Psychological stress, wellbeing, and coping strategies among mainland Chinese students in Malaysia’s multilingual context: a qualitative study

IntroductionMalaysia’s English-medium universities operate within a multilingual and multicultural environment where English, Bahasa Melayu, and diverse cultural traditions intersect. For mainland Chinese postgraduates, adaptation involves not only academic demands but also shifting communicative expectations across academic, administrative, and sociocultural domains. While previous studies have focused mainly on academic and sociocultural adjustment, less attention has been devoted to psychological stress and coping within multilingual EMI environments.MethodsThis qualitative study explored psychological stress, wellbeing, and coping strategies among mainland Chinese postgraduate students in Malaysia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 participants from four public and one private university. Interviews were conducted in Mandarin Chinese, transcribed verbatim, translated into English, and analyzed using thematic analysis with MAXQDA 2020 following Braun and Clarke’s six-phase framework.ResultsPsychological stress emerged through the interaction of academic pressure, multilingual communication demands, and sociocultural exclusion. Delayed supervisory feedback, unclear expectations, diverse English accents, unfamiliar pedagogical practices, and Malay-mediated administration contributed to uncertainty and cognitive strain. Experiences of stereotyping, exclusion, and fragile belonging further intensified anxiety, insomnia, homesickness, and depressive feelings. Participants mainly relied on self-management, co-national peer support, family contact, religious beliefs, and resilience to cope with prolonged stress.DiscussionThe findings indicate that psychological wellbeing in multilingual EMI environments is closely associated with institutional clarity, intelligibility, and accessibility across linguistic and cultural boundaries. The study conceptualizes stress as emerging within a multilingual EMI environment where communication, institutional access, supervision, and belonging operate as interconnected dimensions of adaptation.