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‘So maybe I’m a global citizen’: developing intercultural citizenship in English

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ISSN: 0790-8318 (Print) 1747-7573 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rlcc20

‘So maybe I’m a global citizen’: developing

intercultural citizenship in English medium
education

Will Baker & Fan (Gabriel) Fang

To cite this article: Will Baker & Fan (Gabriel) Fang (2020): ‘So maybe I’m a global citizen’:
developing intercultural citizenship in English medium education, Language, Culture and
Curriculum, DOI: 10.1080/07908318.2020.1748045

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LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND CURRICULUM
https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2020.1748045

‘So maybe I’m a global citizen’: developing intercultural

citizenship in English medium education
a b
Will Baker and Fan (Gabriel) Fang
a
Centre for Global Englishes, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK; bDepartment of Foreign
Languages and Literature, College of Liberal Arts, Shantou University, Shantou, People’s Republic of China

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

A frequently stated aim of the increasing internationalisation of Received 5 June 2019
higher education (HE) is the incorporation of intercultural Revised 24 February 2020
elements. This has recently been conceptualised through the Accepted 23 March 2020
notion of intercultural citizenship with universities promising to
KEYWORDS
equip graduates with the necessary knowledge and skills to Intercultural citizenship;
engage in global workplaces and communities. However, the global citizenship; English
extent to which intercultural citizenship goes beyond promotion medium instruction;
and marketing and is meaningfully incorporated into university internationalisation of higher
curricula and teaching practices is still unclear. Most significantly, education; study abroad;
there is little evidence that students themselves are aware of, cultural content
motivated by, or develop a sense of intercultural citizenship at
international universities. In parallel to the expansion of
internationalisation in HE has been an increase in English medium
instruction (EMI) programmes. This link between the use of
English and internationalisation is therefore likely to also influence
perceptions of intercultural citizenship but has so far received
little attention in research. To address these gaps this study
investigated the perceptions and experiences of international
students towards intercultural citizenship and its links to language
before, during and after their study via interviews and a focus
group. Findings showed intercultural citizenship was generally
positively perceived and strongly linked to English, but reported
development was uneven during study abroad.

Introduction
The intercultural elements to education are frequently claimed as both a driver and con-
sequence of the internationalisation of higher education (HE) and the increase in English
medium instruction (EMI) programmes. The notion of intercultural citizenship has
emerged over the last decade as an influential approach to conceptualising this intercul-
tural dimension. However, beyond policy and marketing documents there is still little
empirical evidence detailing the extent to which students actually develop an intercultural
citizenship identity as a result of study abroad (SA) and its links, if any, to EMI and the
English language. This paper begins with a brief outline of current issues in the internatio-
nalisation of HE and EMI and the links to intercultural citizenship and education. A study of
Chinese international students before, during and after SA in Anglophone settings is then

CONTACT Will Baker w.baker@soton.ac.uk

© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 W. BAKER AND F. FANG

presented. Findings are offered related to students’ experiences and understanding

of intercultural citizenship education before SA, students’ perceptions of the
relationship between English, other languages and intercultural citizenship during their
SA, and the extent to which students develop an identity as an intercultural citizen due
to their SA experiences. Finally, concerns around the uneven development of intercultural
citizenship and the lack of in-depth intercultural education provision in universities are
discussed.

Internationalisation of higher education and English medium instruction

programmes
Characterisations of internationalisation vary but Knight’s often cited definition as ‘the
process of integrating an international, intercultural or global dimension into the
purpose, functions or deliver of HE at the institutional and national levels’ (2008, p. 21)
aligns closely with the perspective of this paper. While there has always been an inter-
national element to HE, internationalisation of HE has expanded rapidly in recent years
with double the number of international students as a decade ago (OECD, 2014). Anglo-
phone settings have been at the forefront of this process in terms of incoming students
with increasing numbers of international students, particularly at postgraduate level, the
focus of this study (OECD, 2014; UKISCA, 2017). In terms of outgoing students, China rep-
resents the largest number of international students worldwide and in the UK (OECD, 2014;
UKISCA, 2017) and hence is a crucial group to research.
For better or worse this expansion of internationalisation in HE has been associated
with the English language both through the popularity of Anglophone universities as des-
tinations for international students but also through the rising number of EMI programmes
worldwide (Dearden, 2014). Again definitions vary, but we take the perspective outlined by
Dafouz and Smit’s (2016) EMEMUS (English-Medium Education in Multilingual University
Settings) approach. This characterisation ‘focuses on English-medium education
because of the particular role that English plays both as an academic language of teaching
and learning as well as a means of international communication’ (Dafouz & Smit, 2016,
p. 399), but also recognises the multilingual nature of international HE and the diversity
of associated languages, pedagogies and settings of EMI. It is important to note that
this includes international universities in Anglophone settings, since many of the staff
and students will be using English as an L2 here too, particularly at postgraduate level.
Therefore, similar linguistic and intercultural issues occur in EMI programmes in both
Anglophone and other international HE settings (c.f. Baker & Hüttner, 2019; Jenkins &
Mauranen, 2019).

