Edinburgh Napier University

  This study examines the experiences of international sojourners attending English-language schools in Australia, exploring how these students' imaginaries shape their expectations and perceptions of authenticity. Using qualitative interviews with students, teachers, and managers from eleven language centres in three Australian cities, we investigate sojourners' expectations of "authentic" cultural encounters and their reactions when these imaginaries meet the complex realities of multicultural Australia. Findings indicate that while sojourners pursue "object authenticity"—an idealized version of Australian culture informed by deficit discourses—their interactions often reveal tensions between pre-arrival stereotypes and the reality of the nation’s culture diversity. Teachers play a unique role in this experience, serving as both facilitators of cultural understanding and, paradoxically as participants in a staged performance of authenticity that meets students’ preconceived expectations. The study highlights the complexities of cultural authenticity in intercultural learning contexts, and suggests a need for language schools to adopt critical pedagogical approaches that challenge sojourners’ assumptions.