Individual differences in U.S. study abroad students in Barcelona

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kassie A. Cigliana ◽  
Raquel Serrano
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Language Skill ◽  
Integrative Motivation ◽  
Study Abroad Students

The present study investigates individual differences in study abroad through a quantitative analysis of U.S. learners of Spanish studying in Barcelona, Spain (n = 54). While many studies have aimed at discussing one or two specific items, the present study combines aspects of attitude, motivation, and language contact with perceived gains in language skill by examining answers from a comprehensive questionnaire designed to accurately gather information on these individual differences. The data reveal that these study abroad students are highly motivated, and correlational analyses establish significant positive relationships between integrative orientations, attitude, language contact and self-reported perceived gains in linguistic skills. The study suggests that a positive attitude towards the target language and integrative motivation can be important factors in influencing how much contact students have with the target language and how much they feel they have improved in a variety of language skills. It also explores the potential effects of learning a language in a bilingual context and calls for further research on this theme.

scholarly journals Linguistic Loneliness and Study Abroad

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-58
Author(s):  
Cynthia Slagter ◽  
Marcie J. Pyper
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Language Test ◽  
Before And After

This article considers the conflict between students’ desire to improve their target language skills and their desire for belonging and community . The stud y, conducted over three years, examines student perceptions of barriers to target language gain during semester long study abroad. Participants completed surveys, took the Versant Language Test before and after their study abroad experience, and partici pated in a post program interview . Results suggest that students experience conflicting priorities in decisions governing native language versus target language use during study abroad. Although some persist in speaking the target language with their co national peers, they find it unsatisfying because they are unable to meet their social needs . Valuing relationships over linguistic improvements, students resort to speaking their native language among themselves during study abroad . The research ers suggest strategies for how to best prepare students to reconcile these tensions.

scholarly journals Competing priorities: Student perceptions of helps and hindrances to language acquisition during study abroad

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcie J. Pyper ◽  
Cynthia Slagter
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Competing Priorities

Multiple studies have investigated the effect of language contact on language proficiency, testing the assumption that the study abroad context means greater contact with the target language (L2).  Other studies have examined the context of L2 interactions, considering host families, contact with community members, and interactions with non-native-speaking peers. While these studies are helpful, larger scales studies are needed to determine how students are interacting with native and non-native speakers during study abroad.  The current study examines student perceptions of helps and hindrances to L2 gain during semester-long study abroad of more than 100 students studying Spanish in Spain, Honduras, and Peru. Participants completed surveys patterned after the Language Contact Profile of Freed, Dewey, Segalowitz, and Halter (2004) and took the Versant Language Test before and after their study abroad experience. They also participated in a post-program interview which was subsequently transcribed, encoded and analyzed.  Results suggest that students experience competing priorities in decisions governing L1 vs L2 use and that student intentionality is key to successful language learning.

Requests by Chinese EFL learners and native speakers of English

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Meng ◽  
Beatrice Szczepek Reed
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Interactional Competence ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Study Abroad Students ◽  
At Home

Language learners' requesting behaviour has been the focus of pragmatic research for some time, including that of Chinese EFL learners, who constitute a large proportion of English speakers globally. The present study replicates elements of Wang (2011), focusing on the use of formulaic expressions and exploring the differences between advanced Chinese EFL learners and native speakers of English with regard to the use of request formulae. The study also investigates whether significant exposure to the target language in country is connected to a more native-like use of request formulae. Wang's Discourse Completion Task was adopted to elicit request utterances from three groups of participants: advanced Chinese EFL learners studying in China (at home students) and in the UK (study abroad students), respectively, and native speakers of British English. The findings show that, although in some respects study abroad students in the UK employed request formulae in a more native-like manner compared to at home students in China, neither group showed close approximation to the request behaviour of the native speaker group. The findings are discussed in the context of current debates, including interlanguage variations, interactional competence, and native speaker norms and intelligibility.

scholarly journals Is the Study Abroad (SA) Program Important for Indonesian Students?

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Dodi Widia Nanda
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Cultural Transformation ◽  
Learning Culture ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Culture Characteristics ◽  
English Competence ◽  
Identity And Difference

This paper aims to investigate how the concept of language, culture, identity and difference work together in the implementation of the SA Program for Indonesian students and how important its application for them. Concerning the interrelatedness between the four concepts in the employment of SA program, it is found that there is a chance for Indonesian learners to create new cultures after having interaction and dialogues through English as the target language. They also construct their new identity as people who have high-skills in English, in which they are marked out differently by other people. Furthermore, regarding the importance of joining in the SA program, it is seen that the program is vital to improve students’ language skills, affect their cultural transformation and increase their level of confidence in using English. However, it should be applied carefully and put some considerations due to some challenges, including the limitation of English competence, the different of learning culture characteristics, the likelihood of crisis identity. Hence, all of the emerged insights above might be beneficial for policymakers of the SA program to revisit the regulation and enhance the quality of their guided SA program. Then, it may be useful as well for the SA program educators to design and employ suitable learning strategies to be suitable with students’ demands. Ultimately, it can be useful insights as well for students to be well-prepared before joining the SA program.

Quantity of target language contact in study abroad and knowledge of multiword expressions

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klara Arvidsson
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Repeated Exposure ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Linguistic Development ◽  
Multiword Expressions ◽  
Contact Information ◽  
Cloze Test

Abstract This 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.

