Why? Under-represented angle:

1. “Brits abroad: the motivations, experiences and needs of UK learners as ‘international students’ ”Brendan Bartram • Why? • Under-represented angle: • “...less is known about movement in the other direction – that is, the mobility of Australian university students.” (Olsen, 2008:364) • Dwindling numbers - until recently (British Council, 2008) • In England: casual xenophobia, political & commercial insularity, acceptance of mono-lingualism (Coleman, 2009)

2. Methodology Online survey 12 open-ended questions Link emailed to 5 English universities 159 respondents (91% UG, 9% PG) Selectivity effects – representative? 45 institutions in Europe, N. & S. America, Asia Range of degrees – education, engineering, business studies, biology…. Responses analysed through ‘inductive category building’

3. Findings Motivation Personal development – 60 “to challenge myself personally and to become more independent” “wanted to broaden my perspectives and attitudes” Socio-cultural motives – 46 “I wanted to experience a different culture, people & way of life…” Sense of adventure – 21 “it was the excitement of doing something different, a desire to travel and see places and flying the nest in style!” Qualification/employability – 17 “I wanted the TESOL qualification and to move to Canada later on to work.” Cf. Ipsos Mori Unite Poll (2006): Career enhancement = major motive international students in UK

4. Findings Experience - despite challenges – positive Positive experiences – socio-cultural enrichment & personal development “greater maturity, better self-sufficiency, confidence and patience, and a deeper understanding of different ways of living.” “loved meeting people, embracing a new culture, learning new insights…amazing sights and understandings, not just from a tourist perspective.” Negative experiences – academic challenge “Some lecturers just won’t make the effort to understand your Spanish.” Integration with local students – notable difficulty for half (cf. Summers & Volet, 2008) “The locals aren’t interested in getting to know you, so we tended to stick together with other exchange students.”

5. Findings Needs Academic – 47 Practical – 34 Socio-emotional – 18 Most noted coping strategy – self-reliance (53) – effective? – 2/3 felt needs not met…. Strong perception of ‘the right attitude’ & social behaviour: “Perseverance and the right attitude are key. In Poland, I just decided to see all my problems as a sitcom and have a good laugh – and see everything as a learning opportunity!”

6. Conclusions Intrinsic motivation – cf. extrinsic motivation of ‘other’ international students – perhaps related to sojourn length/differently positioned? Experiencesoverall related to personal development & socio-cultural enrichment: shifts in self-identity & values – inter-cultural personhood? Academic & integrational challenges – much in line with other studies of international students Needs – if self-reliance = major coping strategy – prior self-efficacy training?

7. References British Council (2008) Number of UK students choosing to study abroad with Erasmus continues to rise, press release, 6 November. Coleman, J.A. (2009) Why the British do not learn languages: myths and motivation in the UK, Language Learning Journal, 37, 1, pp. 111-127 IPSOS Mori/Unite (2006) The International Student Experience Report, http://www.ipsos-mori.com/assets/docs/archive/polls/unite-international.pdf Olsen, A. (2008) International Mobility of Australian university students, Journal of Studies in International Education, 12, 4, pp. 364-374 Summers M & Volet S (2008)Students’ attitudes towards culturally mixed groups on international campuses, Studies in Higher Education, 33, 4, pp.357-370 Bartram, B. (2011) Going the other way: the motivations and experiences of UK learners as ‘international students in Blythman, M & Sovic S, International Students Negotiating Higher Education, London: Rooutledge