Japanese Students' Contact with English Outside the Classroom during Study Abroad

要旨

This article reports a qualitative study about features of 29 Japanese students' contact with English outside the classroom during study abroad in an English-speaking country for 12 weeks. The major finding is that study abroad did not necessarily provide as many opportunities to use English outside the classroom as we had anticipated. Even if the students lived in a homestay, in many cases, interactions with the host family were very limited. The students had regular association with other Japanese peers in and outside school and frequently used Japanese in daily life. The present study argues that learners' initial target language (L2) proficiency, as well as native speakers' adjustment to learners' level of L2 proficiency, would be a crucial factor in determining the quality and quantity of contact with the L2 in natural settings outside the classroom.

主題