Study Abroad Programs Research Articles

From linguistic insecurity to confidence: Language emotion and ideology in South Korean study-abroad students’ post-journey reflections

This study explores how emotions mediate students’ post-journey evaluations of their study abroad experiences and why specific emotions are valued in the evaluative process. Based on 175 post-journey reports and four focus-group interviews produced by South Korean students attending a short-term study-abroad program at U.S. universities, this study analyzes the emotional shift from linguistic insecurity to confidence. Their reflections show that their linguistic insecurity stemmed from their ideology of self-deprecation and the unfamiliar types of English encountered in the host country. However, they state that English-only environments and enhanced awareness of English as a lingua franca helped them overcome linguistic insecurity. In this process, they valued improved confidence in English, while defying the possibility of improving their actual English proficiency. Drawing on the ideology of English in South Korea, this study suggests that such a distinctive evaluation of emotions rationalizes students’ investment in English language learning.

Freighted Friendships to Phony Flowers: Feminist Memory Work and Self-Study in a Study Abroad Program

Background: This paper analyzes a remembered shared experience of cocurricular designing and coteaching an experiential learning pilot project in a university study abroad program (SAP) that emphasized social justice. Purpose: We look back because the pilot program is a significant demonstration of what complexities can arise when feminist educators bring their own politics and pedagogies to experiential learning and study abroad education contexts; we understand this as valuable because “experience” broadly is complex. Memory is crucial to feminist educators because it indicates the development of care, ethics, pedagogy, politics, and priorities, and so, we ask: what pedagogical insights can be gained through revisiting our enmeshed personal/professional memories of cocurricular designing and coteaching an experiential learning series for study abroad students? Methodology: We use self-study and memory work to analyze memory objects (curriculum materials) and narratives (of teaching) to explore this pedagogical work and highlight generative tensions that emerged while employing a critical feminist approach to work not initially conceptualized with this framing. Findings: We uncovered three key tensions: personal, community, and racial that troubled emergent issues related to difference, discourse, and positionality. Implications: This project offers pedagogical insights into how oppression and inequality may enter experiential learning and study abroad spaces.

Study Abroad in the time of COVID: (Re)Shaping Language Learning Affordances

This paper is a longitudinal qualitative study exploring the experiences of ten students who embarked on Study Abroad (SA) programmes at a time when restrictions were placed on movement; and access to spaces and people were curtailed. Pre-COVID, SA had often been positioned as the optimal means of ensuring linguistic gains. However, social and spatial restrictions impacted the where, who, why and how of language learning affordances (LLAs). This study aims to analyse the extent to which COVID-19 measures impacted on access to the target language (TL) within the educational environment and how this affected students’ ability to co-construct LLAs.The participants are university students from a range of home and host countries: Ireland, Germany, France, Spain, China, Romania, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. Data were generated via narrative interviews. Each participant was interviewed twice, at the mid-way point of the sojourn and at the end. Data were analysed using the affordance framework proposed by Kyttä (2002) and adapted by Devlin & Tyne (2021).Findings show that access to TL environments fluctuated and was dependent on the ever-changing restrictions in the host country. Being essentially a field of prohibited action, the environment was not conducive in producing potential LLAs and reshaped the type and number of affordances during SA.

Integrating Transnational Teaming and International Accounting into a Short-Term Study Abroad Program

ABSTRACT This paper describes a short-term, accounting-related study abroad program (STASA). Unlike traditional study abroad programs whose primary objective is to expose students to international environs and cultures, the described STASA also helps address the demands of accounting students’ future employers and accreditors by helping develop students’ transnational teaming skills and meaningfully integrating international accounting curricula. We do this by having U.S.-based students work both remotely and colocated with students from another country to complete an international accounting-related project. A detailed description of the STASA is provided that includes design considerations, learning objectives, implementation guidance, and possible grading options. Also included are answers to frequently asked questions about course execution, partnering with an international university, and funding.

