Study Abroad and Behavioural Changes: The Case of Malaysian Learners of Japanese

Student mobility and enculturation are important keywords in today’s context of tertiary education. This is because university students are expected to acquire various soft-skills and competency in their educational pursuits, besides securing a degree. Aiming at understanding how studying abroad can enhance these skills and competency, this study used self-narratives as an approach to elicit information from 12 students who had studied abroad in Japan for a year. Specifically, this study examines what they learnt and how their exposure through intercultural communication in the host country had impacted their real-life experiences in terms of interactional behavioural changes. The participants’ perspectives indicated that they had improved under the mobility programmes in terms of language proficiency, enculturation, self-dependence and self-development. The outcome noted from the study will be of benefit to educators who can use this information as recommendations to support students in utilising their knowledge and intercultural skills for employability purposes.