Project Perseverance and Journaling

Exploring the connection between language use and oral performance during study abroad: Results from the Daily Language Questionnaire 2

“…As an explanation for these findings, Kinginger (2013) emphasizes that SA participants often experience discomfort when attempting to align their identities with the sociocultural landscape of a foreign environment. To alleviate these newfound concerns, learners commonly form dense social networks with their program peers, known as “home cultural islands” (Belnap et al, 2018, p. 246; cf. Dewey et al, 2012).…”

“…At the same time, we acknowledge that programmatic modifications must be complemented with strategies for SA participants to reflect on their lived experiences. To offer one example, Belnap et al (2018) propose a “Project Perseverance” journaling intervention in which learners reflect on how they initiate and maintain L2 interactions while they are abroad. As a second recommendation, we thus suggest the implementation of reflective strategies such as journaling or group‐training exercises that help learners confront the anxiety associated with navigating a foreign environment and that continually remind learners of their predeparture goals.…”

“…Third, through the exit questionnaire, most learners reported that they socialized primarily with SA coparticipants during their stay abroad, leading to fewer opportunities for L2 engagement than those who reached out to members of the local community. One explanation driving this finding relates to the likely dense social networks that SA participants formed with one another (Belnap et al, 2018). In light of this analysis, we offered three recommendations for programmatic refinement (see Section 5.2.2).…”