For many international students whose native language is not English, language challenges can make it difficult to be immersed in a new culture and thrive in school. Frequently, international students will become upset in their very first class in a  U.S. college, as they don't understand the classroom culture nor the teacher's lecture. They completely get lost in the class. This guide is created to help international students overcome language barriers and be successful in college. 

The Purdue Online Writing Lab gives a "local" introduction of US higher education.

In addition to that, I want to highlight some characteristics of the American high education culture as following, you will discover more later. 

1. Unlike education in Asia where teachers dominate the class, in the U.S. classes are student-centered. Discussion is a major practice in most classrooms.
2. Assignments and projects are not standardized. Students frequently have the freedom to choose the project based on their interests. 
3. Grades are not everything. Unlike Asian culture where grades are the only criteria to judge a student's performance, students in the United States are assessed in a systematic way. 
4. Social networking (finding people with similar interests to oneself) is important.  Social skills are more emphasized in American education.  Building your network is a key to be successful in school and in your future professional development.

It is frustrating and anxiety-causing when a professor is giving an enthusiastic lecture and the other students seem enjoy it, but it doesn't make any sense to you. What should you do? Give it up or fight for it.  If you give it up, you won't be able to finish assignments and pass the course. If you want to fight for it, then how?  

Here is good news. Many international students survive their coursework with a persevering spirit and excellent learning strategies. You can too!

Here are the strategies I have used and enabled me to have a high level of success in my coursework:

• Do your Reading. Professors frequently assign students tons of reading before the class. Some crucial information you need to extract from your reading includes: What are the topics that are going to be discussed in the class and what kind of vocabularies will be used in the lecture. Knowing this information, even if you cannot understand the whole lecture, you can still capture the main points of the lecture.

• Sit in the front of the class.  Sitting close to the instructor can help you hear the lecture more clearly and keep in tune with your instructor.

• Take notes and jot down the words you are not sure in the lecture. Seek clarification with your instructor, classmates or librarians later. It will help you understand the course better and increase your vocabulary.

• Talk to your instructors if you feel they speak too fast  to catch up. Express your difficulty and politely request if they can slow down their speech for you. 

• Ask for visual aids from your instructors. If they have slides, ask them to share with you.  If esoteric words appear in the lecture or discussion, ask if they can write it on the board.

• Make friends with your classmates and ask for their help.  Borrow notes from them and hang out with them in cafeteria to discuss the problems you have in the assignments or understanding the lecture.

• Go to the professor's office hours to seek extra help. 

• Don't be afraid to ask questions either in or after the class. The more you ask, the more you learn.  Please know that professors are happy to help you because it is their job to help you be successful in the coursework. They won't feel bothered because of your questions.   

• Use Google to search for your answer. If you don't understand a concept in class, search online or go to the library. You can read more about it on your own. If it is hard for you to find the answers, ask the librarians. They love to help you out!

• Write down your script and practice. If you going to do a presentation, write down your presentation script and recite it aloud over and over until you can blurt it out without thinking.

• Find a supportive learning community. If you feel the support from classmates and faculty is not enough, then seek help outside of your school. Go to local churches, libraries, or meeting groups where you can share difficulties and weakness.  Find the people who have the same belief, interest, passion, or facing the same problems as you and get support from them. It is important for you to be connected with others. Loneliness will make you susceptible to mental and psychological illness. Don't be dismayed or feel inferior because of poor English.  View challenges in your life as opportunities to learn. Build up your inner world, so that you have a strong heart to conquer any unfavorable circumstance in your life. Remember that Cornish has professional counselors who are there to help you with any difficulties. 
•    The Cornish counselors' website is http://www.cornish.edu/student_life/student_support/counseling_services/ and their phone numbers    are 206-726-5027 or 206-726-5047

• Improve your English.  This is the essential piece of overcoming your language barrier. Expose yourself to an English speaking environment for as long as possible. Maximize the English learning resources around you. On the resources page of this section, I listed some of the English learning resources to improve your writing, speaking and listening above. You can discover more useful resources through Google and by asking people, especially your instructors and librarians. I hope this guide will give you a starting point and grant you confidence in fighting the language barrier. You will be able to find your own ways of making your English learning more effective after consistently learning English.