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.