Competences developed by multi-national higher education students during their intercultural experience remain poorly defined. For instance, proponents of intercultural competence disagree as to its specific components, and its critics advocate for either a more inclusive or non-western pedagogy. Yet, growing numbers of mobile students study outside their cultural context. Using in-depth semi-structured interviews, a recent study sought to understand perceptions of masters-level Chinese students on how they develop critical thinking during their one-year programme at a UK university. Aside from findings from the study which highlighted how the participants developed critical thinking during their study, it was evident that they valued effective functioning in cultural and educational environments in both their host and home contexts. Drawing on other related studies, it is proposed that "extracultural" learning can occur when students study in a different cultural context.