Measured Growth of South Korean Student Teachers During a Two-Month USA Internship

1. Measured Growth of South Korean Student Teachers During a Two-Month USA Internship Brandon Yost, ESOL Instructor, Washington County School District Dinah Scott, ESL Specialist, Washington County School District

2. Studying Abroad Pair-Share: Have you studied abroad? Prizes!

3. Literature ReviewToward a Second Language Socialization Perspective: Issues in Study Abroad Research (Wang, 2010) • Features of the ideal foreign language acquisition study abroad (FLA SA) setting “to achieve meaningful linguistic gains through out-of-class contact and make the sojourn experience worthwhile” (p. 51) • Students need: • Consistent and substantive interactions with NS • Proficient in speaking and writing • Supportive interlocutors • Reality • Usually not reported in the literature • Challenge belief that SA is best setting

4. No guarantees: FLA SA studies report inconsistent results • More than just SA setting • Variables interconnected • Complex and unstable • Difficult to isolate and control • Recommendation: Second Language Socialization (SLS) perspective • Connection among SA, learner identity, and SLS • Close examination of learners in SA environment

5. The Effects of Intensive Study Abroad and At Home Language Programs on Second Language Acquisition of Spanish (D’Amico, 2010) • Literature Review • FLA SA becoming more common • Impact of SA on L2 remains “intricate and hard to define” (p. 28) • Mixed results: Benefits of both SA and AH programs depending on nature of study • In general, SA has positive impact on linguistic and extra-linguistic features • “The simple belief that the SA context will produce ‘perfect’ or ‘native-like’ L2 speakers is unrealistic” (p. 29). • Study • 10 U.S. university students in six-week SA in Spain; control group in AH program • Fluency focus • Results • SA students showed L2 fluency gains and increased willingness to communicate, but results “not drastically different from the AH learners” (p. 168). • “(L)earners were able to make some gains in fluency in . . . a short time frame” (p. 153). • Recommendations • No “fast track” to native-like L2 use; Set realistic and practical program goals.

6. Social Interaction and Linguistic Gain During Study Abroad (Magnan & Back, 2007) • Institute of International Education report: 93.5% SA programs are short-term (p. 44) • Study • 24 US university students; one semester SA in France • Questionnaires, Can-Do self-assessment, OPI, and Language Contact Profile (p. 47) • Results • SA programs contribute to FLA; “no recipe to ensure language improvement” (p. 56) • Contact with TL is key; no one form of contact guarantees FLA • Recommendations • Advanced TL coursework before SA experience • When in France, “do not speak French with other Americans” (p. 57). • Use more instruments more often

7. ESL Teacher Education Abroad and at Home: A Cautionary Tale (Pray & Marx, 2012) • Study • Comparison: Pre-service teachers in Mexico and in U.S. • Perceptions of culturally-appropriate language teaching • Mixed Results • Developed a “more empathetic understanding of language and cultural issues” (p. 216) • Overgeneralized own SA experience with ELLs’ experience in U.S. • Understood benefits of using L1 in language learning • Recommendations • Teach SA courses and on-campus counterparts differently • Teach differences between students’ short-term SA experience & long-term immigrants’ experience • Address misunderstandings related to language and culture • SA: A complement to on-campus programs—not a replacement

8. The Impact of an International Field Experience on Preservice Teachers (Pence & Macgillivray, 2008) • Study • Gauge impact of short-term SA experience • Data sources: journals, focus groups, observations, reflection paper, course evaluations, questionnaire one year later • Professional and Personal Results • Increased confidence • Greater appreciation and respect for cultural diversity • Increased awareness of role of feedback and reflection • Program Planning Recommendations • “Importance of self-reflection cannot be overstated” (p. 24). • Carefully selected supervisors provide support and feedback • Two-fold focus: cultural diversity and personal/professional growth • Goal: produce lifelong learners who advocate for students and families

9. Context of Research Study 44 South Korean Student Teachers came to USA to full student-teaching internship for two months in Jan & Feb 2012 Student Teachers were placed in both elementary and secondary classrooms with a cooperating teacher, based upon each student teachers’ content area of emphasis

