Students’ Outcomes in Seven Languages Semester
Abroad Programs
Qun Ao
The Untied
What the outcomes of our study abroad programs
tell us? And how we can utilize the outcomes for making data-driven
improvements in curriculum design and instructional strategies for our
programs? In order to get the most out of
study abroad programs, all language educators who have been involved in either
long or short term programs are faced with the task of assessing the complex
components of the study abroad experience.
This study investigates linguistic outcomes in reading,
listening and speaking from seven languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, German,
Portuguese, Russian and Spanish) and 493 cadets in study abroad contexts. The data collected from 2008 to 2011 over
seven semesters. The analysis and
discussion was based on official ratings of Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI),
conducted by International Language Testing, ACTFL and official scores on
Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT), used for the United States Department
of Defense (DoD).
This study shows that there is a tendency towards
uneven development of linguistic competence across seven languages study abroad
programs and it does not uphold the common belief that students who go abroad
make spectacular progress in oral proficiency. This study suggests that development
of oral proficiency may impede by certain curriculum design and instructional
strategies.