A Self-Narrative Study Of An Efl Pre-Service Teacher's Cross-Cultural Adaptation During Indonesian-Australian Student Mobility Program
Abstract
In the last few decades, the substance of cross-cultural adaptation has
attracted researchers' interest in various fields. Despite the growing number
of research studies on cross-cultural adaptation of international students and
immigrants from Asia, America, and Europe, there are still inadequate
studies that discuss cross-cultural adaptation in the Southeast Asian context.
Therefore, to fill the void, this study aims to explore the cross-cultural
adaptation of an EFL pre-service teacher during the Indonesian-Australian
student mobility program (PPL Australia) batch 2019. The study found that
the adaptation process in the new host milieu is not smooth; at the beginning,
a sojourner felt mental and physical turmoil. However, by the existence of
host communication competence, adaptive personality, and interaction
between hosts and me, and the host acceptance of newcomers supported the
twists and turns of my adaptation process as a stranger in a new socio-cultural
environment; then, it positively impacted my psychological health.
Consequently, I felt comfortable lived in a new atmosphere, and directly it
had a good effect on the performance of my duties as an Indonesian teacher
assistant. From the experience of my duties, I felt an enhancement in my
classroom management strategies. That skill is undoubtedly beneficial for me
as a pre-service teacher and future teacher candidate in language study (i.e.,
English). These findings have implications that can be considered for preservice
teachers
or
students
who
will
live
beyond
their
country
to
participate
in
international
programs
and
for
the
organizer
institution
as
a
reference
in
developing
the
future
program.