Overseas Learning Research Articles

The Impact of Overseas Learning Experience on EFL Teachers’ Performance in Oral English Course

This study explores the impact of overseas learning experience on oral English teaching in China, focusing on the cognitive learning theory's application. Despite varying oral English teaching abilities among teachers, the research investigates whether overseas experiences enhance teaching effectiveness. The cognitive-code approach, emphasizing meaningful practice over rote memorization, is central to this study. This approach encourages learners to actively use language for self-expression and meaning making rather than merely focusing on grammar and vocabulary. The research, conducted in application-type universities in Henan province, involves 20 oral English teachers and includes a self-administered questionnaire for students. This questionnaire collects demographic data, evaluates teaching performance, and gauges reactions to teaching approaches. Observations of teaching practices also contribute to the data. The study aims to compare teaching performances of teachers with and without overseas experience and to assess the effectiveness of the cognitive approach in these settings. Results suggest that teachers with overseas experience generally perform better, effectively implementing the cognitive approach. Data analysis, performed using SPSS, includes frequency, mean, and crosstab analyses to evaluate teaching performance and the relationship between students' English levels and their evaluations of their teachers. The study concludes that overseas learning experience positively impacts the ability to teach oral English using cognitive methods, promoting better self-expression and practical language use among learners.

HOW READY ‘INDONESIAN ENGLISH’ IS TO LAUNCH: AN EMIC PERSPECTIVE

This is a qualitative study investigating the strength of the proposition of Indonesian English (Indolish) as a potentially emerging English variety from the outer/expanding circle from an emic perspective. This proposed variety does not yet exist even as a de facto English variety spoken in Indonesia or elsewhere. Nonetheless, the growing spread of English used by Indonesians has frequently prompted the idea of promoting the establishment of Indolish as a new English variety in the World Englishes areas for Indonesians. To clarify this early signal, an exploratory study was conducted to investigate the perspective of Indonesian postgraduate students who pursued their higher degrees in some Australian universities and whose overseas learning and language contact experience should bring them into a direct contact with a wide range of English varieties and thereby allowing them to better reflect on the significance of creating a special type of English for Indonesians. Seven participants responded to the three open-questioned survey questionnaire sent to two mailing list groups of Indonesian Postgraduate students. Two participants prefer to have Indolish while five others disagree with the idea. Majority of the participants show a strong nationalistic identity indicating a stagnant foundation process in Schneider’s Dynamic Model in Indonesian context. Nevertheless, the participants demonstrate a strong dependence on English NS norms which confirm Kachru’s proposition and indicate their rejection of Norton’s notion of ownership of English language. In conclusion, these participants view that Indonesian English does not seem ready to launch yet.

Is there any difference in organizational commitment between general hospitals and specialized hospitals? Empirical evidence from public hospitals in Beijing, China

ObjectiveThe purpose of the study on the one hand is to see different hospital organization commitment have difference, including the overall score and various dimensions, on the other hand, due to the different hospital type, its function orientation is different, the factors of the doctor organization commitment may also exist differences, so the study of another purpose is to determine for different types of hospital doctor organization commitment the focus and key groups, provide reference for the doctor incentive strategy.MethodsA total of 292 doctors in four large public hospitals in Beijing were investigated. Physicians’ perceived organizational commitment was investigated using self-made electronic questionnaires. Data were analyzed by factor analysis, descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and multiple linear regression.ResultsIn the large public hospital doctor perception of the hospital commitment status, Specialized hospitals had higher overall commitment behavior scores, it is 3.47 ± 0.86; General hospital commitment behavior scored low at 3.39 ± 0.91. In the regression results, department category, working years, administrative position, and entry mode are the influencing factors of the organizational commitment of doctors in general hospitals, while in specialized hospitals, in addition to whether to hold an administrative position, entry mode, and working hours, the influencing factors also include gender, professional title and overseas learning background.ConclusionThere are differences in the perceived organizational commitment by doctors in different types of public hospitals, and different factors influencing their organizational commitment.Hospital type directly influences physicians’ organizational commitment and plays a moderating role in influencing other factors. A possible solution is general hospital specialization, encouraging general hospitals to develop the dominant discipline. These findings can help healthcare service hospital executives or government policymakers understand the impact of hospital specialization strategies and develop more efficient medical staff incentive systems.

