International students in Australia, their self-efficacy and self-regulatory strategy use: a transnational perspective

Abstract Summary

Abstract :

Internationalisation of education has reached a remarkable global scope, with five million students crossing the national borders to study in other educational, cultural and linguistic contexts. Although student mobility increases in its diversity globally, the Australian context provides valuable lessons learnt over the last four decades, This ‘global disruption’ impacts on all levels of education and the national economy. Many students arriving in Australia study through English as their Additional Language or Dialect. Considering the scope and the impact of this ‘revolution’, educators must continue to investigate possible measures which will ensure that students studying in another country, and in another language, reach their educational and experiential goals. The dynamic diversity determines an urgent need to address these questions from cross-linguistic, cross-cultural and cross-educational perspectives. Only such evidence-based theoretical basis can drive the design of a pedagogical framework able to cross educational, cultural and linguistic boundaries. The aims of this paper are, therefore, twofold. First, it investigates the nature of international students’ language learning experience within an Australian tertiary context. A standardized questionnaire, designed initially for a study at European universities, is used to examine students’ self-regulatory strategy use, their motivated learning behavior and their self-efficacy beliefs. This part of the paper compares these results with the results of an earlier study in student experience, for a comprehensive understanding of the Australian context. Next, the paper offers a unique comparative insight into experiential and language learning processes in multiple transnational contexts. This is a result of the collaborative project examining Study Abroad contexts at universities in Europe and Australia. The same standardized questionnaire was employed to collect data at different universities in Europe and Australia. The results of the preliminary comparative analysis are used as the first step towards a universal transnational pedagogical framework.