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- Volume 9, Issue 2, 2024
Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education - Volume 9, Issue 2, 2024
Volume 9, Issue 2, 2024
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Oral proficiency gains of study abroad students before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
Author(s): Sybille Heinzmann, Robert Hilbe, Kristina Ehrsam and Lukas Bleichenbacherpp.: 127–156 (30)More LessThis article presents a comparative study of the oral English proficiency gains of two groups of students, namely mobility students before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 26), who were matched for background variables such as pre-departure oral proficiency, duration of stay, accommodation, and destination. Oral proficiency was measured before and after the stay using the Oral Proficiency Interview by Computer (OPIc). Results indicate that students staying abroad before the outbreak of the pandemic made significant progress while students staying abroad during the pandemic did not. Student comments suggest that this may be related to the measures taken to contain the pandemic, limiting opportunities for social networking and interaction. However, this impression could not be supported by statistical analyses of the self-reported number of social contacts or amount of English language use. The results point to the need for consideration of qualitative aspects of social interactions and language use and a more frequent and situated assessment of these.
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L2 interactional competence in a short-term service-learning and study abroad program
Author(s): Dale A. Koike and Cecilia Tocaimaza-Hatchpp.: 157–187 (31)More LessAbstractThis case study explores one Spanish L2 learner’s interactional competence (IC) during a short-term study abroad program that featured service-learning (SL). The goal of the study is to describe the learner’s IC in interactions in the SL context. Data for analysis derive primarily from dialogues between the focal participant and interlocutors from her SL network and are analyzed qualitatively using Young’s (2019) categories of identity, linguistic, and interactional resources. Key findings include: (a) the participant co-constructed identities as an American and a teacher with her interlocutors; (b) use of linguistic resources suggests accommodation to Peninsular Spanish, possibly heightened by increased contact with native speakers in SL; and (c) SL afforded a space where the learner felt confident trying out linguistic and interactional features. Findings describe the participant’s IC and suggest the value of the SL context for meaningful interaction in short-term study abroad programs.
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“It’s like I got a new pair of glasses”
Author(s): Mareike Müllerpp.: 188–216 (29)More LessAbstractThis study focuses on a specific group of sojourners that has thus far remained rather unexplored in the context of study-abroad research, namely, students with extensive prior experiences of living in, traveling to, and/or familial ties with target-language mediated communities. To this end, this study examines data obtained through episodic interviews with three American students, who grew up in close contact with German-speaking communities and studied abroad in Austria for four weeks. By means of thematic analysis, the pre-study abroad sojourn motives and reflections on sense of self, home, and belonging are contrasted with these students’ immediate and delayed post-study abroad accounts. The results shed light on both the challenges young adults grapple with due to their international biographies and the transformative effects students attribute to their short-term sojourns with regard to redefining who they are and what meaning different places of home and heritage have within their individual trajectories.
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Introducing regression discontinuity design to applied linguistics
Author(s): Miyuki Sasaki, Yuki Higuchi, Makiko Nakamuro, Carsten Roever and Tomoko Yashimapp.: 217–244 (28)More LessAbstractThis report presents regression discontinuity design (RDD) as a powerful analytical tool for use in applied linguistics showcased through our study of the impact of Japanese government study-abroad (SA) scholarships. RDD enables the estimation of causal effects in scenarios where a true experiment is not feasible by exploiting a naturally occurring cutoff point for treatment assignment. Because RDD may be novel to most readers in applied linguistics, this report provides a detailed step-by-step explanation of the standard RDD procedures our study exemplifies. The results section is crafted to reflect the conventional presentation style of RDD findings. Furthermore, the report’s concluding segment suggests scenarios within SA-related language learning research that could benefit from RDD application by enhancing the nuanced and precise interpretation of data in applied linguistics contexts.
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The complex L2 self
Author(s): Jordan Carolan and Anne Marie Devlinpp.: 245–281 (37)More LessAbstractSet against a body of research which tends to either overlook ideological differences between Eastern and Western conceptualizations of motivation or which positions Chinese students as ideologically monolithic, this study aims to explore the dynamic interaction between neoliberal and Neo-Confucian paradigms in shaping motivation for English language learning. By incorporating primary concepts from the Neo-Confucian motivational construct and Dörnyei’s (2005) second language (L2) Motivational Self System, this study bridges the gap between Eastern and Western L2 motivational research and investigates how neoliberal/Neo-Confucian ideologies interact to influence Chinese university students’ motivations for learning English. More specifically, it explores how this develops during study abroad in Ireland. It was found that the motivational trajectories of eight participants comprised a complex synthesis of both ideologies during study abroad. Furthermore, their ought-to L2 selves and ideal L2 self imagery underwent dramatic alterations.
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