Expectations/Reality

Conclusions

12. Now, resuming all the topics we’ve discussed, what would you say are the main differences between England and your country of origin?

* What do you miss the most about your country of origin?

13. Do you consider moving to England for good?

– If yes, why?

– If not, why? Then where would you like to live and why?

15. Were your expectations fully met?

– If not, what percentage of your expectations would you say were fulfilled? What is different than what you expected?

24. Are you happy with the decisions you’ve made so far?

25. If you could go back before the moment you decided to move to another country, what would you change?

* Lastly, which place do you consider/would you call home? Why?