Different Trajectories of Heritage Language Identity Development through Short-Term Study Abroad Programs: The Case of Chinese Heritage Learners

Learners of heritage languages (HLs) comprise a heterogeneous population. Because of their diverse backgrounds, the ways in which their HL identity develops in a study abroad (SA) context may vary. This paper presents a case study of Chinese heritage language learners (CHLLs) from a university in Australia who participated in a short-term SA program in China. To achieve a holistic understanding of the learners’ identity development, this study adopted a three-dimensional framework of HL identity development, applied a narrative approach and focused on individual differences. Data were collected from 34 post-program journal reflections from CHLLs. The learners’ narratives indicated that they assigned different degrees of importance and distinct meanings to the SA experience with respect to their HL identity development. While some actively explored their HL identities, others took a more outsider stance and did not develop much in terms of HL identity. We identified several possible statuses of CHLLs’ identification, which were conceptualised as focused explorer, balanced explorer, partial explorer, meanderer and outsider. Future intervention could provide personalised feedback, comments and guidance on students’ post-program reflective journals, either in a more specific or holistic manner, and acknowledge each HL learner’s advantages and limitations in their reflections.

Motives for Participating in Study-Abroad Programmes and the Impact of the Pandemic on Selected Universities in South Africa

The article explores the motivations of students participating in study-abroad programmes and the effects of pandemic-related travel restrictions and associated regulations at three universities in South Africa. The author analyses the policies of universities in the Western Cape province regarding study-abroad programmes when pandemic restrictions were in place and once they were lifted. The discussion is based on quantitative data collected during a survey involving 75 foreign students and qualitative data obtained during interviews with 5 programme coordinators at the international offices of the selected universities. The majority of foreign students surveyed were from Europe. While anxieties and uncertainties exist, university representatives were found to be hopeful about the future of study-abroad programmes.

Sense of Place, Imaginative Mobility, and Intercultural Awareness Through a Map Making Project in a Study Abroad Program

This article analyzes the perceptions of two undergraduate learners’ regarding the educational impact of a collaborative map making project in the context of a summer study abroad program in France, focused on language learning. Over the eight-week long program, students created a digital map with textual and visual annotations that helped them to reflect on their prior associations with a location or landmark in the host country, the associations that members of the host country had with this location, and finally their own experience after visiting the location. The objective of this project was to help students to experience a more nuanced sense of place, to articulate imaginative mobility, and, as a result, to develop an increased level of intercultural awareness. The participants’ reflections after the end of the program suggest that through the engagement with the tasks associated with the project students engaged in imaginative mobility and developed a more nuanced sense of place. In particular, the experience of eliciting perspectives from local informants had a positive impact on their development of intercultural awareness.

Student perspectives on the intentional design of study abroad programs

Study abroad programs around the world offer participants a plethora of learning opportunities, from the formal component of credit-bearing studies to informal and incidental learning opportunities that come from living and studying internationally. Despite significant research in the field, the educative value of study abroad continues to be questioned. Experiential learning practices that frame study abroad can offer intentional design approaches to support students to learn from their experiences. This study explores study abroad participants' perspectives on the concept of intentional design from their experiences of a one to two semester international study program, where academic courses are studied in a host university but the students are largely left to their own devices to make meaning of their informal and incidental learning opportunities. The study found that students felt the study abroad experience is a deeply personal learning journey that should not be governed by set learning objectives. The paper offers insights on how ways experiential learning practices can inform the design of study abroad so the experience is attractive to students yet structured enough to intentionally support transformational learning.

A critical examination of factors influencing international students’ choice to study in Ghanaian higher educational institutions

Recently, many Ghanaian universities have made considerable efforts to reposition themselves in the global space to attract international students. Although there have been some gains, the universities continue to attract a relatively lower number of students. We argue the need to critically examine the factors which motivate international students’ choice of study destinations to enhance the relevant approach and experience for them. Utilising a postcolonial approach and drawing on data from two Ghanaian institutions, this paper critically examines international students’ motivation to study in Ghana. The findings indicate that colonial legacies continue to characterise international students’ motivations. There is a need for institutions to create their niche and also provide relevant socio-cultural space to enhance students’ experiences. Global universities should cast off their negative perceptions of African universities and should provide greater and broader opportunities for their students to engage with these universities in their study-abroad programmes.

