It’s more than just food: the role of food among Chinese international students’ acculturation experiences in the UK and USA

Food is an indispensable element in every culture. However, it is often regarded as trivial, mundane, and inconspicuous in daily life and, in turn, its role has often been overlooked in intercultural research. Through the lens of food culture, this paper draws insights from three independent yet related studies which investigated Chinese international students’ acculturation experiences in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (USA). Semi-structured individual interviews analyzed thematically were conducted with 23 participants in the UK and 29 participants in the USA. By applying the concepts of “invisible learning” and “unconscious competence” to food in Chinese international students’ acculturation experiences, we highlight the crucial hidden learning and engagement opportunities to enrich the current appreciation of student sojourners’ acculturation experiences. Findings in this paper suggest that food serves as a meaningful invisible or unconscious but powerful acculturation pathway in the personal, psychological, and social domains, which support these learners’ acculturation experiences and facilitate their competence development in new cultural environments. Arguably, understanding this nuanced dimension could better assist student sojourners in developing more effective acculturative strategies, and for host universities or other stakeholders to better support international students with more diverse opportunities and resources.