Adopting a learning ecology perspective, this study examined sojourners' formal classroom learning and the interactions between their learning in the classroom and their learning in the community. Data for the study were collected from semi-structured interviews and classroom observations involving 14 sojourners learning Chinese as a second language (CSL) at a Chinese higher education institution. The study found that the CSL sojourners made conscious efforts to create a reciprocal relationship between their second language (L2) interactions in the local community and their instructed learning in the programme, but in doing this they encountered a series of challenges. When these learners encountered challenges in attempting to use local interactions to support their instructed learning, they relied on communicative instruction in the classroom. While much of the in-class instruction that they received did not support their daily communication needs in the local community, several instructional activities involving the local community were identified to play a positive role in the process. These findings suggest that L2 study abroad programmes and classrooms should be reviewed/modified to more systematically encourage students to integrate their learning experiences across in-class and out-of-class contexts and supports from teacher education need to be in place as well.