Using ethnographic methods, namely in-depth interviews and participant-observation, I examined the everyday experiences of fifteen female Japanese students during a nine-month study abroad. I attempted to investigate (1) the nature of cultural learning in the participants of this study during their sojourn and (2) how different social networks in the sojourn context affected the processes of their cultural learning and adaptation to the host environment. I employed models of cross-cultural adaptation based on a perspective of cultural learning / social skill acquisition as a theoretical framework. During the first few months in Canada, students without previous international sojourn experiences seemed to be physically and emotionally vulnerable. Some students experienced emotional upheaval which was consistent with previously published accounts of the characteristics of the sojourner adaptation process. A close association of the Japanese within their group throughout their sojourn resulted in the formation of an ethnic enclave in the dormitory community. This provided a support network for most of the Japanese students, but at the same time, caused interpersonal conflicts in the group. The strong group solidarity also negatively affected the relationship between the Japanese students and their Canadian peers in the dormitory. The Japanese students in this study not only had to adapt to the socio-cultural characteristics of the host environment, but also to the norms and values of their own group which reflected their cultural heritage. Although they encountered a number of challenges while in Canada, the process of overcoming difficulties and absorbing new experiences enabled them to grow personally and intellectually. Towards the end of their sojourn and after returning to Japan, the students recognised positive changes in their attitude and behaviour which they attributed to the different experiences they had through their study abroad. While several findings of the study indicated that the participants' adaptation to the new cultural setting reflected theoretical propositions in the cross-cultural adaptation literature, the study also showed how the unique nature of the students' sojourn environment had a significant impact on their adaptation process.

Using ethnographic methods, namely in-depth interviews and participant-observation, I examined the everyday experiences of fifteen female Japanese students during a nine-month study abroad. I attempted to investigate (1) the nature of cultural learning in the participants of this study during their sojourn and (2) how different social networks in the sojourn context affected the processes of their cultural learning and adaptation to the host environment. I employed models of cross-cultural adaptation based on a perspective of cultural learning / social skill acquisition as a theoretical framework. During the first few months in Canada, students without previous international sojourn experiences seemed to be physically and emotionally vulnerable. Some students experienced emotional upheaval which was consistent with previously published accounts of the characteristics of the sojourner adaptation process. A close association of the Japanese within their group throughout their sojourn resulted in the formation of an ethnic enclave in the dormitory community. This provided a support network for most of the Japanese students, but at the same time, caused interpersonal conflicts in the group. The strong group solidarity also negatively affected the relationship between the Japanese students and their Canadian peers in the dormitory. The Japanese students in this study not only had to adapt to the socio-cultural characteristics of the host environment, but also to the norms and values of their own group which reflected their cultural heritage. Although they encountered a number of challenges while in Canada, the process of overcoming difficulties and absorbing new experiences enabled them to grow personally and intellectually. Towards the end of their sojourn and after returning to Japan, the students recognised positive changes in their attitude and behaviour which they attributed to the different experiences they had through their study abroad. While several findings of the study indicated that the participants' adaptation to the new cultural setting reflected theoretical propositions in the cross-cultural adaptation literature, the study also showed how the unique nature of the students' sojourn environment had a significant impact on their adaptation process. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

The present study focused on changes over time in university-level Japanese students' sociocultural perceptions of social status during their year abroad in Canada, and the impact of such altered perceptions on their perceptions at subsequent time points. The sociocultural perception to be examined was perceived "social status" which Brown and Levinson (1987) discussed as a contributory factor in the perception of social asymmetry, power and authority. The study attempted to examine (1) whether (and to what extent) Japanese students, before they came to study in Canada, had recognized English native speakers' understanding of social status and had learned how to offer advice appropriately in English to individuals of various social statuses, (2) what proportion of differential pragmatic development among Japanese students in Canada was accounted for by their English proficiency and amount of exposure to English, and (3) whether (and to what extent) living and studying in Canada facilitated Japanese students' pragmatic development, which was assessed by the degree of approximation to native speech act behavior in various advice-giving situations repeated during the course of an academic year. To this end, the study compared the development of Japanese exchange students' pragmatic competence during their year abroad in Canada with peers in Japan who did not undertake a year abroad.

The present study focused on changes over time in university-level Japanese students' sociocultural perceptions of social status during their year abroad in Canada, and the impact of such altered perceptions on their perceptions at subsequent time points. The sociocultural perception to be examined was perceived "social status" which Brown and Levinson (1987) discussed as a contributory factor in the perception of social asymmetry, power and authority. The study attempted to examine (1) whether (and to what extent) Japanese students, before they came to study in Canada, had recognized English native speakers' understanding of social status and had learned how to offer advice appropriately in English to individuals of various social statuses, (2) what proportion of differential pragmatic development among Japanese students in Canada was accounted for by their English proficiency and amount of exposure to English, and (3) whether (and to what extent) living and studying in Canada facilitated Japanese students' pragmatic development, which was assessed by the degree of approximation to native speech act behavior in various advice-giving situations repeated during the course of an academic year. To this end, the study compared the development of Japanese exchange students' pragmatic competence during their year abroad in Canada with peers in Japan who did not undertake a year abroad. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate