Your Name and Title: Nadra Garas, Research Director
School or Organization Name: American Councils for International Education
Co-Presenter Name(s):
Area of the World from Which You Will Present:USA
Language in Which You Will Present: English
Target Audience(s):
Short Session Description (one line): The interactions of language acquisition and intercultural competencies during study abroad programs
Full Session Description (as long as you would like):
The construct underlying the assessment of intercultural competencies comprises a mix of traits related to the learner’s background knowledge, critical thinking abilities, attitudes, executive functioning and interpersonal skills. The purpose of this study is to examine how language proficiency is both influenced and also most likely exercises an influence on intercultural development. Building on existing research on language gain and taking into consideration the range of evidence that has appeared regarding the overseas immersion context, the present study examines the relationship between levels of language proficiency, acquired in the overseas immersion setting, and measured levels of intercultural development, as reflected by Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI); the extent to which pre-program IDI predict second language of study abroad participants; and the effect of second language proficiency levels on change in IDI during their study abroad. While the “language barrier” is popularly cited as the most challenging factor to successful interactions across cultures, the present study seeks to better understand the role of a second language as mediator of intercultural development.
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