When ‘domestic’ and ‘international’ students study abroad: reflections on language learning, contact, and culture

Author(s):  
John W. Schwieter ◽  
Jane Jackson ◽  
Aline Ferreira
Author(s):  
Flora Sisti

The language policy of the University of Urbino, a mid-sized Italian university with a large number of Erasmus exchange participation and a good degree of internationalization, includes CLIL-based courses to its students as well as to international students. The policy of providing disciplines taught in Italian and in foreign languages, and the choice of alternating modules of Italian and foreign language teaching within the same course, supports multilingualism without penalizing the Italian language, thereby also promoting foreign language learning within the university. This study reports the results of a questionnaire distributed to students and teaching staff regarding a project, Didattica in lingua straniera – CLIL@uniurb, which includes also data related to students who took advantage of study abroad opportunities over the years.


2021 ◽  
Vol 284 ◽  
pp. 08008
Author(s):  
Alla Sokolova ◽  
Dzhamilya Khuchbarova ◽  
Alexandra Radyuk

In the present research, the authors have studied direct and indirect cross-cultural contact as well as motivated behavior and language attitude in a study-abroad context on the territory of the Russian Federation. For the research purposes, the mixed method combining quantitative and qualitative research methodologies was applied in order to demonstrate contact, behavioral and motivational variables throughout one academic year of the foundation programme. The authors attempted to identify the main factors affecting the language learning motivation of international students studying in Russian international programs, to define the type and frequency of the contact with the maximum impact on students’ perception of the language acquisition. The results of encounter experiences were registered at three discrete points throughout the academic year. The detailed analysis showed that written and media use contacts had become more frequent throughout the year while the direct spoken contacts had exhibited the opposite tendency. The authors attempted to give some recommendations that would encourage contact opportunities and reduce inter-group anxiety among foreign students. The implemented analysis of the research results has demonstrated that self-confidence of international students had suffered immensely as the result of the negative encounter experiences. This type of experiences could be fully eliminated or reduced to a minimum if the hosts were aware of the expectation, attitudes, feelings, and possible forms of the international students’ behavior. The study proved out the necessity of potential students to prepare for the study abroad programs before their arrival to the host country. They are supposed to develop communication skills and strategies as well as their linguistic ability. A necessary precondition for students upon their arrival is the provision of institutional support, which allows them to get used to new cultural and social environment and to bond with native speakers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 6289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang (Frank) Gong ◽  
Mengyao Ma ◽  
Tien Ping Hsiang ◽  
Chuang Wang

This paper reports on an inquiry that examined groups of New Zealand students’ motivational shifts related to learning Chinese before and after relocation to China. In the inquiry, we encouraged 15 participants to write reflective journals and conducted two rounds of interviews before and after their study abroad trip to China. The analysis revealed that most participants had their motivation enhanced by the trip, and expected to sustain their heightened motivation for learning Chinese in the future. The findings suggest that the participants’ motivational shifts happened during their period of study abroad in China, and were prompted by their new pedagogical environment and individual learning experiences. In other words, the motivational enhancement emerged from ongoing interactions between the participants’ L2 self-concepts (e.g., ideal L2 selves) and learning and sociocultural contexts in China. These findings offer fresh insights into the dynamic nature of Chinese language learning motivation and the role of formal and informal settings in the participants’ learning of Chinese. They imply that educational stakeholders need to provide authentic communication opportunities and resources to enhance international students’ motivation for the sustainable learning of Chinese.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-201
Author(s):  
Phillip Haisley ◽  
Catherine Grandorff ◽  
Osasohan Agbonlahor ◽  
Sylvia Mendez ◽  
Mandy Hansen

