Learning English beyond the classroom: benefits of linguistic immersions in anglophone countries for Secondary and High School students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31637/epsir-2024-754Keywords:
short stay abroad, English as a foreign language, social skills, multiculturality, internationalization, Secondary, High School, anglophone countriesAbstract
Introduction: We live in a diverse and multicultural environment, where the importance of learning and mastering several languages lies not only in the ability to communicate, but also in understanding and respecting other cultures. This social reality demands that secondary schools offer short stays abroad to complement the process of teaching and learning English as a foreign language. Methodology: This study examines, through a mixed and descriptive methodology, both linguistic and social benefits in a large sample of Secondary and Baccalaureate students who participated in a short-stay language immersion programme in different English-speaking countries. Results: The main findings confirm that language stays abroad enhance both the learning of English and the acquisition of socio-cultural competences, which are fundamental for educating European citizens. Conclusions: Research, based on students‘ perceptions, shows that experiences abroad not only improve participants’ language skills, but also their social skills, providing new perspectives on the multicultural world.
Downloads
References
Álvarez-Cofiño, A. (2019). El Enfoque metodológico CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) en la Enseñanza Primaria: Estudio Comparativo de su Implementación en un Centro Bilingüe y en un Centro con Sección Bilingüe. Revista Nebrija de Lingüística Aplicada a la Enseñanza de Lenguas, 13(27), 32-54. https://doi.org/10.26378/rnlael1327335
Amuzie, G. L. y Winke, P. (2009). Changes in language learning beliefs as a result of study abroad. System, 37(3), 366-379. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2009.02.011 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2009.02.011
Airey, J. (2009). Estimating undergraduate bilingual scientific literacy in Sweden. International CLIL Research Journal, 1(2) 26-35. https://bit.ly/4ckBSkA
Baker, C. (2011). Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Multilingual Matters.
Barron, A. (2006). Learning to Say ‘You’ in German: The Acquisition of Sociolinguistic Competence in a Study Abroad Context. En M. DuFon y E. Churchill (Eds.), Language Learners in Study Abroad Contexts (pp. 59-88). Multilingual Matters. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21832/9781853598531-007
Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Multilingual Matters.
Byram, M. (2008). From Foreign Language Education to Education for Intercultural Citizenship: Essays and Reflections. Multilingual Matters. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847690807
Coleman, J. S. (1996). A Vision for Sociology. Falmer Press.
Comisión Europea (CE). (1995). Libro blanco sobre la educación y la formación. Enseñar y aprender. Hacia la sociedad del conocimiento. Oficina de publicaciones de las Comunidades Europeas.
Comisión Europea (CE). (2017). Legislación de la Unión Europea sobre políticas lingüísticas. https://bit.ly/3zsiHqF
Consejo de Europa (CdE). (2002). Marco Común Europeo de Referencia para las Lenguas: aprendizaje, enseñanza, evaluación. Artes Gráficas Fernández Ciudad. https://bit.ly/3W6ryXJ
Collentine, J. y Freed, B. F. (2004). Learning context and its effects on second language acquisition: Introduction. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26(2), 153–171. https://bit.ly/3RO2DG4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263104262015
DeKeyser, R. (1991). Foreign language development during a semester abroad. En B, Freed (Ed.), Foreign language acquisition research and the classroom (pp. 104-119). D.C. Heath.
Díaz-Campos, M. (2004) Context of learning in the acquisition of Spanish second language phonology. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26(2), 249-273. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44486771 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263104262052
Freed, B. F. (1998). Second Language Acquisiton in a Study Abroad Context. John Benjamins Publishing Company. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v4i1.60
Godwin-Jones, R. (2016). Integrating technology into study abroad. Language Learning & Technology, 20(1), 1–20. http://dx.doi.org/10125/44439
Guth, S. y Helm, F. (2010) Telecollaboration 2.0: Language, Literacies and Intercultural Learning in the 21st Century. Peter Lang.
