On the Interrelated Nature of Study Abroad Learners’ Language Contact, Perceptions of Culture, and Personal Outcomes
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Abstract This study discusses a 5-week study abroad experience in which a group of English-speaking Canadian university students learning Spanish participated in a faculty-led study abroad experience in Spain. A mixed-methods approach combining quantitative measurement and qualitative inquiry was used to explore how often and with whom the second language (L2) learners used English and Spanish during their sojourn. At the conclusion of the study abroad program, the learners completed a Language Contact Profile and responded to open-ended questions that encouraged their meta-reflection on language contact, perceptions of culture, and personal outcomes. The findings show that learners relied on situations from their free time abroad to better understand the target culture rather than on required activities such as visits to museums or heritage sites. Students reported an appreciation for the L2 culture, mostly related to the relaxed and welcoming atmosphere and an increase in their L2 confidence. The findings also underscore the importance of constant interaction in the target language with host community members. Future programming and related research should emphasize learners’ engagement with the host community, both prior to arrival and throughout their time abroad. Résumé Cette étude traite d’une expérience d’études à l’étranger d’une durée de 5 semaines. Un groupe d’étudiants d’une université canadienne de langue anglaise apprenant l’espagnol ont séjourné en Espagne. Cette étude à méthodologie mixte a combiné des mesures quantitatives à une enquête qualitative pour explorer combien souvent et avec qui les apprenants de langue seconde utilisaient l’anglais et l’espagnol durant leur séjour. À la suite de ce séjour, les participants ont complété un profil de contacts linguistiques et ont répondu à des questions ouvertes encourageant la métaréflexion sur les contacts linguistiques, les perceptions de la culture et les résultats personnels. Les résultats ont révélé que les apprenants s’appuyaient sur leurs activités quotidiennes pour mieux comprendre la culture cible au lieu des activités requises comme les visites aux musées ou aux sites patrimoniaux. En outre, les étudiants ont exprimé une appréciation de la langue seconde, surtout par rapport à l’ambiance décontractée et accueillante ainsi qu’à leur confiance accrue dans leur habileté à communiquer dans leur langue seconde. Les résultats ont aussi indiqué l’importance d’une interaction constante avec la langue seconde. La programmation future ainsi que la recherche qui y est reliée devrait favoriser l’interaction avec les étudiants et leurs hôtes, à la fois avant leur arrivée et pendant leur séjour à l’étranger.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.005 | 0.008 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.004 | 0.001 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.003 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.003 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".