In the 21st century, the People's Republic of China (PRC) is reemerging and reengaging in the world on all fronts. One area of this reengagement is the huge increase in the number of Chinese students who are studying abroad. This paper discusses and analyzes the academic experiences of the growing number of Chinese international students who are enrolled in institutions of high-er education (IHE) in the United States of America (US). Specifically, it reports the results of ongoing qualitative research on the sociolinguistic experiences and challenges faced by PRC stu-dents who are participating in international programs at the Commonwealth of Virginia's George Mason University (GMU). The paper focuses on the academic English language challenges ex-perienced by both undergraduate and graduate Chinese students at GMU as they transition from their home universities in the PRC and continue their higher education in the US, and it suggests an approach for achieving cultural awareness in the classroom that may impact their teaching and learning.