Intercultural citizenship and internationalisation of higher education

The increasingly multilingual and multicultural landscape of international universities
has meant that intercultural concerns have become a prominent part of ensuring suc-
cessful HE experiences for both students and staff. Furthermore, as outlined in Knight’s
(2008) definition above, the intercultural dimension is frequently cited as one of the
major features of internationalisation. Thus, students in international HE programmes
are often expected to improve their intercultural competence and to develop an
 LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND CURRICULUM 3

identity as an intercultural or global citizen. Intercultural citizenship is typically viewed

as the extension of citizenship beyond national borders, through recognition of the
global scale of social relations, the need to respect and value diversity, and participation
in and responsibility to communities at multiple levels from the local to the global
(Byram, 2008; Killick, 2013). While intercultural/global citizenship has been much dis-
cussed in educational theory (e.g. Clifford & Montgomery, 2014; Killick, 2013), and
adopted extensively in university marketing, there is much less empirical research
demonstrating its relevance to students’ experiences. However, the intercultural and
identity dimensions of students’ experiences have been widely researched in the
study abroad literature (e.g. Kinginger, 2013). Findings here show that SA does not
necessarily lead to the development of intercultural competence or an intercultural
identity and that appropriate educational preparation, support, evaluation and reflec-
tion are essential (Jackson, 2012).
One area where intercultural citizenship education has been investigated from both a
theoretical and an increasingly empirical perspective is language education. Within this
field Byram’s (2008, p. 187) characterisation, as outlined below, has been extremely influ-
ential and will be adopted in this study.

1. Causing/facilitating intercultural citizenship experience, and analysis and reflection on

it and on the possibility of further social and/or political activity, i.e. activity that
involves working with others to achieve an agreed end.
2. Creating learning/change in the individual: cognitive, attitudinal, behavioural change;
change in self-perception; change in relationships with Others (i.e. people of a
different social group); change that is based in the particular but is related to the
universal.

Intercultural citizenship education, as envisaged here, combines learning about ‘others’

and general awareness raising with experience and, crucially, action which results in
change in the individual and also produces activity in the community at a range of
scales going beyond the national. This approach is also beginning to be applied to class-
rooms with generally positive, although tentative, results in relation to outcomes as well as
teacher and student perspectives (Byram et al., 2017; Porto, 2019; Porto et al., 2018). In
specific relation to the group of students in this study, Chinese international students,
the few studies that have been conducted have found mixed degrees of familiarity with
intercultural citizenship but generally positive attitudes towards the concept (Han et al.,
2017; Fang & Baker, 2018).
However, research into intercultural citizenship is still at the early stages and many
issues remain. There is little evidence of either the relevance of intercultural citizenship
to international students in EMI programmes or that their experiences on such pro-
grammes lead to the hoped for development of an intercultural citizenship identity.
There is also very little empirical research specifically dealing with intercultural citizenship
and Chinese students which as the largest group of international students needs addres-
sing. Finally, the linguistic aspects of intercultural citizenship need further investigation
since language is crucial to identity development (Joseph, 2004). However, at the same
time the complex multilingual landscape of EMI programmes in international universities,
including Anglophone settings, means that straight-forward correlations cannot be
4 W. BAKER AND F. FANG

assumed between the language of study, the language of the host institution and every-
day language use.

Methodology
In order to address the research gaps and issues outlined above the following research
questions were formulated.

1. What are Chinese international students understanding of and experiences of intercul-

tural citizenship and intercultural citizenship education before undertaking study
abroad in an EMI programme at an international university?
2. What are students’ perceptions of the links between language in general, the English
language and intercultural citizenship?
3. To what extent do students develop an awareness of and/or identity as an intercultural
citizen as a result of undertaking EMI programmes in an international university abroad?