Globally, collegiate students possess distinct drives, opportunities, and constraints that influence their choices regarding if, when, and where to study abroad. This research explored the study abroad motivations of US students who were studying in other countries as well as international students who were studying in the US. Data was collected using a cross-sectional survey constructed from pre-existing study abroad motivation instruments. Human capital theory and the push-pull model of international education flow were used as the theoretical frameworks grounding this study’s survey. A principal components analysis helped determine the most parsimonious number of latent motivation constructs in the survey. Using independent samples t-tests, significant differences were found in motivations related to language learning, academic enrichment, avoiding social limitations, and aspiration to work in host country; these factors were significantly higher among international students as compared to US students. An ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis found that when holding all other independent variables constant, international student status significantly predicted language learning as a study abroad motivation. This study’s results offer insight on how colleges and universities can craft global experiences suited to students’ desires to study outside their home country. It also brings awareness to the role of country of origin in motivational factors when studying abroad and encourages stakeholders to consider the importance of cultural and national background when engaging students in these opportunities.


Relay Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 66-79
Author(s):  
Mizuki Shibata ◽  
Chihiro Hayashi ◽  
Yuri Imamura

This paper reports on a case study of learner-led study-abroad events in the language learning space at a Japanese University. We present multiple reflections on the events from different perspectives: the event organizer (student), an administrative staff member, and a learning advisor working at the center. We also introduce the support system that a group of administrative staff members and learning advisors are in charge of helping learners to hold their events. Moreover, throughout our reflections, several factors that made the learner-led study-abroad events sustainable and successful are demonstrated.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 5844
Author(s):  
Amy Roberts ◽  
Gregory S. Ching

The dialogue about study abroad is a contemporary trend. Since 2011, enrolments from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have gradually increased and PRC students have now become one of the largest groups of incoming study abroad participants in Taiwan. In this study, investigators explored the characteristics of PRC students in comparison with other international students studying in Taiwan universities. Data were collected from 1870 study abroad students. Data collected include the various study abroad goals, prior study abroad experiences, the Short-term Study Abroad Situational Change Survey, the revised East Asian Acculturation Measures, the Study Abroad Acculturative Hassles, and their overall study abroad satisfaction. Data analyses included computation of the mean, frequency, cross-tabulation of respondents’ responses for identified questions, and various group comparisons. Implications suggest that the characteristics of PRC students are valuable and potentially transformative markers for sustainable cross-strait ties. Study abroad programs in Taiwan are noted as one piece of the emerging discourse for sustainable co-existence between Taiwan and the PRC. As such, PRC study abroad participants along with faculty and students in Taiwan universities have an opportunity to play a role in reshaping future exchanges as well as transforming themselves into stewards of a trans-Pacific community.


Author(s):  
Hanan MOHAMMED ALSHEHAB

The effect of Social Media (SM) technology on human life in the 21St century cannot be denied; the use of SM platforms can be seen in various fields, such as education, medicine, politics, social life, communication methods, and daily life. The research aimed to investigate SM’s impact on Female Saudi International Students’ (FSIS) English language learning and creation of identities. This study utilized a qualitative method to obtain in-depth knowledge of FSIS’ practices on SM and the effects on their learning and identity. The semi-structured interview was used to collect the data from eight FSIS. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Three main themes were generated: FSIS’ daily practices, FSIS’ digital identity, and FSIS’languages on SM. The findings show that FSIS is active on SM, having accounts on different SM platforms. They communicate with people from Saudi Arabia and of different nationalities. Also, the findings assert that FSIS has a strong digital identity on SM. Moreover, the findings emphasized that using SM helps some of the FSIS to improve their English language proficiency. They use SM as a learning tool for English language acquisition. The limitations and the implications of the study are stated in the Conclusion. For further research, suggestions are made to investigate more phenomena regarding Saudis’ using of SM.


Probus ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Kanwit ◽  
Kimberly L. Geeslin ◽  
Stephen Fafulas

AbstractThe present study connects research on the L2 acquisition of variable structures to the ever-growing body of research on the role of study abroad in the language learning process. The data come from a group of 46 English-speaking learners of Spanish who participated in immersion programs in two distinct locations, Valencia, Spain and San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Simultaneously, we tested a group of native speakers from each region to create an appropriate target model for each learner group. Learners completed a written contextualized questionnaire at the beginning and end of their seven-week stay abroad. Our instrument examines three variable grammatical structures: (1) the copulas


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