Learning Barriers and Difficulties of
Indonesian Postgraduate Students at Flinders University
Hardisman
(Modified from research survey, by Hardisman in 2006)
Preamble:
Many students from Indonesia get opportunity to study at postgraduate level in Australia. Most of them are supported by Indonesian government or international agencies. Flinders University is one of universities which become place of study and major target for Indonesian Student. Every year, around 40 Indonesian students enroll in Flinders University. One of the goals of studying in Australia for Indonesian students is to get academic qualification which is internationally recognized. However, studying in Australia is also challenging for Indonesian students because English is not first language. Furthermore, they also must be able to adjust with new culture and environment. The students may feel high level of home sickness, culture shock, problem with environment, weather and climate.
Abstract
Purpose: The survey was conducted to explore learning barriers and difficulties of Indonesian postgraduate students at Flinders University. This study can describe general learning barriers and difficulties that may be faced by Indonesian postgraduate students in Australian universities.
Method: The instrument of method data collection is the questionnaire and was administered by face to face interview with PAPI method. The participants were selected by systematic random sampling base on Indonesian student data base. Thirty of Indonesian postgraduate students participated in the survey.
Result: The average score of participant’s perceptions about level of difficulty of English language in the scale 1 (very difficult) to 5 (not at all difficult) is 2.7. There is no significant difference the difficulty in English between students who have and have not previous learning overseas (p>0.05). There is also no correlation between overall IELTS score for admission into Flinders University and level of difficulty in English (p>0.05). The average score level of difficulty because of the different major field of study is 3.24. Most of Indonesian students do not familiar with Australian academic style such as tutorial system, academic writing and Independent learning. The average of level of difficulty because of this different learning style is 2.67. The mean of level difficulties because of personal, climate and environment problem are 3.30 and 3.15 respectively.
Conclusion: Indonesian students do not face very much barriers and difficulties studying at Flinders University. However, difficulties in English and because of different learning style are more than others factors.
Key words: learning barriers; Indonesian students; postgraduate.
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