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A growing body of research has explored the effects of Covid-19-induced online learning on students' experiences. However, there is a lack of validated tools that measure the perceived online learning experiences of domestic and international students in various national and cultural contexts. To address this gap, this article aims to develop the Student Online Learning Experience Scale (SOLE-S). We conceptualised four potential dimensions of students' perceptions of their online learning experiences: online interactions with students, teachers, university, and technology (i.e. students' capacity to participate in online learning). Confirmatory factor analysis determined three distinct factors: online interactions with students, the university (including teachers), and technology. Based on multiple validation studies reported in this article, the 10-item SOLE-S demonstrated sound internal consistency, discriminant validity, and convergent validity. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis on data from domestic and international students transitioning from conventional classroom learning to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, France, Poland, and the UK showed a stable factor structure across different cultural contexts. Bivariate and point-biserial correlation analyses revealed that the SOLE-S is associated with students' adjustment, performance, satisfaction, and loyalty to the university. This tool will assist higher education institutions in monitoring students' online learning experiences and developing relevant support structures to enhance their academic experience and well-being during the pandemic and post-pandemic online learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has linked cultural differences between a sojourner's home and host country with their cultural transformation. Nonetheless, the results of empirical studies are inconclusive due to different operationalizations of cultural differences and testing among different groups of sojourners. We extend previous investigations by examining the effects of cultural novelty (i.e., the subjective perception of cultural differences) on the experience of international students (N = 1114) in Denmark, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the USA. Drawing on acculturation and social learning theories, we conceptualized a model of students' adjustment and satisfaction taking into account cultural novelty. We tested the model through multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) and examined the various relationships across subsamples from all five countries. We determined the significant effects of cultural novelty and a range of factors impacting students' intercultural experience, such as their cultural intelligence, cultural background, second-language skills, time in the host country, and socialization with domestic students, and how the effects may vary by the host country. We discuss implications for future research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article systematically reviews the literature (313 articles) on language and communication in international students' cross-cultural adaptation in institutions of higher education for 1994–2021. We used bibliometric analysis to identify the most impactful journals and articles, and the intellectual structure of the field. We used content analysis to synthesize the results within each research stream and suggest future research directions. We established two major research streams: second-language proficiency and interactions in the host country. We found inconclusive results about the role of communication with co-nationals in students' adaptation, which contradicts the major adaptation theories. New contextualized research and the use of other theories could help explain the contradictory results and develop the existing theories. Our review suggests the need to theoretically refine the interrelationships between the interactional variables and different adaptation domains. Moreover, to create a better fit between the empirical data and the adaptation models, research should test the mediating effects of second-language proficiency and the willingness to communicate with locals. Finally, research should focus on students in non-Anglophone countries and explore the effects of remote communication in online learning on students' adaptation. We document the intellectual structure of the research on the role of language and communication in international students' adaptation and suggest a future research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]