Date: 31-Jul-2006
From: Lisa DeWaard Dykstra <lisa-dewaarduiowa.edu>
Subject: Language Learners in Study Abroad Contexts
Announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/17/17-1288.html
Editors: Margaret A. DuFon, Eton ChurchillTitle: Language Learners in Study Abroad ContextsSeries: Second Language AcquisitionPublisher: Multilingual MattersYear: 2006
Lisa DeWaard Dykstra, unaffiliated scholar
SUMMARY
Study abroad has long been accepted as inherently good for foreign andsecond language students in that it is thought to provide rich linguisticand cultural input. In this edited volume, study abroad is examinedcritically to determine whether it provides the benefits it is thought tooffer. The book begins with a thorough overview of previous literature onstudy abroad. The remainder is devoted to individual research articles onfour main topics: the acquisition of pragmatic competence, dinner tableinteractions and socialization, the effects of study abroad settings onlanguage learning, and the influence of individual and program variables onsecond language acquisition. The contributions span a variety of researchorientations and designs. Below I describe each briefly before turning to acritical commentary on the volume.
1. Evolving threads in study abroad research. Eton Churchill and MargaretA. DuFon
This chapter serves as an introduction to the volume, but is more than anoverview of the contributions that follow. The authors provide a detailedreview of the literature on study abroad to examine critically theassumption that study abroad = second language acquisition. The reviewbegins by looking at literature that investigates the acquisition oflinguistic abilities, including literacy, listening, speaking (which isbroken down into proficiency, fluency, and pronunciation) and grammar. Nextthe authors turn to literature in pragmatics, specifically the acquisitionof pragmatic routines, register, terms of address, and speech acts.Individual learner differences are next, including motivation, willingnessto communicate, anxiety, and learning strategies. Finally, the areas oflearner involvement in the host context, the role of the host culture ininteraction, and program variables are examined. Throughout the review,previous research is synthesized and areas ripe for research areidentified. As these areas are identified, the editors demonstrate how thearticles that follow are helping to fill those gaps in the literature.
In reviewing the literature on study abroad, the authors conclude that theresearch orientations to the investigation of acquisition in study abroadhave widened, although the focus remains primarily on the theory that studyabroad automatically leads to acquisition. They conclude that many of thepopular beliefs about study abroad are borne out by previous research,although it is necessary to qualify them. General findings include thatstudy abroad leads to gains, even if the program is short. Longer programshave greater potential to affect pragmatics, pronunciation, and fluency.Overall, however, ''learner development only approaches native-like norms''(p. 26). The research points to the complexity of development, as itentails the interweaving of initial abilities, individual differences, andhost context characteristics.
Part I: The acquisition of pragmatic competence during study abroad
2. Learning to take leave in social conversations: A diary study. Tim Hassall
Hassall, a native speaker of Australian English, investigates his ownlearning of pragmatics routines in Indonesian with a rigorous diary studyover the course of three months abroad. Beginning with a review of researchinto the diary study method, Hassall outlines a plan for the examination ofhis own pragmatics learning. During the course of the first few weeks inIndonesia, he noticed that his diary entries regularly turned to thequestion of three pragmatics issues: leave-takings, greetings, and terms ofaddress. Having realized this, he narrowed his focus to those three topicsand charted his experiences with them. The chapter is an analysis of hisprogress on the routine of leave-taking in Indonesian.
Careful analysis of his diary entries revealed the development ofleave-taking behavior along two lines: fluctuation in the use of twoleave-taking strategies prevalent in Indonesian, permisi and what he callsthe dulu statement, and the question of the necessity of pre-closings as aleave-taking strategy. Analysis did indicate a move toward more native-likeusage.
3. Learning to say 'you' in German: The acquisition of sociolinguisticcompetence in a study abroad context. Anne Barron
Barron investigates the acquisition of terms of address by 33 Irishlearners of German on study abroad for 10 months. She begins with anoverview of sociolinguistic competence as well as the function of the twopronouns, du and Sie, as they are used in the current sociopolitical context.
Learners completed a free-response discourse completion test three timesover the year abroad (see Barron 2003 for details). These data werecomplemented by retrospective interviews. Results indicate that there wasan increase in learner ability to use the address terms reciprocally, andthat there was a decrease in a mixing of the two pronouns in conversation.Barron concludes that, although learners became more target-like over time,their use of the terms of address remained distinctly ''learner-like'' (p. 85).
