1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education
  4. Volume 2, Issue 1
  5. Article
Volume 2, Issue 1
  • ISSN 2405-5522
  • E-ISSN: 2405-5530
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

The number of international students keeps increasing worldwide. This is partly attributed to their expectation of improving their language skills by actually using the target language (TL) in the host countries. However, past studies show that such opportunities are not automatically given to them. Perceiving himself as one English learner, the author conducted an autoethnography to explore the processes of availing of opportunities to use the TL in Hawaii during his sabbatical. By recording observations and informal interviews in a diary of his own TL-mediated socialization, the author found that he could engage himself as an active social agent within a type of social space called affinity space which greatly promoted his situated TL-learning in naturalistic contexts. The author discusses how his own case can be applied to other learners studying abroad and presents some educational implications.

© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/sar.2.1.03fuk
2017-06-29
2023-01-30

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/sar.2.1.03fuk
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Austin, J. , & Hickey, A.
    (2007) Autoethnography and teacher development. Doctoral dissertation, Common Ground Publishing.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Ayano, M.
    (2006) Japanese students in Britain. In M. Byram & A. Feng (Eds.), Living and studying abroad (pp.11–37). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Bailey, K. M.
    (1991) Diary studies of classroom language learning: The doubting game and the believing game. In E. Sadtono (Ed.), Language acquisition and the second / foreign language classroom (pp.60–102). Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Barron, A.
    (2006) Learning to say ‘you’ in German: The acquisition of sociolinguistic competence in a study abroad context. In M. A. DuFon & E. Churchill (Eds.), Language learners in study abroad contexts (pp.59–27). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Barton, D. , & Tusting, K.
    (Eds.) (2005) Beyond communities of practice: Language, power, and social context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511610554
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511610554 [Google Scholar]
  6. Belbase, S. , Luitel, B. C. , & Taylor, P. C.
    (2008) Autoethnography: A method of research and teaching for transformative education. Journal of Education and Research, 1(1), 86–95. doi: 10.3126/jer.v1i0.7955
     https://doi.org/10.3126/jer.v1i0.7955 [Google Scholar]
  7. Beňová, K.
    (2014) Research(er) at home: Auto/ethnography of (my) PhD.European Journal of Higher Education, 4(1), 55–66. doi: 10.1080/21568235.2013.851009
     https://doi.org/10.1080/21568235.2013.851009 [Google Scholar]
  8. Benson, P. , Barkhuizen, G. , Bodycott, P. , & Brown, J.
    (2013) Second language identity in narratives of study abroad. London: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1057/9781137029423
     https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137029423 [Google Scholar]
  9. Block, D.
    (2007) The rise of identity in SLA research, post Firth and Wagner (1997). The Modern Language Journal, 91, 863–876. doi: 10.1111/j.1540‑4781.2007.00674.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2007.00674.x [Google Scholar]
  10. (2013) The structure and agency dilemma in identity and intercultural communication research. Language and Intercultural Communication, 13(2), 126–147. doi: 10.1080/14708477.2013.770863
     https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2013.770863 [Google Scholar]
  11. Bourdieu, P.
    (1986) The forms of capital. In J. E. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory of research for the sociology of education (pp.241–258). New York, NY: Greenword Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. (2005) The social structures of the economy. Cambridge: Polity.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Canagarajah, A. S.
    (2012) Teacher development in a global profession: An autoethnography. TESOL Quarterly, 46(2), 258–279. doi: 10.1002/tesq.18
     https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.18 [Google Scholar]
  14. Carson, J. G. , & Longhini, A.
    (2002) Focusing on learning styles and strategies: A diary study in an immersion setting. Language Learning, 52(2), 401–438. doi: 10.1111/0023‑8333.00188
     https://doi.org/10.1111/0023-8333.00188 [Google Scholar]
  15. Casanave, C. P.
    (2012) Diary of a dabbler: Ecological influences on an EFL teacher’s efforts to study Japanese informally. TESOL Quarterly, 46(4), 642–670.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Choi, J.
