Affiliation:
1. Ain Shams University
2. University of Alberta
3. Saint Mary’s University
Abstract
Abstract
We use guided language learning journals written in second language (L2) German by Canadian undergraduates while
studying in Germany and apply structural linguistic analyses and Cognitive Discourse Analysis to examine lexical items students
attend to and, drawing on Bloom’s taxonomy, trace their learning process through their narrative language use. We show that
lexical acquisition in study abroad is diverse and complex, observing a preference for meaning over function, and attention to
items that were highly specialized or personally meaningful. Students also engaged in what we call private languaging in a safe
environment serving to engage language to think through and construct meanings as planning for future interaction. We shed light
on the process of language development during study abroad, refine quantitative understandings of L2 gains in previous studies
through our qualitative approach, and expand our knowledge of how to assist learners to optimize the personal linguistic benefits
of studying abroad.
Publisher
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Reference68 articles.
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