Language Acquisition In Study Abroad And Formal Instruction Contexts

This publication constitutes essential reading for academics, teachers and language policy makers wanting to understand, plan, and implement an educational language program involving learner mobility. The book provides data and analyses from a long-term program of research on study abroad (the SALA Project), which looked into the short and long-term effects of instructional and mobility contexts on language and cultural development from two perspectives: the participants’ language acquisition development over 2,5 years, and the practitioners’ perspective in relation to the design and implementation of a mobility program. The book is innovative in the longitudinal data it offers, the light it sheds on (i) an array of language skills, both productive and receptive, oral and written, tapping into phonology, lexis, grammar and discourse, (ii) the role of individual differences (including attitudes, motivation, beliefs, and intercultural awareness), and (iii) the insights on the effects of length of stay. In sum, this book represents a welcome addition to previous research on the outcomes of mobility policies to promote L2 learners’ linguistic development and the individual and educational conditions that appear to facilitate success in study abroad programs.

This book deals with the effects of three different learning contexts mainly on adult, but also on adolescent, learners’ language acquisition. The three contexts brought together in the monograph include i) a conventional instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) environment, in which learners receive formal instruction in English as a Foreign Language (EFL); ii) a Study Abroad (SA) context, which learners experience during mobility programmes, when the target language is no longer a foreign but a second language learnt in a naturalistic context; iii) the immersion classroom, also known as an integrated content and language (ICL) setting, in which learners are taught content subjects through the medium of the target language—more often than not English, used as the Lingua Franca (ELF). The volume examines how these contexts change language learners’ linguistic performance, and also non-linguistic, that is, it throws light on how motivation, sense of identity, interculturality, international ethos, and affective factors develop. To our knowledge, no publication exists which places the three contexts on focus in this monograph along a continuum, as suggested in Pérez-Vidal (2011, 2014), with SA as ‘the most naturalistic’ context on one extreme, ISLA on the other, and ICL somewhere in between, while framing them all as international classrooms. Concerning target languages, the nine chapters included in the volume analyze English, and one chapter deals with Spanish, as the target language. As for target countries in SA programmes, data include England, Ireland, France, Germany, and Spain in Europe, but also Canada, China, and Australia. While the main bulk of the chapters deal with tertiary level language learners, a language learning population which has received less attention by research thus far, one chapter deals with adolescent learners. Carmen Pérez-Vidal, Sonia López, Jennifer Ament and Dakota Thomas-Wilhelm all served on the organizing committee for the EUROSLA workshop held at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, in May 2016. It is from this workshop that this monograph was inspired

"Second Language Acquisition in a Study Abroad Context" brings together for the first time a series of studies which explore the relationship between language learning and the study abroad experience. Utilizing different research methodologies (quantitative, qualitative, descriptive), the focus in this collection is on various aspects of second language learning, including the acquisition of sociolinguistic competence, the acquisition of fluency, the use of communicative strategies and the development of oral and written skills. The studies are cross-linguistic and deal with student populations at the secondary and college levels who spent between three months and one year in study abroad or exchange programs in Japan, Russia, Spain, Mexico, France or Canada.

This book is intended to introduce novice student researchers to second language acquisition in the study abroad learning environment. It reviews the existing literature and provides the emerging researcher an overview of the important factors to consider, informs them where to begin, and how to move forth an agenda for future research in this field. The book recognizes that aside from the academic advantages, study abroad programmes are an excellent tool for fostering extended and relevant interaction with native speakers. It provides reflection questions and activities, and guides the novice researcher in critically analysing existing research and to eventually carry out their own study. The book will be of use to beginning researchers who are new to linguistics in the areas of study abroad and second language acquisition.

Examining the overseas experience of language learners in diverse contexts through a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches, studies in this volume look at the acquisition of language use, socialization processes, learner motivation, identity and learning strategies. In this way, the volume offers a privileged window into learner experiences abroad while addressing current concerns central to second language acquisition.

The Routledge Handbook of Instructed Second Language Acquisition is the first collection of state-of-the-art papers pertaining to Instructed Second Language Acquisition (ISLA). Written by 45 world-renowned experts, the entries are full-length articles detailing pertinent issues with up-to-date references. Each chapter serves three purposes: (1) provide a review of current literature and discussions of cutting edge issues; (2) share the authors’ understanding of, and approaches to, the issues; and (3) provide direct links between research and practice. In short, based on the chapters in this handbook, ISLA has attained a level of theoretical and methodological maturity that provides a solid foundation for future empirical and pedagogical discovery. This handbook is the ideal resource for researchers, graduate students, upper-level undergraduate students, teachers, and teacher-educators who are interested in second language learning and teaching. .

This edited volume explores studying second languages abroad by critically and constructively reviewing established programming, providing theoretical and research-informed support for pedagogical and curriculum interventions, and analysing participant experiences. Over 12 chapters the contributors examine key issues including teaching approaches, learning activities, and relationships in the target language and culture. This book is most distinct in its attempt to promote diversity in approaches and experiences while drawing the common thread of learner- and learning-centredness through each chapter. The contributing authors represent a wide range of academies and discuss study abroad programs and participants in diverse cultural and geographic regions. The book’s international scope will acquaint educators and researchers with a broad variety of practices, stimulate comparison across contexts, and promote innovation.

This unique state-of-the-art volume offers a comprehensive, systematic discussion of second language (L2) writing and L2 learning. Led by experts Rosa Manchón and Charlene Polio, top international scholars synthesize and contextualize the salient theoretical approaches, methodological issues, empirical findings, and emerging themes in the connection between L2 writing and L2 learning, and set the future research agenda to move the field forward. This will be an indispensable resource for scholars and students of second language acquisition (SLA), applied linguistics, education, and composition studies.