scholarly journals Systematic review measuring the efficacy of study abroad in undergraduate language learners on linguistic proficiency gains

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Moore ◽  
Carole Torgerson ◽  
Nadin Beckmann
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Linguistic Proficiency

scholarly journals Innovations in Integrating Language Assistants: Inter-Collaborative Learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 54-62
Author(s):  
Fumie Kato
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Japanese Language ◽  
Japanese Study ◽  
Language Classes ◽  
One Year ◽  
Study Abroad Program ◽  
Study Abroad Students

A language assistant (LA) program was introduced into a university-level Japanese program. The LAs in this program consisted of Japanese study abroad students, that is English as a second language students, coming to study from Japanese universities for either one semester or one academic year, as well as American learners returning from a one-year academic study abroad program in Japan. In the southeastern region of the United States, the Japanese language is not yet considered a major foreign language, thus few opportunities exist for American learners to connect with native speakers of Japanese. The LA program endeavors to ease this limitation. It has been extremely beneficial for our American learners to have opportunities to communicate regularly with Japanese study abroad students in the classrooms. Furthermore, it was found tremendously valuable for Japanese study abroad students and greatly helpful for the instructors as well. This paper describes the procedures and examines the effectiveness of introducing an LA program into Japanese language classes. To analyze the program, questionnaires were distributed to LAs (N=20); five department instructors wrote comments concerning the program; and five Japanese language learners submitted reflection papers. Analyses of the qualitative data indicate that the LA program has many advantages for everyone participating.

Global-mindedness Through the Eyes of EFL Learners: Gender and Level of Proficiency in Focus

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-54
Author(s):  
Джавад Агмаді Фаталакі ◽  
Рунган Жанґ
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
International Education ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
International Schools ◽  
Doctoral Dissertation ◽  
Cluster Sampling ◽  
Global Mindedness ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact

The major aim of the present study is to find connections between global-mindedness and some important factors such as gender  and level of proficiency. To this end, 182 language learners, 92 females and 90 males, participated in the study. These students were selected and categorized based on one-stage cluster sampling from 16 branches of different language centers, namely Safiran, Shoukoh, and Kish. The main phase of the study was conducted through the use of Google Docs platform that provides the researchers with the well-organized data. Language learners were asked to answer all the demographic information by considering their anonymity during the process of data collection. The result of the study, through t-test, showed that there was a significant difference between male and female language learners regarding their level of global-mindedness. The result also showed that the level of proficiency of the female language learners does not influence their level of global-mindedness. References Byram, M., Zarate, G., & Neuner, G. (1997). Sociocultural competence in languagelearning and teaching: Studies towards a common European framework of reference forlanguage learning and teaching. Strasbourg, France: Council of Europe. Deardorff, D. K. (2011). Assessing intercultural competence. New Directions forInstitutional Research, 149, 65–79. DeMello, M. A. (2011). The impact of study tours in developing global-mindedness amongPK-12 educators in Southeastern Massachusetts (Doctoral dissertation, NortheasternUniversity, Boston) Duckworth, R. L., Levy, L. W., & Levy, J. (2005). Present and future teachers of theworld’s children How internationally-minded are they?. Journal of Research inInternational Education, 4(3), 279–311. Earley, P. C. and Ang, S. (2003). Cultural Intelligence: An Analysis of IndividualInteractions Across Cultures. Palo Alto (CA): Stanford University Press. Fantini, A. E. (2009), Assessing Intercultural Competence: Issues and Tools. In Deardorff,D. K. (ed.), The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence. Thousand Oaks (CA):Sage, 456–476. FitzGerald, H. (2003). How Different Are We? Spoken Discourse in InterculturalCommunication. Clevedon – Buffalo – Toronto – Sydney: Multilingual Matters Ltd. Gaudelli, W. (2003). World class: Teaching and learning in global times. Mahwah, NJ:Erlbaum. Giddens, A. (1991) Modernity and Self-Identity. Cambridge: Polity. Gillian, K. J. (1995). A measure of global-mindedness at the University of NorthernColorado: An assessment of students, faculty, and administrators (Doctoral dissertation,University of Northern Colorado, 1995). Dissertation Abstracts International, 5,08. Hett, E. J. (1993). The development of an instrument to measure global-mindedness(Doctoral dissertation, University of San Diego). Hill, I. (2007). International education as developed by the International BaccalaureateOrganization. The SAGE handbook of research in international education, 25–37. Johnson, J. P., Lenartowicz, T., & Apud, S. (2006). Cross-cultural competence ininternational business: Toward a definition and a model. Journal of International BusinessStudies, 37(4), 525–543. Kehl, K., & Morris, J. (2007). Differences in global mindedness between short-term andsemester-long study abroad participants at selected private universities. Frontiers: TheInterdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 15(1), 67–79. Lakoff, R. (1973). Language and woman's place. Language in society, 2(01), 45–79. Muller, G. C. (2012). Exploring characteristics of international schools that promoteinternational-mindedness (Doctoral dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University). Olsen, M.E., Lodwick, D.G., & Dunlap, R.E. (1992). Viewing the World Ecologically.Boulder: Westview. Sampson, D. L., & Smith, H. P. (1957). A scale to measure world-minded attitudes. TheJournal of Social Psychology, 45(1), 99–106. Sercu, L. e.a. (2005). Foreign Language Teachers and Intercultural Competence. AnInternational investigation. Clevedon–Buffalo–Toronto: Multilingual Matters Ltd. Smallman, S. C., & Brown, K. (2011). Introduction to international & global studies.Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Wardhaugh, R. (1992). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. USA: Blackwell PublishersLtd. Zhai, L., & Scheer, S. (2004). Global perspectives and attitudes toward cultural diversityamong summer agriculture students at the Ohio State University. Journal of AgriculturalEducation, 45(2), 39–51.

