1st Edition

Towards Student Mobility in Asia International Students' Multilingual Identities, Interculturality, and Future Selves

Edited By Anas Hajar, Syed Abdul Manan Copyright 2026
314 Pages 15 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

314 Pages 15 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

The participation of international students in study-abroad programmes in Asia is steadily increasing. This comprehensive volume captures the intricate dynamics of language learning and intercultural engagement in study-abroad contexts. The chapters cover a wide array of important topics, such as identity reconstruction, interculturality, employability, challenges and opportunities of studying... Read more

List of Contributors

Acknowledgements

Foreword by Jane Jackson

1. Reimagining International Student Mobility in Asia: Embracing the ‘Whole Person’ Within the Study-Abroad Context 

2. Towards an Understanding of Multilingual Investment in Inter-Asia Mobility and Beyond: The Experiences of a Thai International Student at a Chinese University 

3. Language Use and Identity Negotiation: International Students’ Experiences in an EMI University in Multilingual Hong Kong 

4. Images Telling Stories: L2 Learning Emotion as Represented in Multimodal Language Learning Histories of International Students in Japan 

5. “If I Don’t Know Korean, I Can Feel Like an Outsider”: Impact of Local Language Proficiency on International Students’ Academic and Sociocultural Experiences 

6. Identity Navigation in a Multilingual Context: Voices of Chinese International Students in Malaysia 

7. “Watery Master’s” (shuishuo) and “Reverse Study-abroad” (fanxiang liuxue)? Reassessing International Student Mobility through Chinese Postgraduates in Singapore 

8. Fostering Interculturality in Indonesia: Bridging Belonging between Local and Exchange Students 

9. Factors Impacting Refugee Identities in Higher Education: Voices of Syrian University Students in Turkey 

10. Unpacking International Students’ Motivations, Opportunities and Challenges in Saudi Arabia: A Mixed-Methods Inquiry 

11. The Self-Formation of International Students in Dubai: Navigating Identity, Curricula and Relational Experiences at International Branch Campuses 

12. Exploring African international students’ expectations, intercultural citizenship development and future vision at an English medium university in Kazakhstan 

13. Attracting International Students as a Strategy to Reform and Enhance Competitiveness: The Case of Private Universities in Vietnam  

Commentary on Internationalization of Higher Education in Asia

Xuesong (Andy) Gao

 

Index

Biography

Anas Hajar is Associate Professor of Multilingual Education at the Graduate School of Education, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan.

Syed Abdul Manan is Associate Professor of Multilingual Education at the Graduate School of Education, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan.