The impact of different study-abroad environments on oral communicative competence and learner perception

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26370710
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Foreign language education
• Research Institution: Hosei University
• Principal Investigator: SATO Yoko 法政大学, 経営学部, 教授 (80523125)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: スタディ・アブロード / Study Abroad / 短期留学 / 英語教育 / オーラル・コミュニケーション / 第二言語習得

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This three-year study investigated the impact of short-term study abroad experiences on the communicative competence of Japanese university learners of English. Two groups of students who studied and lived in different environments for different periods of time were compared each year. Pre- and post-test data were elicited through one-to-one, face-to-face oral proficiency interviews, conducted by a native speaker assessor. Changes in the learners' attitudes towards English language study and intercultural communication were also investigated using a post-SA questionnaire.
The results showed that, as a group, the learners improved statistically significantly in all aspects of communication. The questionnaire survey indicated that the learners' motivation to study English and their interest in intercultural communication improved. Significant differences between the two groups were observed very rarely, and individual differences seemed to have a bigger impact.

Free Research Field

応用言語学