Study abroad and language learning – opportunities and challenges for European students
Since 1987, the European Commission student programme, Erasmus, then rebranded Erasmus+ in 2014, has attracted millions of students, making it one of the most popular and long-standing programmes offered.
Erasmus+ allows participants to spend time at an educational institution in another European country as part of their studies. Over the last three decades, according to the European Commission, more than 10 million people have participated in Erasmus+ and its predecessor. For many participants, study abroad is a life-changing experience, as a unique opportunity to study and live in another European country and to experience other cultures.
In the context of increasing international education and study abroad at both European and international level, the COST Action, Study Abroad Research in European Perspective (SAREP) aimed to explore the nature, experiences, benefits and limitations of study and residence abroad in the case of second language learners who participate in growing numbers in such international exchange programmes.
Launched in 2015, the network gathered more than 150 researchers spread across 34 countries. Researchers came from different interdisciplinary backgrounds, such as linguistics, psychology, language education, language testing, interculturality, and sociology.
“As a significant student cohort in our educational institutions, it is critical that we better understand the study abroad experience of the many thousands of students who set off each year to live in another country as part of their studies. While study abroad is undoubtedly rewarding at many levels, it is also challenging as participants seek to set themselves up in another country in a relatively short timeframe. In better understanding the challenges and benefits of study abroad, we can better prepare and support our students who embark on study abroad every year,” says Dr Martin Howard, chairing the Action.
At a time when increased importance is attached to foreign language learning at European level, the project especially focuses on study abroad as a context for language learning. While study abroad offers a lot of opportunities to engage with other languages and cultures, we need to better understand the relationship between study abroad and language learning specifically. Students are supposedly ‘immersed’ in the language while they are abroad, but the reality is often more challenging as many study abroad participants will know – it takes time to develop language skills, with different factors shaping the language learning experience abroad. However, it is very rewarding, both personally and professionally, as foreign language and intercultural skills are lifelong skills in today’s global world, contributing to the individual’s personal and professional skillset.
Several approaches were taken through five working groups within the Action. The team of researchers have focused on different aspects of language learning experiences abroad, such as language contact, social integration and social networks, individual differences and intercultural development.
The outcome of the working groups allowed to draw on different specialisms in a way that would not otherwise have been possible, thereby allowing truly multidisciplinary approaches and perspectives on study abroad.
Through the network, a number of innovative themes emerged such as plurilingual identity, the role of self-regulation, study abroad in English-as-a-lingua-franca contexts, study abroad as transnational practice – such themes formed the basis of multi-site data collection in different countries.
Against this background, the network is envisaged as a think-tank on language learning and study abroad within Europe, bridging the interface between study abroad practices and the extensive research expertise which the Action collectively shares. The Action’s work has been published in different venues, while different events serve to share the work of the network such as in conference format and other speaker events – there is a wide range of individuals involved in the study abroad enterprise, from participants themselves to language instructors and educators, from study abroad organisers to education policymakers.
Dr Howard concludes “While study abroad is a very individual experience, a better understanding of the wide-ranging issues that shape student experiences abroad can help us enhance the experience for all involved – that relates to preparation before embarking on study abroad, support during the course of study abroad, as well as supporting our students on their reintegration in our language classrooms. Ultimately, we want to optimise the wide-ranging gains that our learners can develop while they are abroad, ranging from the linguistic and the intercultural to the social and personal as well as at an academic and professional level. The benefits are wide-ranging, but we need to be realistic about the challenges of the experience as well.”
Further information
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What is Erasmus+ The Erasmus programme celebrates its 35th anniversary in 2022, a fitting opening to the European Year of Youth