Global human mobility and knowledge transfer: Highly skilled return migrants as agents of transnational learning

AbstractGlobal human mobility constitutes a key mechanism for knowledge transfer. This study examines the micro‐dynamics of knowledge transfer in the developed‐developing country migratory context. It highlights the agentic role of return migrants in transforming overseas learning into relevant knowledge in their home contexts. Drawing on situated and relational theories of knowledge and learning, the study views knowledge transfer as a relevance discovery process. It looks at a group of highly skilled migrants who had returned from developed countries to Ethiopia. Despite their high skill, the focus of knowledge transfer was mostly in non‐technical fields that include a broad range of organizational knowledge and work practices. These were made relevant to the local context through the returnees’ ‘work of reconciliation’, involving ‘engagement’, ‘alignment’ and ‘imagination’. The study challenges the standard assumption of a one‐way linear flow of knowledge from developed to developing countries. It sheds new light on the migration‐development link by highlighting the ‘aspirational’ aspect of migrant transnational learning.

Reimagining Higher Education in the Post-COVID-19 Era: Chinese Students' Desires for Overseas Learning and Implications for University Governance.

Neither world leaders nor leading medical professionals would have anticipated the adverse impacts of the global health crisis resulting from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic on multifaceted aspects of contemporary society. Set against the broader political economy context, this Special Issue focuses on examining the impacts of the present global health crisis on higher education development. Addressing the major objective of the Special Issue, this article chooses the theme of reimagining higher education in the post-COVID-19 era, critically examining Chinese students’ desires and motivations for overseas learning. Based upon a few waves of surveys conducted since 2020, after the outbreak of the pandemic, this article assesses the impacts of the unprecedented global health crisis on Chinese students’ future overseas study plans. Having experienced various forms of disruption during the COVID-19 period, this article also critically reimagines higher education development in the post-COVID-19 era.

Open-mindedness trait affects the development of intercultural communication competence in short-term overseas study programs: a mixed-method exploration

BackgroundOverseas study trips can enhance healthcare students’ intercultural communication competence. An opportunity to immerse in the new culture enables them to develop their ability to offer services to people from different countries. However, the role that open-mindedness (i.e., a personality trait) can play in this process has not been explored.MethodsThe present study adopted a mixed-method design to identify how open-mindedness trait affected this overseas learning process. Thirty-two undergraduate healthcare students in Australia took part in the study. Questionnaires, which measured socio-demographic information, intercultural communication competence and open-mindedness trait were administered to the participants before and after their overseas trip. Half of the participants (n = 16) were interviewed after the overseas trip.ResultsThe correlational analysis showed that the open-mindedness trait was correlated with cultural skills, a component of intercultural communication competence, but not significant with the other three components. Three themes emerging from the qualitative data indicated that the open-mindedness trait affected students’ cultural exposure. This trait enabled participants to be actively involved in the immersion in the local culture. They were willing to learn from peer fellows, and keen to embrace novel challenges.ConclusionIt is concluded that open-mindedness trait is vital for increasing cultural immersion, and hence promote intercultural communication skills.

Journey to the West: The overseas learning experiences of Chinese teacher educators in Canada

This paper contributes to an understanding of overseas professional development of teacher educators through an analysis of the learning experiences of a group of Chinese teacher educators (CTEs) in Canada. Drawing on qualitative data, research findings reveal specific areas of knowledge are deemed by the CTEs as essential for enhancing their own practice and noteworthy characteristics of their approaches to learning overseas. The CTEs’ sense-making processes also provide insights into the complexity of overseas learning and the necessity of “unlearning” long-held beliefs and practices, which enables the development of new ideas, knowledge, and skills.

The Overseas Experience of Audit Committee and Audit Fees: Empirical Evidence from China

The complexity of audit committee experience, including the overseas experience, has an important impact on corporate governance. In this paper, we study the impact of the overseas experiences of the members of audit committee on audit fees. Our empirical analysis and results show that the audit committee overseas experience can significantly increase audit fees. Further, the positive influence of the audit committee overseas experience on audit fees is more pronounced in state-owned enterprises and regions with weak marketization. In addition, we divide the overseas experience into overseas learning experience and overseas working experience. We find that both types of experience present in the audit committee significantly increase the audit fees. Finally, we find that the audit committee overseas experience can significantly improve the quality of accounting information and play a positive role in corporate governance.

The Effect of Thai Majors’ Overseas Study on Intercultural Competence: A Case Study of Thai Majors of Yunnan Agricultural University

This study adopted both intercultural competence assessment and interview to analyze the effect of the “overseas study” learning mode on cultivating and improving students’ intercultural competence. The factors that influenced the development of college students’ intercultural competence were summarized. The study revealed that there were differences in the dimensions of native and Thai cultural knowledge, intercultural skills and awareness. It also demonstrated that gender, language capability and culture knowledge were responsible for the discrepancy. The study recommended that it is inevitable to strengthen culture comparison in overseas learning and strengthen female’s intercultural competence.