Part II: Interaction and socialization at the host dinner table
4. The socialization of taste during study abroad in Indonesia. Margaret A.DuFon
In this article, DuFon examines a different kind of language and cultureacquisition: how learners are socialized into how other cultures approachfood and taste. Working within the language socialization frameworkestablished by Ochs & Schieffelin (1984) and Schieffelin & Ochs (1986a,1986b) in which the novice interacts with ''competent members of theculture'' (this volume, p. 93), DuFon demonstrates the socialization of 5study abroad learners in Indonesia. Using recorded dinner conversations,dialog journals, and data from a weekly discussion group, 6 themes inlearner socialization emerged: orientation to food, food as pleasure, foodas ethnic identity marker, food as gifts, food as material good, and foodand health. The value placed on each theme varies from culture to culture(e.g., Americans view food as important to one's health, Indonesians as athing of pleasure). Hosts were only somewhat successful in socializingtheir resident learners; DuFon recommends pre-departure preparation forstudy abroad students that includes information about how cultures view taste.
5. Joint construction of folk beliefs by JFL learners and Japanese hostfamilies. Haruko Minegishi Cook
In this article, Cook examines how folk beliefs are constructed betweenJapanese as a foreign language (JFL) students and their host familiesduring dinner conversation. Cook approaches this task using a ''language asa semiotic tool'' approach, which says that ''language is not a symbolicobject to describe the world but is a resource that can change the self andthe environment'' (p. 120). Analysis of 22 video- and audio-taped dinnertable conversations of 8 JFL learners and their host families revealed thatdinnertime functions as an ''opportunity space'' (p. 145) for the jointconstruction of beliefs. Folk beliefs were often discussed at the dinnertable, especially the concept of nihonjinron, or the idea that Japanese aredistinctly different from Westerners. Cook found that socializationhappened bidirectionallythat is, hosts influenced the folk beliefs oflearners, and vice versa.
6. Norms of interaction in a Japanese homestay setting: Toward a two-wayflow of linguistic and cultural resources. Masakazu Iino
In this article, Iino tackles a complicated issue in study abroad: hownative-like can and should learners be? What are the role expectations forJFL learners abroad and for host families? Using the analytical frameworkof microethnography of social interaction, Iino analyzed 30 videotapeddinner table episodes between JFL learners and their host families. Hereported on three main findings. First, learners experienced a complicatedtension between being representatives of their own culture and attemptingto fit in to the host culture. Second, Iino describes the ''two-way flow oflinguistic and cultural resources,'' which included two approaches to thelearner-host relationship: the pet model, in which the learner is viewed asa recipient of cultural knowledge and care, and the two-way enrichmentapproach, in which the hosts and the learner viewed their experience as anopportunity for growth for all involved. Finally, in terms of languagedevelopment, Iino found that, in terms of negotiation of language andpragmatic meaning, attempts to be nice resulted in no correction of thelearners' speech. In addition, much linguistic accommodation was made forlearners, especially in the area of dialect choice. He concludes that roleconfusion was experienced by all, and that the phenomenon of foreigner talkwas prevalent and complicated.
Part III: From home to school in the study abroad environment
7. Negotiation in a Japanese study abroad setting. Abigail McMeekin
McMeekin investigates negotiation of meaning across two contexts-the hostfamily setting and the study abroad classroom-during study abroad todetermine the characteristics of learner-native discourse in each. Audio-and video-taped interactions, informal interviews with teachers and hostfamily members, students' English journal entries, and weekly audio-tapedgroup discussions were analyzed to determine the nature of negotiation ineach setting. Quantitative findings indicate that more negotiation ofmeaning occurred in the host family setting, and that this input wasmodified for the learner more than in the classroom. Learners, however,modified their output to a greater extent in the classroom setting.Qualitative findings indicated that conversations in the home concernedmore abstract topics, and that caregivers went to great lengths to maketheir language understandable, whereas the teachers did not. In view ofthese findings, McMeekin advocates for a combination of the two settingsduring study abroad as optimal for language development.
8. Variability in the study abroad classroom and learner competence. EtonChurchill
In this article, the dynamics of study abroad classrooms are examined todetermine whether local classroom dynamics have an effect on study abroadparticipants. Data were collected from 39 Japanese high school studentsinvolved in a month-long study abroad program in the United States in theform of journal entries, observations, and informal interactions with theresearcher. Findings indicate that there was great variation among the 3 USschool settings where learners were placed. Churchill found that (a)successful orientation to the program and introduction to US studentsinfluenced the experience in a positive way, and that (b) extensivecultural excursions and presentations had a negative effect on learnerexperience, as they broke the learners' routines and took significant timethat could have been used to develop relationships with American students.He advocates for pre-departure communication between institutions thatfocuses on teacher preparation for interacting with study abroad students.
