Adapting Success: Development of a Sustainable Short-term Study Abroad Program Design for Community College

The present research 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 that Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) could reproduce in a new short-term study abroad that could be designed to expand its students’ oral proficiency and cultural awareness.
In order to elucidate the interactions of UVA L2 learners with knowledgeable members of the host culture in Valencia (e.g., instructors, host family members, tour guides) this study employed a conceptual framework that was adapted from the Language Socialization Theory. This framework provided sociolinguistic and cultural understandings of the effectiveness of those interactions.
The study used data from Zoom interviews with faculty, administrators, and L2 participating students. It also used data from documents and student and faculty surveys. Further, examining the UVA in Valencia Summer Program and how to use it as a model applicable to PVCC, the research questions that drove this investigation explored how:
• program design factors affected students’ perceptions of oral proficiency and L2 language use
beyond the classroom environment during study abroad,
• out-of-class interactions during study abroad were associated with students’ understanding of
language and culture learning,
• instructors taught and used language and culture learning strategies during immersive study abroad,
• students responded to using language and culture learning strategies during immersive study abroad.