The process by which Japanese high school students decide to participate in an exchange program

Cases when students choose a non-English-speaking country

Abstract

This study aims to describe the process by which high school students make the decision to participate in an exchange program to a non-English-speaking country, focusing on the series of interactions between these students and those they come in contact with. The study found that students <<find value in an exchange program to a non-English-speaking country>> when they realized, with the help of returnees or their family, that the exchange experience would <make them/me different from everyone else>.