EMOTIONAL GEOGRAPHY OF EFL STUDENTS TAKING IISMA (INDONESIAN INTERNATIONAL MOBILITY AWARDS) EXCHANGE PROGRAM

This paper examines an in-depth narrative case study that explores the emotional journeys of two EFL students participating in the Indonesian government's IISMA (Indonesian International Students Mobility Award) student exchange program. Direct interviews with students over one month provided the source of the study's data. The study's findings showed that the participant experienced sustainable adaptation through negotiated emotional changes in their experiences as exchange students in host countries, which were anchored by Hargreaves' (2001) dynamic geography framework that focuses on physical, social, moral, professional, and political aspects. Such a situated practice raises the question of what preliminary preparation IISMA students should undertake before travelling to the host nations and how policymakers should respond to students' emotions as feedback. This empirical data may also illuminate the function of emotion played by EFL students participating in international exchange programs while finishing their studies in Indonesia


INTRODUCTION
One of the leading forces influencing change in higher education is the internationalization of higher education (Patrício et al., 2017;Yonezawa & Shimmi, 2015). Having the experience to study abroad is becoming increasingly important in a global and globalized world connected each other at this time, especially for students learning foreign languages because of the opportunity to study at a foreign campus that provides an invaluable educational and cultural experience (Keogh & Russel-Roberts, 2009;Messer & Wolter, 2007), ways of pursuing global careers or lifelong learning (Chak & Makino, 2010); bring social, cultural, economic and knowledge benefits (Chiteng Kot, 2014); and increase students' motivation (Patrício et al., 2017). The Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) is one of the Merdeka programs Independent Campus Learning (MBKM) under the management of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, which provide opportunities for Indonesian students to study at host universities abroad for one semester. The Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards is one such initiative. It is a government of Indonesia scholarship program designed to pay for Indonesian students to participate in mobility programs at prestigious universities abroad. Indonesian university students can participate (Hartati & Riniati, 2022). Since it was launched for the first time, this program has received extraordinary enthusiasm from students throughout Indonesia (Budiarti et al., 2022;Hartati & Riniati, 2022), and they are all competing to qualify for this program so that they can gain experience studying abroad at the destination campus.