Variables affecting the maintenance of L2 proficiency and fluency four years post-study abroad

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Huensch ◽  
Nicole Tracy-Ventura ◽  
Judith Bridges ◽  
Jhon A. Cuesta Medina
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Target Language ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Oral Skills ◽  
Term Maintenance

Abstract This study explored the attrition / maintenance of second language (L2) proficiency by examining longitudinally the oral skills of a group of L2 French and L2 Spanish participants (n = 33) four years after study abroad, and three years after completing an undergraduate degree in languages. Multiple regressions were conducted to determine the extent to which language contact / use and attained proficiency at the end of study abroad could predict changes in fluency and oral proficiency. Results demonstrated that those variables that improved significantly during study abroad (e.g., speech rate) were maintained four years later. The amount of target language contact / use played a role in maintenance of aspects of fluency such as speech rate and frequency of silent pauses, whereas proficiency attained at the end of study abroad played a role in the use of corrections. Both language contact / use and proficiency attained are important variables in the long-term maintenance of overall proficiency.

Towards an understanding of the impact of intensity and diversity of contact with the TL during study abroad on the construction of identity

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 199-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Marie Devlin
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Differential Identities ◽  
Learning History ◽  
Construction Of Identity ◽  
Extensive Information ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Impact

The objective of this paper is to investigate the correlation between diversity and intensity of interactions with the target language in a Study Abroad context, duration of SA and the construction of identity. In order to determine such a correlation, a two-fold study is conducted. The first stage is the completion of a highly detailed language contact profile (LCP) questionnaire. This provides extensive information regarding language learning history and is a powerful tool in illuminating the intensity and diversity of exposure to a range of loci of learning that learners experience during study abroad. Following completion of the LCP, the informants take part in two role plays which require the construction of differential identities when engaged in a speech event of asking for advice. The construction of identities then undergoes linguistic analysis in order to investigate if and how differences in the construction of compound identities are indexed. In brief, results indicate that highly-intense, symmetrical exposure to a range of loci of learning is probable only after an accumulated duration of more than one year and that only after such a period, the learner acquires agency over identity construction.

A story of attitudes and aptitudes?

Interpreting ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Rosiers ◽  
June Eyckmans ◽  
Daniel Bauwens
Keyword(s):  
Individual Difference ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Individual Difference Variables ◽  
Integrative Motivation ◽  
Anxiety Levels ◽  
Interpreter Training ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Two Parameters ◽  
Consecutive Interpreting

Unlike in the early days of interpreter training, most student interpreters nowadays are still in the process of acquiring their target language(s), which raises questions as to which skills — linguistic as well as non-linguistic — may be required at the outset of interpreter training. This study focuses on individual difference variables and how these relate to interpreting students’ performance. It aims to investigate the ways in which the profiles of translation and interpreting students differ by obtaining information regarding their self-perceived communication competence, self-perception of language skills, anxiety levels and integrative motivation. These profiles are then related to the students’ sight translation performances, arguably a hybrid activity between translating and interpreting that is as cognitively demanding as simultaneous and consecutive interpreting. The students’ performances were assessed by a ‘blind judge’ along two parameters: (1) overall interpreting performance and (2) fluency. The results suggest that the two groups indeed differ significantly with regard to some of the individual difference variables. However, no significant correlations between these variables and students’ sight translation performance were found.

scholarly journals Does Language Matter? The Impact of Language of Instruction on Study Abroad Outcomes

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Mohajeri Norris ◽  
Michael Steinberg
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Language Of Instruction ◽  
Host Country Nationals ◽  
Language Environment ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Academic Interests

Study abroad is a holistic educational experience that affords participants opportunities to develop new academic interests, participate in academic internships, establish friendships with host country nationals, explore a new culture, expand their worldview and sense of self, as well as improve their target language skills. This article presents a study that aims to demonstrate that the full range of study abroad language environment models all provide valuable experiences with lasting longitudinal benefits for study abroad participants. 

scholarly journals An Investigation of Willingness to Communication in ESL Classroom: A Quantitative Study of Elementary Students in Pakistan

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 357
Author(s):  
Jan Muhammad Kalyar ◽  
Habibullah Pathan ◽  
Mansoor Ahmed Channa ◽  
Shoukat Ali Lohar ◽  
Jam Khan Muhammad
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Elementary Students ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Integrative Motivation ◽  
Target Community ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Esl Classroom

This study investigates willingness to Communicate (WTC) in ESL classroom of elementary students of higher Secondary School Qazi Ahmed, Pakistan. This current study used close ended questionnaire, adopted from McCroskey (1992). The participants of the study belong to the higher Secondary School Qazi Ahmed. The current study has 300 participant from different grades like 100 learners from six grade, 100 from seven grades, and 100 participants belong to eight grades. These participants were all between11 year to 15 years of age. The data was analyzed through SPSS version 20 (statistical for social science) in order to find out the ratio and percentage of learners’ willingness to communication. The results revealed that a learner learns target language because he/she has to communicate with target community for different purposes. This study finds out the individual differences of learners’ willingness to communication (WTC) which is a basically free will for communication that promotes to the integrative motivation and some time, it prefers instrumental motivation to be used.

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