The Influence Of Korean Nursing Students' Experience Of Major Converged Short-Term Study Abroad Program On Their Future Overseas Career Plans In The U.S

The Influence Of Korean Nursing Students' Experience Of Major Converged Short-Term Study Abroad Program On Their Future Overseas Career Plans In The U.S

Organizations’ Perception of Service-Learning Study Abroad Programs and Transformational Partnerships

Organizations’ Perception of Service-Learning Study Abroad Programs and Transformational Partnerships

Experimental Estimates of the Impacts of a Study Abroad Program to Israel on Perceptions of Antisemitism and Attitudes about Israel

Experimental Estimates of the Impacts of a Study Abroad Program to Israel on Perceptions of Antisemitism and Attitudes about Israel

Investigating the relation between L2 pauses, syntactic complexity, and pause location: Longitudinal data from L2-Spanish study-abroad learners

Inverse relations, or ‘trade-off effects’, are a common outcome of interlanguage development: a learner may increase performance in one linguistic domain while simultaneously decreasing performance in another. In this study, we investigate the relationships between one aspect of fluency (pause usage) and two aspects of syntactic complexity (utterance length and subordination) in relation to the location of pauses (between-clause or within-clause) in second-language (L2) oral narratives. The longitudinal analysis is based on monologic data produced by 16 English-speaking L2 learners of Spanish who participated in a seven-week study-abroad program in Spain. Overall, the learners decreased their silent-pause rate over the course of the program while concurrently increasing their number of syntactically complex clauses. Notably, the data suggest a systematic trade-off between pausing and complexity: the learners consistently produced more pauses (i.e. decreased fluency performance) during the elocution of the most complex clauses involving clausal subordination (i.e. increased complexity performance) in comparison to utterances lacking such subordination. We contextualize the findings within models of oral production and discuss how this research generates new insight into the processing factors that modulate pause usage in L2 speech.

Study Abroad Programs in Transition from Pandemic to Endemic

The language that is used to refer to COVID-19 is changing to reflect how the disease evolves. One of the changes is the use of the word endemic to replace pandemic, a modification that implies far reaching effects on goals for language acquisition and cultural integration, particularly in the context of study abroad. Study abroad programs need to be constantly responsive to living, working, traveling, and studying within a framework of the continued presence of a disease that shows no sign of abatement. In this chapter, the author will compare past goals of study abroad and new goals that administrators, faculty, and students are collectively creating as they adapt to acquiring language and culture in a learning environment that is now, by default, in flux requiring hybridized and flexible activities and objectives. Focal comments by administrators, faculty, and students are included in order to present perspectives on how COVID has impacted each of these groups.&nbsp

English as Foreign Language (EFL) Teachers’ Efficacy and Positive Achievement Emotions: Relations to Instructional Changes After Attending a Study Abroad Program

Due to government policy, the number of study abroad professional development program for EFL teachers increased greatly in China during recent years. Study abroad program aims to help EFL teachers improve their knowledge and teaching practices, which requires them to make adjustments to their traditional teaching styles accordingly. Hence, teachers may experience strong emotional reactions when they are faced with different modes of teaching methods. From the perspective of “emotion”, this study used control-value theory of achievement emotions as the theoretical framework to examine the relationship between teacher efficacy, positive achievement emotions, and instructional changes among 386 Chinese EFL teachers who attended study abroad programs. Purposive sampling was used in data collection. Data analysis was conducted using Structural Equation Model (SEM). The results showed that teacher efficacy correlated positively with positive achievement emotions (enjoyment, hope, and pride) and instructional changes. Positive achievement emotions mediated the relationship between teacher efficacy and instructional changes. Findings showed the impact of teacher efficacy and positive achievement emotions on changes in teachers’ thinking and instructional practices. Based on the findings and limitations of this study, implications on teacher education and professional development program, directions and suggestions for future studies are discussed.

Perspectives and Motives Involved in Study Abroad: COVID, Race and SES

The pandemic has impacted every aspect of academic life, including study abroad (SA), with 93% of programs canceled worldwide in 2020 (IIE, 2020). Long lasting consequences for SA are expected (Dietrich, 2020): a reduction in participation rates, an increase in online SA, and changes both in the nature and the importance of the factors that students consider for SA, with a potential new emphasis on health and personal safety. Our mixed-methods study relies on surveys and interviews to investigate Covid’s impact on students’ notions of the nature of SA as well as the factors guiding their choices. The MSA (Motivation to SA questionnaire: Anderson & Lawton, 2015) was adopted, adding two new factors: health and language learning. Two hundred twenty-nine participants were recruited during 2021; they belong in one of three categories: (a) students whose SA plans were canceled due to the pandemic, (b) students planning to SA, and (c) students who had not and will not participate in SA. Results indicate that the original MSA factors remain unaltered, that language development is an important motivation to participate, and that health-related factors rank high, especially for minority and low-income students for whom it is almost the number one factor, suggesting the possibility that participation rates for members of these groups are further reduced. Additionally, interview data reveal that for students, SA programs are defined by an immersive academic experience in another country. However, participants value online collaborations with students and faculty at international institutions when integrated in their on-campus coursework.&nbsp