To best address the exploratory nature of these questions qualitative data was collected
through interviews and a focus group described below.1

Settings, participants, and researcher roles

This research took place over a one-year period at a major international university in the UK
and a large university in Southern China with extensive international links and a substantial
number of students who go onto study abroad. The policy and marketing documents of
both universities made claims to their international orientation. The Chinese university
has established many student exchange programmes with universities in the UK, the US,
Australia, Ireland, France and Canada. More than half of the academic staff have either
obtained their degrees abroad or have international experiences. EMI is promoted in main-
stream courses at this university and more than 20% of the major content courses are
instructed through EMI. The UK university’s website claims ‘6,500 international students
from more than 135 countries’ and previous research in the setting revealed the highly mul-
tilingual and multicultural nature of postgraduate programmes (Baker & Hüttner, 2017,
2019). Furthermore, in specific relation to this study the university explicitly referred to
global/intercultural citizenship in a number of documents including in a statement of the
university’s strategic aim of developing ‘graduates who are confident global citizens’.
The participants were Chinese students from a range of disciplines (including Arts and
Humanities, Business, Management and Finance, Natural Sciences, Computing and Edu-
cation) who were planning to study abroad, were studying abroad, or had recently returned
from studying abroad (Baker & Fang, 2019). This comprised 18 interviews and 5 focus group
participants in China and 12 interview participants in the UK. The rationale for the selection
of a UK university was that the UK has been at the forefront of internationalisation in HE
(OECD, 2014). Chinese postgraduate students were chosen as these are the largest group
of international students globally, in the UK (UKISA, 2017) and in the setting of this study
too (over 10% of the student population in 2017). The researchers were based in the UK
and Chinese universities enabling access to the participants and insider perspectives.
 LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND CURRICULUM 5

Data collection
Participants in China were contacted via email and social media based on author two’s con-
tacts and so were self-selecting provided they met the criteria of planning to or having
recently returned from postgraduate study abroad in an EMI programme. In China, 11 partici-
pants who were planning to study abroad took part in the first round of interviews. The
second round of interviews involved 7 participants who had recently returned from study
abroad. A focus group of 5 participants who had recently returned from study abroad was
also conducted. The 12 participants in the UK were selected from author one’s contacts
and snowball sampling. The participants were interviewed towards the beginning of their
first semester of study and towards the end of their second semester. All interviews in
China and the UK were semi-structured within the sense of having pre-defined topics but
flexibility in question-wording, order and follow up questions (Richards, 2003). The pre-
defined topics and guides for questions allowed for consistency between the different par-
ticipants and settings. However, it was important to also allow for flexibility in terms of the
actual wording of the questions, question order and follow up questions to enable the inter-
views to progress in a direction that followed the participants’ responses, especially given the
exploratory nature of many of the questions. The subjects of the interviews and focus group
were based on previous research in intercultural/global citizenship (outlined in the literature
review) and the authors’ earlier project (Fang & Baker, 2018).
Interview topics included English language learning experiences, English language
ideology in relation to ideas of ‘ideal’ or preferred English use, intercultural and study
abroad experiences, and familiarity with and attitudes towards intercultural awareness
and global citizenship. Additionally, interviews with participants before study abroad
and during their first semester in the UK included questions on preparation for study
abroad and expectations of study abroad related to language use and intercultural com-
munication/citizenship. Furthermore, participants in the UK were also asked about
language and intercultural communication support at the university, as well as, any devel-
opment of intercultural awareness and citizenship during their sojourn. Finally, partici-
pants in China who had returned from study abroad were asked to reflect on their
experiences in relation to language use and the development, or not, of intercultural citi-
zenship, as well as the overall influences of their sojourns on them.
Similarly, as the focus group was for students having returned to China after study
abroad, the prompts related to experiences of preparation for study abroad, time
abroad and after study abroad; English language attitudes/ideologies and changes from
study abroad; intercultural experiences during study abroad; intercultural/global citizen-
ships both in relation to personal experience and in relation to their perspectives on
the ideas within this concept; ideas on intercultural citizenship education, ideas about
EMI, and lastly recommendations for improving English language, intercultural, and
other preparation and support for study abroad.
The interviews and focus groups in China were conducted in Mandarin Chinese as the
shared language of the participants and researcher. Interviews in the UK were conducted
in English as the shared language of the participants and researcher. Interviews and the
focus group in China were transcribed in Mandarin and English in the UK. Data were
then stored in Nvivo 11 to allow for organisation and analysis. An overview of the data col-
lection and participants is given in Table 1.
6 W. BAKER AND F. FANG

Table 1. Data collection and participants.