10. Context Cont’d Student-teachers were also placed in English Speaking host family homes for the duration of their stay in USA Emphasis of their internship was to develop pedagogical knowledge to make them a better teacher in South Korea, being able to contrast the experience of South Korean Education system with the U.S. Education system

11. Internship Requirements Each Student-Teacher had to be in either their Junior or Senior year of their education program All content coursework must have been completed Every student-teacher doing the Study Abroad internship had to meet TOEFL score requirements expected of incoming international students at most colleges

12. Research Question Does English language proficiency improve during short-term student-teaching internships?

13. Method Student-Teachers were given a pre-test (upon arrival at beginning of January), a mid-test (end of January), and post-test (end of February) Each testing session utilized different forms of the test so that participants did not see the same questions again

14. Method • Six areas were tested using two different tests • Michigan Test – Listening, Grammar, Vocabulary, and Reading • Quick Informal Assessment (QIA) – Speaking & Writing

15. Listening Test The Listening Test consisted of 20 multiple choice questions The questions were played on an audio CD These questions were the first part of the Michigan Test

16. Grammar Test The Grammar Test consisted of 30 questions These questions were numbers 21-50 of the Michigan Test

17. Vocabulary Test The Vocabulary Test consisted of 30 questions These questions were numbers 51-80 of the Michigan Test

18. Reading Test The Reading Test consisted of 20 questions These questions were numbers 81-100 of the Michigan Test

19. Writing Test A writing prompt was given to the students to write an essay about Each essay was blindly scored by two scorers Scores that differed by more than one point were discussed by each reviewer until consensus was made on the score

20. Speaking Test The Speaking Test consisted of multiple questions that progressively became more difficult Once the student’s oral proficiency was determined, the test ended; thus, some students answered 16-20 questions while others answered much fewer questions than that

21. Speaking – Not Significant

22. Writing – Not Significant

23. Listening - Significant

24. Grammar - Significant

25. Vocabulary – Not Significant

26. Reading – Significant

27. Summary of Results • Statistically Signicant! • Growth in Listening during 2nd month! • Growth in Grammar across the two months combined! • Reading (no growth from pre-post… drop off at mid test could be due to stress, fatigue) • No Statistical Significance • Two months is too short a time to see gains in Speaking, Reading, Vocabulary Acquisition, and Writing

28. Improving ESL Learners' Listening Skills: At the Workplace and Beyond (Van Duzer, 1997) • Listening is demanding. • Listener, speaker, context, and level of visual support • Critical activity during ELs’ silent period and beyond • Listening is complex. • Many non-sequential processes occurring both simultaneously and in rapid succession • Both bottom-up and top-down processes • Effective listening activities • Provide relevant tasks and authentic materials • Foster complex processing • Teach strategies • Have broad application • Listening plays a critical role in communication and in SLA.

29. Future Implications • Future groups are going to receive English training in regards to Listening and Grammar • Specifically idiomatic phrases • Qualitative studies to be done on perceptions of culture upon arriving contrasted with perceptions when leaving

30. Q & A Session What questions do you have? How does this study connect to your own study abroad experiences?

31. References D’Amico, M. L. (2010). The effects of intensive study abroad and at home language programs on second language acquisition of Spanish (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Florida. (ISBN: 978-1-1245-1390-4) Magnan, S.S., & Back, M. (2007). Social interaction and linguistic gain during study abroad. Foreign Language Annuals, 40(1), 43-61. Pence, H. M., & Macgillivray, I. K. (2008). The impact of an international field experience on preservice teachers. Teaching & Teacher Education, 24(1), 14-25. Pray, L., & Marx, S. (2010). ESL teacher education abroad and at home A cautionary tale. The Teacher Educator, 45(3), 216-229. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08878730.2010.488099 Van Duzer, C. (1997). Improving ESL learners' listening skills: At the workplace and beyond. Retrieved September 15, 2012, from the Center for Applied Linguistics website: http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/listenqa.html Wang, C. (2010). Toward a second language socialization perspective: Issues in study abroad research. Foreign Language Annals, 43(1), 50-63.