기술집약적 국제화 기업에서의 해외학습, 혁신성과의 기업성과에 대한 영향 연구

본 연구는 기업들을 대상으로 국제화를 추진하는데 필요한 해외 학습과 혁신성과 그리고 기업성과 사이의 관련성을 조사하기 위하여 수행되었다. 이를 위해 중요변수들을 중심으로 관련 문헌들을 고찰하여 정리하며 주요한 연구변수들을 선정하였다. 결과들을 종합해 볼 때 다음과 같은 논의들이 가능할 것으로 보여 진다. 첫째, 국제화를 추진하는 기술집약적인 기업들의 해외학습 활동은 기업들의 혁신의 결과에 중요한 영향을 미친다는 것이다. 즉 학습 활동의 결과로 신제품을 개발하거나 기업 내부의 혁신을 가져오는 결과들이 나타나며 이들은 다시 궁극적인 기업성과로 연결된다는 것을 알 수 있다. 둘째, 국제화를 추진하는 기술집약적 기업들의 해외학습 활동이 기업성과에 미치는 영향력은 선택적인 것을 나타났다. 셋째, 기술집약적인 기업들이 추구하는 혁신성과는 국제화를 추진하는 기업들의 성과에 유의한 영향을 미친다는 것을 알 수 있다. 넷째, 해외학습 활동이 기업성과에 직접적으로 미치는 영향이 두드러지지 않은 것에 비해 혁신성과를 통하여 기업성과에 영향을 미치는 매개적인 작용은 잘 드러나고 있다. 이것은 해외학습 활동이 해당기업들의 혁신성과를 통해서 기업성과에 반영된다는 매개적인 기능을 잘 설명하는 것이다. 다섯째, 국제화 추진에 관련된 해외학습 활동의 영향력에 관해 볼 때 초기 웁살라의 단계모형의 내용을 벗어나, 국제화 추진기업에 있어 체험학습 외에 다른 학습활동의 중요성이 부각됨을 알 수 있다. 특히 본 연구의 매개효과에 대한 가설 검증의 결과에서 보듯이 대리학습과 탐색학습의 매개효과가 두드러지게 나타나고 있다는 점을 주목할 필요가 있다.

Student learning venture overseas in the transnational research partnership – a Taiwan and US PIRE case study

PurposeTransnational learning has become a mainstream issue in recent years due to the rise of global education. There are many kinds of overseas learning, including degree-seeking, joint/double degree, student exchange, internship, service learning and so on. The scope of learning may involve research, teaching/learning and community service. The purpose of the case study is to investigate how the Taiwanese students participating in an international internship project of the US–Taiwan Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) acquire professional knowledge and soft skills, including cross-cultural awareness, interdisciplinary communication, skill development and social networking. It also explores how a joint research project contributes into a collaborative educational program.Design/methodology/approachTo better understand participants' experiences in the PRIE, this study held three focus groups and seven in-depth interviews on the students, faculty members and project managers for data collection.FindingsThree major findings are shown in the study. First, participants agreed that the overall learning experiences in knowledge acquisition or skill development have been positive. Second, participants obviously expressed their greater interests in intercultural interaction with the locals, which did not happen quite often during the internship. Third, the extent of interest in applying for the PIRE deg ree program after the internship program is escalating year by year.Research limitations/implicationsMore investigation into participants’ social and cultural engagement in similar project will be needed for future research.Practical implicationsThe results will be implicated into other cross-border education project evaluation.Originality/valueThis study manages to investigate the cross-border research initiative from different participants' perspectives and received comprehensive feedbacks.

Bridging the Unbridged: A Case Study of a U.S. University’s Study Abroad Program in Beijing

Purpose: Studying abroad is an important way for universities to cultivate talent with international vision and global competitiveness. Based on its analysis of a U.S. university’s study in China program, this study provides policy recommendations to promote the overseas study and exchange of U.S. students in China. Design/Approach/Methods: This study examines the Beijing Overseas Learning Program of L University to examine the actual operations of a study abroad program in China. More specifically, this study examines the cooperative institution where the U.S. study program is located in China to analyze the operation mechanism and underlying logical framework of the program. Findings: This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the logical factors as well as internal and external reasons behind U.S. students’ decisions to study in China. This study demonstrates that the “peer factor” has a decisive influence on students’ decisions to study in China. Originality/Value: Study abroad programs constitute an integral part of China’s initiatives to enhance people-to-people exchanges with other countries. This study improves our understanding of the practical dynamics of study abroad programs in China, thereby enhancing abilities to attract U.S. students to study in China.