Research Hours of Number of
Timescale Setting instrument recording participants Age Gender
F M
Before SA China Interview 1 4.65 11 16–26 10 1
After SA China Interview 2 3.72 7 24–29 5 2
After SA China Focus group 1.32 5 23–28 4 1
During SA (semester 1) UK Interview 1 5.3 12 21–25 8 4
During SA (semester 2) UK Interview 2 6.8 As above

Trustworthiness and limitations

It is not possible to generalise from this small sample to the larger population of Chinese
international students and even less to other groups of international students; however, it
is hoped that by providing rich descriptions of these participants’ experiences findings
may be transferable to other settings (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). The data was gathered
over a 12 month period and both researchers were engaged in the sites in the long-
term and so had insider perspectives. However, the timeframe meant it was not possible
to track individual students before, during and after SA. Nonetheless, it was hoped that
through collecting data at different points in time valuable insights into the developmen-
tal processes and experiences of students could be gained. Given the large amount of
qualitative data and the insider perspectives of the researchers, there will inevitably be
a degree of subjectivity in the presentation and interpretation of findings. This is balanced
by being transparent and reflexive about those subjectivities through, for instance, audit
trails and being explicit about the roles of researchers (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).

Findings
Data was stored in Nvivo to aid in organisation and analysis which followed a bottom-up
and top-down latent content analysis approach (Miles et al., 2014). An initial coding
scheme based on a priori codes from the research aims was applied to the data and
then the coding scheme was further revised based on the succeeding data collection
and analysis. Lastly, the completed data sets and coding from the UK and China were com-
pared and checked for consistency across coding definitions and items under each code.
The final coding scheme comprised 42 codes organised under five themes: Intercultural
citizenship; intercultural education; intercultural experiences; study abroad experiences;
language, English and ELT. Extracts are drawn from this coding scheme which directly
address the three research questions that guide this paper.

What are Chinese international students understanding of and experiences of

intercultural citizenship and intercultural citizenship education before
undertaking study abroad in an EMI programme at an international university?
The interviews demonstrated that students had varied degrees of familiarity and under-
standing with intercultural citizenship prior to studying abroad.2 These mixed results
were shown in the initial round of interviews with some students claiming no understand-
ing of the term (extract 1) while others had some understanding, especially as relating to
intercultural communication (extract 2) but were still quite tentative.
 LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND CURRICULUM 7

Understanding of intercultural citizenship

Extract 13
I: global citizenship or intercultural citizenship have you ever heard of this term
UKF8: no oh what is it about
I: what do you think it might mean a global citizen
UKF8: global citizen
I: uhu
UKF8: what what is I have no idea about it

Extract 2
UKM1: Yes. I think it’s maybe it’s about connecting maybe it’s. by using the intercultural
skills it can connect with different part in the world together maybe. maybe that’s
it. I’m not quite sure

The lack of understanding of intercultural citizenship was not surprising given that no stu-
dents reported any formal educational experiences of intercultural citizenship. However,
many students did discuss more general intercultural education; although, this was
often in the form of optional courses (extract 3) or ad hoc (extract 4 from a media
studies course with an American teacher) and so not a core part of their general or
language education.

Educational experiences of intercultural citizenship

Extract 3
UKF8: in the university our English teacher ever teach some western culture yeah
I: right that was in you- at your university in China
UKF8: yeah
I: was this part of your English lesson
UKF8: no it’s an optional course

Extract 4
ChinaBSAF8: we had a chance to discuss knowledge related to intercultural citizenship and
intercultural communication

Despite this lack of familiarity with intercultural citizenship, students reported positive atti-
tudes towards the concept expressing a desire to develop an intercultural citizen identity
which was frequently linked to intercultural connections through friendships (extract 5),
travel (extract 6), study and work (extract 7).

Attitudes to intercultural citizenship identity

Extract 5
I: how would you develop to be an intercultural citizen
ChinaBSAF11: firstly through making friends. this is the simplest and most direct regardless
whether it is on or out of campus I would like to make friends from different
cultures and communicate with them.
8 W. BAKER AND F. FANG

Extract 6
UKM12: I think different different places have- its. different culture. have different food and
different people. and it’s too boring for for people to. to live to live in the
same place for so many years. I think that’s the main reason I want to be a
global citizen

Extract 7
UKF11: I have dreamed that if I could work work in another country after I graduate for
several years then I come back so if if you have if we actually if you had worked
or studied abroad you will you would have a different view of everything I think
yeah

Just as students generally had positive attitudes towards developing an identity as an

intercultural citizen, they also had positive attitudes to intercultural citizenship education
both in relation to education in general (extract 8) and specifically as regards language
education (extract 9). However, the relevance of intercultural citizenship education for
all was questioned by some (extract 10).

Attitudes to intercultural citizenship education

Extract 8
ChinaASAF7: intercultural citizenship education will be beneficial because people don’t
have frequent intercultural experiences. such courses will enable people to
have intercultural experiences.

