Summer study abroad in Japan: Maximizing intercultural competency development through self‐guided cultural exploration and reflection tasks

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Makiko Fukuda ◽  
Katsuo Nishikawa Chávez
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Competency Development ◽  
Intercultural Competency ◽  
Summer Study

Learning about Culture and Teaching During a Short-Term Immersion-Based Study Abroad

2017 ◽  
pp. 172-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara A. Bradley ◽  
Andrea M. Emerson
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Culturally Responsive Teaching ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Responsive Teaching ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Field Placements ◽  
Study Abroad Program ◽  
Summer Study

Culturally responsive teaching is grounded in an understanding of students' cultural backgrounds. However, how do preservice teachers learn about culture? While coursework and field placements can help preservice teachers to begin to understand what culture is, a study abroad program in which participants are immersed in a community and schools can help them move beyond surface-level ideas of culture to a deeper understanding of it. This chapter describes a 4-week summer study abroad program in Italy in which each preservice teacher lives with a host family and observes and teaches in an Italian school. It presents findings from preservice teachers' reflections on culture and teaching based on blog entries. Finally, it provides suggestions for future research related to better understanding and preparing preservice teachers to engage in culturally responsive teaching.

scholarly journals Summer Study-Abroad Program as Experiential Learning: Examining Similarities and Differences in International Communication

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-187
Author(s):  
Kenneth J. Levine ◽  
Michelle E. Garland
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Intercultural Sensitivity ◽  
International Communication ◽  
Intercultural Communication Competence ◽  
Communication Competency ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Study Abroad Program ◽  
Summer Study

This paper examines how the study-abroad experience enhances intercultural communication competence. This study used Bennett’s (1986, 1993) model of ethnorelative typology of acceptance, adaptation, and integration to explore intercultural communication competency. Central to intercultural communication competency is intercultural sensitivity and modified perceptions of cultural differences. A pre-test/post-test open-ended questionnaire design was utilized to uncover what was learned by students while participating in a four-week summer study-abroad program in Paris and Brussels. Based on 110 participants over 16 years, results indicated that both sensitivity to and understanding of cultural differences are heightened as a result of the study-abroad experience. Further, these findings provided support for outcomes showing attainment of intercultural communication competency learning objectives.

scholarly journals Designing and Evaluating Students' Transformative Learning

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina B. Namaste
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Cognitive Dissonance ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Integrative Learning ◽  
Intercultural Learning ◽  
Home Culture ◽  
Host Culture ◽  
Intercultural Competency ◽  
Depth Analysis

Transformative learning hinges on navigating cognitive dissonance; thus, intercultural competency assignments and experiences need to be integrated into study abroad/away courses to help students process and make sense of the cognitive dissonance such an experience provides. Assignments, therefore, need to consciously and intentionally triangulate learning by addressing the read (course readings), the lived/observed (conversations, interactions, activities, excursions, observations about public portrayals of culture, etc.), and the compared (home culture vs. host culture). The hope is to improve students’ experiences so that semesters abroad are consistently deep, enriching, and intellectual as opposed to simply an extended tourist sojourn. This article documents the process by which I designed for and assessed, via an in-depth analysis of students’ texts/writings, students’ transformation of their intercultural competency skills and development. In addition, I compared students’ works from two differing semesters to evaluate whether transformation in intercultural competency is inherent in the nature of study abroad or must be explicitly taught and cultivated. My Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) project corroborated the almost ten years of research that confirm our fears: exposure to another culture is not enough; studying and living abroad does not necessarily lead to increased intercultural learning. Meaningful, integrative, “learning-laden,” and transformative study abroad experiences hinge on students’ ability to make sense of cognitive dissonance. Intercultural competency assignments, therefore, need to be fully and intentionally designed and integrated into such experiences, and evaluated to document such growth. L’apprentissage transformationnel repose sur la manière de naviguer la dissonance cognitive. Par conséquent, les devoirs qui traitent de la compétence interculturelle ainsi que les expériences nécessaires doivent être intégrés dans les cours d’études à l’étranger pour aider les étudiants à comprendre et à donner un sens à des dissonances cognitives que de telles expériences leur apportent. Ainsi, les devoirs doivent donc consciemment et intentionnellement trianguler l’apprentissage en tenant compte des lectures (documents à lire pour le cours), du vécu et des observations (conversations, interactions, activités, excursions, observations concernant la représentation publique de la culture, etc.) ainsi que de la comparaison (culture de son propre pays versus culture du pays hôte). L’objectif est d’améliorer les expériences des étudiants afin que les semestres à l’étranger soient toujours soldés par une expérience profonde, enrichissante et intellectuelle plutôt que d’être de simples séjours touristiques prolongés. Dans cet article, je documente le processus par lequel j’ai conçu et évalué, par le biais d’une analyse en profondeur des textes et des écrits des étudiants, la transformation des capacités et du développement des étudiants en matière de compétence intellectuelle. De plus, je compare les travaux des étudiants de deux semestres différents afin d’évaluer si la transformation en matière de compétence interculturelle est inhérente à la nature des études à l’étranger ou bien si elle doit être explicitement enseignée et cultivée. Mon projet d’avancement des connaissances en enseignement et en apprentissage (ACEA) a corroboré les recherches menées au cours de presque dix années qui confirment nos craintes : l’exposition à une autre culture n’est pas suffisante; le fait d’aller vivre et étudier à l’étranger ne mène pas nécessairement à un meilleur apprentissage interculturel. Les expériences d’études à l’étranger significatives, intégratives, chargées d’apprentissage et transformationnelles reposent sur l’aptitude des étudiants à donner un sens à la dissonance cognitive. Par conséquent, les devoirs qui portent sur la compétence interculturelle doivent être entièrement et intentionnellement conçus et intégrés à de telles expériences, et ils doivent être évalués pour documenter cette croissance.

