School visits during pre-service teacher education: a study of Malaysian Bachelor of Education students in the UK preparing to teach English as a second language

In recent research, the concept of transnational higher education has been broadened to include not just the separation of learners from an awarding body overseas, but also mobility of course content. Such mobility is characteristic of a Bachelor of Education degree in teaching English as a second language that is offered to Malaysian pre-service teachers (PSTs) at the University of Portsmouth and at other UK universities. An example of the programme’s mobile course content is that it includes visits to primary and secondary schools throughout three years in the UK before a fourth year practicum in Malaysia. In this chapter, we focus on the intercultural experiences of Malaysian PSTs in their first year. They visited schools in the Portsmouth area and recorded reflections in electronic portfolio (e-portfolio) reflective journals. Findings based on qualitative interviews, questionnaires and documentary analysis suggest PSTs developed reflective skills, gained experiential knowledge and intercultural understanding and drew upon intrinsic motivation in engaging in e-portfolio writing, though not all experiences were positive.