ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the nature of the student population and the challenges that they face and bring to the higher education environment, together with exploring some popular misconceptions staff have about students, and vice versa. It highlights any additional needs faced by international students and discusses ways in which they can challenge preconceptions. International students often have expectations as varied as the many nations from which they originate, so generalisation and blanket advice needs to be treated cautiously. The best source of information about students' expectations and needs is usually the students themselves, but there are some pedagogic discontinuities around approaches to teaching and learning. Students have many competing calls on their time, including part-time work, domestic commitments and activities that maintain their wellbeing, including sport and exercise. Students from countries where the collective voice is predominant, or there is a culture of non-verbalised debate and unspoken thought sometimes find Western classroom debates alienating.
