Browsing by Subject "Foreign study"

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Students in a global village: the nexus of choice, expectation, and experience in study abroad
(2007-08) Anderson, Beverly Diane; Somers, Patricia (Patricia A.)
Higher education today operates in a globalized environment. Within this setting, study abroad has been designated by the federal government as an educational tool to promote national security, U.S. leadership and active engagement in the international community. Roughly over 190,000 American students went abroad in 2003-2004. The 2005 Lincoln Commission report recommended that the U.S. send one million students abroad annually by 2017. This lofty goal will be difficult to obtain without having more comprehensive data on why and how students choose to study abroad. The purpose of this study was to explore undergraduate student decision-making, expectation of and experience in study abroad. Factors that influence decision-making as well as expectations and on-site experiences were examined. The researcher drew from students participating in the Commerce School of Business International Programs at Respected State University as the sample, using a college choice theoretical framework built on years of previous research on the tactics of college-bound students and the college student experience. The researcher utilized qualitative research methods relying on interviews of the participants. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and then coded. The data was member-checked and peer reviewed for validity. Surveys were employed to bolster interview data and to add reliability. The Anderson Model of Study Abroad Choice and Model of Study Abroad Student Expectations provide two frameworks for how students make decisions and what they expect when studying abroad. Critical factors for these models included: travel and location, educational attainment, aspirations, background, cultural exposure, personal growth, language development, financial variables, social environment, and institutional climate and characteristics. The study also revealed that study abroad experience can be explained using Terenzini and Reason's (2005) college experience model. The study contributes to the field of international education, academic affairs and student affairs by filling a large gap that exists in research on American students abroad. By examining the nexus between choice, expectation and experience in study abroad, the study provides rich data that can help to improve study abroad programming.
A study of the effect of study abroad and the homestay on the development of linguistic and interactional practices by Spanish L2 learners
(2008-05) Abad Mancheño, Alfonso, 1972-; Koike, Dale April
Studies showing the importance of interaction in second language (L2) acquisition have led researchers to believe that the learning process is enhanced by interactional practices. Interaction provides comprehensible input that is modified to serve the learner's communicative needs. This input is especially apparent when learners are paired with speakers more proficient than themselves. Not only can interactions provide the learner with input, but they also create opportunities for learners to repair communicative breakdowns and gain feedback about these repairs. Learners can develop an ability to interact in the L2, also referred to as "interactional competence" (IC). The present study describes interactional practices between learners and native Spanish speakers (NSs), and the effect they have on the process of language acquisition and development of IC during a one-semester study abroad experience. The development of 16 learners' IC and proficiency is documented through both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis in order to elicit triangulated conclusions. This study includes information about the learners and their interactions with NSs, and looks at contextual factors that may impact acquisition, such as amount of contact with NSs (type of housing, and time spent with native speakers per day). Their results were also compared with Spanish learners in the U.S. Results support the Interaction Hypothesis (Long, 1983) and show that learners with a lower level of proficiency rely more on the interactional resources of the NS as they develop a second language. As they advance in their mastery of the language, they tend to rely more on their own resources. The four factors used for this study--correction, negotiation, conversation management, and production--are good indicators of the improvements in conversational abilities of the learners who went abroad. Results also show that the family setting is more beneficial than the apartment setting because it creates more opportunities to negotiate for meaning. This research helps characterize and develop the importance of viewing language as a socially constituted, interactive phenomenon. The study calls for new research taking into consideration the housing factor, as well as the confidence of the learner as a facilitator in the development of IC, and likewise of linguistic proficiency.