This qualitative study explores the experiences of female students on study abroad programs, with the aim of answering the following questions: do they face unique challenges as female students (including harassment or assault), how do they avoid or cope with any negative experiences, and can we as language departments better prepare our students to have the best experiences possible? The participants for the study were primarily 12 of 50 students involved in the Brigham Young University Study Abroad to Cairo, Egypt during Spring and Summer terms 2010. Data include participant observation, student journals, and ethnographic interviews conducted during the last few weeks of the program. Data analysis reflected gendered experiences in socializing with native speakers as well as experiences with harassment, and even sexual assault. The thesis argues that proper student preparation is the key to their continued investment in culture and language learning. Future research could include a look at second language learners across the Middle East, factors that contribute to harassment and assault, and gender as a predictive factor of language gains.

The purpose of this study was to verify Mezirow's (1978) Transformative Learning Theory as a model to explain how study abroad participation facilitates efforts to internationalize students in higher education. Specifically this study used block-entry, logistic and linear regression models to explore the relationship between transformative learning processes and study abroad outcomes. Data were collected from business students (N =107) at Brigham Young University using a retrospective pretest method. Findings indicated transformative learning was occurring in short term study abroad settings and transformative learning phases were related to increases in Intercultural Competence. These findings were consistent between year cohorts suggesting the impacts were lasting.

Pragmatics is part of communicative competence. In order to communicate successfully, pragmatic competence is of vital importance. Although pragmatics has played a significant role in L2 learners' communicative competence, pragmatics still has not been commonly taught in the classroom. The present research investigates the efficacy of instruction in pragmatics in the advanced Chinese language class has on the production and appropriate use of apology strategies, and examines the correlation between exposure in a Chinese Speaking Community (CSC) and pragmatics development. The subjects include 55 students in their third-year of college-level Chinese, divided into four classes at Brigham Young University. The study uses an experimental design in which the participants are assigned either to an explicit instruction group or an implicit instruction group. Participants in both groups also report their experience in a CSC. Results of this study show which as a whole improved their apology performance over the 8-week instruction, as rated by Chinese native speakers. Results reveal no significant difference between the explicit and implicit instruction groups, suggesting that explicit and implicit approaches were both effective methods in facilitating pragmatic competence. In addition, we also found no statistically significant difference between the CSC and Non-Chinese Speaking Community (NCSC) group in their pragmatic development. The findings of the present study indicate that pragmatic knowledge may emerge from classroom instruction, regardless of explicit or implicit instructional approaches; and living in a Chinese speaking communities do not necessary aid or accelerate the development of pragmatic competence.

Studying abroad during the collegiate experience is an idea sought by the many high school seniors and college freshmen alike. The social, intellectual, and cultural benefits received from participating makes it a seemingly easy decision. Yet, lack of action plagues the nation as there exists a miniscule number of students who follow through with their desire to study abroad. Prior research exemplifies that students rely on the perceptions of their peers and family when approaching an unfamiliar subject. These perceptions result in concocted barriers that dissuade the student from participating in study abroad before they seek concrete information. There are a limited number of studies completed at universities to identify these specific barriers. Thus, this research examines the student population at the University of Central Florida, the perceived barriers they possess concerning study abroad, and their sources of these perceptions. This is a qualitative and quantitative study that investigates the effects of perceived cost and graduation delay on the willingness of a student to study abroad. The unexpected ramifications of the marketing mix, utilized by the department of Study Abroad, will shed light upon the steps necessary to revise their position in order to transform student intent into action.

As opposed to culture shock, where one experience difficulties going to a new country andculture, reverse culture shock is the difficulties one experiences when returning home.Reverse culture shock describes the phenomenon of the disorientation and negative feelingsoften experienced when an individual becomes a returning sojourner. This thesis examinesreverse culture shock in the reentry process and its effect on the returning student sojournersat Malmö University. Researching reverse culture shock is important as it is an area that isoften neglected in the context of student mobility, even though the majority of returningstudent sojourners experience it. There is a gap in the research around reverse culture shockwhere phenomenological qualitative research has been deprioritized for a much more tangibleapproach of quantitative research. The returning student sojourner’s stories are important ifone seeks to gain a deeper understanding of reverse culture shock and the reentry process. Thepurpose of this research is to encourage a deeper discussion about reverse culture shock atMalmö University and its impact on student sojourners returning from studying abroad. Thisresearch seeks to answer the question: to what extent are returning student sojourners atMalmö University affected by reverse culture shock? And what can the university do to assistthe reentry process? By utilizing qualitative research methods, three themes were identifiedwhich highlight aspects of the returning student sojourners experiences as they came homefrom their student mobility programs: social difficulties, a dream, and what the university cando to assist the reentry process. In conclusion, the student sojourners returned with a feelingof loneliness and isolation, an experience that felt like a dream, and with a wish for moresupport from their home institution.