    (2012) Multivocal post-diasporic selves: Entangled in Korean dramas. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 11(2), 109–123. doi: 10.1080/15348458.2012.667305
     https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2012.667305 [Google Scholar]
  17. Churchill, E.
    (2006) Variability in the study abroad classroom and learner competence. In M. A. DuFon & E. Churchill (Eds.), Language learners in study abroad contexts (pp.203–227). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. (2007) A dynamic systems account of learning a word: From ecology to form relations. Applied Linguistics, 29(3), 339–358. doi: 10.1093/applin/amm019
     https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amm019 [Google Scholar]
  19. (2009) Gender and language learning at home and abroad. JALT Journal, 31(2), 141–158.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Churchill, E. , & DuFon, M. A.
    (2006) Evolving threads in study abroad research. In M. A. DuFon & E. Churchill (Eds.), Language learners in study abroad contexts (pp.1–27). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Coffey, P.
    (1999) The ethnographic self. London: Sage.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Davis, K.
    (Ed.) (2011) Critical qualitative research in second language studies: Agency and advocacy. Greenwich, CN: Information Age Publishing.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. DeKeyser, R. M.
    (2007) Study abroad as foreign language practice. In R. M. DeKeyser (Ed.), Practice in a second language: Perspectives from applied linguistics and cognitive psychology (pp.208–226). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511667275.012
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511667275.012 [Google Scholar]
  24. Dewaele, J-M.
    (2010) Emotions in multiple languages. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1057/9780230289505
     https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230289505 [Google Scholar]
  25. (2016) Brussels-London: Crossing channels while juggling with social and cultural capital. In A. Komisarof & Z. Hua (Eds.), Crossing boundaries and weaving intercultural work, life, and scholarship in globalizing universities (pp.133–146). London: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Duncan, M.
    (2004) Autoethnography: Critical appreciation of an emerging art. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 3(4), 28–39.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Dyson, M.
    (2007) My story in a profession of stories: Auto Ethnography: An empowering methodology for educators. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 32(1), n1. doi: 10.14221/ajte.2007v32n1.3
     https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2007v32n1.3 [Google Scholar]
  28. Flick, U.
    (2013) Shinban shituteki kenkyuu nyuumon: Ningen no kagaku no tame no houhouron [Qualitative Sozialforschung] ( H. Oda , Trans.). Tokyo: Shunjusha.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Fukada, Y.
    (2015) Trans-bordering cultural capital: A case study of one Japanese international student’s acquisition of TL-mediated socializing opportunities. JACET Journal, 59, 169–186.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. (in progress). Holistic trans-bordering capital: An ethnographic case study of one Korean international student’s TL-mediated socializing in affinity space of the host country.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Gao, X.
    (2010) To be or not to be “part of them:” Micropolitical challenges in mainland Chinese students’ learning of English in a multilingual university. TESOL Quarterly, 44(2), 274–294. doi: 10.5054/tq.2010.219944
     https://doi.org/10.5054/tq.2010.219944 [Google Scholar]
  32. (2013) Motivated by visions: Stories from Chinese contexts. In E. Ushioda (Ed.), International perspectives on motivation (pp.176–191). Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1057/9781137000873.0015
     https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137000873.0015 [Google Scholar]
  33. Gee, J. P.
    (2004) Situated language and learning. New York, NY: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. (2012) Social linguistics and literacies: Ideology in discourses. New York: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Glowacki-Dudka, M. , Treff, M. , & Usman, I.
    (2005) Research for social change: Using autoethnography to foster transformative learning. Adult Learning, 16(3/4), 30–31.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Goldoni, F.
    (2013) Students’ immersion experiences in study abroad. Foreign Language Annals, 46(3), 359–376. doi: 10.1111/flan.12047
     https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12047 [Google Scholar]
  37. Golonka, E.
    (2001) Identification of salient linguistic and metalinguistic variables in the prediction of oral proficiency gain at the advanced-level threshold among adult learners of Russian. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Bryn Mawr College.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Gurvitch, R. , Carson, R. L. , & Beale, A.
