Abstract Seventy-two Chinese learners of English participated in the study, 33 in the United Kingdom and 39 in China. Each completed seven tasks in English and a language contact questionnaire, once at the start of their master’s program and once six months later. The seven tasks assessed overall oral proficiency and the linguistic knowledge and processing that underpin speech production. Small statistically significant differences were observed across the contexts at Time 2 on the three linguistic processing tasks, when performance at Time 1 was controlled for. Interestingly, the more the learners studying in the United Kingdom reported using the target language, the more slowly they completed the sentence inflection and agreement task, while the more the learners studying in China reported using the target language, the more quickly they completed the task. Type of language contact (i.e., reading, writing, speaking, or listening) is explored as a possible explanation for this novel finding.
Abstract This study examines L2 Chinese learners’ oral retention during the formal instruction at home (AH) context after a period of study abroad (SA). Specifically, it investigates oral developments of L2 Chinese learners in a six-month AH context following their return from ten-month SA. Participants were ten English-speaking undergraduate L2 Chinese learners at an Irish university. Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency (CAF) measures were employed to assess learners’ oral development, with seven metrics providing an in-depth performance evaluation. Data were collected at three time points: pre-SA (T1), post-SA (T2), and six months after returning to AH (T3). Analyses focused specifically on the T2–T3 period to examine the long-term retention of oral proficiency gains following SA. Results showed lexical diversity and syntactic subordination retention, while erosion was observed in fluency (e.g., increased silent pauses) and lexical sophistication. Such findings suggest that learners in the AH context tend to concentrate on learning vocabulary (diversity) and syntactic complexity at the expense of fluency, accuracy ( Juan-Garau & Pérez-Vidal, 2007 ) and lexical sophistication.
Abstract Situated in the under-researched area of second language (L2) sociopragmatic development, this paper focuses on a cohort of 18 university-level L2 learners of Russian to explore the impact of face-to-face oral language contact during an eight-week sojourn on the realization of nominal address terms (NATs). It achieves this by means of (1) a mixed methods reflexive questionnaire and (2) a pre/post written discourse completion task. Although results indicate that language contact was dominated by interactions with teachers regarding classroom matters, statistically significant gains in the number of NATs used were noted. However, the diversity of NATs employed and their convergence with socially appropriate norms did not significantly develop. We conclude that even a short-term SA with limited diversity of interaction can lead to sociopragmatic gains not evident in the at-home environment. Nevertheless, the time span and its impact on opportunities for diverse and intense contact was not conducive to the activation of a wider range of variants especially those indexing social closeness.
Abstract This study explored (1) the development of collocation use in L2 German and English writing during study abroad, (2) the extent to which this development differs according to the approach used to identify collocations (phraseological vs. frequency-based approach), and (3) the role of collocation awareness and L2 exposure and use in this development. It presents five case studies of L1 Dutch-speaking students who went abroad: three to a German-speaking country and two to an English-speaking country. A learner corpus consisting of 50 argumentative essays was used to investigate students’ use of adjective-noun and verb-noun collocations. Interview data were gathered to examine learners’ collocation awareness, L2 exposure and use. Findings revealed progress in collocation use in three out of five students, independent of the method applied. A non-linear development was observed across all participants, and collocation awareness and L2 exposure and use did not always seem related to L2 collocational development.
Abstract This paper explores Erasmus alumni perspectives on the design of pre-study-abroad (SA) orientation courses that could best prepare students for an Erasmus experience. Drawing on semi-structured focus group interviews with Spanish and Turkish undergraduates, this paper captures information about students’ experiences and perceived needs. The analysis supports the idea that pre-departure courses should not have only one specific focus but should instead adopt a broader approach that includes practical guidance, cultural/linguistic awareness, and coping strategies, among other elements. Findings reveal that practical and context-specific information should be key components of pre-SA programs to support smooth adjustment abroad, along with training to increase intercultural and linguistic awareness. Participants recommended assigning trainers with international experience to enhance credibility and promote a sense of reciprocity. The study concludes that pre-SA courses should adopt a modular, flexible design that balances intercultural, linguistic, pragmatic, and practical components, while integrating SA alumni insights and ongoing in-sojourn support.
