Study abroad experiences in homestay: where complexity, dynamicity, and individuality stay

Chuanren Ke; Yuan Lu

doi:10.1515/applirev-2023-0297

Article

Study abroad experiences in homestay: where complexity, dynamicity, and individuality stay

Chuanren Ke and Yuan Lu

Published/Copyright: October 10, 2024

Published by

Become an author with De Gruyter Brill

Submit Manuscript Author Information

From the journal Applied Linguistics Review Volume 16 Issue 3

Abstract

Informed by Complex Dynamic Systems Theory, this study examines the nature of homestay as a situated language learning site, with an eye toward the development of American student guests and Chinese host families’ homestay experiences within the larger context of the study abroad (SA) program and local community. Drawing on data collected from host families and student guests, this study discovers benefits, conflicts, and co-adaptations in homestay; the evolution of host families’ dispositions toward homestay; student guests’ proficiency gains and interactions with hosts and locals; and contextual factors that influence the proficiency gains and interactions. The findings reveal that homestay is a dynamic, self-evolving subsystem, which constantly interacts with other dynamic subsystems, such as the SA program and local community, within the complex social ecosystem of the entire SA environment. This study also provides suggestions for the design and management of the homestay component in the SA program and future research.

Keywords: language learning; complex dynamic systems theory; study abroad; homestay; host family

Corresponding author: Yuan Lu, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, Indiana University, 355 North Eagleson Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405-1105, USA, E-mail: yl245@iu.edu

Funding source: Henry Luce Foundation

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the students, host families, instructors, program director in the participating study-abroad program for their generous support and to the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on this article.

Research funding: This study is part of a larger research project funded by the Henry Luce Foundation. Project title: Second language acquisition of Chinese: Progress trajectories and effects of learning context. Principal Investigator (PI): Chuanren Ke.

Appendix A: Example questions in surveys

Example Questions in Pre-program Survey:

1. Why do you choose to study abroad in Nanjing University (in China)? 2. What is your expectation of this study-abroad program? 3. Under what circumstances do you think you feel comfortable or encouraged to use Chinese? 4. What aspects of Chinese language (e.g., grammar, speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and writing) do you think are very difficult for you to acquire? 5. Please provide two or three events or situations that you think either facilitate or hinder your Chinese learning so far.

Example Questions in Mid-program Survey:

1. How do you feel about your progress in Chinese language learning over the past six weeks? 2. In what ways did you try to increase your language use or competence in class? 3. What activities did you do to increase your language use or competence out of class (hang out with Chinese friends, join students’ organizations or clubs, read in the dorm, watch TV with host family, etc.)? 4. We believe that you have had a lot of interaction with different social groups, such as host family members, roommates, restaurant waiters, and other local people. Are there any differences in the ways people from these different social groups communicate with you? How do you think the ways they speak to you affect your language learning? 5. What aspects of Chinese language (e.g., grammar, speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and writing) do you think were difficult for you to deal with in the past, but have become a little easier now in a study-abroad context? What aspects of Chinese language do you think remain difficult in a study-abroad context?

Appendix B: Transcription scheme

(0.6)	elapsed time in tenths of seconds
(.)	a dot in parentheses marks pauses shorter than 0.5 s
?	rising intonation (not necessarily a question, followed by a noticeable pause)
.	falling intonation (final intonation, followed by a noticeable pause)
,	continuing intonation (nonfinal intonation, usually a slight rise)
-	a hyphen indicates an abrupt cutoff with level pitch
(word)	single parentheses indicate uncertain hearing
((comment))	double parentheses contain transcriber’s comments or descriptions
underline	underlining indicates stress through pitch or amplitude
=	equal signs indicate latched utterances
[…]	indicates that a section of the transcript has been omitted
um, uh	filled pauses
word	italics indicate identified language items (Chinese words in alphabetic)

References

Allen, Heather. 2010. Interactive contact as linguistic affordance during short-term study abroad: Myth or reality? Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad 19(1). 1–26. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v19i1.271.Search in Google Scholar

