Brandon Yost, ESOL Instructor,

Washington County School District

Dinah Scott, ESL Specialist,

Washington County School District

Pair-Share: Have you studied abroad?

Prizes!

Features of the ideal foreign language acquisition study abroad

(FLA SA) setting “to achieve meaningful linguistic gains through

out-of-class contact and make the sojourn experience worthwhile”

(p. 51)

Students need:

Consistent and substantive interactions with NS

Proficient in speaking and writing

Supportive interlocutors

Reality

Usually not reported in the literature

Challenge belief that SA is best setting

No guarantees: FLA SA studies report inconsistent results

More than just SA setting

Variables interconnected

Complex and unstable

Difficult to isolate and control Recommendation: Second Language Socialization

(SLS) perspective

Connection among SA, learner identity, and SLS

Close examination of learners in SA environment

The Effects of Intensive Study Abroad and At Home Language Programs on

Second Language Acquisition of Spanish (D’Amico, 2010) Literature Review

FLA SA becoming more common

Impact of SA on L2 remains “intricate and hard to define” (p. 28)

Mixed results: Benefits of both SA and AH programs depending on nature of study

In general, SA has positive impact on linguistic and extra-linguistic features

“The simple belief that the SA context will produce ‘perfect’ or ‘native-like’ L2

speakers is unrealistic” (p. 29). Study

10 U.S. university students in six-week SA in Spain; control group in AH program

Fluency focus Results

SA students showed L2 fluency gains and increased willingness to communicate,

but results “not drastically different from the AH learners” (p. 168).

“(L)earners were able to make some gains in fluency in . . . a short time frame” (p.

153). Recommendations

No “fast track” to native-like L2 use; Set realistic and practical program goals.

Social Interaction and Linguistic Gain During Study Abroad (Magnan & Back, 2007)

Institute of International Education report: 93.5% SA programs are

short-term (p. 44) Study

24 US university students; one semester SA in France

Questionnaires, Can-Do self-assessment, OPI, and Language

Contact Profile (p. 47) Results

SA programs contribute to FLA; “no recipe to ensure language

improvement” (p. 56)

Contact with TL is key; no one form of contact guarantees FLA Recommendations

Advanced TL coursework before SA experience

When in France, “do not speak French with other Americans” (p.

57).

Use more instruments more often

ESL Teacher Education Abroad and at Home: A Cautionary Tale(Pray & Marx, 2012)

Study

Comparison: Pre-service teachers in Mexico and in U.S.

Perceptions of culturally-appropriate language teaching Mixed Results

Developed a “more empathetic understanding of language and

cultural issues” (p. 216)

Overgeneralized own SA experience with ELLs’ experience in U.S.

Understood benefits of using L1 in language learning Recommendations

Teach SA courses and on-campus counterparts differently

Teach differences between students’ short-term SA experience &

long-term immigrants’ experience

Address misunderstandings related to language and culture

SA: A complement to on-campus programs—not a replacement

The Impact of an International Field Experience on Preservice Teachers (Pence & Macgillivray, 2008)

Study

Gauge impact of short-term SA experience

Data sources: journals, focus groups, observations, reflection

paper, course evaluations, questionnaire one year later

Professional and Personal Results

Increased confidence

Greater appreciation and respect for cultural diversity

Increased awareness of role of feedback and reflection

Program Planning Recommendations

“Importance of self-reflection cannot be overstated” (p. 24).

Carefully selected supervisors provide support and feedback

Two-fold focus: cultural diversity and personal/professional growth

Goal: produce lifelong learners who advocate for students and

families

44 South Korean Student Teachers came to USA to full student-teaching internship for two months in Jan & Feb 2012

Student Teachers were placed in both elementary and secondary classrooms with a cooperating teacher, based upon each student teachers’ content area of emphasis

Student-teachers were also placed in English Speaking host family homes for the duration of their stay in USA

Emphasis of their internship was to develop pedagogical knowledge to make them a better teacher in South Korea, being able to contrast the experience of South Korean Education system with the U.S. Education system

Each Student-Teacher had to be in either their Junior or Senior year of their education program

All content coursework must have been completed

Every student-teacher doing the Study Abroad internship had to meet TOEFL score requirements expected of incoming international students at most colleges

Does English language proficiency improve during short-term student-teaching internships?

Student-Teachers were given a pre-test (upon arrival at beginning of January), a mid-test (end of January), and post-test (end of February)

Each testing session utilized different forms of the test so that participants did not see the same questions again

Six areas were tested using two different tests• Michigan Test – Listening, Grammar,

Vocabulary, and Reading• Quick Informal Assessment (QIA) – Speaking

& Writing

The Listening Test consisted of 20 multiple choice questions

The questions were played on an audio CD

These questions were the first part of the Michigan Test

The Grammar Test consisted of 30 questions

These questions were numbers 21-50 of the Michigan Test

The Vocabulary Test consisted of 30 questions

These questions were numbers 51-80 of the Michigan Test

The Reading Test consisted of 20 questions

These questions were numbers 81-100 of the Michigan Test

A writing prompt was given to the students to write an essay about

Each essay was blindly scored by two scorers

Scores that differed by more than one point were discussed by each reviewer until consensus was made on the score

The Speaking Test consisted of multiple questions that progressively became more difficult

Once the student’s oral proficiency was determined, the test ended; thus, some students answered 16-20 questions while others answered much fewer questions than that

Statistically Signicant!• Growth in Listening during 2nd month!• Growth in Grammar across the two months

combined!• Reading (no growth from pre-post… drop off

at mid test could be due to stress, fatigue) No Statistical Significance

• Two months is too short a time to see gains in Speaking, Reading, Vocabulary Acquisition, and Writing

Improving ESL Learners' Listening Skills: At the Workplace and Beyond(Van Duzer, 1997)

Listening is demanding.

Listener, speaker, context, and level of visual support

Critical activity during ELs’ silent period and beyond

Listening is complex.

Many non-sequential processes occurring both simultaneously and

in rapid succession

Both bottom-up and top-down processes

Effective listening activities

Provide relevant tasks and authentic materials

Foster complex processing

Teach strategies

Have broad application

Listening plays a critical role in communication and in SLA.

Future groups are going to receive English training in regards to Listening and Grammar• Specifically idiomatic phrases

Qualitative studies to be done on perceptions of culture upon arriving contrasted with perceptions when leaving

What questions do you have?

How does this study connect to your own study abroad experiences?

References

D ’Amico, M. L. (2010). The effects of intensive study abroad and at home language

programs on second language acquisition of Spanish (Doctoral dissertation).

Retrieved from ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Florida. (ISBN: 978-1-

1245-1390-4)

Magnan, S.S., & Back, M. (2007). Social interaction and linguistic gain during study

abroad. Foreign Language Annuals, 40(1), 43-61.

Pence, H. M., & Macgillivray, I. K. (2008). The impact of an international field experience

on preservice teachers. Teaching & Teacher Education, 24(1), 14-25.

Pray, L., & Marx, S. (2010). ESL teacher education abroad and at home A cautionary tale.

The Teacher Educator, 45(3), 216-229. doi:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08878730.2010.488099

Van Duzer, C. (1997). Improving ESL learners' listening skills: At the workplace and

beyond. Retrieved September 15, 2012, from the Center for Applied Linguistics

website: http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/listenqa.html

Wang, C. (2010). Toward a second language socialization perspective: Issues in study

abroad research. Foreign Language Annals, 43(1), 50-63.