Motivation and Perceptions towards International Exchange Program: Strategies of ESP Students

Abstract

English is an international language. It has an essential role in disseminating information, particularly in the global context. Learning English as a foreign language has grown popular for studying including ESP learners. The aim of this research is to explore the motivations and perceptions of ESP students involved in international exchange programs, aiming to explain how such initiatives serve as a strategic approach to advance participants' linguistic skills and intercultural awareness. This research uses narrative inquiry by Clandinin (2006) involving an ESP learner as a participant. The results reveal that the motivation, perception, and strategy of the international exchange program affect participants in participating, and those programs have future benefits for participants. The motivation included high in the spirit of learning, curiosity, clear goals, ambitious surroundings, and the need to adapt to the program. The perception is divided into two, before carrying out the program and after carrying out the program. Then, there are several strategies for learning English including participants who did not make English the focal point of the endeavor, using English in the daily lives of as many English as possible, and being as familiar with the language as when naturally speaking the first language.