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As English has become an essential international language, some universities in countries where students learn the language mainly in the classroom have started to send teachers overseas as part of English teacher training. Study abroad (SA) is perceived as one effective way to improve teachers’ intercultural communication ability in English because it is believed that studying with culturally diverse others using English as a lingua franca (ELF) could help them to develop English proficiency and intercultural understanding. This study focuses on one group of Japanese pre-service English teachers who undertook SA as teacher training and looks into whether this contributed to the development of views of English for intercultural communication. The study found that their changes in ideas about English were brought about by their intricate understanding of ELF communication. This result addresses the need for teachers to learn sociolinguistic aspects of intercultural communication before undertaking SA.

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Study abroad (SA) is one of the popular ways for universities to develop their students as global citizens because the experience of sojourning is believed to be able to improve the students’ language skills of English as an international lingua franca as well as global awareness. This paper investigates whether SA can contribute towards the development of global citizenship, focusing on a group of Japanese students’ perceptions of English. This study reveals that SA may need some interventions in order to fulfill the expected role.