The ERASMUS exchange experience : the benefits and challenges of mobility

Abstract

One of the experiences open to students at University is an ERASMUS exchange. This experience requires that students travel abroad and spend a number of months living on their own. This poses many challenges to Maltese students who often are still living at home with their parents. This dissertation aims to probe how Maltese University students cope with the ERASMUS experience in terms of: becoming independent through living on one’s own; coping with new modes of learning and assessment; as well as new cultures and languages. The main methodology was qualitative involving 15 interviews with students who had been on an ERASMUS exchange and who were asked to reflect on the different aspects of their experience through semi-structured interviews. These respondents were chosen while keeping the following variables in mind: a balance across gender; coming from different University courses; and attended diverse host universities. Overall the students’ experience on mobility was a positive one, highlighting the host universities’ teaching methods and grading system. Culture and language were factors which students had no problem in adjusting to. The biggest struggle experienced by these students was adjusting to living on one’s own.