Extract 9
UKF9: yeah it’s important to language because. because if want to study in one country and
to be a global citizen language is important. may- for example for me I don’t think my
language is great so I want to improve I have to prove it and then to be a global
citizen yeah that is a conditional for to be a global citizen

Extract 10
UKF10: it depends I mean for the international students it’s it’s a good thing but if you only
stayed in China there’s no need to learn such things

What are students’ perceptions of the links between language in general, the
English language and intercultural citizenship?
A theme that emerged from the data was the strong links between the development of
English proficiency and intercultural citizenship for many students and at times the two
were even treated as if synonymous (extract 11). However, there were mixed and at
times quite sophisticated perspectives on how English linked to intercultural citizenship.
In extract 12, the participant recognised the necessity of adaptable and variable English
uses and also that proficiency in English, while important, was not enough in itself. Further-
more, the student in extract 13 went beyond English and mentioned the importance of
multilingualism and its link to ‘different cultures’.
 LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND CURRICULUM 9

Language proficiency and intercultural citizenship

Extract 11
I: okay so would you like to be a global citizen
UKF5: yeah maybe after improving my English @
I: okay so you think improving your English would be an important part of becoming a
global citizen
UKF5: yeah
I: why is that
UKF5: because c- communication is the most important part in my mind. if your English isn’t
good enough you can’t learn much from people from other countries and. maybe
they cannot understand you either so- so English is the most important part

Extract 12
I: is English important to cultivate global citizens
ChinaBSAM11: I think a global citizen needs a certain level of English. even a higher level of
English skill. but one cannot develop to be a global citizen by simply
knowing English. it is more important to understand people’s mindset
through the expression of English. nowadays English is used in many set-
tings and is developed different versions such as Chinglish. I think under-
standing local varieties of English may help to develop to be a global citizen.

Extract 13
ChinaBSAF10: I am interested in becoming a global citizen. I learned Korean before and
want to know Korean culture. and I also want to learn Japanese Thai and
communicate with people in other countries. at least I am interested in
different cultures in Asia.

For others, this perceived link between English use and the development of intercultural
citizenship resulted in negative experiences. In particular, the use of Chinese was seen as
restricting opportunities to use English for intercultural interactions and, thus, hindered
the development of intercultural citizenship (extract 14).

Chinese use and intercultural citizenship

Extract 14
UKM12: … but the environment in my academic in my office. there are all the- I mean the
people sitting around me is- are all Chinese so we speak more Chinese than English
and our social circle is all Chinese. I think we- I did not feel much about- I did not get
involved in the life of UK people very much

While there was general satisfaction with their level of English (see Baker & Fang, 2019),
and most students felt that their English was good enough for their academic needs,
there was still a desire to obtain more ‘native’ like English which was viewed as more pres-
tigious (extract 15). These mixed and complex responses to English are illustrated in
extract 16 which mentions both successful use of English separate from native speakers
and native speakers as a benchmark. Given the difficulty of matching idealised ‘native
speaker’ norms, and the perceived link between English proficiency and intercultural citi-
zenship, such attitudes may prove a hindrance to the development of intercultural
citizenship.
10 W. BAKER AND F. FANG

‘Nativeness’ in English use and intercultural citizenship

Extract 15
ChinaBSAF3: I want to be native although it is not possible. I am a perfectionist and I want to
have a British accent. if you want to learn English you need to strive to the
target although being native-like does not mean the best … I want to
sound native like particularly BBC accent

Extract 16
UKM6: … for the instructors I can use English to communicate with them and they can
understand me and I can understand them. But I mean even if my English is not
as good as native speaker I can use this as an instrument to communicate with
other people … I know it’s very good to speak English as much as possible to join
the native speakers and to experience the native life but because I- now because
of my study and I just don’t think speaking native English is the important part of
my life in UK so I didn’t spend a lot of time on that.

To what extent do students develop an awareness of and/or identity as an

intercultural citizen as a result of undertaking EMI programmes in an
international university abroad?
As already noted, most students did not identify as intercultural citizens before or at the
beginning of their SA. However, in later interviews and the focus group, many of the par-
ticipants discussed the development of such an identity. There was recognition from some
that it was a process that took time (extract 17). For those that developed an intercultural
citizen identity, the reasons given included becoming more familiar with intercultural
interactions and environments through engaging with other international students
(extracts 18–19), more tolerance and respect for difference (extract 20) and crucially
feeling ‘changed’ as a person (extract 21).

