Patterns of Connection: Unveiling Students’ Socializing Styles

As part of the findings from RQ1, this chapter shows that international students develop their social networks or social spaces where they can socialize in the medium of their target language (TL) as well as their mother tongues in three distinct patterns: (1) gradual social network building, (2) instant connection (“clicking”), and (3) thin or loose connections. At times, they gradually built social networks with other international students and local students or residents, while at other times, they either clicked with others and instantly connected. In many cases, the connections they built were quite loose and thin. However, loose and thin connections are not necessarily weak. Simply put, the students were loosely and thinly connected, but upon meeting, they formed comfortable affinity spaces (Gee, Situated language and learning. Routledge, 2004). The author had not anticipated the second and third types of social networking before beginning this SA research, yet it seemed that these two forms were well-suited to international students’ dynamically changing social environments. With only the first type of social networking, many international students would not be able to find or acquire TL-mediated socializing opportunities during their SA. Each socializing pattern is explained with supporting qualitative data.