Similar
to other exchange programs, the IISMA program aims to provide study experience at foreign universities.
Develop students according to what they are interested in. An exchange program requires students to leave their comfort zone and quickly respond to challenges (Atalar, 2019). The student exchange program will highlight and discuss international issues, covering business, cultural science, and relationships between countries. Therefore, English as an academic lingua franca helps escort students to transcultural social communities (Baker, 2016). Nowadays, in almost every university, there is an inclusivity for foreigners to access a distinctive learning experience in certain countries. According to Atalar and national and institutional contexts can influence students' sojourn decisions (Daly, 2011). In elaborating this, the need for graduates with global skills, international competence, and exchange opportunities may influence the students' motivation to study abroad.
Student exchange programs are expected to gain more advantages than regular learning programs. Examining the learning manifestation's benefit for students, Messer & Wolter (2007) found that the students taking the exchange program will increase their awareness of cultural diversity. Students are expected to be practical in perceiving the issues. Furthermore, Messer & Wolter (2007) stated that there is a positive correlation between the students taking the program and the entry salaries. The learning method strongly verifies this by encouraging students to explore intercultural issues.
Several studies have been conducted regarding international students' exchange programs. Those studies deal with students' cultural experiences during international programs (Apriliyanti et al., 2021;Baklashova & Kazakov, 2016;Kurosh & Kuhi, 2018;Sudarwati et al., 2022); stereotypes students face during international programs (Bonazzo & Wong, 2007;Heng, 2016;Ruble & Zhang, 2013); the effort in preparing exchange program candidates (Hartati & Riniati, 2022); challenges students face during exchange programs (Bin Basri, 2015;Chirikov & Soria, 2020;Crawford Camiciottoli, 2010;Mahmud et al., 2010;Mbous et al., 2022); students adaptation (Budiarti et al., 2022;Wu et al., 2015); international students' attitude (Yin & Zong, 2022;Zhai et al., 2022); the effects upon returning from international program (Jonkers & Cruz-Castro, 2013); benefits of exchange program (Abdullah et al., 2014;Chiteng Kot, 2014;Green & Mertova, 2014;Markova et al., 2016). Despite the increasing number of discussions about international students and exchange programs, there seems to be little study conducted in the area discussing the students' emotional geography of students while pursuing their studies abroad.  Hargreaves (2001Hargreaves ( , pp. 1065Hargreaves ( -1077 develops emotional geographies in education. According to Hargreaves (2001), the concept of emotional geography refers to "... spatial patterns and experiences of proximity and gaps in human interactions and relationships that help create, configure, and color the feelings and emotions we experience about ourselves, our world, and one another," (p. 1061). In addition, Hargreaves also defines emotional geography as "a concept that aids us in identifying the supports for and dangers to the basic emotional attachments and educational understandings that develop from forms of distance or proximity in people's interactions or relationships." The pupils' motivation is revealed by this idea, making it easier to spot the positive and negative aspects of their social interactions while studying. According to Hargreaves' view, every encounter and relationship between people has five key components. It is explained that various answers are composed of multiple factors, including societal, moral, professional, political, and geographic factors.
The theme of this study is based on Hargreaves' five emotional geography dimensions: physical geography, sociocultural geography, moral geography, professional geography, professional geography, and political geography (Hargreaves, 2001a). Physical geography dimensions affect social interactions limited by factors such as the emotional closeness in relationships between students, supervisors, and other campus communities. The distance that shows this dynamic relationship is strongly influenced by the intensity of the association between students and their teachers. The sociocultural geography dimension creates a discourse of closeness or social inequality due to differences in race, culture, gender, and disability, including how to feel and express emotions that can create distance between students, teachers, and other campus communities. Moral geography deals with the discourse of social closeness or inequality influenced The professional geography dimension deals with professional terms and conditions which affect social relationships/interactions between teachers, students, and other campus communities. Every campus has professional norms that must be obeyed/followed by the campus community, including teachers and students. Last, the Political geography dimension deals with hierarchical power or power that causes closeness or social inequality in the campus community. IISMA is implemented as one of the platforms for international student exchange. Therefore, this current study sets out to investigate the emotions that occur from several factors, such as social, cultural, moral, and political. The objective of this study is wrapped into two research questions to address: 1) What emotions occur among EFL students who adapt and learn while taking the IISMA exchange program?; 2)How do the students/awardees face and overcome the challenges during their stay overseas?.
The findings of this study may illustrate how each variation of the emotional geographies present within the learning process affects the students. The discussion would be a reference for the teachers and students as a preparation for any student exchange and study abroad program. This study also identifies the emotional geographies and how students deal with them.

Research design
Our project's main objective is to carry out a narrative inquiry (Clandinin, 2006;Clandinin & Connelly, 2000), in which we gathered narrative information from an EFL student enrolled in an international IISMA program. According to the idea that "human beings both live and communicate tales about their lives," this design was created (Connely & Clandinin, 2006). Because of this, a narrative inquiry approach is thought to be suitable for the study. We acknowledge that narrative inquiry is subjective but that it captures the nuanced meanings found in the stories that make up an in-depth analysis of the facts (Sudarwati et al., 2022), enabling researchers to construct narrative interpretations because the message is delivered more effectively during interviews when participants are engaged, articulate, perceptive, sincere, and creative.

Student
B used IELTS to demonstrate his proficiency in English without taking any courses, fulfilling the program's criterion. He tested his English language skills during his college readiness training a week before the travel. Their experiences during their class in the IISMA program were described into five dimensions of emotional geographies proposed by Hargreaves's (2001) theory covering physical, sociocultural, moral, professional, and political landscapes. The researchers gave Student A and Student B a consent form to sign, indicating their agreement to have all the data disseminated to solve the issue of study ethics. In ensuring that the participant's rights are preserved and respected, the researchers also make sure that they are aware of the purpose of the study and that ethical approval has been provided. Individuals have signed a consent form indicating their willingness to participate in the study and their knowledge of its purpose. We also discussed our research objectives and the benefits of reading the paper to others.

