The Heritage Language Learner in Study Abroad Programs: Challenges to Achieving Intercultural Competence

While all higher education was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, study abroad programs were uniquely challenged by the associated restrictions and limitations. This case study integrates a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) pedagogy approach and virtual reality (VR) technologies into the curriculum redesign process to transform a business study abroad course into an online format. Using VR technology, U.S. students and their international partners in Germany, Brazil, and India created and shared cultural exchange virtual tours. The redesigned online study abroad course engaged students in active learning activities and cultivated students’ intercultural competence development.

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Talking with ‘Others’: Experiences and perspective transformation in a short-term study abroad program

Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad ◽

10.36366/frontiers.v33i2.484 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

pp. 35-60

Author(s):

Emmanuelle S. Chiocca

Keyword(s):

Study Abroad ◽

Transformative Learning ◽

Intercultural Competence ◽

Classroom Culture ◽

Student Experiences ◽

Short Term ◽

Study Abroad Programs ◽

Term Study ◽

Multiple Data ◽

Short Term Study

With the growth of short-term study abroad programs comes the need to develop impactful curricula and to provide supportive environments for deep learning abroad that is more than “upgraded” tourism but rather focused on educational outcomes. This qualitative case study investigates the experiences of five study abroad participants in Israel. Drawing from multiple data sources within an interpretive framework, the purpose of this study is to understand student experiences abroad. Data was analyzed inductively and thematically. Findings suggest that the holistic experience was anchored by (1) directed and diverse conversations, (2) hermeneutical reflections, (3) emotional disequilibrium, (4) intercultural competence development, and (5) student engagement in a classroom culture, which acted together as a gestalt. Results highlight the importance of dialogue, both with locals and within the classroom community, for transformative learning. These findings encourage international educators to provide instructional frames that encourage students to engage with local communities in critical ways.

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2. An emerging field of investigation: Construction of the heritage language learner as a new object of study

Constructing the Heritage Language Learner ◽

10.1515/9781614512837.19 ◽

2013 ◽

Keyword(s):

Heritage Language ◽

Language Learner ◽

Heritage Language Learner ◽

Object Of Study

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1. Introduction: The heritage language learner?

Constructing the Heritage Language Learner ◽

10.1515/9781614512837.1 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 1-18

Keyword(s):

Heritage Language ◽

Language Learner ◽

Heritage Language Learner

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Seeking Explanatory Adequacy: A Dual Approach to Understanding the Term Heritage Language Learner

Heritage Language Journal ◽

10.46538/hlj.2.1.1 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 1-25 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Maria Carreira

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Language Learners ◽

Heritage Language ◽

Second Language Learners ◽

Family Background ◽

Language Learner ◽

Language And Culture ◽

Heritage Language Learner ◽

Explanatory Adequacy

What is a heritage language learner (HLL)? We argue that a pedagogically valuable answer to this question must do more than describe all individuals who ought be considered HLLs; it should also offer a roadmap for meeting the needs of HLLs with regard to language learning. To achieve this goal, which we refer to as achieving “explanatory adequacy”, the answer to the above question must 1) differentiate HLLs from second-language learners (SLLs), 2) differentiate HLLs from first-language learners (L1Ls), and 3) differentiate between different types of HLLs. In reference to the first task, we propose that HLLs are students whose identity and/or linguistic needs differ from those of second language learners by virtue of having a family background in the heritage language (HL) or culture (HC). In reference to the second task, we argue that unlike L1L-s, HLLs do not receive sufficient exposure to their language and culture to fulfill basic identity and linguistic needs. Consequently, they pursue language learning to fulfill these needs. Finally, with regard to the third task, we map out four categories of HLLs, each with different identity and linguistic needs. Along the way, we advocate for endowing all language courses where HLLs are enrolled with a focus on identity and language issues, as these relate to family background.