What difference does it make?

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianna Hessel ◽  
Robert Vanderplank
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Exchange Students ◽  
Advanced Level ◽  
Studying Abroad ◽  
Linguistic Proficiency ◽  
At Home

Abstract Direct effects of participation in study abroad on linguistic proficiency have been notoriously difficult to differentiate from mere participant, time and study effects. This study examines English proficiency gains among 136 advanced-level German university students who applied for an ERASMUS exchange and either studied at a British university or continued to study at home. Participants completed C-tests of English language proficiency and comprehensive questionnaires at baseline, after three and nine months. After the first three months, those studying abroad had made significantly higher proficiency gains than the ERASMUS applicants who continued to study at home. During the subsequent six months, linguistic progress among the study abroad participants slowed and between-group differences were no longer significant. The results further substantiate hypotheses on significant linguistic benefits of participation in study abroad for advanced L2 learners, while also highlighting the need to facilitate sustained linguistic progress among exchange students, particularly during more extended stays.

The American gaze east

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Trentman ◽  
Wenhao Diao
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Intercultural Learning ◽  
Policy Documents ◽  
Studying Abroad

Abstract The 21st century has seen an emphasis in US media and policy documents on increasing the numbers of US students studying abroad and also the amount of US students studying ‘critical’ languages. This paper examines the intersection of these discourses, or the experiences of critical language learners abroad. We analyze this intersection by using critical discourse analysis to examine US media and policy documents and data from students studying Arabic in Egypt and Mandarin in China. This analysis reveals considerable discrepancies between rhetoric and experience in terms of language and intercultural learning. We argue that a critical examination of current discourses of study abroad (SA) reveals that they in fact recreate the colonial map, mask global inequalities, and create a new global elite. We conclude that language and intercultural learning abroad will remain a source of tension until SA students and programs critically engage with these discourses.

The Sociolinguistic Impact of Service-learning on Heritage Learners Sojourning in Spain

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-98
Author(s):  
Francisco Salgado-Robles ◽  
Angela George
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Local Features ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Experimental Group

Over the past three decades, a considerable number of studies have investigated the connection between study abroad and second language acquisition to the exclusion of another emerging language profile, that of heritage language learners who study abroad to enhance their home language skills. The few studies on heritage language learners’ development of local features abroad have focused on phonological ones, concluding that more in-depth exposure to the varieties abroad was related to increased production of the local features (Escalante, 2018; George & Hoffman-González, in press). Research on the effects of international service learning have also been limited to second language learners, demonstrating increased second language use and proficiency (Martinsen, Baker, Dewey, Bown, & Johnson, 2010) along with the development of geographically-variable patterns of use (Salgado-Robles, 2018). The current study combines these two fields and investigates the development of a variable local feature (vosotros versus ustedes) by 20 U.S. Spanish-speaking heritage language learners of Mexican descent studying abroad for four months in Spain. The experimental group (N = 10) participated in a service learning course in addition to traditional coursework, while the control group (N = 10) completed traditional coursework and no service learning course. The results of the Oral Discourse Completion Task demonstrated that all participants significantly increased their use of vosotros from the beginning to the end of the semester; however, the change by the experimental group was two times higher than the control group. This could be explained by the results of the Language Contact Profile, which revealed more use of Spanish and less use of English by participants in the experimental group. This study offers implications for future study abroad programs, the linguistic impacts of service-learning, and the development of sociolinguistic competence.

Variable future-time reference in French: A comparison of learners in a study-abroad and a foreign-language context

2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aarnes Gudmestad ◽  
Amanda Edmonds
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Future Time ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency Test

AbstractThis study seeks to advance understanding of second-language (L2) acquisition of future-time reference in French, by comparing the developmental trajectories of learners living in and away from the target-language setting. Study-abroad learners in France (n= 45), foreign-language learners living in the US (n= 37), and native speakers of Hexagonal French (n= 30) participated in this study. They completed a written-contextualized task, a language-proficiency test and a background questionnaire. For each written-contextualized-task item, participants selected from among three responses that differed with respect to the form (inflectional future, periphrastic future, present). Items were designed to test for the influence of three factors on the form selected: presence/absence of a lexical temporal indicator, temporal distance, and (un)certainty. Additionally, two extra-linguistic factors were examined: learning context and proficiency level. The analyses of frequency and the multinomial logistic regressions suggest that, despite developmental similarities between learning contexts, acquisitional paths of study-abroad and foreign-language learners were not identical.

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