渥太華大學Irene老師暢談大學輔導員對於國際學生的重要性！

此文採訪嘉賓：Xia Zhou, Irene

Orientation, Integration and Academic Success Coordinator

入學指導及學業輔導員

International Office

University of Ottawa

渥太華大學

國際辦公室

加拿大的大學也有輔導員？是的。輔導員主要職責是幫助留學生更好地融入全新的學習、語言和文化環境，傾聽他們生活和學習上遇到的問題，並提供解決方案，對學生的心理成長是不可或缺的。我們特別邀請了渥太華大學國際辦公室Irene暢談大學輔導員（Mentor）對於國際留學生的必要性。

Irene生於西班牙，通曉西、法、英、中四種語言，高中時以一名國際留學生的身份留學加拿大，大學在讀期間擔任渥太華大學國際留學生輔導員長達3年，畢業後在渥太華大學國際辦公室任職。

Q&A

1. Could you tell us about yourself?

Hello, My name is Irene Xiazhou. From my family name, you can see I have Chinese background. My parents are Chinese. I was born and raised in Spain. I came to Canada for secondary education as an International student in Hamilton for two years. After that, I came to Ottawa for university during which I worked as a mentor for international students for three years since 2013.

大家好，我叫Irene Xiazhou（夏周）， 從我的姓可以看出我和中國的關係，我父母是西班牙籍華裔。我在西班牙出生長大，中學的時候以國際學生的身份來到加拿大，在哈密爾頓市讀了兩年中學，之後在渥太華大學讀本科。就讀期間，也就是從2013年開始，到現在為止，我已經工作三年擔任留學生輔導員了。

2. What brings you to this position?

能說一下，你是怎麼走到今天這個崗位的嗎？

I worked here for three years when I was a student. Because of my experience and knowledge in this field, I was offered the full-time position when I graduated. Now I have more projects and duties, one of them being the mentoring centre of the international office with 15 mentors I have to coordinate. My job is to provide support to international students about their academic success, their transition to university life, as well as their social, cultural challenges. It can be related to any challenge they may face through their degree.

讀書期間，我當了三年輔導員。由於具備這個領域的知識和經驗，畢業後就得到了全職工作聘請。現在我負責的項目和擔負的責任更多，其中一個就是管理國際辦公室下的15名輔導員。我的工作是為國際新生提供學業上的支持，幫助學生融入大學環境，為他們所遇到的社會、文化挑戰提供應對辦法，這就涉及到他們學習期間可能遇到的所有問題。

3. What has been the greatest challenges for international students?

There are a few of the challenges that International students face when they came to Canada. First of all, language barrier. A lot of students don』t speak English as their first language. But in school, they have to learn and use English. They have to have a good English level to be able to handle academics.

剛來到加拿大的國際留學生會遇到不少挑戰。首先是語言障礙。很多學生第一語言不是英語，但是在學校必須學習英語，日常交流也用英語。要想學業上有所成就，必須有良好的英語水平。

The second thing is cultural shock and homesickness. When you first come to another country, the culture, languages, food and also climate are different (It is really cold here). Those factors and different surroundings will effect one』s wellbeing. Also, it is very hard when you are far from home and your family. Let』s say when you are at home, you use to get help from parents. But when you are far from home, you have to be independent and have to do more things by yourself and ask people how to solve issues. You need to be able to take the initiative to ask for help, otherwise people don』t know you are struggling or you have changelings. I also noted that some Chinese students are shy to ask for help because they think it is a stupid question. Nonetheless very stupid, because a lot of students may have the same questions, because someone doesn』t ask, other students can not profit from the answer. But if someone took the initiative to ask, they can spread the answer around.

第二是文化衝擊和想家。初到一個新國家，文化、語言、食物，以及氣候都不一樣（渥太華冬天很冷）。這些因素加上周遭的環境差異都會影響一個人的身心健康。遠離家鄉和家人也不是一件易事。在家裡，總是有父母幫助，離開家就必須要學會獨立，自己完成許多事情，學會向他人尋求解決辦法。在外求學的學生必須要學會主動尋求幫助，否則他人不會知道你在掙扎或者遇到了挑戰。我也發現不少中國學生羞於開口問問題，因為他們覺得自己的問題很愚蠢。其實根本沒有愚蠢的問題這一說，因為許多學生可能存在相同的問題，如果沒人開口問，其他人也不會獲益。但是只要有人主動提出問題，這個答案就能迅速傳開。

4.What do you usually do to help international students to integrate?

It really depends on each students. Every single student will face different challenges and difficulties in Canada. Even from the same country of origin, some will have a smoother transition, while some have a rocky and hard transition into living, social and academic life etc. The very important thing is to understand what the student is going through, in that way you can provide resources and ways to help them achieve their goals. Also, student』s needs vary from one person to one person, some might have time management issues, some don』t know how to take notes or where to buy a good winter coat. As a mentor, you are a professional person to give them advices and follow their progress.

