Rethinking student international mobility in the climate emergency – some pointers

Gomez-Cash, Olga (2023) Rethinking student international mobility in the climate emergency – some pointers. UNSPECIFIED.

Abstract

The roots of mobile study-related phenomena run deep into our cultural myths and histories. Backed by evidence of the linguistic and cultural advantages it delivers, study abroad has become core both to second language acquisition, and to higher education internationalization policies across the world. These benefits make us reluctant to consider its environmental impacts but there are transformational benefits to interrogating travel as part of language studies and thinking through the ethical dilemmas of study abroad in the age of climate emergency, not least in attending to widening participation to higher education. I have provided an initial checklist for a refashioning of student mobility and its carbon footprint, and an example of my own work in progress.