Using qualitative and quantitative methods to understand language use during a Study Abroad experience: Results from the Daily Linguistic Questionnare_2.0

Session Submission Type: Paper

Summary

We report qualitative and quantitative findings on L1 and L2 use from 33 English-speaking L2 learners of Spanish who participated in a six-week study abroad in Spain. The results show that learners preferred to use their L1 (rather than L2) in order to establish stronger relationships with their English-speaking peers.

Abstract

Interest in learners’ language use in the study-abroad (SA) context has increased considerably in past years. However, most instruments are not fine-grained enough to provide detailed information about the quantity and quality of language use during the abroad experience, nor the relationships those elements have with linguistic gains (e.g., Freed et al., 2004; Martinsen et al., 2010). García-Amaya (2017) presented the results of a new instrument, the Daily Linguistic Questionnaire (DLQ), that was completed daily (via computer or smartphone) by English-speaking L2 learners of Spanish who participated in a six-week SA program in Salamanca, Spain. The results revealed that the SA participants used their L2 (Spanish) more than their L1 (English) during the first half of the SA; however, their L2 use diminished substantially during the second half of the SA program. Nevertheless, the findings were not corroborated with qualitative data.

In this presentation, we report on the results of a modified DLQ_2.0. We collected quantitative data from 33 L2 learners of Spanish (L1=English), who participated in the same six-week SA program as those learners who completed the original DLQ. Importantly, we also collected qualitative data through weekly social network diagrams, final individual exit interviews, and post-SA focus-group interviews.

The quantitative results of the DLQ_2.0 show similar patterns of L1 and L2 use as those of García-Amaya (2017). Additionally, the qualitative findings reveal that, over the course of the SA, learners prioritized establishing stronger relationships with other English-speaking peers, especially with those with whom they shared common interests. The participants revealed a second reason for the gradual decline in L2 use throughout the SA: After the ‘novelty’ of meeting their host-family members wore off, those who did not share common interests with their host families struggled to develop new topics of conversation. Finally, we provide recommendations for future SA programs.

Strand

• Second Language Acquisition, Language Acquisition, and Attrition (SLA)

Presenter

• Lorenzo García-Amaya, University of Michigan