The Effect of Study-Abroad on Pragmatic Transfer

This study aims to investigate the effect that studying abroad may have on pragmatic transfer in requests, refusals, and expressions of gratitude, produced by Japanese learners of English. Twentytwo Japanese college students completed a multimedia elicitation task(MET) before and after studying in the US for one semester, together with twenty-two L1 English speakers and twenty L1 Japanese speakers as baseline data. The MET is a computer-based instrument for eliciting oral data.Unlike previous studies on pragmatic transfer, which often lack statistical evidence, this study includes statistical analysis. The analysis revealed that negative pragmatic transfer occurs within a limited range. The identified transfer includes pragmalinguistic transfer, whereby, assuming that their politeness levels are equal, learners directly translate L1 expressions into L2;and sociopragmatic transfer, whereby learners transfer L1 discourse patterns and functions. Resistance to L2 norms and increased fluency can be influencing factors. The results indicated that the effect of study-abroad is limited because most of the negative transfer which was identified before studying abroad remained after studying abroad. Thus, the necessity of explicit pragmatic instruction was proposed.

Effects of Study-Abroad Experiences on Chinese Students’ L2 Learning Activities and Study-Abroad Motivations

This study explores how overseas exchange opportunities might influence Chinese students ’engagement in L2 learning activities and how far such opportunities may satisfy their motivation to study abroad. The analysis of the data, collected and filtered from carefully designed questionnaires and interviews, showed that students ’ L2 learning activities and study-abroad motivations underwent changes after their overseas experiences. Regarding the former, the overseas environment was the cause of the change because it provided students with more chances to talk with native speakers and increased the frequency of their using L2 in their daily life. Regarding the latter, the decline of the students ’ major study-abroad motivations was partly because they tended to treat L2 learning as a tool for realizing other goals and partly because the students had got other important motivations. In view of these findings, suggestions were raised to help future students get better prepared for their overseas study or short-term exchange life.

Exploring If an Embedded Study-away Experience Impacts Change in Undergraduate Students＇ Intercultural Competence and Awareness

This research considers the value of an embedded intercultural experience and if it is critical to the development of intercultural knowledge and awareness. Undergraduate students＇ obtainment of intercultural knowledge and awareness were tested under three conditions： （1） students in a course intentionally designed to develop intercultural self-awareness and intercultural related critical thinking skills （no travel component）; （2） students in a course intentionally designed to develop intercultural self-awareness and intercultural related critical thinking skills （including an embedded one-week travel component）; and （3） students in a course not specifically designed to develop intercultural self-awareness and intercultural related critical thinking skills （including an embedded one-week travel component）. The initial findings suggest that, on average, students who enrolled in courses with the intention of building intercultural competence experienced a positive change in intercultural learning, while students in the course not specifically designed to develop intercultural learning, on average, experienced no change in intercultural learning as measured by the intercultural development inventory （IDI）. The results support other findings indicating that immersion in another culture only may not create an opportunity for intercultural learning. This finding reinforces the need for intentional learning opportunities before, during, and after a study-away immersion. However, the omission of an embedded experiential learning opportunity may not lessen intercultural learning.