    (2008) Being a protégé: An autoethnographic view of three teacher education doctoral programs. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 16(3), 246–262. doi: 10.1080/13611260802231625
     https://doi.org/10.1080/13611260802231625 [Google Scholar]
  39. Holt, N. L.
    (2003) Representation, legitimation, and autoethnography: An autoethnographic writing story. International journal of qualitative methods, 2(1), 18–28.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Iino, M.
    (2006) Norms of interaction in a Japanese homestay setting: Toward a two-way flow of linguistic and cultural resources. In M. A. DuFon & E. Churchill (Eds.), Language learners in study abroad contexts (pp.151–173). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Institute of International Education
    Institute of International Education (2013) Open doors 2013: Report on international education exchange. Retrieved on24 March 2014, from www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors
  42. Isabelli, C. L.
    (2000) Motivation and extended interaction in the study abroad context: Factors in the development of Spanish language accuracy and communication skills. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at Austin.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Isabelli-García, C.
    (2006) Study abroad social networks, motivation and attitudes: Implications for second language acquisition. In M. A. DuFon & E. Churchill (Eds.), Language learners in study abroad contexts (pp.231–258). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Jackson, J.
    (2006) Ethnographic pedagogy and evaluation in short-term study abroad. In M. Byram & A. Feng (Eds.), Living and studying abroad (pp.134–156). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. (2008) Language, identity and study abroad: Sociocultural perspectives. London: Equinox.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. (2010) Intercultural Journeys. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1057/9780230277083
     https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230277083 [Google Scholar]
  47. (2012) Education abroad. In J. Jackson (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of language and intercultural communication (pp.449–463). New York, NY: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  48. (2013) The transformation of “a frog in the well:” A path to a more intercultural, global mindset. In C. Kinginger (Ed.), Social and cultural aspects of language learning in study abroad. Language learners in study abroad contexts (pp.179–204). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi: 10.1075/lllt.37.08jac
     https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.37.08jac [Google Scholar]
  49. Jones, S. H. , Adams, T. , & Ellis, C.
    (2013) Introduction: Coming to know autoethnography as more than a method. In S. H. Jones , T. E. Adams , & C. Ellis (Eds.), Handbook of autoethnography (pp.17–47). Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  50. Kayi-Aydar, H.
    (2015) ‘He’s the star!’: Positioning as a tool of analysis to investigate agency and access to learning opportunities in a classroom environment. In P. Deters , X. Gao , E. R. Miller & G. Vitanova . (Eds.), Theorizing and analyzing agency in second language learning: Interdisciplinary approaches (pp.133–153). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
     [Google Scholar]
  51. Kinginger, C.
    (2009) Language learning and study abroad: A critical reading of research. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1057/9780230240766
     https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230240766 [Google Scholar]
  52. (2011) Enhancing language learning in study abroad. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 31, 58–73. doi: 10.1017/S0267190511000031
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190511000031 [Google Scholar]
  53. (2013) Identity and language learning in study abroad. Foreign Language Annals, 46(3), 339–358. doi: 10.1111/flan.12037
     https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12037 [Google Scholar]
  54. Lam, C. M. H.
    (2006) Reciprocal adjustment by host and sojourning groups: Mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong. In M. Byram & A. Feng (Eds.), Living and studying abroad (pp.91–107). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. Lantolf, J. P. , & Pavlenko, A.
    (2001) (S)econd (L)anguage (A)ctivity theory: Understanding second language learners as people. In M. P. Breen (Ed.), Learner contributions to language learning: New directions in research (pp.141–158). Harlow, UK: Pearson Education.
     [Google Scholar]
  56. Lave, J. , & Wenger, E.
    (1991) Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511815355
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511815355 [Google Scholar]
  57. Meara, P.
    (1994) The year abroad and its effects. Language Learning Journal, 10(1), 32–38. doi: 10.1080/09571739485200351
     https://doi.org/10.1080/09571739485200351 [Google Scholar]
  58. Minegishi-Cook, H.
    (2006) Joint construction of folk beliefs by JFL learners and Japanese host families. In M. A. DuFon & E. Churchill (Eds.), Language learners in study abroad contexts (pp.120–150). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
     [Google Scholar]
  59. Mizuno, N.
    (1998) The impact of study abroad experience on American college students who studied in Japan. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Southern California.