Data collection
In-depth interviews were used to gather empirical information. An hour was spent recording each of the face-toface interviews using a smartphone. To avoid misconceptions and to deepen the grasp of the topics this study looked into, the interview sessions were performed in the subject's native language, Bahasa Indonesia. We questioned them about their emotional geographies from their time studying at IISMA universities during the interview. Their physical, societal, moral, professional, and political emotional experiences are discussed in the backgrounds. Then, we inquired as to how they handled the circumstances. The material gathered from these extensive virtual interviews was then written in narrative form for further analysis.

Data Analysis
The six steps of theme analysis outlined by Braun and Clarke (2006) were used to analyze the data. All researchers tried to begin with the data by getting acquainted with the participant's voice notes by repeatedly listening to the recordings. This entails carefully hearing the facts again and then emphasizing the participants' essential narratives. Second, to thoroughly comprehend the shared stories, we transcribed the recordings and read the interview transcripts several times. This approach allowed us to perform "an interpretive act" (Bailey, 2008). Lastly, before we started coding, we examined the interview transcripts. Fourth, we noted any instances of what the participants said regarding their experiences during the IISMA program when we read and reread all the transcripts numerous times. The analysis at a higher level of themes, rather than codes, involves grouping the various codes into potential themes and compiling all the pertinent coded data extracts within the identified themes. Fifth, after all, data were initially coded and collated, we documented a lengthy list of the various codes identified across the data set (Braun & Clarke, 2006).

Findings
The emotional geographies of two individuals who joined the IISMA program were disclosed by the current investigation, showing a peculiarity that merits discussion. Having the opportunity to study abroad is everyone's dream, including Student A and Student B. The new environment evokes their curiosity to discover new insights. Sociocultural aspects that are interesting exist in Student A's journey. What Student A got from society needs more attention. In Europe and the US, the media plays a significant role in constructing the perspective toward Muslims and Islamophobia (Ogan et al., 2013). It means that if the press brings up Muslim issues, it is more likely to cause negative attitudes toward Muslims. In Student A's case, discrimination against her is not found. The only stigma she felt by Student A deals with how others regard her. It is revealed from Student A's response: Excerpt 1 … I'm using a hijab, there were two of us who wore a hijab from IISMA. We both at some points felt they became more careful with us. They don't really know how to interact with us, and yes, I was treated differently. They were quite watchful when having a conversation with us. I got the stereotype of hijab users there.
In examining what happened to Student A, stigma may vary in stages, each showing the degree of severity. Stigma can be defined as four major components that reflect how people treat an object. The components include 1) distinguishing and labelling differences; 2) associating with negative attributes; 3) separating us from them; 4) status loss and discrimination (Link & Phelan, 2003). From this theory, the case has reached component 2, linked to stereotypes. The other students and locals might believe that people who wear hijab are "dangerous". This is the reason that might drive the other students and locals to treat Student A with caution.

Moral geographies: 'I often found clashes in that way.'
Moral geographies often deal with personal beliefs and ideology. As it prevails in Student B, facing ideology diversity has never been easy for Student B, especially when it alludes to community belief towards religion. In Australia, Student B found that locals do not believe in God as he anticipated liberalism. In examining this serious topic, it is crucial also to understand the Australian context. A thorough discussion found secularism in Australia is that religion is no longer relevant along with the development of modern science(Ormerod, 2010). According to the Australian census, this leads to a significant number of Christians falling from 71% to 64%. An ideology that separates political activities and religion (including rejection) can be defined as secularism. The secularism found by Student B contrasted with his belief in a higher power. To him, it is not more than a culture shock. This ideology is depicted in his statement:

Excerpt 4
We know that Indonesia is strict about having a religion, while Australia is the other way around. Once in a debate, Australian students stated that they don't believe in God, they are really science-based, and to them having God seems not logical.

