Cover not available
Part of
Language Acquisition in Study Abroad and Formal Instruction Contexts
Edited by Carmen Pérez-Vidal
[AILA Applied Linguistics Series 13] 2014
► pp. 313–326

Chapter 13. Research on language development during study abroad

| University of Maryland

This chapter gives a brief overview of the main findings of the Study Abroad literature and situates the SALA Project against that background. It then provides suggestions for further research on some of the main issues that remain to be resolved: how do variables such as the social context of the Study Abroad experience or the researcher’s focus on specific aspects of language help explain what appears contradictory in the literature so far, how can we get a better grip on individual differences, and how can quantitative and qualitative research methodologies be integrated better to answer these questions?

Published online: 8 July 2014
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/aals.13.16ch13
References
Adams, R
2006 Language learning strategies in the study abroad context. In Language Learners in Study Abroad Contexts , M.A. DuFon & E. Churchill (eds), 259–292. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Allen, H
2002 Does Study Abroad Make a Difference? An Investigation of Linguistic and Motivational Outcomes. PhD dissertation, Emory University.Google Scholar
Brecht, R.D., Davidson, D.E. & Ginsberg, R.B
1995 Predictors of foreign language gain during Study Abroad. In Second Language Acquisition in a Study Abroad Context [Studies in Bilingualism 9], B. Freed (ed.), 37–66. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carroll, J.B
1967 Foreign language proficiency levels attained by language majors near graduation from college. Foreign Language Annals 1: 131–151. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carson, J.G. & Longhini, A
2002 Focusing on learner styles and strategies: A diary study in an immersion setting. Language Learning 52(2): 401–438. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
DeKeyser, R.M
1990 Foreign language development during a semester abroad. In Foreign Language Acquisition Research and the Classroom , B. Freed (ed.), 104–119. Lexington MA: D. C. Heath.Google Scholar
2007a Study abroad as foreign language practice. In Practice In a Second Language: Perspectives from Applied Linguistics and Cognitive Psychology , R.M. DeKeyser (ed.), 208–226. Cambridge: CUP.Google Scholar
2007b Skill acquisition theory. In Theories in Second Language Acquisition: An Introduction , B. VanPatten & J. Williams (eds), 97–112. Mahwah NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
2010 Monitoring processes in Spanish as a second language during a study abroad program. Foreign Language Annals 43(1): 80–92. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dewey, D.P
2004 A comparison of reading development by learners of Japanese in intensive domestic immersion and study abroad contexts. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 26(2): 303–327. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ericsson, K.A
(ed.) 1996  The road to excellence. The Acquisition of Expert Performance in the Arts and Sciences, Sports, and Games . Mahwah NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
2006 The influence of experience and deliberate practice on the development of superior expert performance. In The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance ,K.A. Ericsson, N. Charness, P.J. Feltovich & R.R. Hoffman (eds), 683–703. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Freed, B
1995 What makes us think that students who study abroad become fluent? In Second Language Acquisition in a Study Abroad Context [Studies in Bilingualism 9], B. Freed (ed.), 123–148. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Freed, B., Dewey, D.P., Segalowitz, N. & Halter, R
2004 The language contact profile. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 26(2): 349–347.Google Scholar
Gomes da Costa, B., Smith, T.M.F. & Whiteley, D
1975  German Language Attainment. A Sample Survey of Universities and Colleges in the UK . Heidelberg: Julius Groos.Google Scholar
Hokanson, S
2000 Foreign language immersion homestays. Maximizing the accommodation of cognitive styles. Applied Language Learning 11(2): 239–264.Google Scholar
Huebner, T
1995 The effects of overseas language programs: Report on a case study of an intensive Japanese course. In Second Language Acquisition in a Study Abroad Context [Studies in Bilingualism 9], B. Freed (ed.), 171–193. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Isabelli-García, C
2006 Study abroad social networks, motivation and attitudes: Implications for second language acquisition. In Language Learners in Study Abroad Contexts , M.A. DuFon & E. Churchill (eds), 231–258. Clevedon: Multilingual matters.Google Scholar
Kinginger, C
2008 Language learning in study abroad: Case studies of Americans in France. Modern Language Journal 92(1): 1–124. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2010 American students abroad: Negotiation of difference? Language Teaching 43(2): 216–227. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lapkin, S., Hart, D. & Swain, M
1995 A Canadian interprovincial exchange: Evaluating the linguistic impact of a three-month stay in Quebec. In Second Language Acquisition in the Study Abroad Context [Studies in Bilingualism 9], B. Freed (ed.), 67–94. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Li, P., Sepanski, S. & Zhao, X
2006 Language history questionnaires: A web-based interface for bilingual research. Behavior Research Methods 38: 202–210. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Magnan, S.S
1986 Assessing speaking proficiency in the undergraduate curriculum: Data from French. Foreign Language Annals 19(5): 429–437. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Marian, V., Blumenfeld, H.K. & Kaushanskaya, M
2007 The Language Experience and Proficiency Questionnaire (LEAP-Q): Assessing language profiles in bilinguals and multilinguals. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 50: 940–967. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Meara, P
1994 The year abroad and its effects. Language Learning Journal 10: 32–38. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mora, J.C. & Valls-Ferrer, M
2012 Oral fluency, accuracy and complexity in formal instruction and study abroad learning contexts. TESOL Quarterly 46(4): 610–641.Google Scholar
Newell, A. & Rosenbloom, P.S
1981 Mechanisms of skill acquisition and the law of practice. In Cognitive Skills and their Acquisition , J.R. Anderson (ed.), 1–55. Hillsdale NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
O’Brien, I., Segalowitz, N., Freed, B. & Collentine, J
2007 Phonological memory predicts second language oral fluency gains in adults. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 29(4): 557–581. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
O’Brien, I., Segalowitz, N., Collentine, J. & Freed, B
2006 Phonological memory and lexical, narrative, and grammatical skills in second language oral production by adult learners. Applied Psycholinguistics 27(3): 377–402. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pellegrino Aveni, V
2005  Study Abroad and Second Language Use. Constructing the Self . Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Reber, A.S., Kassin, S.M., Lewis, S. & Cantor, G.W
1980 On the relationship between implicit and explicit modes in the learning of a complex rule structure. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning And Memory 6(5): 492–502. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rivers, W.P
1998 Is being there enough? The effects of homestay placements on language gain during study abroad. Foreign Language Annals 31(4): 492–500. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sasaki, M
2009 Changes in English as a foreign language students’ writing over 3.5 years: A sociocognitive account. In Writing in Foreign Language Contexts , R.M. Manchón (ed.), 49–76. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
2011 Effects of varying lengths of study-abroad experiences on Japanese EFL students’ L2 writing ability and motivation: A longitudinal study. TESOL Quarterly 45(1): 81–105. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schauer, G
2006 Pragmatic awareness in ESL and EFL contexts: Contrast and development. Language Learning 56(2): 269–318. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2009 Interlanguage Pragmatic Development. The Study Abroad Context. London: Continuum .Google Scholar
Segalowitz, N. & Freed, B
2004 Context, contact, and cognition in oral fluency acquisition: Learning Spanish in at home and study abroad contexts. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 26(2): 173–199. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Serrano, R., Llanes, À. & Tragant, E
2011 Analyzing the effect of context of second language learning: Domestic intensive and semi-intensive courses vs. study abroad in Europe. System 39: 133–143. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sunderman, G. & Kroll, J.F
2009 When study-abroad experience fails to deliver: The internal resources threshold effect. Applied Psycholinguistics 30(1): 79–99. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Teichler, U. & Maiworm, F
1997  The ERASMUS Experience. Major Findings of the Erasmus Evaluation Research Project . Brussels, Belgium: European Commission.Google Scholar
Towell, R., Hawkins, R. & Bazergui, N
1996 The development of fluency in advanced learners of French. Applied Linguistics 17(1): 84–119. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wilkinson, S
1998a Study abroad from the participants’ perspective: A challenge to common beliefs. Foreign Language Annals 31(1): 23–39. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1998b On the nature of immersion during study abroad: Some participant perspectives. Frontiers. The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad 4: 121–138.Google Scholar
2002 The omnipresent classroom during summer study abroad: American students in conversation with their French hosts. The Modern Language Journal 86(2): 157–173. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 13 other publications

