Intercultural citizenship development: A case of Thai study abroad students in EMI programs

Abstract

Currently, HE institutions in Anglophone countries cater for the largest number of international students (particularly non-native English speakers) and thus, have benefited the most from internationalization policies. In such intercultural educational environments, Anglophone Englishes now play a much less significant role in HE. This paper aims to explore to what extent Thai students who came back from study abroad (SA) in Anglophone countries have developed a sense of intercultural citizenship and their experiences and perceptions in relation to intercultural communication, ELT and SA. A mixed-method approach was adopted at four universities in Thailand. Extracts from semi-structured interviews and questionnaire data have been analyzed. Findings have been divided into three themes: 1) The usefulness of intercultural citizenship courses, 2) The development of intercultural citizenship from lived experience, and 3) ELF mindedness. According to the findings, we argue that intercultural citizenship education (Byram, Michael. 2008. From foreign language education to education for intercultural citizenship: Essays and reflections. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters) ought to be part of the pedagogic approach in both EMI and ELT classrooms, and ELT courses in Thailand should put more emphasis on strengthening learners' intercultural competence and awareness while also moving away from traditional methods associated with standard language ideologies.