Development of intercultural citizenship

Extract 17
I: so do you think you’re a global citizen
UKF11: . I actually now not maybe after four years I could be that. yes yes if the actually I
have studied in another country for for months for years and I may know a lot of
friends. and I could could- a be a (xxx) global citizen

Extract 18
UKF3: it’s like although I always make friends with Chinese but it’s inevitable that I talk or I have
conversation with international students or British people. so I think a few month ago I
think I’m still a Chinese and I’m different with them but after a few months later I think I’m
just a member of this international university and we are all students and we share the
same knowledge here and I don’t feel that I have so much difference

Extract 19
ChinaASAM2: I think I am already a global citizen.
I: in what aspects do you think you are already a global citizen
ChinaASAM2: taste more food and make more friends
 LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND CURRICULUM 11

Extract 20
UKF9: maybe it’s important but I think in here international students will respect each other
so they can respect each other’s culture yeah even their cultures are different … yeah
it’s important they can respect each other very well I think if this is for business stu-
dents they have to learn it because in business they have to respect each other yeah
and show their politeness

Extract 21
UKF5: I’m not sure but I hope that I have become a global citizen because I’ve studied here
for almost- nearly one year. and I get used to the things in this country. UK to some
extent changed me in some ways and I’m not a person who came here before so
maybe I’m a global citizen

Other aspects of intercultural citizenship such as engagement in social issues were not
extensively reported even though students may have been interested (extract 22). None-
theless, many students did report engaging with intercultural groups both in class (extract
23) and outside it (extract 24). Such groups are a crucial part of the development of inter-
cultural citizenship, even if the involvement with social issues was less explicit.

Engagement with social issues and intercultural social groups

Extract 22
UKM12: yeah it’s about the pollution yes I am interested in that. there is a world- we should
not only care about our own country but the whole world. that’s my belief
I: right okay and are you involved in any kind of groups or actions related to any of
these things
UKM12: unfortunately i’m not

Extract 23
UKF5: I attended a group with some Chinese students and some students from other
countries like Jordan and an English boy from Scotland. I think it’s an interesting
experience for me because it’s the first time I have to speak English with students
and express my opinions in English so I have to organise my sentences before speak-
ing with them and I was afraid that they can’t understand what I’m saying
I: right okay and could they understand you
UKF5: yes they are all friendly
I: okay@
UKF5: and we (did a good job) that time

Extract 24
UKF8: emm maybe I think I can communicate with local people better than before because I
think last time we talked about I didn’t join a club but after that at the beginning of
this semester I joined a golf club in Winchester

However, such positive experiences and attitudes towards intercultural citizenship were
not universal. For some the lack of intercultural experiences curtailed their ability to
develop as an intercultural citizen (extract 25 see also extract 14), other students ques-
tioned the depth of their intercultural connections and identity (extract 26) and for
some intercultural experiences were not part of their motivation for SA (extract 27).
12 W. BAKER AND F. FANG

Limitations to developing intercultural citizenship

Extract 25
UKM12: … I cannot only communicate with some Chinese people- Asian people in these
four years I have to change I know that
I: so why do you think it’s important to do that
UKM12: . @. I think that comes to the reason why I decide to go to the UK to pursue my PHD
degree and I want to enjoy an intercultural environment but actually in the first
year I did not fulfil the goal

Extract 26
UKF8: I think my answer is still no because when I come back to China I think (my) connect
with my friends here in English will be very little because we cannot use Facebook or
Instagram these apps in China so if I want to communicate with them I can just send
them an email I think it’s not a usual way to chat with friends so maybe just no

Extract 27
ChinaASAF3: I live and communicate with mainly Chinese people … I seldom communicate
with foreign people
I: so what is your goal before and after study abroad
ChinaASAF3: not much difference. I just want to study in the UK and receive my degree and
come back to China. that’s it.

Of perhaps more concern is that for some participants who were initially positive about
intercultural citizenship their experiences of SA led to a rejection of the idea. This was
for a range of reasons such as missing the ‘home’ culture (extract 28). Yet, as the
student goes on to explain, this was also linked to more complex rejections of multicultural
environments and intercultural relationships (extract 29). This rejection of engaging in
‘otherness’ was also echoed by another student who appeared to view intercultural citi-
zenship as a threat to their Chinese identity (extract 30).