Benson, Phil. 2017. Sleeping with strangers: Dreams and nightmares in experiences of homestay. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education 2(1). 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1075/sar.2.1.01ben.Search in Google Scholar

Collentine, Joseph. 2009. Study abroad research: Findings, implications, and future directions. In Michael Long & Catherine Doughty (eds.), The handbook of language teaching, 218–233. Malden, MA: Blackwell.10.1002/9781444315783.ch13Search in Google Scholar

De Bot, Kees, Wander Lowie & Marjolijn Verspoor. 2007. A dynamic systems theory approach to second language acquisition. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 10(1). 7–21. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728906002732.Search in Google Scholar

Di Silvio, Francesca, Anne Donovan & Margaret E. Malone. 2014. The effect of study abroad homestay placements: Participant perspectives and oral proficiency gains. Foreign Language Annals 47(1). 168–188. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12064.Search in Google Scholar

Diao, Wenhao, Anne Donovan & Margaret Malone. 2018. Oral language development among Mandarin learners in Chinese homestays. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education 3(1). 32–57. https://doi.org/10.1075/sar.17002.dia.Search in Google Scholar

Diao, Wenhao, Barbara Freed & Leigh Smith. 2011. Confirmed beliefs or false assumptions? A study of home stay experiences in the French study abroad context. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad 21(1). 109–142. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v21i1.306.Search in Google Scholar

Dörnyei, Zoltán. 2014. Researching complex dynamic systems: ‘Retrodictive qualitative modelling’ in the language classroom. Language Teaching 47(1). 80–91. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444811000516.Search in Google Scholar

Hiver, Phil, Ali H. Al-Hoorie & Reid Evans. 2022. Complex dynamic systems theory in language learning: A scoping review of 25 years of research. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 44(4). 913–941. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263121000553.Search in Google Scholar

Iino, Masakazu. 2006. Norms of interaction in a Japanese homestay setting: Toward a two-way flow of linguistic and cultural resources. In Margaret A. Dufon & Eton Churchill (eds.), Language learners in study abroad contexts, 151–173. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.10.21832/9781853598531-010Search in Google Scholar

Isabelli-García, Christina, Jennifer Bown, John L. Plews & Dan P. Dewey. 2018. Language learning and study abroad. Language Teaching 51(4). 439–484. https://doi.org/10.1017/S026144481800023X.Search in Google Scholar

Kinginger, Celeste. 2008. Language learning in study abroad: Case studies of Americans in France. The Modern Language Journal 92(s1). 1–131. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2008.00821.x.Search in Google Scholar

Kinginger, Celeste. 2009. Language learning and study abroad: A critical reading of research. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.10.1057/9780230240766Search in Google Scholar

Kinginger, Celeste. 2015. Language socialization in the homestay: American high school students in China. In Rosamond Mitchell, Nicole Tracy-Ventura & Kevin McManus (eds.), Social interaction, identity and language learning during residence abroad, 53–74. Amsterdam: The European Second Language Association.Search in Google Scholar

Kinginger, Celeste & Julia Carnine. 2019. Language learning at the dinner table: Two case studies of French homestays. Foreign Language Annals 52(4). 850–872. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12431.Search in Google Scholar

Kinginger, Celeste & Sheng-Hsun Lee. 2019. The dialects of control and connection in the study abroad homestay. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education 4(1). 19–44. https://doi.org/10.1075/sar.17014.kin.Search in Google Scholar

Kinginger, Celeste, Sheng-Hsun Lee, Qian Wu & Dali Tan. 2016a. Contextualized language practices as sites for learning: Mealtime talk in short-term Chinese homestays. Applied Linguistics 37(5). 716–740. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amu061.Search in Google Scholar

Kinginger, Celeste, Qian Wu, Sheng-Hsun Lee & Dali Tan. 2016b. The short-term homestay as a context for language learning: Three case studies of high school students and host families. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education 1(1). 34–60. https://doi.org/10.1075/sar.1.1.02kin.Search in Google Scholar

Knight, Susan & Barbara C. Schmidt-Rinehart. 2002. Enhancing the homestay: Study abroad from the host family’s perspective. Foreign Language Annals 35(2). 190–201. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2002.tb03154.x.Search in Google Scholar