具體做法因人而異。每一個在加拿大的學生都會遇到不同的挑戰。即使是來自同一個國家，有的學生適應起來較輕鬆，而有的人在生活、學習，以及社交上都是困難重重。最重要的是真正理解學生正在經歷的是什麼，這樣才能提供有效資源去幫助他們達成自己的目標。而且學生的需求也不盡相同，有的學生可能在時間管理上存在問題，有的不知道上課如何記筆記，或者在哪裡買到合適的冬衣。作為輔導員，你是專業人士，要為學生提供專業建議，並追蹤學生點滴進步。

5. Do you think it is gonna be more difficult for high school students to integrate?

你覺得對高中生而言，適應並融入當地生活是否比大學生更難？

It is most likely going to be more difficult for them to integrate, because they are younger and they have had less experience in the past. The challenge that you face in high school may be more intense than when you are in the university. I think people still face the worst challenges in high school because that is the time that most people are developing their personalities and values etc. during which a mentorship program is really helpful when you have someone who have similar experience to understand them and provide them with valuable experience.

是的，基本上高中生比大學生更難面對這個問題，因為他們年齡更小，經驗更少。高中時代經歷的挑戰，讓一個大學生回頭來看，肯定不會覺得那是多大的挑戰。我覺得高中留學生仍然面臨著最嚴峻的挑戰，因為他們這個年紀正是品格養成及價值觀塑造的關鍵階段。在這個時期，經歷過相同留學路的輔導員對他們來說幫助很大，他們不僅能理解他們，還能提供寶貴的經驗。

6. Mentor program is well established in the University of Ottawa, why do you think there is a lack of such program in high school?

渥太華大學針對國際學生的輔導項目已經建設得很好，你為什麼會覺得高中教育系統缺乏針對中國留學生的輔導項目？

First of all, the lack of mentor program comes from the students. Because when the students don』t ask questions, as I said most of them are shy, no one knows, no teacher, no school staff knows that they are in need of a special program just designed for them because Canadian students obviously have their parents here, they live at home and they don』t go through changes when they move from secondary school to high school. People here tend to ignore the challenges international people will face. But when you are new to the country, you don』t speak the language well, don』t have many friends, it can not be easy to make the transition.

首先這種缺乏源於學生本身，因為我提過很多學生很害羞，他們不提問題，也就沒人知道，學校老師和工作人員也意識不到他們需要一個專門為他們量身定製的項目，而當地加拿大學生自然有爸媽呵護，他們住在家裡，從初中到高中也不會經歷多大改變。本地人很容易忽視國際留學生會面臨的各種問題，但對於那些剛到一個新的國家的人，語言不流暢，朋友不多，要順利融入真是不輕鬆。

7. How do you think of First-Language Mentor program established in September, 2016?

你如何看待2016年9月新成立的良師益友項目？

The First-language mentor program is a good start in terms of helping them. When you speak the same language, students feel more at home. They are more likely to tell you the truth. If you speak another language, maybe they are shy or nervous. With the second language, the message they express may not be the real problems and then you cannot provide the real help they need.

在幫助高中留學生這件事情上，良師益友項目是一個良好的開端。輔導員和學生用母語交流，學生會覺得更加舒適便利。他們更可能向你說出他們真正的難處所在；如果輔導員講不同的語言，學生可能會緊張害羞，或者很難準確地表達自己的難處，這樣就無法獲得他們需要的幫助。

8. Lost of Chinese parents are in China and might not be familiar with the notion and benefits of mentoring, could you elaborate more?

許多留學生家長在中國，可能不很熟悉輔導員（Mentor）這一概念及其益處，你能進一步闡釋一下嗎？

Obviously yes. The mentor program is basically designed towards challenges that have already been proved. Students experienced those challenges at different level, but most of them will experience those challenges at sometime or another, so the mentor program is designed to help students overcome those challenges. Some students may need more help and some less, that is why we offer personalized attention to single students, case by case.

當然可以，輔導員項目的設立是基於已被證實的許多困難和挑戰。學生在不同的時間，都會遇到這些問題和挑戰，只是程度不同。輔導員項目就是有針對性地幫助學生克服挑戰，少走彎路。每個學生都是不同的，所需幫助也或多或少，這也就是為什麼要求輔導員關注到每一個學生，向他們提供相應輔導。

Without support, a lot of students may go through emotional hardships and parents may not even be aware of what they are going through because they are not here. With mentors, students』 problems can be addressed effectively. The second thing is they will not only benefit from the program, but that actually makes them more strong for the future and be able to seek help and solve problems. Because when you got help, you are more likely to talk about your problems and to try to solve it in the future, which makes you more independent.

如果缺乏相應的指導和幫助，許多學生可能會陷入各種情緒困擾，然而家長不在身邊，甚至發現不了自己孩子正在遭受的困擾。有了輔導員，學生在生活、學習上遇到的問題可以得到及時有效的解決。再者，這個項目不僅能使他們直接獲益，還能讓他們學會日後如何提出問題，並獲得答案。因為有了支持的力量，學生更樂於和你交流困惑，也更願意進行自我嘗試，這樣會使他們在未來更加獨立、強大。