Understanding the People and the Language Around You: Using Awareness‐Raising Action Research in Undergraduate Education Abroad

Abstract

This collaborative research project developed out of an undergraduate German class in an abroad context, which had the goal of assisting students in maximizing their experience through awareness‐raising activities including action research. Here we focus on the collaborative action research projects conducted by the students. Each of the five projects was guided by the same four research questions: (1) What observations were made in the abroad context? (2) How are these aspects taught in the pre‐departure classes? (3) How were these phenomena observed? (4) What are the implications for participant‐researchers and pre‐departure instruction? Through the action research projects, participant‐researchers gained a better understanding of differences between what they assumed to be true based on what they had learned and what they hypothesized to be true based on their experiences. Through systematic investigation, participant‐researchers were able to evaluate their hypotheses. This article provides suggestions for activities and materials pre‐departure as well as when abroad to better prepare students for important nuances in the target language, many of which were pragmatic in nature.