International students often face a unique set of situational, socio-economic, and cultural challenges while becoming accustomed to life abroad. This study examines the study abroad experience of Chinese international students (CIS), who hold vastly different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, in the United States (US). Specifically, centering around understanding how self-perceived language perception may influence acculturation practices. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 CIS divided into two groups, ten freshmen and sophomores and ten first-year master's students at the University of Chicago. Those two groups were selected to examine the effect that different study abroad duration may have on acculturative practices. Thematic analyses and other coding methods were implemented to reveal their experiences. Results found a close bi-directional relationship between the interlocutors' self-perception of language proficiency (high, intermediate, low) and the acculturation strategy (separation, integration, assimilation, and marginalization). This result in an upward spirals effect marked by specific adaptations to counter acculturative stress, meaning CIS will increasingly rely on the acculturative strategy they utilized before to help them cope with future stressors. The degree and roles of the students' existing cultural pluralistic attitudes, study abroad goals, study abroad duration and availability, perception, and reception of co-national and host-national, as well as recommendation for policy change, is also discussed.