Abstract
Tradicionalment, una estada a l’estranger es percep com a una oportunitat de millorar el coneixement en una llengua estrangera en submergir-se en la cultura d’aquell pais. Tanmateix, no tots els estudiants se submergeixen en la cultura d’acollida de la mateixa manera. Aquest estudi, dut a terme en una universitat catalana, compara el posicionament de professors de llengua i estudiants internacionals respecte a com fer que l’estada a l’estranger sigui verdaderament intercultural i la importancia d’aprenendre les llengues locals. L’analisi ens aporta dos resultats principals. D’una banda, els professors de llengua legitimen l’experiencia d’immersio total en la cultura local, ja que consideren que aixi s’assoleix un nivell de competencia mes elevat en la llengua estrangera. La seva visio, logica des de la perspectiva de professors de llengua, contrasta amb la dels estudiants, els quals tendeixen a interactuar principalment amb altres estudiants internacionals a causa de la manca d’oportunitats que tenen d’entrar en xarxes socials locals.
Highlights
Study abroad in CataloniaStudy abroad (SA) has traditionally been conceived as an efficient context to learn a foreign language, which the L2 classroom cannot emulate in terms of the quantity and quality of the input
The analysis leads to two main findings
This paper examines how language instructors and international students at a university in Catalonia (UC) project contrasting views of the “truly” intercultural experience during SA and the importance that each group ascribes to learning the local language(s), Catalan and Spanish by means of participating in socialisation networks abroad
Summary
Study abroad (SA) has traditionally been conceived as an efficient context to learn a foreign language, which the L2 classroom cannot emulate in terms of the quantity and quality of the input. Catalan universities are located in a bilingual context where a minority language, Catalan, and a majority language, Spanish, coexist This sociolinguistic situation can persuade as well as dissuade many international students who are in the process of selecting a university for their stay abroad. This paper is structured into four parts It presents previous research on language learning during SA focusing on individual and contextual variables that affect students’ linguistic and cultural development. It presents stance as the methodology employed for the analysis of the data and frames this work within the context of a wider research project. It presents the analysis of the data to draw some conclusions
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