Abstract
Academic communication constitutes a fundamental pathway through which doctoral candidates acquire disciplinary conventions, establish scholarly competence, and construct research identities. For doctoral students engaged in cross-cultural academic contexts—particularly those functioning in a non-native language—academic communication frequently represents an implicit curriculum encompassing seminar participation expectations, discipline-specific writing conventions, and informal collaborative practices among peers. This review synthesizes scholarship examining three interrelated dimensions of cross-cultural doctoral communication: (1) seminar and classroom participation patterns, (2) academic writing development and publication preparedness, and (3) peer-mediated collaboration, including mentoring relationships, writing collectives, and communities of practice. Employing a narrative review methodology, this paper draws upon theoretical frameworks including academic discourse socialization, communities of practice theory, and scholarly belonging to elucidate the persistence of communication challenges among academically capable doctoral students. Throughout the literature, communication obstacles emerge as products of power asymmetries, tacit participation conventions, feedback ecologies, and differential access to supportive peer networks. Research evidence further demonstrates that intentionally structured peer communities—whether face-to-face or digitally mediated—can facilitate doctoral socialization by establishing psychologically secure environments for feedback exchange, rehearsal of academic discourse, and cultivation of feedback literacy. The review concludes with implications for international doctoral program design and evidence-based recommendations for supervisors and institutions to enhance participation infrastructures, writing support mechanisms, and peer collaboration frameworks.