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- Volume 4, Issue 2, 2019
Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education - Volume 4, Issue 2, 2019
Volume 4, Issue 2, 2019
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Quantity of target language contact in study abroad and knowledge of multiword expressions
Author(s): Klara Arvidssonpp.: 145–167 (23)More LessAbstractThis study takes a Usage-Based approach to the learning of French multiword expressions (MWEs) in Study Abroad (SA). MWEs are conventionalized form-meaning mappings, for example du coup (‘and so’) and en fait (‘actually’), and are assumed to be learned through repeated exposure. Based on this assumption, the study adopted a pretest/posttest design to explore how quantity of out-of-class target-language (TL) contact predicted the development of MWE knowledge among 41 Swedish students during a semester in France. MWE knowledge was assessed by a modified cloze test based on transcriptions of informal language use (www.clapi.fr) and TL contact information was obtained through the Language Engagement Questionnaire (McManus, Mitchell, & Tracy-Ventura, 2014). Contrary to expectations, the findings showed that quantity of out-of-class TL contact did not predict gains in MWE knowledge and add further counterevidence for the role of sheer quantity of TL contact for linguistic development in SA.
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Adult second language learners’ social network development and perceived fluency gain in an intensive English program abroad
Author(s): Marie Bejarano, Dan P. Dewey, Wendy Baker-Smemoe, Lynn E. Henrichsen and Timothy Hallpp.: 168–192 (25)More LessAbstractThis study investigated the social networks developed by language learners during 14 weeks of an intensive English as a second language (ESL) program using the Study Abroad Social Interaction Questionnaire (Dewey, Bown, Baker, Martinsen, Gold, & Eggett, 2014; Dewey, Bown, & Eggett, 2012). It also utilized native speaker judgments to evaluate ESL fluency development. Results showed that participants were successful in developing complex social networks, that their oral fluency increased significantly, and that fluency gains were related to L2 social networks. Density (average number of people in a social group) was the most important predictor of fluency gain when only social network variables were considered. In a hierarchical regression, initial proficiency level and percentage of native English speakers in one’s network were the most significant of the established variables in the first step, and overall network size and density were the most important of the added social network variables in the second step.
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Women students from Saudi Arabia in a study abroad programme
Author(s): Hassna M. Alfayez and Julia Hüttnerpp.: 193–223 (31)More LessAbstractMost students taking part in Study Abroad (SA) programmes aim to immerse themselves as fully as possible in the target language (TL) country and so improve their TL proficiency, as well as their own personal development towards independent adulthood. From a research perspective, the quality of social networks involving TL speakers, and hence the social interactions the SA students engage in, are seen as of paramount importance in determining the ultimate success in TL attainment. This paper addresses a cohort of learners who have not received a lot of attention in the SA literature, namely Saudi Arabian female students, whose individual immersion into the TL context is limited by cultural restrictions, importantly the need to be accompanied by a male guardian (mahram). Based on a data set of a cohort of nine students gathered over the period of one year, this study aims to establish the extent to which these students engage in social interactions in the TL setting and how these affect their overall language proficiency development. Data was gathered pre-, during, and post-SA, using a mixture of qualitative and quantitative instruments. These tested language proficiencies and surveyed the social interactions and engagement with the TL of the students, using both questionnaires (Language Engagement Questionnaire, Social Networking Questionnaire) and semi-structured interviews. Findings suggest, firstly, that despite the limitations on social interactions, these students clearly benefit from SA. Findings show a complex set of relationships between language development and interactions, with diverse strategies employed to access social networks and thus engage in interactions. Overall, these results point to SA settings as highly conducive learning environments, even for students who face cultural restrictions in their interactions.
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The digital dilemma
Author(s): Aroline E. Seibert Hanson and Melisa Dracospp.: 224–251 (28)More LessAbstractThe study abroad (SA) experience now involves increased learner access via technology to the home (in the L1) and to the host culture (in the L2). L1 technology use could detract from host culture integration and language learning by allowing SA participants to remain immersed in the L1, while L2 technology use could aid in host culture integration by connecting participants to L2 speakers. Given this, it is urgent to determine the nature of the impact of L1 and L2 technology use abroad on motivation, language gains, and host culture integration. In the present study, we analyzed daily technology logs, learner motivation and L2 gains, and guided reflections on host culture engagement and L2 learning goals by eleven US university students studying abroad in Argentina. Motivation and L2 abilities increased significantly, and were positively correlated. Also, L1 and L2 digital contact showed important qualitative relationships with motivation and host culture integration.
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Dialect and identity
Author(s): Angela George and Anne Hoffman-Gonzálezpp.: 252–279 (28)More LessAbstractHeritage language learners of Spanish are studying abroad in Spanish-speaking countries yet their linguistic evolution in Spanish is not addressed sufficiently in existing published scholarship. The current study consists of four case studies of US heritage speakers of Spanish studying abroad in Spanish-speaking countries different from their ancestors. Previous research on heritage speakers abroad has not addressed linguistic development. The current study attempts to fill this gap by using a variety of tasks to elicit the use of regional features to compare these heritage learners to second language learners and also first language learners who develop second dialects as a result of living abroad. The findings reveal changes in the production of regional features throughout the semester by three of the four learners of Spanish. These changes are attributed to shifts in identity coupled with proficiency level and contact with locals.
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Investigating higher education students’ intercultural readiness for academic mobility
Author(s): Diler Abapp.: 280–304 (25)More LessAbstractThe present study describes the development and initial empirical testing of a new instrument of intercultural competence. By employing this scale, Turkish Erasmus students’ intercultural sensitivity was examined at a pre-departure stage. The study also investigated whether gender, participation in pre-departure orientation activities and university type (private vs. state) had any influence on the students’ intercultural readiness. Student participants (N = 89) from two state and two private universities in Turkey were involved in the investigation. The data were analyzed using a standard set of psychometric procedures including factor and reliability analyses. For the comparative analyses, T-tests and Anova tests were conducted. Results indicated this new scale to be a reasonable approximation of students’ intercultural readiness for academic mobility. Finally, the participants were found to be quite ready for their Erasmus experience from an intercultural communicative perspective.
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