Tracking students' L2 learning progress and interactional contacts during study abroad

What is it about?

Contemporary research on language and intercultural learning during study abroad programs has led scholars to challenge the immersion assumption and to argue the need for interventions that would deepen and extend the learning potential of this experience (Jackson, 2018). In an attempt to underscore this point, this paper reports on an experimental study that explores the impact of a pedagogical intervention where two groups of Flemish students (n=34) are tracked during their Erasmus stay in Spain. One group of students (n=14) is enrolled in the intervention and encouraged to engage in linguistically and culturally challenging encounters while the other group is not (n=20). Both language use and social network formation are examined through an extended version of the SASIQ questionnaire (Dewey et al., 2013), completed following their abroad experience. Although it is not straightforward to grasp the influence of such curricular initiatives on learner interaction and language contact abroad, results from the study are consistent with previous findings on the importance of fostering social interactions for L2 development. Furthermore, a number of social network variables also point out how L2 self-perceived progress can be fostered abroad.

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Why is it important?

The present study responds to the need for external interventions or guidance to deepen and extend sojourners’ language and intercultural learning outcomes abroad (Jackson, 2018), and examines the role played by a pedagogical intervention focused on sojourners’ interactional contacts abroad and their L2 self-perceived development. As home institutions, it is our duty to fully prepare our students for the potentially enriching experience of living and studying abroad.

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