Maintaining academic performance through multilingual communication

Effective communication is one of the critical factors for international students to succeed in overseas studies, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. Previous literature has addressed the role of language in achieving effective university management and maintaining academic performance, with a specific focus on the practice of English-mediated multilingualism. However, little attention has been paid to the intended use of multilingualism in a Chinese context, with a focus on the practices of Chinese-mediated multilingualism. This chapter, based on semi-structured interviews with ten international students from Asia, South America, and Russia pursuing their university degrees in Chinese studies in Guangzhou, explores the language-related challenges that international students encountered in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also examines the role of individual agency in multilingualism and how the students mobilised their multilingual resources to maintain academic performance and enhance access to crisis communication. The findings suggest that Mandarin Chinese remains the most effective language for meeting the needs of international students from diverse backgrounds in Mandarin language training and academic knowledge production in classrooms. This is also true for managing their academic performance in everyday interactions with instructors. Their mother tongue and English, used as a lingua franca, serve as alternative means to bridge the gap in peer communications during the COVID-19 crisis. The motivations for mobilising multilingual resources are also explored and discussed.