Interactive Contact as Linguistic Affordance during Short-term Study Abroad: Myth or Reality?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v19i1.271Keywords:
Interactions abroad, Short term study, Language learning abroad, Study abroad, Education abroad, Homestay familyAbstract
This study took a sociocultural theory perspective and investigated interactive contact with French by 18 participants in a short-term study abroad (SA) program and the degree to which interactions with homestay families, U.S. peers, and other French speakers in the local community were perceived as valuable affordances for language learning. Findings demonstrate that whereas contact in French with host families was viewed as a valuable affordance for cultural and/or linguistic learning, participants' interactions in the local community were infrequent and viewed less positively. Peer-to-peer interaction in French was construed by some students as useful for developing confidence with interacting in French whereas others saw the SA group as a motivational constraint. Implications of this study include the notion that interactive contact is not inevitable during short-term SA, therefore the SA curriculum should respond by assisting students in devising strategies to nurture interaction, particularly between students and speakers of the foreign language in the local community.
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References
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Kinginger, C. (2008). Language learning in study abroad: Case histories of Americans in France. Modern Language Journal Monograph Series, Volume 1. Oxford: Blackwell.
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Lantolf, J. P., & Thorne, S. L. (2006). Sociocultural theory and the genesis of second language development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Magnan, S. S., & Back, M. (2007). Social interaction and linguistic gain during study abroad. Foreign Language Annals, 40, 43–61.
Mendelson, V. G. (2004). “Hindsight is 20/20:” Student perceptions of language learning and the study abroad experience. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 10, 43–63.3.
Miller, L., & Ginsberg, R. B. (1995). Folk linguistic theories of language learning. In B. F. Freed (Ed.), Second language acquisition in a study abroad context (pp. 294–315). Amsterdam: Benjamins.
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Rivers, W. P. (1998). Is being there enough? The effects of homestay placements on language gain during study abroad. Foreign Language Annals, 31, 492–500.
Siegal, M. (1995). Individual differences and study abroad: Women learning Japanese in Japan. In B. F. Freed (Ed.), Second Language Acquisition in a Second Abroad Context (pp. 225–243). Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Tanaka, K. (2007). Japanese students’ contact with English outside the classroom during study abroad. New Zealand Studies in Applied Linguistics, 13, 36–54.
Ushioda, E. (2007). Motivation, autonomy and sociocultural theory. In D. Little, J. Ridley and E. Ushioda (Eds.), Learner Autonomy in the Foreign Language Classroom: Teacher, Learner, Curriculum and Assessment (pp. 5–24). Dublin:
van Lier, L. (2008). Agency in the classroom. In J. P. Lantolf and M. E. Poehner (Eds.), Sociocultural theory and the teaching of second languages (pp. 163–186). London: Equinox.
van Lier, L. (2004). The ecology and semiotics of language learning: A sociocultural perspective. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
van Lier, L. (2000). From input to affordance: Social-interactive learning from an ecological perspective. In J. P. Lantolf (Ed.), Sociocultural theory and second language learning (pp. 245–259). Oxford: Oxford UP.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Wilkinson, S. (2005). Articulating study abroad: The depth dimension. In C. M. Barrette and K. Paesani (Eds.), Language program articulation: Developing a theoretical foundation. Issues in language program direction: A series of annual volumes (pp. 44–58). Boston: Heinle.
Wilkinson, S. (2002). The omnipresent classroom during study abroad: American students in conversation with their French hosts. Modern Language Journal, 86, 157–173.3.
Wilkinson, S. (2000). Emerging questions about study abroad. ADFL Bulletin, 32 (1), 36–41.
Allen, H. W. (2002). Does study abroad make a difference? A study of motivational and linguistic outcomes (Doctoral dissertation, Emory University, 2002). Dissertation Abstracts International, 63, 1279.
Allen, H. W. (in press). “What shapes short-term study abroad experiences? A comparative case study of students’ motives and goals.” Journal of Studies in International Education.
Dörnyei, Z. (2009). Individual differences: Interplay of learner characteristics and the learning environment. Language Learning 59, 230–248.
Freed, B. F., Segalowitz, N., & Dewey, D. P. (2004). Context of learning and second language fluency in French. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26, 275–311.
