Investigating learning among returning ERASMUS students

Given the scale, significance and intended growth of participation in university student exchanges across Europe, it is important for research to develop a better understanding of how to maximize the learning outcomes of these experiences. Empirical research on how the foreign language skills and intercultural competences that students may acquire during study abroad are maintained and further developed following their return to the home country remains extremely scarce (Plews, 2016). This study examines development in the English language skills, anxiety and confidence in using English, English language learning motivation and the intercultural competences of returning ERASMUS exchange students who studied abroad at British universities for one or several academic terms. Specifically, it explores the students perceptions of the most significant challenges of the return experience and their needs in respect to institutional support at their home university. The interdisciplinary study is located at the intersections of applied linguistics and international higher education. It is designed as a comprehensive longitudinal mixed method investigation, in which the students English language skills development, their self-motivation to use and further improve their English, and their intercultural learning processes are tracked throughout the study abroad period in the United Kingdom and up until 9 months after their return to the home country. To this end, English language tests, comprehensive questionnaires, and personal interviews are employed. As the most comprehensive study of the foreign language skills development and intercultural learning among returning study abroad participants to date, it can be expected to make original contributions to the fields of study abroad research, international higher education, second language acquisition, language learning psychology, and intercultural education. Its findings will also be highly relevant to higher education institutions and policy makers, and may inform institutional strategies and measures that serve to maximize the benefits of participation in study abroad and smooth students transitioning back into their degree studies at home.

Lise-Meitner project M2353 is the most comprehensive longitudinal study to date to examine continued development in intercultural competence, foreign language proficiency and language learning motivation among ERASMUS study abroad participants beyond the end of their stay abroad and after their return to the home university. The participants were ERASMUS students with a variety of academic subject backgrounds and German as their first language, who studied abroad at British universities for one academic term or an entire academic year. The study also monitored development among students of the same cohort who had applied for ERASMUS placements in the United Kingdom but continued studying at their home universities. The study was designed as a longitudinal mixed methods inquiry, in which the students' English language skills development, language learning motivation and intercultural learning processes were tracked from their departure to the UK, throughout the study abroad period, and up until 9 months after their return to the home country with English language tests, comprehensive questionnaires, and personal interviews. Results show that while most returnees managed to successfully maintain their English proficiency level at 6-9 months after their return, they did not tend to show further improvement despite frequent continued use of English during free time activities and academic studies at the home university. Beyond motivational factors, the English proficiency level attained by the end of study abroad, and students' self-efficacy in speaking English in particular were significantly and positively associated with successful maintenance and further improvement of overall English proficiency. By contrast, length of study abroad (one term/ one academic year) was not a statistically significant predictor of regression, maintenance, or further progress in English proficiency post-return. In the area of intercultural competence the study observed, for example, that self-efficacy (confidence) in intercultural interactions, which had increased during the first three months abroad, regressed for most students during the first 9 months following their return. While further growth in intercultural awareness as a result of the return experience was evident in the students' accounts, their reflections tended to be strongly orientated towards the role of nationality in shaping patterns of thought and behaviour in individuals. Despite the participants' generally high level of reflexivity, education, and plurilingual proficiency, their accounts frequently featured stereotypical constructions, while a more critical approach to the complexity of interculturality and intercultural interactions was evident only among a small minority of participants. The results strongly suggest that the maintenance and further development of foreign language proficiency and intercultural competence among returning study abroad participants need to be more actively facilitated by the home university (e.g., through guided critical reflection and language learner coaching) in order to ensure the continuity of these lifelong learning processes and prevent their regression post-return.