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Informal language learners from extended language immersion settings such as missionaries often have very disparate outcomes. Some learners achieve high proficiency levels while others fossilize in their interlanguage once they reach basic communicative competence. Could these differences in language outcomes be explained by learning strategies, motivation, or other psychological factors? To investigate these differences, 20 participants were selected based on participation in a post-mission language ability self-assessment resource (LASER) who had taken an Oral Proficiency Interview – Computer (OPIc). These learners were interviewed to probe beyond the LASER and discover what factors seemed to correlate with higher language proficiency outcomes. A qualitative analysis of these interviews revealed different factors that individually contribute to the success of individual learners. Some of these factors are interpreted as being consequences of proficiency rather than causes of it. Deliberate memorization of vocabulary and a sense of pride or perfectionism were hallmarks of higher achieving learners. Emerging across learners as key to higher proficiency was time spent in an immersive environment and with native speakers. This study has implications for autonomous or informal learners in identifying those strategies and motivations that have yielded success for others, as well as for the academic fields that study motivational, strategic, and individual variables in second language learning.

This study was designed to understand the experience of being a service study abroad student. It examined feelings, perceptions and attitudes that developed as students from Brigham Young University participated in a service-centered study abroad program to Guadalajara, Mexico. The study enumerates participants' initial, developing, and final impressions during service study abroad and shows that students go through an extensive process of discovering, reformulating, and solidifying their attitudes and perceptions as they interpret their experiences. The study examined factors related to language and culture, but focused on the service component of the program. It found that service study abroad participants feel their experience is more successful when they perceive that the service they render is needed, service assignments align with personal interests, duties are clearly outlined, and meaningful responsibilities are assigned.

This thesis presents a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the 2006 Arabic study abroad in Amman, Jordan. This analysis aims to help organizers and participants of similar future programs to maximize language gain. The students' pre- and post-program language competencies in reading, speaking, listening, and writing are measured and compared. The students' daily journals during the period of the program are also analyzed. The quantitative analysis shows that statistically significant improvement has occurred in all four language skills. The qualitative analysis suggests that keeping a steady journal, setting daily or weekly language goals, doing volunteer work, having clear and reasonable language learning expectations, understanding the need to get out of one's comfort zone, and being aware of the resources available are the best factors that positively affected the students' language gain. Frustration in terms of not having enough opportunities to practice the language negatively affected the students' language gain.

Students who participate in study abroad programs have the opportunity to interact with native speakers in a variety of settings. "Composition and Formation of Social Networks during Study Abroad Programs" explores the kinds of social networks that students form while abroad focusing on the areas of host families, church, school, community, and friends from the program. The kind of network that students form is heavily influenced by the nature of their program. Students from the same program often have social networks similar to those of their peers in the same program. Students who went abroad generally made friends in categories that were most accessible to them. Apart from the program structure, individual initiative also plays an important role in the size and composition of a student's social network. Also, students who had more intense friendships were found to be more likely to create second order networks and meet more friends through their established friendships. Children who grow up exposed to two dialects of the same language may become bidialectal giving them an extra set of choices when they speak. The decision of which dialectal features to use is often socially motivated and demonstrates the speaker's perceived identity. In "Bidialectalism and Language Attitudes: A Case Study of a Bolivian-Argentine Family in the United States," two sisters were interviewed regarding their language use and attitudes. One of the sisters felt a strong connection to her Argentine heritage and thus chose to use an accent and words that would identify her as Argentine. The other sister in this study does not feel the need to identify herself as Argentine and prefers to simply fit in. She thus strives to employ a regionally unmarked variety of Spanish when she speaks. Both sisters are able to accommodate their speech to that of their interlocutors, but have preferred dialectal features based on their language attitudes.

This study was designed to collect and evaluate the social networks of 32 study abroad students participating in the 2009 BYU study abroad program in Amman, Jordan. Survey data, language journals, and test scores were analyzed to determine how they successfully built social networks with native speakers, the relationship between students' social networks and time spent using Arabic outside of class, and the relationship between students' social networks and their acquisition of Arabic. The experiment provided a number of insights into how study abroad students meet potential conversation partners, select which relationships to pursue, and develop relationships in order to build social networks. The study also found that the intensity of students' social relationships as well as the number of clusters in their social networks were predictors of language gains. Additionally, the findings show that social network dispersion and the size of the largest cluster in a network predicted time spent using Arabic outside of class.

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.

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.