The adjustment processes of international students at a UK university: an exploration using the L2 self-regulatory system

Adjusting to life at a foreign university can be challenging. For second/foreign language (L2) students, challenges extend beyond adapting to new academic and social contexts. They can involve the need to reappraise individual aspirations and socially grounded expectations relating to language use. In these and other appraisal processes, self-evaluative standards are employed. In L2 learning, self-evaluative standards can be conceptualised as constituting a self-regulatory system that steers socially oriented behaviour. However, the roles that standards play in shaping orientations to the learning and use of additional languages have yet to be investigated. The current study has two objectives. The first is to examine the adjustment processes of six multilingual Chinese postgraduate students following their transition to a UK university. The second is to provide an empirical application of a system of self-evaluative standards developed for L2 learning. Data from two interview rounds were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Results show (a) how participants employed self-evaluative standards in the appraisal of proficiency and language use, and (b) how standards play varying roles in shaping learners’ orientations in academic and social contexts. The results demonstrate how self-evaluation in L2 learning can be systematically investigated. Proposals to support international students are made.