Research has been conducted on the impact of overseas immersions on school English teachers, but little on university teachers who are immersed in English-speaking universities as academic visitors. The former are usually carried out in tailor-made programs, with the clear purpose to enhance teachers’ intercultural competence and English proficiency. In the latter case, academic visitor programs, such as those offered by the Chinese government, are less structured, with a general aim to enhance university teachers’ teaching and research capacity and intercultural competence. However, these programs have no set courses to follow and the impact of the immersion has received little research attention. Via the data collected from in-depth interviews with 14 Chinese university English teachers, this study explored their experiences as academic visitors in the UK through the lens of identity and professional development. Findings revealed that the participants came with various expectations and self-positioning, and returned home with different achievements. The participants’ self-positioning affected their investment in their professional development, however, their context also played a role. It is proposed that such programs be designed to be either more research- or teaching-oriented to suit the needs and positioning of teachers on immersion.

higher education teacher, identity, professional development, academic visitor, immersion