scholarly journals Student Learning Objectives: What Instructors Emphasize in Short-Term Study Abroad

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Niehaus ◽  
Taylor C. Woodman ◽  
Angela Bryan ◽  
Ashley Light ◽  
Erika Hill
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Learning Objectives ◽  
Intercultural Learning ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Intercultural Competency ◽  
Short Term Study ◽  
Relative Extent ◽  
Student Learning Objectives

Given that higher education institutions are increasingly utilizing short term study abroad courses as a means to develop students’ intercultural competency, it is important to determine if and how the instructors leading these programs are incorporating intercultural learning into their courses. By examining learning objectives embedded within syllabi from short term study abroad courses, the purpose of this study was to identify the relative extent to which instructors emphasize disciplinary and intercultural learning in teaching short term study abroad courses, and to examine the types of intercultural learning that instructors are explicitly including in their courses. Findings point to a wide diversity of emphasis on disciplinary cont ent and intercultural learning, with slightly more courses emphasizing disciplinary content than intercultural learning. Of those learning objectives that focus on intercultural learning, the vast majority focused on intercultural knowledge rather than skills or attitudes.

scholarly journals Fostering Global Competence through Short-Term Study Abroad

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-157
Author(s):  
Theresa Schenker
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Summer Programs ◽  
Global Competence ◽  
Summer Program ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Short Term Study ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Study Abroad Program ◽  
Summer Study

The article summarizes the effects of an eight week short term study abroad program four weeks in the U nited S tates and four weeks in Germany on students’ global competence. Students’ global competence was measured with the Global Competence Aptitude Assessment (GCAA) before and after the eight week summer program. Data was collected from three summer programs and a total of 42 students participa ted in the study. The results indicate that students made statistically significant improvements in several dimensions of global competence but also statistically declined in one area. Suggestions for possible curricular and programmatic changes were made that may be put into place to provide more opportunities for the development of global competence in future iterations of this summer study abroad program.

scholarly journals Intercultural Competence in Short-Term Study Abroad

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
International Education ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Intercultural Effectiveness ◽  
Intercultural Competency ◽  
Short Term Study

            Assessment is growing for short-term study abroad as the majority of students (63.1%) continue to choose this option (Institute of International Education, 2016). This study examines possible gains and factors influencing such gains in students’ overall intercultural competency following participation in a short-term program. Using the Intercultural Effectiveness Scale (IES) survey distributed before, after, and three months following the study abroad experience, data was analyzed for fifty-five students across eight different short-term programs at three distinct institutions within the state of Texas. Document analysis of program syllabi also looked at connections to structured activities and assignments. The results demonstrate the potential for short-term study abroad programs ranging from two to five weeks to have significant impacts on students’ self-perceived intercultural competency that appear most affected by intentional structures. These findings support recommended practices of using well-defined activities and assignments, incorporating opportunities for meaningful local interaction, and providing planned re-entry.

DEVELOPING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCY: STUDY ABROAD EXPERIENCE

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhailagul Sagyndykova ◽  
Bella Gazdiyeva ◽  
Aigul Zhakupova
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Intercultural Competency
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