Larsen-Freeman, Diane. 2012. Complex, dynamic systems: A new transdisciplinary theme for applied linguistics? Language Teaching 45(2). 202–214. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444811000061.Search in Google Scholar

Larsen-Freeman, Diane. 2020. Complex dynamic systems theory. In Bill VanPatten, Gregory D. Keating & Stefanie Wulff (eds.), Theories in second language acquisition: An introduction, 3rd edn., 248–270. New York, NY: Routledge.10.4324/9780429503986-11Search in Google Scholar

Llanes, Àngels. 2011. The many faces of study abroad: An update on the research on L2 gains emerged during a study abroad experience. International Journal of Multilingualism 8(3). 189–215. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2010.550297.Search in Google Scholar

Magnan, Sally & Michele Back. 2007. Social interaction and linguistic gain during study abroad. Foreign Language Annals 40(1). 43–61. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2007.tb02853.x.Search in Google Scholar

Marijuan, Silvia & Cristina Sanz. 2018. Expanding boundaries: Current and new directions in study abroad research and practice. Foreign Language Annals 51(1). 185–204. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12323.Search in Google Scholar

Pérez-Vidal, Carmen. 2017. Study abroad and ISLA. In Shawn Loewen & Masatoshi Sato (eds.), The Routledge handbook of instructed second language acquisition, 339–360. New York, NY: Routledge.10.4324/9781315676968-19Search in Google Scholar

Pryde, Michael. 2014. Conversational patterns of homestay hosts and study abroad students. Foreign Language Annals 47(3). 487–506. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12100.Search in Google Scholar

Rifkin, Benjamin. 2005. A ceiling effect in traditional classroom foreign language instruction: Data from Russian. The Modern Language Journal 89(1). 3–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0026-7902.2005.00262.x.Search in Google Scholar

Rivers, William P. 1998. Is being there enough? The effects of homestay placements on language gain during study abroad. Foreign Language Annals 31(4). 492–500. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.1998.tb00594.x.Search in Google Scholar

Schmidt-Rinehart, Barbara & Susan M. Knight. 2004. The homestay component of study abroad: Three perspectives. Foreign Language Annals 37(2). 254–262. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2004.tb02198.x.Search in Google Scholar

Shiri, Sonia. 2015. The homestay in intensive language study abroad: Social networks, language socialization, and developing intercultural competence. Foreign Language Annals 48(1). 5–25. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12127.Search in Google Scholar

Tan, Dali & Celeste Kinginger. 2013. Exploring the potential of high school homestays as a context for local engagement and negotiation of difference: Americans in China. In Celeste Kinginger (ed.), Social and cultural aspects of language learning in study abroad, 155–177. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.10.1075/lllt.37.07tanSearch in Google Scholar

Tanaka, Koichi. 2007. Japanese students’ contact with English outside the classroom during study abroad. New Zealand Studies in Applied Linguistics 13(1). 36–54.Search in Google Scholar

Vande Berg, Michael, Jeffrey Connor-Linton & R. Michael Paige. 2009. The Georgetown consortium project: Interventions for student learning abroad. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad 18(1). 1–75. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v18i1.251.Search in Google Scholar

Wang, Xin. 2020. Capital, habitus, and education in contemporary China: Understanding motivations of middle-class families in pursuing studying abroad in the United States. Educational Philosophy and Theory 52(12). 1314–1328. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2020.1767074.Search in Google Scholar

Wilkinson, Sharon. 1998. On the nature of immersion during study abroad: Some participant perspectives. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad 4(1). 121–138. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v4i1.65.Search in Google Scholar

Wilkinson, Sharon. 2002. The omnipresent classroom during summer study abroad: American students in conversation with their French hosts. The Modern Language Journal 86(2). 157–173. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-4781.00142.Search in Google Scholar

Received: 2023-12-30

Accepted: 2024-09-25

Published Online: 2024-10-10

Published in Print: 2025-05-26

You are currently not able to access this content.

Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2023-0297

Keywords for this article

language learning; complex dynamic systems theory; study abroad; homestay; host family