Overseas homestay stints can provide potentially life-changing experiences for Japanese university students while the experiences of foreign students at Japanese universities can prove to be as equally profound. Yet on both sides of the equation, issues arise to make such experiences outside the home cultures difficult on a number of counts. This presentation explores such issues and attempts to capture in the students' own words what these affirmations and issues can be through videos of the students speaking on their own experiences. Such videos may serve as models for future students who are thinking of studying and living outside their cultures for short stays.

1. In our own words:
Japanese and
foreign university
students and their
lessons on life and
learning outside
their home cultures
Lee Arnold & Mehran Sabet
Seigakuin University
JALT 2015
Learner Development
SIG forum

2. Introduction
• Homestays long popular for Japanese students while Japanese
university study increasing for foreign students
• Such sojourns impact beyond linguistic and into socio-cultural
aspects of student lives
• Yashima (1999) shows enhanced international orientation with
improved academic success with Japanese homestay returnees
• Hadis (2005) finds expansion of global awareness and personal
growth with North American students after study abroad

3. Psychological & socio-
cultural issues
Hofstede’s (1980, 2001)
uncertainty avoidance index
Gross’ (1998) concept of
reappraisal and suppression
Matsumoto’s (2oo6) role of
emotional regulation in goal
orientation

4. Emotional regulation
Reappraisal
• individuals construe emotional-eliciting situations to change
impact on emotional experience
Suppression
• inhibition of emotional expressive behavior
Matsumoto (2006) states most Japanese fall in “suppression” category
Cites John & Gross’ (2004) work on suppression in manifestations of
social distancing and inhibition

5. Other issues
Unrealistic expectations
Homesickness
Pedagogical differences of host
educational system
Difficulties with host families
and/or living arrangements
Possible retrenchment into
ethnocentrism after negative
sojourn experience

6. Foreign students at
Seigakuin
Predominantly Chinese
Almost all from Asia
Chinese tend to be slightly
older
Generally have somewhat
greater L2 proficiency

7. Homestay/exchange as global-glocal theme
• English program to bring global-glocal content to previously more
language-oriented curriculum in line with university initiative
• Project underway for program homepage video interviews with
Japanese homestay and foreign students as classroom material
• Interviews may accentuate glocal experience and keep student
participant motivation by sharing stories in own words
• Murphey’s (1998) concept of near peer role models lends to
personalization of such experience and adds to initiative

8. Global-glocal video project aim
• To promote English, culture, and communication across borders
• To bring greater awareness and understanding of foreign student
presence on Seigakuin campus
• To promote critical thinking
• To present experiences and stories by classmates/near peers
• To break down stereotyping and misperceptions

9. Analysis
Possible selves are views of the self that often have not been verified or
confirmed by social experiences (Markus and Nurius, 1986)
Yui’s interview
• I realized that I need to re-evaluate my way of thinking and adjust to the
new environment better. The change has to start with me.
• I need to find out more about who I am as an individual and a Japanese
citizen.
• We can overcome inhibition and fear of making mistakes by being open
and seeking advice of people around us.
Kyosuke’s interview
• Being shy is not an option for me when it comes to communicating with
strangers.
• Next time, I would make a list of goals to accomplish before going
overseas.

10. Analysis
In similar fashion differing viewpoints may initiate expansion of socio-
cultural awareness within students
Some Japanese student comments to Julia’s interview
• We were surprised to learn that there are different ways of refusing
invitations, and it can be misunderstood by people from other cultures.
• We thought it was natural to be greeted politely when entering a store,
but we learned that it could be more casual in other countries.
• It is great that a foreign student can express her opinion so clearly.
Such reactions may begin developing greater global-glocal sense with
empathy when seen through individualized experiences of near peers

11. Conclusion
• Impact of homestay/study abroad comprise processes involving
whole person over solely linguistic
• Changes within participants can involve deep-seated reflection as
much as incidental or situational adjustment
• Participants’/returnees’ voices may humanize “glocal” in global-
glocal experience as learning material for near peers
• Such voices can aid homestay/study abroad administrators how
future participants may more effectively be briefed prior to
departure/involvement

12. Thank you for listening!

13. Gross, J.J. (1998). Antecedent- and response-focused emotional regulation: divergent consequences for experience,
expression, and physiology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 74(1), 224-237.
Hadis, B. (2005). Gauging the impact of study abroad: how to overcome the limitations of a single-cell design.
Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 30(1), 3-19.
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s consequences: international differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across
nations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
John, O., & Gross, J.J. (2004). Healthy and unhealthy emotional regulation: personality processes, individual
differences, and life span development. Journal of Personality 72(6), 1301-1334.
Markus, H., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41(9), 954-969.
Matsumoto, D. (2006). Are cultural differences in emotion regulation mediated by personality traits? Journal of Cross-
Cultural Psychology 37(4), 421-437.
Murphey, T. (1998). Motivating with near peer role models. In B. Visigatis (Ed.), JALT 1997 International Conference:
On JALT97: Trends & Transitions (pp. 201-205). Tokyo: JALT.
Yashima, T. (1999). Influence of personality, L2 proficiency, and attitudes on Japanese adolescents’ intercultural
adjustment. JALT Journal 21(1), 66-86.
References