Fun, money, and mom: Japanese EMI students’ desire to study abroad

Abstract

This study explores trends in desire to study abroad and factors that mediate this desire for Japanese students in an English medium instruction (EMI) context. Prior research has shown L2 skill development as the strongest mediating factor driving desire to study abroad for L2 learners in Japan, and Japanese government statistics have identified a nationwide decrease in motivation to study abroad. However, whether these trends and mediating factors extend to higher proficiency EMI students has yet to receive attention in the literature. To address this, first, longitudinal multiple regression on six years of data found that desire to study abroad was not declining over time within this context in contrast with government statistics. Second, in an iterative mixed methods study, comparative fun (i.e., greater potential fun in comparison to staying home) was found to be the strongest predictor of desire to study abroad alongside experiential fun, parental influence, and financial considerations. L2 variables were found to only play a minor role in EMI students' desire to study abroad. These findings may suggest that when students have achieved their language skill goals through EMI study, affective, and financial considerations mediate their desire to study abroad instead of further L2 development.