Language Learning in Study Abroad

The Multilingual Turn

Edited by Wenhao Diao, Emma Trentman

Publication date:

04 March 2021

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

234x156mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781800411333

Vestiges of monolingual bias are present in the portrayal of study abroad as an idealized monolingual immersion experience and the steps many programs take to encourage or enforce target language monolingualism. In reality, study abroad is often inherently multilingual. This book addresses the need for a recognition of the multilingual realities of study abroad across a variety of traditional and non-traditional national contexts and target languages. The chapters examine multilingual socialization and translanguaging with peers, local hosts and instructors; how the target language is necessarily entwined in global, local and historical contexts; and how students negotiate the use of local and global varieties of English. Together the chapters present a powerful argument for scholars and study abroad practitioners to consider and critically incorporate multilingual realities into their research and planning.

Acknowledgements
Contributors

Emma Trentman and Wenhao Diao: Introduction

Chapter 1. Jamie A. Thomas: Ghanaian Multilinguals on Study Abroad in Tanzania: Learning Swahili through Akan/Twi and Cultures of Storytelling

Chapter 2. Uju Anya: When the Foreign is Familiar: An Afro-Dominican-American Woman’s Experience Translanguaging Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage Learning Portuguese in Brazil

Chapter 3. Janice McGregor: An Investigation of L2 Learning Peer Interactions in Short Term Study Abroad

Chapter 4. Emma Trentman: Monolingual Expectations and Plurilingual Realities in Arabic Study Abroad

Chapter 5. Wenhao Diao: Language Use, Class, and Study Abroad in China

Chapter 6. Lucien Brown: 'Sorry, I don’t speak any English': An Activity-Theoretic Account of Language Choice in Study Abroad in South Korea

Chapter 7. Tracy Quan: Study Abroad as a Transformative Translanguaging Space for Heritage Speakers of Spanish

Chapter 8. Brandon Tullock: Encountering Multilingualism in Study Abroad: Sojourners’ Orientations to Linguistic Diversity and Language Hierarchies in Barcelona

Chapter 9. Lourdes Ortega: Research on Language Learning during Study Abroad: What Next?

This compelling book ushers research on language learning in study abroad into a new era of commitment to social justice. Countering the myth of monolingual immersion, exploring the multilingual realities of student experiences and expanding the contexts under investigation, the volume will be a landmark contribution to the field.