     [Google Scholar]
  60. Mori, S.
    (2014) Tomodachi wa eien janai: Shakaigaku de tsunagari wo kangaeru [A friend is not forever: Thinking of the connection with sociology]. Tokyo: Chikuma Shobou.
     [Google Scholar]
  61. Norton, B.
    (2013) Identity and language learning: Extending the conversation. Bristol: Multilingual Matters
     [Google Scholar]
  62. Pearson-Evans, A.
    (2006) Recording the journey: Diaries of Irish students in Japan. In M. Byram & A. Feng (Eds.), Living and studying abroad (pp.38–63). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
     [Google Scholar]
  63. Pellegrino Aveni, V.
    (2005) Study abroad and second language use: Constructing the self. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511620584
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511620584 [Google Scholar]
  64. Pryde, M.
    (2014) Conversational patterns of homestay hosts and study abroad students. Foreign Language Annals, 47(3), 487–506. doi: 10.1111/flan.12100
     https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12100 [Google Scholar]
  65. Regan, V. , Howard, M. , & Lemée I.
    (2009) The acquisition of sociolinguistic competence in a study abroad context. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
     [Google Scholar]
  66. Rogoff, B.
    (1994) Developing understanding of the idea of communities of learners. Mind, Culture and Activity, 1, 209–229.
     [Google Scholar]
  67. Sasaki, M.
    (2011) Effect of varying lengths of studying abroad experiences on Japanese EFL students’ L2 writing ability and motivation: A longitudinal study. TESOL Quarterly, 45(1), 81–105. doi: 10.5054/tq.2011.240861
     https://doi.org/10.5054/tq.2011.240861 [Google Scholar]
  68. Shiri, S.
    (2015) The homestay in intensive language study abroad: Social networks, language socialization, and developing intercultural competence. Foreign Language Annals, 48(1), 5–25. doi: 10.1111/flan.12127
     https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12127 [Google Scholar]
  69. Tan, D. & Kinginger, C.
    (2013) Exploring the potential of high school homestays as a context for local engagement and negotiation of difference: Americans in China. In C. Kinginger (Ed.), Social and cultural aspects of language learning in study abroad (pp.155–177). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi: 10.1075/lllt.37.07tan
     https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.37.07tan [Google Scholar]
  70. Vande Berg, M. , Connor-Linton, J. , & Paige, M.
    (2009) The Georgetown Consortium Project: Interventions for student learning abroad: Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 18, 1–75.
     [Google Scholar]
  71. Vitanova, G. , Miller, E. R. , Gao, X. , & Deters P.
    (2015) Introduction to theorizing and analyzing agency in second language learning: Interdisciplinary approaches. In P. Deters , X. (Andy) Gao , E. R. Miller & G. Vitanova . (Eds.), Theorizing and analyzing agency in second language learning: Interdisciplinary approaches (pp.1–13). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
     [Google Scholar]
  72. Wenger, E.
    (1998) Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511803932
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511803932 [Google Scholar]
  73. (2010) Conceptual tools for CoPs as social learning systems: Boundaries, identity, trajectories and participation. In C. Blackmore (Ed.), Social learning systems and communities of practice (pp.125–143). Milton Keynes, UK: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978‑1‑84996‑133‑2_8
     https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-133-2_8 [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1075/sar.2.1.03fuk
Loading
A language learner’s target language-mediated socializing in an affinity space in the host country
Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education 2, 53 (2017); https://doi.org/10.1075/sar.2.1.03fuk
/content/journals/10.1075/sar.2.1.03fuk
/content/journals/10.1075/sar.2.1.03fuk
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): affective states; affinity space; agency; cultural capital; Discourse; identity; situated learning; socialization; study abroad; target language learning

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error