Social interaction, identity and language learning during residence abroad


Book Description

Study and residence abroad are important for adult second language learning, promoting oral skills, fluency and sociopragmatic competence in particular, alongside broader intercultural competence. However learner achievements during residence abroad are variable and cannot be fully understood without attention to the social settings in which learners engage, and the social networks they develop. This edited collection explores the relationship between sociocultural experience, identity and language learning among student sojourners abroad. Three broad themes are identified: the contribution of different settings (host families, student exchanges, work placements etc) to language learning opportunity; the role of social networks in sojourners' language practices and learning success; and their evolving social identities. The book is relevant for a readership interested in informal second language learning, as well as for managers of residence abroad programmes.




Study Abroad, Second Language Acquisition and Interculturality


Book Description

This book unites a range of emerging topics in the burgeoning transdisciplinary fields of second language acquisition and interculturality in a study abroad context. It explores key issues, trends and approaches within each strand and how the strands relate to one another, painting a big picture of the diversity and complexity underpinning second language acquisition in a study abroad context. The chapters highlight themes such as social networks, input and interaction issues, learner identities and study abroad in lingua franca contexts, while also presenting other themes spanning the breadth of second language acquisition and interculturality research, such as individual differences and linguistic development. This comprehensive and cohesive volume showcases the latest innovative research using quantitative, qualitative and mixed method approaches across a range of source and target language learner cohorts, and highlights emerging themes and directions for future research.




Anglophone Students Abroad


Book Description

Identity, social relationships and language learning during residence abroad presents the findings of a major study of British students of French and Spanish undertaking residence abroad.




Social Networks in Language Learning and Language Teaching


Book Description

Sociocultural research has long recognized the necessity of sustained interpersonal interaction for language development. However, less is known about the underlying relationships that promote language acquisition and their relevance for language classrooms. Presenting cutting-edge research on social networks and their applications in language teaching, this book explores the relationships that mediate language learning in and out of classrooms. Highlighting the complexity of language in multilingual contexts, chapters engage social network analysis to understand the role of instructional practices, socialization, motivation, language status, online communications technology, and language policies in the development of social resources for language learning. Discussing popular language teaching frameworks such as translanguaging, Social Networks in Language Learning and Language Teaching provides a nuanced account of the influences of social context on language learning, exploring classroom applications and pointing the way to a robust research agenda.




Language Learning, Digital Communications and Study Abroad


Book Description

This book argues for a view of study abroad as emergent of, and negotiated through, tensions between localised and globalised imaginaries of language, identity and place. By examining the experiences of a group of Japanese high school students during, and after, a year embedded in families and schools abroad in countries across Europe, Asia and North and South America, it provides the first in-depth exploration of the role of mobile communications technology in study abroad. This includes its facilitation of strategic language learning, host community participation and the construction of multilingual identities. The student accounts covered in this book explore a number of other critical issues in contemporary study abroad, including translanguaging practices, racialised identities, the role of the host family and the status of English as a lingua franca in multilingual environments. The results demonstrate the importance of understanding study abroad and related language learning as intersecting with global flows of people and information.




Second Language Study Abroad


Book Description

This edited volume explores studying second languages abroad by critically and constructively reviewing established programming, providing theoretical and research-informed support for pedagogical and curriculum interventions, and analysing participant experiences. Over 12 chapters the contributors examine key issues including teaching approaches, learning activities, and relationships in the target language and culture. This book is most distinct in its attempt to promote diversity in approaches and experiences while drawing the common thread of learner- and learning-centredness through each chapter. The contributing authors represent a wide range of academies and discuss study abroad programs and participants in diverse cultural and geographic regions. The book’s international scope will acquaint educators and researchers with a broad variety of practices, stimulate comparison across contexts, and promote innovation.




Language, Mobility and Study Abroad in the Contemporary European Context


Book Description

This collection explores student mobility and study abroad programmes across Europe, presenting original research on personal, linguistic, and intercultural development during study abroad experiences. The volume synthesizes work from the 2016-2020 Cost Action 15130 ‘Study Abroad Research in European Perspective’ research network, offering a multidisciplinary account of the intersection of language learning and study abroad in Europe amidst the changing contemporary higher education landscape, as well as new directions for future research. The initial section comprises short survey chapters outlining key themes and literature, connecting traditional study abroad research with new multilingual and transnational realities. This is supported by a main section containing original empirical studies in a wide range of European contexts and a short afterword bringing together policy and pedagogical proposals. Taken together, the collection shines a light on the impact of the internationalisation of higher education on linguistic dimensions of student mobility while including a range of lesser studied settings and languages. New insights are offered on language learning, identity, interculturality, student agency and motivation, and transnational social networks in the study abroad context. This book will be of particular interest to students, researchers and institutions interested in the intersection of language learning and study abroad, including such areas as multilingualism, higher education, and applied linguistics. Chapter 8 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.




Language Learning in Study Abroad


Book Description

Vestiges of monolingual bias are present in the portrayal of study abroad as an idealized monolingual immersion experience and the steps many programs take to encourage or enforce target language monolingualism. In reality, study abroad is often inherently multilingual. This book addresses the need for a recognition of the multilingual realities of study abroad across a variety of traditional and non-traditional national contexts and target languages. The chapters examine multilingual socialization and translanguaging with peers, local hosts and instructors; how the target language is necessarily entwined in global, local and historical contexts; and how students negotiate the use of local and global varieties of English. Together the chapters present a powerful argument for scholars and study abroad practitioners to consider and critically incorporate multilingual realities into their research and planning.




Designing Second Language Study Abroad Research


Book Description

This edited book brings together contributions from scholars in different international and educational contexts to take a critical look at the design and implementation of second language Study Abroad Research (SAR). Examining data sources and types, research paradigms and methods, and analytic approaches, the authors not only provide insight into the field as it currently stands, but also offer recommendations for future research, with the aim of revitalizing inquiry in the field of SAR. This book will be of interest to applied linguists, as well as educators and education scholars with an interest in researching international study.




Study Abroad and interculturality


Book Description

Study abroad (SA) as a domain of inquiry in the field of Applied Linguistics has been approached from a variety of different perspectives. Although originally focused on measuring the impact of residence abroad on students’ language development, in the last decade the so-called ‘social’ turn in Second Language Acquisition has brought to the fore the importance of socio-cultural aspects of the students’ experiences (such as the amount of contact they have with the local community, their social networks, etc.). This focus on the students’ entire lived experiences in the destination country opened the door to an increased interest in analysing their language encounters in terms of intercultural learning. This new domain of investigation in SA research, focused on the students’ opportunities for intercultural development while abroad, is varied in terms of perspectives and discourses, as it catalyses the different interests and viewpoints of the various stakeholders, including educational institutions, international political organisations, teachers or the students themselves. This book gathers some of these voices, with contributions on topics such as the features, dynamics, advantages and shortcomings, preparation needs and pedagogical issues relating to student mobility in terms of the participants’ intercultural learning. This book was originally published as a special issue of Language and Intercultural Communication.