Rejection of intercultural citizenship

Extract 28
UKF4: … so actually I miss my country very much so I become the less interest about the
other culture about the- to explore the world I think

Extract 29
UKF4: … So I think if the people they are- can receiving and accepting the multicultural they
can live together but just like me or I think for most people they can avoid this
because from the one year experience I still think it’s a little bit uncomfortable to
combine with different cultures
I: okay so now you- am I right in thinking you don’t want to be a global citizen is that
correct
UKF4: yes

Extract 30
FGF1: I don’t think so. I am still a Chinese. From cultural perspective I am still a Chinese. […] I
cannot accept cultural difference or different lifestyle.
 LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND CURRICULUM 13

As with their educational experiences before SA any development of intercultural citizen-

ship largely seemed to take place without any formal education during SA. No students
discussed systematic intercultural citizenship education during SA. The only exception
to this was one student who discussed a module in intercultural communication on his
MA ELT/TESOL programme and the influence this had on him; although, again it was an
optional course (extract 31). Furthermore, no students reported any educational experi-
ences related to intercultural communication post SA.

Educational experiences and development of intercultural citizenship

Extract 31
UKM1: yeah because you know we have the option modules (.) so we will choose the.
modules of. maybe interested in. I think last semester in the intercultural is really
matters with me because sometimes I found. I found. I think the intercultural is
maybe this is what the American did and this is what Chinese did and I found it
totally wrong. it’s really refresh my thought at sometimes @

Discussion
The findings indicate generally positive attitudes towards intercultural citizenship among
this group of Chinese international students and many felt it was an identity that they
would like to develop or had already developed. However, as with previous studies of
Chinese students (Han et al., 2017; Fang & Baker, 2018) understanding of intercultural citi-
zenship was quite mixed, often fairly superficial and students were frequently not familiar
with the actual term itself. Nonetheless, many participants were able to discuss intercul-
tural citizenship and intercultural interactions in relation to experiences of and engage-
ment with people from other cultures. Crucially participants who had positive
experiences of SA discussed developing tolerance of difference, respecting different
opinions and learning to be comfortable in multicultural environments as a result of
their time in an international university. This suggests SA can lead to increased intercul-
tural connections and understanding and the accompanying behavioural and attitudinal
changes which are a core feature of intercultural citizenship (Byram et al., 2017). Indeed, a
number of participants discussed having ‘changed’ as a person as a result of their SA
experiences. In terms of engagement in social issues and diverse communities students
indicated an interest in globally relevant issues, such as human rights and environmental
protection, but little concrete activity in this area. However, students revealed some
engagement in both intercultural groups and the wider community through membership
of various multicultural social groups. Even if the political dimensions to this were not pro-
minent, this is still an important part of social engagement and a step in the development
of intercultural citizenship (Porto et al., 2018).
A theme that emerged strongly from the data was that for many students the develop-
ment of intercultural citizenship was closely tied to the development of English language
proficiency and at times the two were even viewed as synonymous. Participants typically
regarded English as the language of internationalisation and globalisation and a prerequi-
site to effective engagement in intercultural communities. The prominence given to
English is not surprising given that participants were undertaking EMI programmes in
14 W. BAKER AND F. FANG

an Anglophone setting. However, this resulted in negative attitudes towards working with
other Chinese students and towards using their L1. Linked to this was a lack of awareness
of the multilingual nature of international universities and a focus on native English at the
expense of other languages and uses of English such as ELF (Baker & Hüttner, 2019; Jenkins
& Mauranen, 2019; Parmenter, 2011). These monolingual native orientated perceptions
prevailed even when students recognised that their English was successful in academic
spheres. Such perspectives both undermine students’ confidence in their own abilities
as communicators and also the supposedly international and intercultural orientation of
Anglophone international universities (Jenkins, 2014).
Although most participants reported development of intercultural citizenship and posi-
tive attitudes towards the notion, this was not the case for all students (and some students
reported mixed perspectives within the same interview). Firstly, some participants claimed
they had not developed the intercultural identity they desired due to the large number of
other Chinese students which restricted their use of English and thus opportunities to
engage in intercultural interactions (see also Spencer-Oatey et al., 2017). Secondly, other
students questioned the depth of their intercultural connections and doubted they
would last once they returned to China. Thirdly, for some their interest was in academic
study and career development, while intercultural connections and intercultural citizen-
ship were not perceived as relevant. Most concerning was that for a small number of stu-
dents their experiences of SA resulted in a rejection of intercultural connections and
intercultural identities. Again there were a variety of reasons for this ranging from
simply missing their ‘home’ culture, to feeling that their Chinese identity was under
threat, to finding multicultural environments uncomfortable, to a rejection of other per-
spectives. The end result in these cases was negative reactions to otherness and resistance
to engaging in intercultural interactions. Thus, this study provides further evidence that SA
does not ‘automatically’ lead to more understanding and increased desire to interact with
people from ‘other’ cultures (e.g. Jackson, 2012; Kinginger, 2013) and problematises
assumptions about the role of international universities in developing intercultural citizen-
ship and intercultural connections.
This mixed development of intercultural citizenship should not be surprising given the
lack of formal education experiences in this area for the majority of participants. None of
the participants reported any intercultural citizenship education and while there was some
general intercultural education this was typically ad-hoc and/or in the form of optional
courses. Just as it has been long noted that SA does not necessary lead to positive atti-
tudes to other cultures, so it has been well-established that in order to improve intercul-
tural experiences during SA, the intercultural elements need to be dealt with in a
systematic manner in education as with any other educational aim (Porto et al., 2018).
Appropriate education and support in intercultural education should be given in prep-
aration for SA and during SA in the same way as provided in language education
(Jackson, 2015; Porto, 2019). Furthermore, additional support and space needs to be
given to students post-SA so that they can reflect on their experiences (Jackson, 2012,
2015). Additionally, the findings from this study suggest that without support intercultural
citizenship is more likely to develop in a direction that is focused on individual gains and
networks. This follows a more neo-liberal perspective on intercultural citizenship that per-
petuates existing power relationships and elite advantages (Aktas et al., 2017) rather than
 LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND CURRICULUM 15

