Experiences and development of intercultural citizenship through international mobility among Algerian postgraduate students: a comprehensive approach through the lens of ELF

Abstract

The continuous increase in individuals’ movement across boundaries and international student mobility has heightened the need to consider the importance of intercultural development. The ability of people to build a sense of global and intercultural citizenship is becoming increasingly crucial (Byram et al, 2017; Killick, 2012, 2013) and there is a growing attention to this topic. Meanwhile, English as a lingua franca is a growing research field and is developing as a paradigm that can provide a comprehensive analysis of how individuals negotiate and represent their identities in sites of intercultural communication through English as a lingua franca which feature high linguistic diversity and use (Hua, 2015; Jenkins, 2007). There has been however, a dearth of empirical evidence of intercultural citizenship awareness and its development amongst students in international mobility. In particular, the action orientation (Byram, 2008b), which involves taking opportunities to cooperate with other from different social and cultural groupings (Porto & Byram, 2015) to achieve shared goals with a global dimension, was less investigated. In addition, there is insufficient examination of the linguistic practices, which bring students to develop a sense of intercultural citizenship. While a growing body of research focused on global citizenship learning including the context of study abroad, the linguistic domain is still superficially addressed thus opening possibilities for the maintenance of rigid social “categorizations and idealized standards” (Moran Panero, 2018, p. 563). There has also been a lack of studies, which sought to explore the negotiation and co-construction of linguistic norms and resources being it English, other languages, or other semiotic resources (Canagarajah, 2018). My research sought to uncover the experiences, development and challenges related to global citizenship as Algerian students pursue their education abroad, specifically in UK universities. In particular, the study endeavoured to bring into light students’ perspectives and experiences as regards the role of language (s) in their intercultural experiences, community engagement and action in multicultural/multilingual environment. This is to reveal any potential synergies between ELF understanding of language and how it relates to issues of culture, identity, community, and global citizenship, based on students’ experiences and needs. An exploratory qualitative research approach was used in the study to fulfil its objectives. My participants were 12 Algerian international students enrolled in Pre-sessional PhD and PhD programmes in in the UK with varying lengths of study. The fieldwork to collect in depth data from these participants took place over 8 months. This approach involved the adoption of three rounds of interviews, three modes of diary entries, audio, written and online blogs, interactions observation all of which was conducted both in-person and online in this method. The analysis procedure, which involved thematic analysis and NVivo coding, resulted in the identification and development of three overarching themes. The findings revealed that there are opportunities to experience intercultural contact and cooperation related to global citizenship. However, most of these opportunities were facilitated by the extracurricular activities organized by universities, societies, and the wider community, international and transnational organizations, groups and projects. As part of their studies overseas, students claimed to have taken intercultural communication classes, but none of them reported having received preparation expressly for global citizenship. Students indicated that their intercultural preparation prior to their travel focused mainly on culture as a national homogeneous attribute and that such preparation predominantly at instrumental purposes. The analysis of this theme also revealed that there are issues of representation, access and power asymmetries that feature those opportunities of experiencing community engagement and cooperation abroad. Second, the findings demonstrated that most students developed advanced intercultural awareness, attitudes, and a supranational identification. While the stage of action taking was more prevalent among students with longer stays abroad, this stage was also disregarded in students’ education. The development of these skills also entailed resistance and contention with some of the values and practice when it conflicted with students’ beliefs, traditions and particularly notions of development and representation issues in global citizenship education. Finally, examination of the role of language revealed mixed views and varied experiences among students. Some of them assigned English the role of connecting students with people from other cultures and groups, which fits in denationalized English and ELF. However, when the construct of native speaker governed the interaction process, it was an impediment to their encounters and engagement with the communities abroad. Students also valued multilingual and questioned the dominance of English considering its globality (Morán Panero, 2018) as an eminence that has to be contested by emphasizing the value of other languages to achieve equality and inclusion embedded in the concept of global citizenship. Furthermore, students have shown great flexibility, agency, and skills of negotiating multilingual resources and English use by relying on contextual use and emergent linguistic practices. The latter allowed them to meaningfully enact their sense of global citizenship.

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