ABSTRACT
For almost all international students, the purpose of their undertaking doctoral study is the completion of a doctoral training programme and the award of the highest degree in academia. Although there are PhD students who can maintain their commitment and motivation, other students experience stages of difficulty and are likely to lose their study engagement. This chapter explores some core academic problems PhD students in TESOL faced during their doctoral training journey, but places most emphasis on identifying academic changes made as part of the adaptation to new learning environments. Analysing the unique incidents experienced by a cohort of PhD students in TESOL enables one to appraise which may accompany negative experiences and the process-oriented nature of doctoral education. The chapter concludes with some implications and suggestions in relation to supervision models.
