The effect of Study Abroad (SA) on written performance

Abstract

Research on the effects of Study Abroad (SA) periods on learners' linguistic progress has tended to focus on oral skills, and few SA studies have focused on learners' development in writing while abroad. The subjects in the present study were 37 advanced level non-native (NNSs) university students of English on a SA programme. Written compositions were analysed for fluency accuracy and complexity gains after the SA. They were contrasted with progress after formal instruction and with native speakers (NSs) baseline written performance. Language background data, attitudes, and stay abroad conditions were elicited with questionnaires. The SA period resulted in significant progress, which receded in the mid-term. Formal instruction only showed some improvement in accuracy. Significant differences were found between NSs and NNSs, although not in all domains. The results allow us to identify the students who benefit most from the SA and to examine the factors which seem to characterize them. The theoretical interest of Study AbroadThe interest of investigating the effects of SA periods on linguistic outcomes and processes seems undeniable and undiminishing. Fifteen years after the publication of Freed's (1995: 158) seminal book "with the first collection of studies that captured the current state of the art of research on SA", SA studies allow us to address some of the fundamental issues that concern SLA theory, namely learning context, differences in learner development, learning mechanisms, language proficiency, and stages of development. These are five of the eight issues identified by Hulstijn (2007: 194) when he refers to the relative weight played in language acquisition by, on the one hand, the biological factors, mainly age, and, on the other, by each of the "sociopsychological factors (e.g. learning context, quantity and quality of input, learner attributes, e.g. attitudes, motivation, aptitude)".

The Relationship between WTC and Oral Proficiency Measurements in the Study Abroad Context

“…This was in line with other studies that have compared three production measures from the same participants over a period of time during study abroad courses (Mora & Valls-Ferrer, 2012;Perez-Vidal & Juan-Garau, 2009;). …”

Perception of FA by Non-native Listeners in a Study Abroad Context

“…. The positive albeit moderate effect of SA on pronunciation found in this study is also in accordance with the results of most SA research, which report significant gains in other linguistic skills such as vocabulary (Collentine 2004), writing (Pérez-Vidal andJuan-Garau 2009) and especially oral fluency (Perez-Vidal andJuan-Garau 2007, Trenchs-Parera 2009;Valls-Ferrer 2011).…”

Production of formulaic expressions in L2 Chinese: A developmental investigation in a study abroad context

“…Another potentially useful method is to document the amount of target language contact. Previous studies have used a survey, diary, and log to examine the extent of language contact and its impact on language gains during study abroad in areas of oral fluency, reading, writing, listening, grammar, vocabulary acquisition, and pragmatics (Dewey 2004, Kinginger 2008, Pérez-Vidal and Juan-Garau 2009, Taguchi 2008. Some of these studies have used a survey called the "Language Contact Profile" (LCP) in order to document learners' amount of outside class contact with the target language ).…”