Transforming Student Imaginaries of Cuba: Disruptive Learning Approaches in Short-Term Study Abroad Programmes

Author(s):  
Aaron M. Lampman ◽  
Kenneth Schweitzer
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 1231-1242
Author(s):  
Celeste Domsch ◽  
Lori Stiritz ◽  
Jay Huff

Purpose This study used a mixed-methods design to assess changes in students' cultural awareness during and following a short-term study abroad. Method Thirty-six undergraduate and graduate students participated in a 2-week study abroad to England during the summers of 2016 and 2017. Quantitative data were collected using standardized self-report measures administered prior to departure and after returning to the United States and were analyzed using paired-samples t tests. Qualitative data were collected in the form of daily journal reflections during the trip and interviews after returning to the United States and analyzed using phenomenological methods. Results No statistically significant changes were evident on any standardized self-report measures once corrections for multiple t tests were applied. In addition, a ceiling effect was found on one measure. On the qualitative measures, themes from student transcripts included increased global awareness and a sense of personal growth. Conclusions Measuring cultural awareness poses many challenges. One is that social desirability bias may influence responses. A second is that current measures of cultural competence may exhibit ceiling or floor effects. Analysis of qualitative data may be more useful in examining effects of participation in a short-term study abroad, which appears to result in decreased ethnocentrism and increased global awareness in communication sciences and disorders students. Future work may wish to consider the long-term effects of participation in a study abroad for emerging professionals in the field.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard B. Apgar

As destination of choice for many short-term study abroad programs, Berlin offers students of German language, culture and history a number of sites richly layered with significance. The complexities of these sites and the competing narratives that surround them are difficult for students to grasp in a condensed period of time. Using approaches from the spatial humanities, this article offers a case study for enhancing student learning through the creation of digital maps and itineraries in a campus-based course for subsequent use during a three-week program in Berlin. In particular, the concept of deep mapping is discussed as a means of augmenting understanding of the city and its history from a narrative across time to a narrative across the physical space of the city. As itineraries, these course-based projects were replicated on site. In moving from the digital environment to the urban landscape, this article concludes by noting meanings uncovered and narratives formed as we moved through the physical space of the city.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle Klassen ◽  
Aline Ferreira ◽  
John W. Schwieter

Abstract In this paper, we examine the effects of learning environment on second language (L2) gender agreement. English speakers learning L2 Spanish participated in a self-paced reading task and a picture selection task prior to and after a short-term study abroad experience. The results from the self-paced reading task showed that their reliance on the masculine article as the default (e.g., McCarthy, Corrine. 2008. Morphological variability in the comprehension of agreement: An argument for representation over computation. Second Language Research 24(4). 459–486) was reduced over time abroad. Findings from the picture selection task showed that the learners did not attend to the gender of articles unless it was their only cue, but that after the study abroad experience they began to use gender as an anticipatory cue for lexical selection. We interpret these results as support for an adapted version of the Shallow Structures Hypothesis (Clahsen, Harald & Claudia Felser. 2006a. Grammatical processing in language learners. Applied Psycholinguistics 27(1). 3–42; Clahsen, Harald & Claudia Felser. 2006b. How native-like is non-native language processing? Trends in Cognitive Sciences 10(12). 564–570) and the notion that in immersion contexts L2 learners shift their parsing strategy to be more communicatively focused (Schwieter, John W. & Gabrielle Klassen. 2016. Linguistic advances and learning strategies in a short-term study abroad experience. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education 1(2). 217–247).


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.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Hennings ◽  
Shin Tanabe

Many Japanese universities have created short-term study abroad programs with the aim of offering a satisfying study abroad experience to international students. Based on a survey of 131 international students, this paper analyzes these students’ objectives and their relation to student satisfaction. As the results show, many students regard their experience of living in Japan as more important than their academic pursuits. Furthermore, for students with prior knowledge of Japanese, improving language skills tends to result in higher satisfaction, while for students who do not speak the local language, achieving cross-cultural skills is a major factor for having a satisfying experience.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
pp. 229
Author(s):  
Tomoka Kaneko

This paper describes how I designed and implemented a portfolio project in a short-term study-abroad program at my university in Japan. Sixteen EFL students participated, and of these, none had experience of producing portfolios before the study. I planned the project based on an analysis of the program and students. Central to the portfolio was a reflective report, designed to help the students reflect on what they learned and to set goals based on reflection throughout the program. The students received instructions on how to complete the portfolio in predeparture sessions, continuously worked on their portfolios during the stay abroad, and completed them after they returned to Japan. The examination of submitted portfolios and interviews with the students show that the process of producing the portfolios helped them become autonomous learners and maximize their study abroad experience and opportunities. 本稿では、著者が勤務する大学の短期海外語学研修プログラムに、どのようにポートフォリオを構想し、組み込んだかについて説明する。16名の大学生がプログラムに参加した。参加者は全員、プログラム以前にポートフォリオを作成した経験がなかった。海外での研修内容と参加学生の分析に基づいて、ポートフォリオの構想を立てた。学生は自分の学びをその都度振り返り、それに基づいて目標を立て、それらを振り返り報告書に記入した。この振り返り報告書は、ポートフォリオの中核を担うものである。学生は事前研修でポートフォリオの作成方法を学び、主に研修先で作成に取り組み、事後研修後に完成させた。提出されたポートフォリオと学生へのインタビューから、ポートフォリオを作成することにより、学生がよりよい自律的学習者となり、短期間の海外語学研修を有意義なものにしたと感じていることが分かった。


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-168
Author(s):  
Sara A. McComb ◽  
Lorenzo Fedele ◽  
Patrick A. Brunese ◽  
Vicki L. Simpson

The purpose of this paper is to describe a short term study abroad program that exposes engineering and nursing undergraduate students from the United States and Italy to an intercultural and interprofessional immersion experience . Faculty fr om Purdue University and Sapienza Università di Roma collaborated to design a technical program that demonstrates the complementary nature of engineering and public health in the service sector, with Rome as an integral component of the program. S pecifically, the intersection of topics including systems, reliability, process flow, maintenance management, and public health are covered through online lectures, in class activities and case study discussions, field experiences, and assessments. Here in, administrat ive issues such as student recruitment, selection, and preparation are elucidated. Additionally, the pedagogical approach used to ensure constructive alignment among the program goals, the intended learning outcomes, and the teaching and learning activitie s is described. Finally, examples of learning outcomes resulting from this alignment are provided.


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