Four Korean teacher learners’ academic experiences in an Australian TESOL programme and disclosure of their multiple identities

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore four Korean teacher learners’ academic experiences in an Australian Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) master’s programme. By investigating the ways they encounter the overseas teacher education programme and how to interact with different meanings, this study reveals Korean teacher learners’ multiple selves and several meaning systems embedded in them. The understandings from the case provide some implications for curriculum internationalisation in higher education as well as TESOL. Design/methodology/approach Interviews, a focus group discussion and metaphors were used as data, and from these narratives, the participants’ experience was categorised into the programme’s aspects of the methods, contents and applicability, materials and usefulness, assessment criteria and feedback and communication and support. Each interview was undertaken in a library for around one and a half hours. At the end of the interviews, participants were required to produce a metaphor of desirable teacher/lecturer roles. For triangulation, a focus group discussion was conducted for approximately two hours, in which three participants could represent social worlds, evaluate them and establish themselves as members of particular groups. All the questions were semi-structured and about teaching and learning experiences in Korea and Australia and ideas of lecturers’ roles, practices and desirable pedagogy. Findings From the analysis of the participants’ experiences in these, it was revealed that their identity was tangled with that of the (English) teacher, consumer, (international) student and non-native speaker. The meaning systems of these identities were based on the mixture of the Korean traditional and Western or modern educational values: positive attitude towards communicative language teaching and its contexutalisation, pursuit of practical knowledge and pragmatic ideas, favour for discussions and getting confirmation from authorities and being positioned in the weak and using different communication rules, etc. Research limitations/implications From the insights from this case, the lecturers and programme coordinators in intercultural TESOL courses will gain some ideas for a curriculum responsive to international needs. While it cannot be denied that the small scale of the study has limitations for generalisation, this research will be one of the required literatures which examines East Asians or Koreans in Western academic institutions, given that this qualitative study complements the findings of the quantitative studies by specifically disclosing the ways Korean teacher learners’ identity and the meaning systems of desirable pedagogies. Practical implications For the curriculum internationalisation in TESOL and several higher education (HE) courses, the lecturers’ and the institutions’ awareness of cultural differences and reducing stereotyping, language support and being explicit about new rules in the new game and communication for support and respectful and professional encounters are essential, alongside the learners’ voluntary endeavour for academic adaptation in their overseas learning. Social implications The effort to understand each other in education is a good start for intercultural communication, that is, curriculum internationalisation in TESOL as well as higher education. Originality/value Different from other studies in similar areas, this study discloses the multiple selves/identities and meaning systems of the teacher learners in TESOL, by maximising the benefits of a qualitative study. The understandings from this approach help the researcher draw out practical implications for curriculum internationalisation in TESOL and HE.

Factors Influencing Altruism in the Context of Overseas Learning Experiences Among Gifted Adolescent Girls in Singapore

This study aimed to identify factors that influence acts of altruism among gifted female adolescents in Singapore within the context of their overseas learning experiences. Ten teacher-nominated gifted adolescents from ages 15 to 17 who had exceeded the mandated hours (12 hours per year) of voluntary community service in their school were the respondents for this study. Semistructured interviews were conducted and data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. The study showed that personality factors and value system (empathy, high sense of justice, optimism), social skills, and social factors (family, school culture, and service-learning experiences) contributed to acts of altruism among gifted female adolescents. Research results can be used as a guide to structure educational experiences that help foster a caring and socially responsive classroom for gifted pupils, enabling them to use their talents for the betterment of society.

The homecoming: an investigation into the effect that studying overseas had on Chinese postgraduates' life and work on their return to China

For over a decade, 50,000 Chinese students have come to study each year in the UK, and the majority of them have since returned and settled back in China. An understanding of their return journey and how relevant their overseas learning is to their home life and work environment is a key to the re‐visioning of the internationalisation of higher education in the UK. Using in‐depth qualitative and narrative interviews carried out in China with eight Chinese postgraduates, this research explores these individuals' overall experience of homecoming, including what motivated them to return, their readjustments to life in China, and their perceptions of the impact of learning from studying overseas on their current life and work in China. This article looks particularly at the change in the graduates' sense of identity. The idea of intercultural identity is developed to explain the phenomenon of these returnees' emerging sense of self, one that is expansive and embraces sources of influence beyond the conventional cultural roots of the individual.

In Memoriam: David J. Macey

In Memoriam: David J. Macey

Experiential Education and Study Abroad

Experiential Education and Study Abroad