From my point of view as an Indonesian student, I often found clashes in that way. Even a friend frankly spoke that religion is a scam.
Student B perceived it wisely as a response to the exposure of ideology diversity. Student B believes that insisting on and challenging an ideology are not clever things to do. Not to mention, his ideology becomes a minority there and can be risky. Student B stood firm with his principal, although his surroundings were not on the same page. See further his response:

Excerpt 5
Personally, I can see both sides, I can understand what they are saying but I still believe in a higher power.

Don't worry, I didn't feel cornered. I don't feel like I can impose my belief there because it's personal business. Plus, I understand the way they didn't have religion class in elementary school.
Similar to Student B, Student A also underwent challenges from ideology diversity found throughout IISMA. Student A had interacted with some intercultural friends that could broaden her horizon towards her view of the world. Several aspects, especially politics and ideology, were introduced to Student A. On some occasions, several politics and ideologies might seem convincing. Sometimes, it is supported with comparison and evidence.
Learning international politics and ideologies might cause moral panic and fear from the threat of values that have been believed so far (Alexander, 2012

Professional geographies: 'Instead of me seeing their offer as an opportunity, I restricted myself to sticking to my norm as an Indonesian student.'
This aspect allows international students to possess a set of fundamental truths, and it is undeniable that clashes often occur. Sometimes a contradiction in a lecturer's perception might evoke students' inner principles. Taking the Student A case as an example, after the lecturer brought up the topics of the VOC (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie) golden era, some students in the class had to challenge and suggest terrible behavior within the colonization era towards East India and the other countries. A scholar from Itinerario entitled The VOC as a Company-State: Debating Seventeenth-Century Dutch Colonial Expansion provides the view of VOC from different points of view. It is classified into the view from the insiders, outsiders, and overseas (Weststeijn, 2014 The norm and personal beliefs underlie Student A's reaction to everything that comes into her study. Although inclusivity is required in the process, as an Indonesian student, Student A believes that she must stick to her norm to protect herself from bad influence. The opportunity of doing such different traditions was often offered to her, but she successfully rejected it. Student A knows that every action has consequences. It is stated by Student A in this quotation of her:

Excerpt 8
They all are open-minded people. The class consists of international students from many countries. I got the story from a Spanish friend, I saw her "playing with boys" each night; Spanish culture things, smoking weed, and so on. Instead of me seeing this as an opportunity, again I restricted myself to sticking to my norm as an Indonesian student.
Professional geographies that infer sojourn issues transpire in Student B. A story from Student B's friend criticizes a specific country day as a remark to the first day colonized. It is surprising for Student B to know Indonesians always expect this particular day. It cannot be so different. Being curious about this, Student B tried to find out the reason. It turns out that youth Australians emphasize how Australia celebrates the first day colonized, not independent. As an international student, making a direct conclusion about this issue is complicated. He then tried to examine both sides and be as neutral as possible. It is told by Student B in this passage:

Excerpt 9
We know that we have Independence Day, on the other hand, Australia has a celebration day called Australia Day that celebrates the first day Australia was colonized by the British. Youth Australian see this as problematic, as I first was wondering because it is their day. Because I was curious, I asked them what their opinion was. Turns out, they protest that day because it is the same thing as genocide and colonialism justification, recalling past nightmares. They wonder why this day is called Remembrance Day instead of Australia Day….
The form of professional geographies in Student B's case is depicted as he limits himself to anticipate bad influence. Although, in this context, Student B claimed himself inclusive to any insights, he did not want to drag and force himself into the community, especially drug users. He remained professional because he must represent Indonesia and maintain his national reputation. See this passage:

Political geographies: 'I thought the class would mock me, but it turns out they showed me appreciation and encouragement instead.'
This political aspect is not easy to experience since this alludes to the hierarchy found in daily conversation. The following order includes power and status that influences interpersonal communication. Furthermore, Alpatov examines the Marxism theory in linguistics and posits that there is tension between social classesbourgeoisie and proletariat (Alpatov, 2000). In other words, it has led to two opposing forces in every interaction: dominant and dominated. Student B felt inferior in his class as an English Foreign Learner (EFL). This feeling of inferiority is most likely a result of his quick comparison to language performance. Student B had a sort of tendency or pressure that came from himself to perform English correctly. Precisely because of his selfpressure might affect his eloquence. Besides, Student B also experienced a different politeness theory realization. Unlike in Australia, in Indonesia, Student B must be cautious about performing appropriate language registers to address teachers. This prohibits some speech acts from being implemented in class interaction. In explaining this experience, a previous study suggested that politeness recognizes cultural variations in people's perceptions (Feng, 2015

Physical geographies: 'I didn't anticipate the weather, so I borrowed my friend's white cloak (miqna)'
One of the student requirements of studying abroad is to quickly adapt to certain geographic conditions, especially in a country with a different climate from their hometown. These challenging aspects can be found in Student A. Student A's hometown, Indonesia, only has two seasons: dry and wet. On the other hand, the Netherlands has four seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter. During winter, the temperature difference was sorely noticed by Student A and could reach minus degrees Celsius. The condition made Student A suffer from seasonal depression. A downpour of rain and a gloomy day let Student A stay at her dormitory house. She did not want to drive herself to any further overthinking, and that reason fostered Student A to do activities outside. Hopefully, it would warm her body. These physical aspects can be regarded in her statement:

Excerpt 13
The Netherlands has 4 seasons and I got there between fall and winter.  (Crawford Camiciottoli, 2010). The learning activities, such as brainstorming and oral presentation, require adequate language translation skills. Speaking for its existence, wordfor-word translation is not consistently necessary to convert clauses from one language to another for a better understanding. In response to this situation, some quantitative scholars demonstrated that most English Foreign Learners in his study are motivated to learn English further (Liberman, 2020;Liu & Huang, 2011). The study answered that anxiety issues lead students to improve their language performance. In addition, a survey from Budiarti (2022) delivered student exchange awardees analysis and revealed the different characteristics of people. Instead, the students responded positively and felt comfortable doing their activities. Adaptation skill becomes crucial for students' opportunity to be involved in learning.

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTION
In sum, this study investigates the overseas students' response and challenge using Hargreaves' emotional geographies theory (Hargreaves, 2001b). After conducting interviews with two research subjects, this study revealed that the five emotional geographies present in each Student somehow affected learning involvement. The following aspects are sociocultural, moral, professional, political, and physical. Both subjects experienced physical characteristics that became dominant from other elements. Studying in four seasonal countries might be something challenging for them. Besides, socioculturally speaking, both issues only faced culture shock that was successfully anticipated. Fortunately, the culture shock between them has not gone too far and obstructed the learning process. Moreover, politics, such as language hierarchy, inferiority, and physical condition, strongly affect students' productivity. These can be considered for teachers and students to organize effective and valuable preparations before departure.
The fact that this study is far from flawless must be acknowledged. This study employs a narrative inquiry methodology that requires narrative data. An oral story was created through IJEE (Indonesian Journal of English Education), 10(1), 2023

255-260
http://journal.uinjkt.ac.id/index.php/ijee | DOI: http://doi.org/10.15408/ijee.v10i1.33270 P-ISSN: 2356-1777, E-ISSN: 2443-0390 | This is an open access article under CC-BY-SA license the use of an interview. Interviewing is advantageous because it uses time effectively, among other things. Yet, due to their short duration, oral interviews can only tell a brief account and not a complete one. Not to mention that the story may not be revealed in chronological sequence due to interruptions and the subjects' performance on that particular day. The authors propose that written narratives, such as diaries and personal notes, are more trustworthy in thoroughly describing the following investigation. More prosperous tales match the depth of the analysis.