This study explores the effects of participation in short-term summer study abroad (SA) programmes in Spain on second language (L2) learners' attitudes towards Spanish. Both quantitative and qualitative findings indicate that participants' international experience improved their attitudes with regard to L2 learning. More importantly, participant…

This paper describes and analyses the role of peer mentoring in a pilot internship programme that took place in summer 2023. A team of five international MA student-interns participated in a summer pre-sessional programme, acting as communication partners and facilitators. The aim of the study was to investigate the benefits of being peer mentors…

Artificial Intelligence technologies are becoming ubiquitous, transforming the workforce by altering or creating jobs and influencing decisions that affect minority communities. The necessity of AI literacy, comprising knowledge and skills for critical interaction with AI, is increasingly important. Multilingual learners, engaging with both every…

This study employed qualitative methods to explore how the "UVA in Valencia Summer Program 2019/2021" approached instructional practices (e.g., in-class and out-of-class immersive learning activities, homestays, pre-program services, including use of L2 and culture learning strategies) to identify those features of the program design…

Study abroad is laden with socially constructed expectations informed by discourses of place, people, and culture presented through social media, pop culture, word-of-mouth, and marketing. These discourses can shape how students approach and interpret their host countries and study abroad experiences. To better inform language and culture…

The study investigates whether and how mock interviews, an instructional component of business Chinese courses, prepare students for real interviews. The study included 11 American undergraduate students who participated in a 10-week summer study abroad program in China. Participants underwent two rounds of mock interviews with their instructors…

U.S. educational systems routinely dismiss and discount the voices of newcomer and emergent plurilingual students, and instead privilege ideologies of whiteness, ability, and English monolingualism. In this paper, we use a case study from a month-long arts- and literacy-rich summer program in Southern California to examine how three educators'…

Equivalence is a concept that comes up across the entire K-12 grade span and in many different areas of mathematics. Students who are bureaucratically designated as "English Learners" can explore equivalence across their K-12 academic careers while developing language to connect ideas. Drawing on what is known generally from theory and…

This article analyzes the perceptions of two undergraduate learners' regarding the educational impact of a collaborative map making project in the context of a summer study abroad program in France, focused on language learning. Over the eight-week long program, students created a digital map with textual and visual annotations that helped them to…

Research on how the use of social robots helps improve English as Foreign Language (EFL) young learners' pronunciation and willingness to communicate (WTC) is understudied. This study developed a robot and tangible objects (R&T) learning system and examined its impact on elementary EFL learner's English pronunciation and WTC. The R&T…

In the United States, research on reading difficulties is predominantly carried out by scholars who project findings on L1 English reading difficulty to generalized difficulty in learning a second language (L2; e.g., Galuschka et al., 2020; Shaywitz & Shaywitz, 2020; cf. Sparks, 2023). This research extrapolation creates a negative feedback…

Some of the simplest affordances of study abroad became unavailable when students stayed stateside because of the pandemic-induced disruptions to international travel. These ranged from touring city and historical/cultural landmarks, having spontaneous and chance interactions with locals, participating in the performance of traditions and…

In spite of the superior effects of semester- or year-long educational experiences abroad, the majority of students prefers short-term study abroad for which participation numbers are steadily rising. Due to the increased student interest in short-term study abroad options, investigations into how a short stay abroad can be designed to maximize…

Offered through the Honors College at the University of New Mexico, Conexiones-Ecuador is an explicitly interdisciplinary study abroad program around the theme of "Food, Sovereignty, and Development." In an immersive language and cultural studies experience, students live with host families, take Spanish language classes at the…

The present qualitative study with an action research orientation focuses on the strengthening of students' oral fluency in English through the implementation of six theme-based teaching workshops. The participants were students of an EFL pre-intermediate English language course in the institute of foreign languages at the Technological University…