Albert, Ágnes, Boglárka Spissich & Kata Csizér
2022. Külföldi tanulmányutak és egyéni különbségek. Magyar Pedagógia 122:2 ► pp. 89 ff. DOI logo
Basterretxea Santiso, Gorka & Cristina Sanz
2022. Study Abroad and Student Decision Making in Times of COVID: A Mixed Methods Study. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad 34:1 ► pp. 45 ff. DOI logo
Briggs, Jessica Grace
2016. A mixed-methods study of vocabulary-related strategic behaviour in informal L2 contact. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education 1:1 ► pp. 61 ff. DOI logo
Cigliana, Kassie A. & Raquel Serrano
2016. Individual differences in U.S. study abroad students in Barcelona. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education 1:2 ► pp. 154 ff. DOI logo
Hepford, Elizabeth
2020. Chapter 7. The elusive phase shift. In Complex Dynamic Systems Theory and L2 Writing Development [Language Learning & Language Teaching, 54], ► pp. 161 ff. DOI logo
Long, Avizia Y. & Megan Solon
2021. The impact of a short-term stay abroad on L2 Spanish syntactic complexity development in narratives. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education 6:1 ► pp. 163 ff. DOI logo
Mitchell, Rosamond
2023. Chapter 14. Researching study abroad. In Methods in Study Abroad Research [Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 4], ► pp. 345 ff. DOI logo
Pérez-Vidal, Carmen
2022. The Case of the SALA Project: Constructs and Methods Revisited. In Designing Second Language Study Abroad Research, ► pp. 43 ff. DOI logo
Pérez-Vidal, Carmen & Cristina Sanz
2023. Chapter 1. Research methods in study abroad. In Methods in Study Abroad Research [Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 4], ► pp. 9 ff. DOI logo
Strobl, Carola & Kristof Baten
2021. Writing development during study abroad. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education 6:1 ► pp. 124 ff. DOI logo
Thuy Nguyen, Minh Thi & Thuy Thi Thanh Pham
2022. Instructional effects on L2 pragmatic comprehension: the case of indirect refusals and indirect opinions. The Language Learning Journal 50:4 ► pp. 427 ff. DOI logo
Tracy-Ventura, Nicole, Jean-Marc Dewaele, Zeynep Köylü & Kevin McManus
2016. Personality changes after the ‘year abroad’?. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education 1:1 ► pp. 107 ff. DOI logo
Zalbidea, Janire & Bernard Issa
2023. Chapter 2. Quantitative approaches in L2 research abroad. In Methods in Study Abroad Research [Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 4], ► pp. 33 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 18 march 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.