Based on the findings of in-depth interviews with Vietnamese tertiary (higher education) students studying in Australia, this article explores how international students construct their identities drawing on their social networks. It provides insights into how international students encounter and traverse cultural differences to define new perspectives of identity that would enable them to perform specific roles and enhance their heritage identity. This article invites international education providers to embrace cultural diversity by recognizing social and cultural influences as determining factors in students’ learning and being, and to effect curriculum and pedagogy that allow opportunities for international students to develop self-knowledge, openness and citizenship.
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