Study Abroad in a (Post-) Pandemic World: Our New Normal and Some Reasons for Optimism

We report on a survey study of a group of U.S. students studying abroad in 22 different countries in the fall of 2021 and spring of 2022 (N = 261), as universities around the world began returning to in-person instruction but where a good deal of instruction was still conducted online or in some hybrid modality and where a range of COVID-19 restrictions were still in place. The anonymous online survey asked the students to estimate their concerns about the pandemic and study abroad prior to departure, gauge the level of COVID-19 restrictions in their study-abroad location, and then report on the impact of the pandemic on their learning, academic performance, and social interactions while abroad. Additionally, for those who were abroad for the purpose of improving or learning a language other than English, the survey had respondents share their perceptions of how the pandemic impacted their language learning. The survey also asked the students to elaborate on strategies or resources used to cope with the (negative) effects of the pandemic. The quantitative results show that pandemic-related restrictions were significantly associated with students’ learning overall, language learning, academic performance, and social interactions, and that the students reported the greatest impact on social interactions compared with other aspects of the study-abroad experience. The data also suggest that the greater the percentage of instruction the students had in online or hybrid modalities, the greater the impact on their learning overall. The qualitative data triangulated with the quantitative data to show that the respondents reporting greater COVID-19 restrictions and a higher percentage of online or hybrid instruction experienced greater stress, anxiety, and difficulties with learning, socializing, and engaging with the culture abroad. Language learners in online classes reported feeling less motivated and having difficulties focusing; those who were in in-person classes reported comprehension and communication difficulties due to mask rules. That said, some respondents reported reaping benefits from more online and hybrid instruction. And many of the respondents shared strategies that mitigated their difficulties which give reason for optimism about ongoing pandemic-related restrictions and the increasing ubiquity of online and hybrid instructions during study abroad. We then sketch the contours of what appears to be the new normal in study abroad and some implications for study-abroad programs and educators indicated by these findings. Limitations of the study and directions for further research are presented.

Comparing an Online to an On-site Study Abroad Program

This paper compares two groups of students. The first group attended a four-month on-site study abroad program. The second group participated in a four-month online study abroad program. Pre- and post-TOEIC scores, as well as the student’s attitudes towards their experience, are examined. This article details the procedure each group took, the outcome of their test scores, and their reflections on the program.

What’s in an Image? A Critical Look at Study Abroad Programs Going to Africa

As the U.S. continues to prioritize the internationalization of higher education, study-abroad participation has doubled in the last decades. To correspond with this increased interest and prepare students for an intercultural workforce, study abroad programs have diversified travel destinations to include countries on the continent of Africa, most of which have colonial histories. However, many scholars have contended with the problematic nature of study abroad programs, especially interactions with host countries in the Global South. Specifically, the depiction of Africa is often othering or in a subjugated manner. Additionally, there is a lack of concise scholarship on the representation of people and places of travel destinations in study abroad programs images. As such, this exploratory study uses a postcolonial lens to understand how Africa is represented in the imagery of study abroad programs at selected Research 1 universities in the U.S. Results of the study and practical implications are presented.

High Impact Practices in Domestic and Study Abroad Service Learning Kinesiology and Physical Education Courses

Research shows that study abroad programs can benefit students in myriad ways including: fostering intercultural understanding, improveing completion of degree programs, retention, community college transfer rates, as well as increasing GPA. The purpose of this study, was to assess and evaluate engagement in high impact practices in college students (N=70) through international service-learning, domestic service-learning, and study abroad programs offered by the kinesiology department of a large comprehensive university in California. Results indicated that short-term kinesiology study-abroad programs consisted of significantly higher levels of faculty-student and student-student engagement, as well as higher scores on diversity and experiential learning when compared to a domestic course. The authors echo Dunn’s (2009) call who called for the development and promotion of international experiences, such as study abroad opportunities, in order to enhance the understanding and viability of undergraduate and graduate students in the field of kinesiology. To date, this call has been left unanswered.