Research
on Effectiveness
Maximizing Study Abroad Through Language and Culture Strategies
The goal of this research
was to field test the three guidebooks in the Maximizing
Study Abroad series for study abroad students, program professionals,
and language instructors.
Research
Overview
The
overarching research question was: "To what degree and in what
ways can a strategies-based approach to developing language skills
and enhancing ability to function in a new culture, transmitted
by means of a set of integrated study abroad guides for students,
program professionals, and instructors respectively, promote language
gain and cultural adaptation by students abroad?" To understand
this question, the researchers examined in depth the following issues:
Students:
Do study abroad students use the strategies in the Students'
Guide in order to deal with the target language and culture?
How, and in which contexts do they utilize these strategies? How
frequently do they use the language and culture strategies?
Program
Professionals: What are ways that program professionals
use the Program Professionals' Guide in student orientation?
How do they actually use the guide? How do they perceive the role
of this guide in the student orientation process?
Language
Instructors: In what ways do language instructors utilize
the Instructors' Guide in their language teaching and advising?
Research
Design
This
research project was comprised of three separate studies:
Students: The
Students' Guide study was designed to field test the Students'
Guide and to explore the impact of a curricular intervention
on study abroad students' second language acquisition, intercultural
development, language learning strategies, and culture learning
strategies. The study utilized an experimental design in which the
sample of 86 undergraduate university students was randomly assigned
to the treatment/experimental group or the control group.
The students who participated in the study were all studying for
one semester in French- or Spanish-speaking countries and had studied
the target language (i.e., French or Spanish) for a minimum of 3
semesters prior to going abroad. The sample was made up of
two cohorts of students, the first of which studied abroad during
spring semester 2003 and the second during fall semester 2003.
Program
Professionals: The purpose of this study was to field test
the Program Professionals Guide (PPG) with a group of
study abroad program professionals who used the PPG to help them
prepare and implement pre-departure or on-site study abroad programming.
The participants in the study included eight U.S.-based study
abroad advisors from seven Minnesota and Wisconsin universities,
one U.S. faculty member leading a group of students to Paris for
one semester, and four in-country, on-site directors (one each from
France, Ghana, India, and Spain).
Language
Instructors: This case study involved four experienced
French and Spanish language instructors who used the Language
Instructors' Guide to plan and teach a language course.
As with the other two parts of the Maximizing Study Abroad
research project, the primary goal of this study was to field test
the Language Instructors' Guide and to receive feedback
from the instructors regarding usefulness of the Guide
and how it could be improved.
Research
Report
An extensive report on this research project is available as PDF
file. The report describes the three research studies outlined
above.
Cohen,
A. D., Paige, R. M., Shively, R. L., Emert, H., & Hoff, J. (2005).
Maximizing study
abroad through language and culture strategies: Research on students,
study abroad program professionals, and language instructors.
Final Report to the International Research and Studies Program,
Office of International Education, DOE. Minneapolis, MN: Center
for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, University of Minnesota.
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