This book unites a range of emerging topics in the burgeoning transdisciplinary fields of second language acquisition and interculturality in a study abroad context. It explores key issues, trends and approaches within each strand and how the strands relate to one another, painting a big picture of the diversity and complexity underpinning second language acquisition in a study abroad context. The chapters highlight themes such as social networks, input and interaction issues, learner identities and study abroad in lingua franca contexts, while also presenting other themes spanning the breadth of second language acquisition and interculturality research, such as individual differences and linguistic development. This comprehensive and cohesive volume showcases the latest innovative research using quantitative, qualitative and mixed method approaches across a range of source and target language learner cohorts, and highlights emerging themes and directions for future research.

"Second Language Acquisition in a Study Abroad Context" brings together for the first time a series of studies which explore the relationship between language learning and the study abroad experience. Utilizing different research methodologies (quantitative, qualitative, descriptive), the focus in this collection is on various aspects of second language learning, including the acquisition of sociolinguistic competence, the acquisition of fluency, the use of communicative strategies and the development of oral and written skills. The studies are cross-linguistic and deal with student populations at the secondary and college levels who spent between three months and one year in study abroad or exchange programs in Japan, Russia, Spain, Mexico, France or Canada.

Comprehensive and evidence-based, this book presents the best practices for designing and sustaining study abroad programs to maximize the outcomes and benefits of education abroad for all students. Distilling the history, research, and variations of study abroad programs, Goertler and Schenker provide a clear-eyed analysis of the lessons learned and the common obstacles associated with education abroad. Organized in three parts – the state of education abroad in the US; research on education abroad outcomes; and best practices – Goertler and Schenker demonstrate the benefits of long-term study abroad for the development of advanced language skills and intercultural competence, and the need for diversity in participation. Chapters offer theory-based, practice-proven recommendations to invigorate, innovate, and implement successful study abroad programs that are sustainable and ethically engage with the local community. The authors discuss design features to maximize language proficiency and intercultural competence. Grounded in up-to-date research and theory, the book responds to the challenges associated with long-term education abroad programs and provides recommendations on (re)invigorating long-term programs and diversifying participation in education abroad. From Study Abroad to Education Abroad is vital reading for academics, researchers, and students in the fields of language education and education policy, as well as practitioners, such as language program coordinators and education abroad administrators.

The papers in this volume offer a sampling of contemporary efforts to update the portrayal of study abroad in the applied linguistics literature through attention to its social and cultural aspects. The volume illustrates diversification of theory and method, refinement of approaches to social interactive language use, and expansion in the range of populations and languages under scrutiny. Part I offers a topical orientation, outlining the rationale for the project. Part II presents six qualitative case studies adopting sociocultural, activity theoretical, postructuralist, or discourse analytic methodologies. The four chapters in Part III illustrate a variety of approaches and foci in research on the pragmatic capabilities of study abroad participants in relation to second language identities. The volume will be of interest to a broad audience of applied linguistics researchers, language educators, and professionals engaged in the design, oversight, and assessment of study abroad programs.

Situated at the interface between study abroad and second language acquisition research, this book adopts a threefold thematic focus to study abroad and the language learner, investigating learner beliefs about study abroad, learner experiences of study abroad in relation to a range of individual, cultural and social factors, and the nature of learner development while abroad at an intercultural, personal and linguistic level. Chapters present studies of learners in different geographical contexts, with different first and second language combinations. The studies draw on different methodologies, incorporating quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method approaches. Presenting findings with implications for learner preparation, expectations and support during study abroad, and highlighting developmental issues within second language acquisition, Study Abroad and the Second Language Learner will be of interest to all study abroad and second language acquisition researchers, as well as programme organisers, language instructors and other stake holders.

The Routledge Handbook of Language and Intercultural Communication provides a comprehensive historical survey of language and intercultural communication studies with a critical assessment of past and present theory, research, and practice, as well as an insight into future directions. Drawing on the expertise of leading scholars from different parts of the world, this second edition offers updated chapters by returning authors and many new contributions on a broad range of topics, including reflexivity and criticality, translanguaging, and social justice in relation to intercultural communication.With an emphasis on contemporary, critical perspectives, this handbook showcases the varied range of issues, perspectives, and approaches that characterise this increasingly important field in today’s globalised world. Offering 34 chapters with examples from a variety of languages and international settings, this handbook is an indispensable resource for students and scholars working in the fields of intercultural communication, applied linguistics, TESOL/ TEFL, and communication studies.

This publication constitutes essential reading for academics, teachers and language policy makers wanting to understand, plan, and implement an educational language program involving learner mobility. The book provides data and analyses from a long-term program of research on study abroad (the SALA Project), which looked into the short and long-term effects of instructional and mobility contexts on language and cultural development from two perspectives: the participants' language acquisition development over 2,5 years, and the practitioners' perspective in relation to the design and implementation of a mobility program. The book is innovative in the longitudinal data it offers, the light it sheds on (i) an array of language skills, both productive and receptive, oral and written, tapping into phonology, lexis, grammar and discourse, (ii) the role of individual differences (including attitudes, motivation, beliefs, and intercultural awareness), and (iii) the insights on the effects of length of stay. In sum, this book represents a welcome addition to previous research on the outcomes of mobility policies to promote L2 learners' linguistic development and the individual and educational conditions that appear to facilitate success in study abroad programs.