Part IV: The influence of individual and program variables on SLA
9. Study abroad social networks, motivation and attitudes: Implications forsecond language acquisition. Christina Isabelli-García
Isabelli-García investigates the interrelationship between the socialnetworks that learners develop with native speakers, their motivation tolearn the language, and their attitude toward the host culture. Thesefactors are examined over a semester abroad and are compared to measures ofsecond language acquisition (syntactic measures, such as tense/aspect use)to determine whether they are related. Data from 4 learners were collectedand consisted of pre- and post-test Simulated Oral Proficiency Interviews(SOPIs) as well as 5 informal interviews over the semester. All but onelearner showed proficiency gains; findings indicate that those whodeveloped more extensive social networks (moving from first-order tosecond-order zones) acquired more language. Furthermore, attitude,motivation, and strength of networks were interconnected. Isabelli-Garcíaadvocates for activities abroad that can foster the development of strongsocial networks, such as required volunteer programs or internships.
10. Language learning strategies in the study abroad context. Rebecca Adams
Adams investigates study abroad from the point of view of language learningstrategies to determine (a) whether the experience affects students' use ofstrategies, (b) whether program and individual student characteristicsaffect use of strategies, and (c) whether the acquisition of strategiesinfluences students' gains in terms of SLA. Using a pre-test / post-testresearch design (between which the study abroad period is viewed as thetreatment), the data of 86 US participants on study abroad programs in theDominican Republic, France, Brazil, Spain, and Austria were analyzed.Findings indicate that students who participate in group travel do notimprove their use of communication strategies. Students of all languagelevels can benefit from study abroad in terms of the development oflearning strategies. Female students were found to use more affectivestrategies and males more cognitive strategies. Adams advocates for ''theintegration of strategy instruction and study abroad'' (p. 287) asbeneficial for SLA, and for sustained curricular focus on strategy use, asuse waned over time.
CRITICAL EVALUATION
This is an excellent compendium of research on study abroad. The variety oftheoretical perspectives employed and the methodological diversityexhibited provide a richness that many other edited volumes lack. Indeed,the book reads more like a monograph than a collection of articles; theauthors make use of one another's work by consistently citing each other.Rather than coming across as self-promoting, this features weaves theindividual projects together in a way that allows the reader to approachthe articles as complementary and not as a group of stand-alone works onrelated topics.
The diversity of research perspectives and orientations displayed isreflective of the inherent diversity in the field of SLA. The authorsprovide solid justification of their methodological choices and demonstrateacademic rigor that is both informative and instructive, making this volumean excellent resource for graduate student coursework in SLA and/or foreignlanguage education.
The challenge left the reader by the authors is to view study abroad assomething more than a nice idea, or something that should be built intoforeign language curriculums on the principle that study abroad is good forlanguage learning. The consensus is just the opposite: we must approachstudy abroad critically from an academic perspective to determine what thebenefits actually are, and evaluate programs carefully. The research inthis volume concludes that some features of study abroad programs that arethought to be beneficial (e.g., group cultural outings) may be detrimentalto second language acquisition.
REFERENCES
Barron, A. (2003). Acquisition in interlanguage pragmatics. Learning how todo things with words in a study abroad context. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Ochs, E. & Schieffelin, B. (1984) Language acquisition and socialization:Three developmental stories and their implications. In R. A. Shwedar & R.A. Levine (Eds.), Culture theory: Essays on mind, self, and emotion (pp.276-320). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schieffelin, B. & Ochs, E. (1986a). Introduction. In B. Schieffelin & E.Ochs (Eds.), Language socialization across cultures (pp. 1-13). Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.
Schieffelin, B. & Ochs, E. (1986b). Language socialization. Annual reviewof anthropology, 15, 163-191.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Lisa DeWaard Dykstra recently completed her Ph.D. in Second LanguageAcquisition at the University of Iowa. Her work focuses on the acquisitionof pragmatic competence by American learners of Russian, specifically theacquisition of the perception of the formal and informal 'you.' This workbrings together work done in interlanguage pragmatics, speech perception,second language listening, and second language acquisition. Her futureresearch projects include papers on bridging the gap between secondlanguage acquisition research and foreign language pedagogy.
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