Guzman, E. y Burke, M. (2003). Development and test of international student performance taxonomy. Journal of lntercultural Relations, 27(6), 659-681. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2003.08.006 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2003.08.006
Isabelli, C. A. (2003). Study abroad for advanced foreign language majors: Optimal duration for developing complex structures. The American Association of University Supervisors, Coordinators and Directors of Foreign Languages Programs (AAUSC), 129-145. http://www.slrpjournal.org/item/186
Kinginger, C. (2013). Social and cultural aspects of language learning in study abroad. John Benjamins Publishing Company. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.37
Kuntz, P. y Belnap, R. K. (2001). Beliefs about Language Learning Held by Teachers and Their Students at Two Arabic Programs Abroad. Al-’Arabiyya, 34, 91–113. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43192836
Lafford, B. A. (1995). Getting into, through and out of a survival situation. En B. F. Freed (Ed.), Second language acquisition in a study abroad context (pp. 97-121). John Benjamins Publishing Company. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/sibil.9.08laf
Lafford, B.A. (2004). The effect of the context of learning on the use of communication strategies by learners of Spanish as a second language. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26(2), 201-225. https://bit.ly/3zzIc9f DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263104262039
Ley Orgánica 8/2013, de 9 de diciembre, para la mejora de la calidad educativa. Boletín Oficial del Estado, núm. 295, de 10 de diciembre de 2013, pp. 97858 a 97921. https://bit.ly/4cm3llW
Ley Orgánica 3/2020, de 29 de diciembre, de 29 de diciembre, por la que se modifica la Ley Orgánica 2/2006, de 3 de mayo, de Educación. Boletín Oficial del Estado, núm. 340, de 23 de diciembre de 2020, pp. 122868 a 122953. https://bit.ly/3L5Kakz
Mallol, C. y Alsina, M. (2014). Valoración de los estudiantes de bachillerato sobre los beneficios competenciales de un intercambio lingüístico-cultural. Pulso, 37, 105-126. https://doi.org/10.58265/pulso.5190 DOI: https://doi.org/10.58265/pulso.5190
Martínez-Martínez, A. L. (2020). Estudiantes de intercambio y su puntuación TOEFL: antes y después de estudiar en el extranjero. Con-Ciencia Serrana Boletín Científico de la Escuela Preparatoria Ixtlahuaco, 2(3), 3-6. https://bit.ly/45LAi93
Mori, S. C. (2000). Addressing the mental health concerns of international students. Journal of Counseling and Development, 78, 137–144. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.2000.tb02571.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.2000.tb02571.x
Knight, J. (2004). An Internationalization Remodeled: Definition, Approaches and Rationales. Journal of Studies in Higher Education, 8, 5-31. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315303260832 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315303260832
Pellegrino, V. A. (1998). Student Perspectives on Language Learning in a Study Abroad Context. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 4(1), 91–120. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v4i1.64 DOI: https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v4i1.64
Pérez-Vidal, C. y Juan-Garau, M. (2011). The Effect of Context and Input Conditions on Oral and Written Development: A Study Abroad Perspective. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 49(2), 157-185. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral.2011.008 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/iral.2011.008
Rhodes, G., Biscarra, A., Loberg, L. y Roller, K. (2012). Study abroad as a collective endeavour. About Campus, 16(6), 2-10. https://doi.org/10.1002/abc.20081 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/abc.20081
Ruiz-Hidalgo, D. (2023). Beneficios comunicativos, sociales y culturales de una inmersión lingüística en el extranjero. Nabe Journal of Research and Practice. 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/26390043.2023.2277471 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/26390043.2023.2277471
Tanaka, K. y Ellis, R. (2003). Study-abroad, language proficiency, and learner beliefs about language learning. JALT Journal, 25(1), 63-85. https://doi.org/10.37546/JALTJJ25.1-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.37546/JALTJJ25.1-3
Trigo, E., Santos Díaz, I. C. y Jiménez López, G. (2021). Comunicarse en la escuela plurilingüe: la formación en lengua extranjera del futuro profesorado. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 79, 53-75. https://www.doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2021-1497 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2021-1497
Ward, C. (2004). Psychological theories of culture contact and their implications for intercultural training. En J. Landis, J. M. Bennett y M. J. Bennett (Eds.), Handbook of intercultural training (pp. 185-217). Sage Publications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452231129.n8
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 David Ruiz Hidalgo
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Non Commercial, No Derivatives Attribution 4.0. International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.), that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
