Language Mobility And Study Abroad In The Contemporary European Context

This collection explores student mobility and study abroad programmes across Europe, presenting original research on personal, linguistic, and intercultural development during study abroad experiences. The volume synthesizes work from the 2016-2020 Cost Action 15130 ‘Study Abroad Research in European Perspective’ research network, offering a multidisciplinary account of the intersection of language learning and study abroad in Europe amidst the changing contemporary higher education landscape, as well as new directions for future research. The initial section comprises short survey chapters outlining key themes and literature, connecting traditional study abroad research with new multilingual and transnational realities. This is supported by a main section containing original empirical studies in a wide range of European contexts and a short afterword bringing together policy and pedagogical proposals. Taken together, the collection shines a light on the impact of the internationalisation of higher education on linguistic dimensions of student mobility while including a range of lesser studied settings and languages. New insights are offered on language learning, identity, interculturality, student agency and motivation, and transnational social networks in the study abroad context. This book will be of particular interest to students, researchers and institutions interested in the intersection of language learning and study abroad, including such areas as multilingualism, higher education, and applied linguistics. Chapter 8 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Study abroad research has become an established area of inquiry with theoretical impact and methodological sophistication. The field has incorporated the different approaches and methodological changes that have characterized SLA scholarship, including technological advances and new designs. The present volume contributes an update on and a systematic critical appraisal of the methods employed in study abroad research to identify strengths and weaknesses and to look ahead and point towards new directions. The volume is organized around different areas -approaches, instruments, linguistic levels, and learners and their context-, each one including a number of chapters authored by outstanding experts in the field.

This edited book brings together contributions from scholars in different international and educational contexts to take a critical look at the design and implementation of second language Study Abroad Research (SAR). Examining data sources and types, research paradigms and methods, and analytic approaches, the authors not only provide insight into the field as it currently stands, but also offer recommendations for future research, with the aim of revitalizing inquiry in the field of SAR. This book will be of interest to applied linguists, as well as educators and education scholars with an interest in researching international study.

This book takes a critical perspective on international academic mobility and contextualizes this mobility through different key factors including global pandemics, identity construction, intercultural sensitivity, and cultural engagement. Using a multidisciplinary approach, the volume investigates the current trends of international mobility programs with consideration to the new normal through social, political, economic, and educational factors among mobility exchange actors. Contesting established approaches to international academic mobility in paradigmatic contexts, the volume investigates the effects and implications of distance internationalization as an emerging concept, juxtaposing the traditional context of academic mobility with a newly emerging virtual one as a key catalyst for change. Offering a range of authentic studies, reviews, and cases to challenge international global education, this timely book will appeal to researchers, scholars, and postgraduate students in the fields of higher education research, international and comparative education, and the sociology of education more broadly.

Practice is a recurring and popular theme in language education. However, the concepts of practice and automatization have recently received renewed theoretical and practical interest and are increasingly being explored from the skill acquisition theory and cognitive psychology perspectives. In this volume, leading scholars discuss the optimal types, amounts, and schedules of practice for specific language structures and skills, as well as for various types of learners and learning contexts, to facilitate second language development. They illuminate how practice is instantiated for specific groups of teachers and learners in diverse institutionalized contexts, such as foreign language curriculum development, intelligent computer-assisted language learning systems, task-based language teaching, and study abroad. Furthermore, original methodological syntheses of extant research on practice and automatization are presented, along with guides for conducting empirical research on these topics. Practice and Automatization in Second Language Research: Perspectives from Skill Acquisition Theory and Cognitive Psychology is a valuable resource and reference for graduate students and researchers in the field of SLA and applied linguistics.

This book unites a range of emerging topics in the burgeoning transdisciplinary fields of second language acquisition and interculturality in a study abroad context. It explores key issues, trends and approaches within each strand and how the strands relate to one another, painting a big picture of the diversity and complexity underpinning second language acquisition in a study abroad context. The chapters highlight themes such as social networks, input and interaction issues, learner identities and study abroad in lingua franca contexts, while also presenting other themes spanning the breadth of second language acquisition and interculturality research, such as individual differences and linguistic development. This comprehensive and cohesive volume showcases the latest innovative research using quantitative, qualitative and mixed method approaches across a range of source and target language learner cohorts, and highlights emerging themes and directions for future research.

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.

Situated at the interface between study abroad and second language acquisition research, this book adopts a threefold thematic focus to study abroad and the language learner, investigating learner beliefs about study abroad, learner experiences of study abroad in relation to a range of individual, cultural and social factors, and the nature of learner development while abroad at an intercultural, personal and linguistic level. Chapters present studies of learners in different geographical contexts, with different first and second language combinations. The studies draw on different methodologies, incorporating quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method approaches. Presenting findings with implications for learner preparation, expectations and support during study abroad, and highlighting developmental issues within second language acquisition, Study Abroad and the Second Language Learner will be of interest to all study abroad and second language acquisition researchers, as well as programme organisers, language instructors and other stake holders.