engagement with wider communities and social issues as envisaged in intercultural citi-
zenship education (Byram et al., 2017).
The lack of educational support for intercultural citizenship education is a missed
opportunity since the little intercultural education the participants in this study had experi-
enced was positively received. Furthermore, there were very positive attitudes to more
extensive incorporation of intercultural education into both the general curriculum and
language education specifically. Alongside the students’ desire for more intercultural edu-
cation, the universities themselves often cite the intercultural dimension as one of the core
aims of internationalisation and the increase in EMI programmes (Baker & Fang, 2019).
Moreover, international universities, such as the one studied here, claim to produce gradu-
ates who are intercultural or global citizens. However, based on the evidence of this
research, this does not appear to have been taken beyond a marketing dimension and
is not incorporated into the students’ educational experiences or the university curriculum
in any kind of systematic manner. Yet, there are increasing calls for a more integrated
approach to intercultural citizenship across the university curriculum (e.g. Killick, 2013).
In particular, there are a nascent but growing number of empirical studies demonstrating
the relevance of integrating intercultural citizenship education with language education in
a range of settings (Byram et al., 2017; Porto, 2019; Porto et al., 2018).

Conclusion
In sum, the findings from this study illustrate that the concept of intercultural citizenship is
a valid one in capturing part of students’ experiences and motivations for undertaking EMI
programmes in an international university abroad. However, the findings also show that
development of intercultural citizenship was not guaranteed and when it did take place
it was quite uneven in these participants. We have suggested that this is due to the
absence of any formal education in intercultural citizenship or other aspects of intercul-
tural interaction. Students are thus left to develop their intercultural knowledge, skills
and identities themselves with the inevitable consequence being mixed levels of develop-
ment, and even regression in some cases. Given that the intercultural dimensions are a
core driver of internationalisation and EMI programmes, and that international universities
frequently promote themselves with claims to develop intercultural and global citizenship
among their graduates, this is an issue that we believe needs urgently addressing if inter-
national universities are to deliver what they promise. We have suggested that both a
specific focus on intercultural citizenship in language education combined with greater
integration of intercultural education throughout the university curriculum provide prom-
ising ways forward for international universities.

Notes
1. The research questions are adapted from a larger study. The original study contained 4
research questions, with the additional question, and overall project, focused on ELT. The
study also made use of quantitative data from questionnaires and made less use of the quali-
tative interview and focus group data reported here, see Baker & Fang (2019).
2. An earlier questionnaire showed more familiarity with the term global citizen than intercul-
tural citizen (Baker & Fang, 2019) and so the terms were used interchangeably throughout
the research to ensure understanding.
16 W. BAKER AND F. FANG

3. Transcription key
. Pause
– Abrupt cut-off or false start
(word) Parentheses indicate unsure transcription
(xxx) Unable to transcribe
@ Laughter
… Untranscribed section of dialogue
All repetition of words and phrases are transcribed
Anonymity: Participants are coded according to the setting of the interview (UK/China),
before study abroad (BSA), after study abroad (ASA), focus group (FG), gender (M/F) and an
identifying number (2).

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Funding
This document is an output from the ELT Research Award scheme funded by the British Council to
promote innovation in English language teaching research. The views expressed are not necessarily
those of the British Council.

ORCID
Will Baker http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0533-2795
Fan (Gabriel) Fang http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4210-9042

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