With the rise of globalization, knowledge of the English language and intercultural competence have become highly sought after skills. One method Chinese university students use to increase these skills is to study abroad. Positive language attitudes have been linked with language learning motivation and language proficiency, which in turn influence ability to understand and interact with the host culture. This study investigated the differences in language attitudes between female Chinese university students who live both abroad and in China. Their attitudes towards English and Mandarin were compared in terms of integrative and instrumental orientation. 15 students who study at different English-speaking universities in Europe and 20 students who study at different Mandarin-speaking universities in Mainland China responded to a 32-item Language Attitudes Questionnaire and 2 open-ended questions. The results of this study suggest that study abroad leads to more positive integrative attitudes towards English, while there were no statistically significant effects on attitudes towards Mandarin or on instrumental attitudes towards English. / 随着全球化的兴起，英语知识和跨文化能力已成为备受追捧的技能。中国大学生用来提高这种技能的一种方法是出国留学。 积极的语言态度与语言学习动机和语言熟练程度有关，这反过来又会影响理解东道国文化的能力。 本项研究调查了居住在国外和在中国的中国女大学生之间语言态度的差异。 她们对英语和普通话的态度在整合型取向和工具型取向方面进行了比较。15 名在欧洲大学学习的学生和 20 名在中国大学学习的学生回答了一份包含 32 项针对语言态度的李克特量表陈述句和 2 个开放式问题的问卷。这项研究的结果表明，出国留学对英语产生了更积极的融合型态度，而对普通话的态度或对英语的工具型态度没有统计上的显著影响。

The intent of this thesis is to study the diverse experiences of 13 University of Central Florida students who participated in the Bilingual Study Abroad Teaching Experience in Spain. The group included nine education students and four in other majors. The experiences of study abroad participants can help to better understand what future participants can look to gain from the program, and what the organizers of the program can potentially look to improve. The research involved was a qualitative study which sought to record the experiences of participants, and then interpret those experiences. The participants were asked to determine the benefits of the program across three dimensions: academic, professional, and personal. This was accomplished through Likert scale questions which gauged their opinions, and by reflecting on their experiences in a more open-ended way, writing broadly about the impact of the program. In analyzing the responses, connections were drawn between the quantitative data in the Likert scale questions, and the qualitative data in the open responses. It was found that as a whole, participants considered the study abroad experience to be overwhelmingly positive across all surveyed dimensions. In addition, a number of connections were found that could be drawn between the broad experiences of the participants, and specific benefits which they noted in the survey. A number of unique experiences and circumstances will be considered, both positive and negative. Finally, the conclusions and implications of the study will be discussed. Recommendations are included in regard to future participants can expect to gain, potential areas of improvement in the program, and things which should be included in the orientation for future participants in the bilingual teaching experience.

The internationalization of higher education curriculum, including programs in educational leadership, in the United States is increasing, and with the increase in graduate interest in study abroad, this study predicted graduate students pursuing a graduate degree in higher education administration or student affairs (HESA) at institutions in the southeastern United States intent to study abroad short-term. The Theory of Planned Behavior was used to frame the study, which identified the behavioral beliefs (future job prospects), normative beliefs (family expectations), and control beliefs (administrative support) of graduate students that were related to study abroad. Future job prospects, family expectations, and administrative support formed one variable, willingness to pay, which was hypothesized to influence intent to study abroad. Desire and affordability were also hypothesized to influence intent to study abroad. The Theory of Planned Behavior and each variable were assumed to be important to short-term study abroad intent. However, this was an initial study focused on solely graduate students in an education discipline regarding study abroad intent to use the Theory of Planned Behavior and the chosen variables. A survey was emailed to all graduate students in a HESA program at 15 institutions in the southeastern United States. There were 171 students that fully completed the survey. In this study, I found that future job prospects had a positive relationship with willingness to pay. Thus, hypothesis 2 was supported. However, family expectations and administrative support did not have a positive relationship with willingness to pay indicating that hypotheses 3 and 4 were not supported. Regarding intent to study abroad, both desire and affordability positively influenced intent to study abroad with path coefficients of .62 and .24, respectively, while willingness to pay did not indicating that hypotheses 5 and 6 were supported while hypothesis 1 was not supported. The data were analyzed using a structural equation model (SEM) to create a structural model to understand the strength of the relationship of each variable by the resulting path coefficients and variance. Understanding the beliefs and intentions of such students provided implications to establish or improve existing study abroad programs focusing on graduate students.

The present study looks at how utilizing mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII), a form of self-regulation, impacts the social networks of English language learners’ in a study abroad (SA) setting. Over 100 English language learners (ELLs) form the treatment and control groups for this study. This research compares the social network measures between students who used MCII and those who did not over the course of one 14-week semester in an intensive English program in the United States. It also examines students' perception of this self-regulation strategy. Additionally, the impact of MCII on students who are in their first semester of the program versus returning students is compared. The quantitative data show that the most meaningful differences between the control and treatment groups are in terms of social network size and intensity, with MCII students having more and closer social relationships with English speakers by the end of the semester. When comparing new and returning students who used MCII, new students show meaningful and significant gains in thesize, intensity, and density of their social networks. A survey of students’ perceptions toward MCII reveal that over 67% of participants agreed that this strategy was beneficial, which they expound on in entries to writing prompts given throughout the semester. In summary, MCII appears to be beneficial in helping ELLs in their social network development on SA, especially those who are first-semester students.

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