Iino, M. (2006). Norms of interaction in a Japanese homestay setting: Toward two-way flow of linguistic and cultural resources. In M. A. DuFon & E. Churchill (Eds.), Language learners in study abroad contexts (pp. 151–173). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Institute of International Education. (2008). Open doors: Report on international educational exchange. Retrieved July 1, 2009, from http://opendoors.iiiienetwork.org/
Kaplan, M. A. (1989). French in the community: A survey of language use abroad. The French Review, 63, 290–299.
Kim, T-Y. (2009). The dynamics of L2 self and L2 learning motivation: A qualitative case study of Korean ESL students. English Teaching, 64 (3), 49–70.
Kinginger, C. (2004). Alice doesn’t live here anymore: Foreign language learning and identity reconstruction. In A. Pavlenko & A. Blackledge (Eds.), Negotiation of Identities in Multilingual Contexts (pp. 219–242). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Kinginger, C. (2008). Language learning in study abroad: Case histories of Americans in France. Modern Language Journal Monograph Series, Volume 1. Oxford: Blackwell.
Lantolf, J. P. & Appel, G. (1994). Theoretical framework: An introduction to Vygotskian approaches to second language research. In J. P. Lantolf & G. Appel (Eds.), Vygotskian approaches to second language acquisition (pp. 1–28). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Lantolf, J. P. & Pavlenko, A. (2001). (S)econd (L)anguage (A)ctivity theory: Understanding second language learners as people. In M. Breen (Ed.), Learner Contributions to Language Learning: New Directions in Research (pp. 141–158). London: Longman.
Lantolf, J. P., & Thorne, S. L. (2006). Sociocultural theory and the genesis of second language development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Magnan, S. S., & Back, M. (2007). Social interaction and linguistic gain during study abroad. Foreign Language Annals, 40, 43–61.
Mendelson, V. G. (2004). “Hindsight is 20/20:” Student perceptions of language learning and the study abroad experience. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 10, 43–63.3.
Miller, L., & Ginsberg, R. B. (1995). Folk linguistic theories of language learning. In B. F. Freed (Ed.), Second language acquisition in a study abroad context (pp. 294–315). Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Pavlenko, A. & Lantolf, J. P. (2000). Second language learning as participation and the (re)construction of selves. In J. P. Lantolf (Ed.), Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning (pp. 155–177). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rivers, W. P. (1998). Is being there enough? The effects of homestay placements on language gain during study abroad. Foreign Language Annals, 31, 492–500.
Siegal, M. (1995). Individual differences and study abroad: Women learning Japanese in Japan. In B. F. Freed (Ed.), Second Language Acquisition in a Second Abroad Context (pp. 225–243). Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Tanaka, K. (2007). Japanese students’ contact with English outside the classroom during study abroad. New Zealand Studies in Applied Linguistics, 13, 36–54.
Ushioda, E. (2007). Motivation, autonomy and sociocultural theory. In D. Little, J. Ridley and E. Ushioda (Eds.), Learner Autonomy in the Foreign Language Classroom: Teacher, Learner, Curriculum and Assessment (pp. 5–24). Dublin:
van Lier, L. (2008). Agency in the classroom. In J. P. Lantolf and M. E. Poehner (Eds.), Sociocultural theory and the teaching of second languages (pp. 163–186). London: Equinox.
van Lier, L. (2004). The ecology and semiotics of language learning: A sociocultural perspective. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
van Lier, L. (2000). From input to affordance: Social-interactive learning from an ecological perspective. In J. P. Lantolf (Ed.), Sociocultural theory and second language learning (pp. 245–259). Oxford: Oxford UP.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Wilkinson, S. (2005). Articulating study abroad: The depth dimension. In C. M. Barrette and K. Paesani (Eds.), Language program articulation: Developing a theoretical foundation. Issues in language program direction: A series of annual volumes (pp. 44–58). Boston: Heinle.
Wilkinson, S. (2002). The omnipresent classroom during study abroad: American students in conversation with their French hosts. Modern Language Journal, 86, 157–173.3.
Wilkinson, S. (2000). Emerging questions about study abroad. ADFL Bulletin, 32 (1), 36–41.
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Published
2010-11-15
How to Cite
Allen, H. (2010). Interactive Contact as Linguistic Affordance during Short-term Study Abroad: Myth or Reality?. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 19(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v19i1.271
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