International Students’ Smartphone Usage During the First COVID-19 Lockdown
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v35i1.620Keywords:
international students, transition, study abroad, smartphone useAbstract
Smartphones accompany international students as they adapt to different contexts during their stay abroad. In this empirical study, we examined how a group of international students (n=10) in France used their smartphones during the eight-week lockdown that imposed on everyone a stay-at-home order and allowed minimal physical contact (April and May 2020). We collected data about students’ use thanks to a self-tracking app and interviews. Drawing on literature from the fields of language education, communication, and psychology, we considered advantages and limitations of smartphone use by international students pertaining to three aspects of their lives: (1) emotional management, (2) language and culture learning, and (3) sociocultural adaptation. Since international students were in the host country, but without the social life on campus that usually makes immersion abroad so special, this study led us to reflections about immersion and inclusion in education abroad.
Abstract in FrenchLes smartphones accompagnent les étudiants internationaux dans leur adaptation à différents contextes pendant leur séjour à l'étranger. Dans cette étude empirique, nous avons examiné comment un groupe d'étudiants internationaux (n=10) en France a utilisé leurs smartphones pendant le confinement de 8 semaines qui a imposé à tous de rester à la maison et a engendré un contact physique minimal (avril et mai 2020). Nous avons recueilli des données sur les usages des étudiants grâce à une application d’auto-suivi et des entretiens. En nous appuyant sur la littérature dans les domaines de l'enseignement des langues, de la communication et de la psychologie, nous avons examiné les avantages et les limites de l'utilisation du smartphone par les étudiants internationaux en ce qui concerne trois aspects de leur vie : (1) la gestion des émotions, (2) l'apprentissage de la langue et de la culture, et (3) l'adaptation socioculturelle. Étant donné que les étudiants internationaux se trouvaient dans le pays d'accueil, mais sans la vie sociale sur le campus qui rend habituellement l'immersion à l'étranger si spéciale, cette étude nous a amenés à réfléchir à l'immersion et à l'inclusion dans l'éducation à l'étranger.
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