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Item difficulty and heritage language learner status in pragmatic tests for Korean as a foreign language

Assessing Second Language Pragmatics ◽

10.1057/9781137003522_4 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 98-123 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Soo Jung Youn ◽

James Dean Brown

Keyword(s):

Foreign Language ◽

Heritage Language ◽

Item Difficulty ◽

Language Learner ◽

Heritage Language Learner

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Value Co-Creation in Faculty-Led Study Abroad Programs

Handbook of Research on Study Abroad Programs and Outbound Mobility - Advances in Higher Education and Professional Development ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-0169-5.ch013 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 325-348

Author(s):

Sven Tuzovic

Keyword(s):

Study Abroad ◽

Intercultural Competence ◽

Research Approach ◽

Resource Integration ◽

Global Learning ◽

Study Abroad Programs ◽

Operant Resources ◽

Value Realization ◽

University Experience ◽

The University

Study Abroad (SA) education has become an increasingly important educational program for teaching global learning and intercultural competence, maturity, and sensitivity of students. Since the price tag attached to SA programs can be daunting, the question arises how value can be defined and, more importantly, how value is created. Some scholars have used the principles of service-dominant logic proposed by Vargo and Lusch (2004) to suggest that students should be engaged as an active co-creator of the university experience. Utilizing a qualitative research approach this chapter proposes that the value process of SA programs consists of three stages: (1) value proposition and potential; (2) resource integration and value co-creation; and (3) value realization evaluation. This study identifies key roles of the participants and their operand and operant resources that guide the value co-creation process. The framework provides faculty with a way to understand, adapt, and manage resource integration and influence students' SA value realization processes.

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Describing Undergraduate Students' Intercultural Learning through Study Abroad in Terms of Their ‘Cultural Responsiveness'

International Journal of Bias Identity and Diversities in Education ◽

10.4018/ijbide.2016070103 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 29-38

Author(s):

Susan Oguro ◽

Angela Giovanangeli

Keyword(s):

Study Abroad ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Undergraduate Student ◽

Intercultural Competence ◽

Cultural Responsiveness ◽

International Exchange ◽

Intercultural Learning ◽

Study Abroad Programs ◽

Exchange Programs ◽

Exchange Program

Although student international exchange programs commonly claim to facilitate participants' intercultural competence, questions remain as to how this competence might be adequately and validly assessed. In this article, the notion of Cultural Responsiveness is used to assist in interpreting and categorizing students' experiences and intercultural learning through study abroad programs. Data on the Australian undergraduate student participants' unique backgrounds, experiences and perceptions was collected after they had completed an exchange program in Switzerland or France. Using the Cultural Responsiveness categorization developed through this study, three parameters of students' intercultural experiences emerged: Awareness, Engagement and Bringing Knowledge Home. Using these three parameters, this article proposes that the notion of Cultural Responsiveness provides a useful method for identification of students' responses to the experiences of study abroad programs.

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“I’m a Heritage Speaker of the Damascene Dialect of Arabic”: Negotiating the Identity Label of Arabic Heritage Language Learner

Heritage Language Journal ◽

10.46538/hlj.16.3.2 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (3) ◽

pp. 296-317

Author(s):

Sara Hillman

Keyword(s):

Language Learners ◽

Heritage Language ◽

A Priori ◽

Classroom Interaction ◽

Classroom Community ◽

Arabic Language ◽

Ethnographic Study ◽

Language Learner ◽

Heritage Speaker ◽

Heritage Language Learner

Utilizing an ecological perspective of heritage language learner (HLL) identity (Hornberger & Wang, 2008), this study investigates how an underexamined group within HLL studies—language learners with diverse ties to the Arabic language—perceive the label of HLL and how they position themselves and their classmates relative to this label during interviews and in an advanced Arabic language classroom. I draw on interview, observational, and videotaped classroom interaction data collected as part of a larger ethnographic study of this classroom community and show how a priori educational labels assigned to these students did not always match with their self-concepts and ignored the nuances of their relationship to the umbrella term “Arabic.” These labels also affected students’ classroom roles, self-esteem, and participation in the classroom. I examine the implications of educational classifications and assigned identities that are constructed by stakeholders such as researchers, teachers, or administrators, rather than negotiated by the language learners themselves, and critique Arabic HLL as an identity and educational classification. Finally, I offer some suggestions for how to engage language learners (HLLs if they choose to identify themselves as such) in critical discussions about their relationship with the language of study.

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