Cover not available
Article published In:
EUROSLA Yearbook: Volume 14 (2014)
Edited by Leah Roberts, Ineke Vedder and Jan H. Hulstijn
[EUROSLA Yearbook 14] 2014
► pp. 31–64

The effects of time in the development of complexity and accuracy during study abroad

A study of French and Chinese learners of English

| University College Cork
| University College Cork

Reflecting the current age of mammoth globalisation and the desirability of having a second language in today’s world, study abroad (SA) is becoming increasingly popular amongst university students across many disciplines. Moreover, with the EU identifying a target of 20% participation in SA in 2010, the value of this activity is also being recognised on an intergovernmental level. Participants in SA programmes stand to gain not only invaluable experiences, in terms of expanding their social and cultural knowledge, but also in developing their second language (L2). While there now exists a multitude of SLA studies situated within this unique learning context, such studies vary enormously in the duration of their learner-participants’ stay in the target language community. Indeed, a review of the current literature indicates that the duration of SA in the existing research ranges from a couple of weeks to a full year. Given such diversity, it is difficult to draw substantive conclusions on the effect of duration of SA on L2 development, although a limited number of important studies have explored the issue (e.g. Davidson, 2010; Dwyer, 2004; Llanes & Muñoz, 2009; Serrano et al., 2012). Against this background, the current paper reports on a longitudinal study of French and Chinese learners of English over a nine month SA period. Initial, medial and final interview data were analysed in terms of Complexity and Accuracy which are considered two important, and often rivalrous, features of language performance (Ellis & Barkhuizen, 2005). The results of the study point to considerable individual variation, both within individuals (variation across observations) and between individuals (variation across participants) in scope of development, making it difficult to capture language gains in terms of a neat, linear pattern over time.

Published online: 5 August 2014
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/eurosla.14.02jen
References
Antonakopoulou, E
2013 “Sociocultural adaptation of U.S. education abroad students in Greece: The effects of program duration and intervention.” Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad XXIII1: Fall 2013.Google Scholar
Bartning, I
1997 “L’apprenant dit avancé et son acquisition d’une langue étrangère. Tour d’horizon et esquisse d’une caractérisation de la variété avancée.” Acquisition et Interaction en Langue Etrangère 91: 9–50. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2009 “The advanced learner variety: 10 years later.” In The Advanced Learner Variety. The Case of French, F. Myles and E. Labeau (eds.), 11–40. Bern: Lang.Google Scholar
Bardovi-Harlig, K. and Bofman, T
1989 “Attainment of syntactic and morphological accuracy by advanced language learners.” Studies in Second Language Acquisition 11 (1): 17–34. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chiswick, B.R. and Miller, P.W
2004 “Linguistic distance: A quantitative measure of the distance between English and other languages.” Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 26 (1): 1–16. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Churchill, E. and DuFon, M
2006 Language Learners in Study Abroad Contexts. Clevedon / Toronto: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Collentine, J
2004 “The effects of learning contexts on morphosyntactic and lexical development.” Studies in Second Language Acquisition 26 (2): 227–248. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Collentine, J. and Freed, B
2004 “Learning context and its effects on second language acquisition.” Studies in Second Language Acquisition 26 (2): 153–171. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Davidson, D
2010 “Study abroad: When, how long, and with what results? New data from the Russian front.” Foreign Language Annals 43 (1): 6–26. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
De Bot, K., Lowie, W. and Verspoor, M
2007 “A dynamic systems theory approach to second language acquisition.” Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 10 (1): 7–21. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
De Bot, K. and Makoni, S
2005 Language and Aging in Multilingual Societies: Dynamic Perspectives. Clevedon / Toronto: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dechert, H.W., Mohle, D. and Raupach, M
1984 Second Language Productions. Tubingen: Gunter Narr.Google Scholar
Duanmu, S
2006 “Chinese (Mandarin): Phonology.” In Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, 2nd Edition, K. Brown (ed.), 351–355. Oxford: Elsevier. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dwyer, M
2004 “More is better: The impact of study abroad program duration.” Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad X1: 151–164. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ellis, R
2003 Task-based Language Learning and Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ellis, R. and Barkhuizen, P
2005 Analysing Learner Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Freed, B.F
1991 “ Language learning in a study abroad context: The effects of interactive and non-interactive out-of-class contact on grammatical achievement and oral proficiency.” In Linguistics, Language Teaching and Language Acquisition: The Interdependence of Theory, Practice and Research, J. Alatis (ed.), 459–477. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
1995 “What makes us think that students who study abroad become fluent?” In Second Language Acquisition in a Study Abroad Context, B.F. Freed (ed.), 123–148. 
Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Freed, B.F., Dewey, D.P., Segalowitz, N. and Halter, R
2004 “The language contact profile.” Studies in Second Language Acquisition 26 (2): 349–356. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Foster, P., Tonkyn, A. and Wigglesworth, G
2000 “Measuring spoken language: A unit for all reasons.” Applied Linguistics 21 (3): 354–375. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hakuta, K
1975 “Learning to speak a second language: What exactly does the child learn?” 
In Developmental Psycholinguistics: Theory and Applications, D.P. Dato (ed.), 193–207. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
Hart, D.S., Lapkin, S. and Swain, M
1994 “Impact of a six-month bilingual exchange program: attitudes and achievement.” Report to the Department of the Secretary of State. Toronto: OISE Modern Language Centre.Google Scholar
Herdina, P. and Jessner, U
2002 A Dynamic Model of Multilingualism: Perspectives of Change in Psycholinguistics. Clevedon / Toronto: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Housen, A. and Kuiken, F
2009 “Complexity, accuracy and fluency in second language acquisition.” Applied Linguistics 30 (4): 461–473. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Housen, A., Kuiken, F. and Vedder, I
2012 Dimensions of L2 Performance and Proficiency: Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency in SLA. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Howard, M
2005 “Second language acquisition in a study abroad context: A comparative investigation of the effects of study abroad and foreign language instruction on the L2 learner’s grammatical development.” In Investigations in Instructed Second Language Acquisition, A. Housen and M. Pierrard (eds.), 495–530. Berlin / New York: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2011a “Input perspectives on the role of learning context in second language acquisition. An introduction to the special issue.” Input and Learning Context in Second Language Acquisition, Special issue ofInternational Review of Applied Linguistics 49 (3): 71–82.Google Scholar
2011b “Lessons from the world of SLA on the impact of learning context in L2 acquisition. Insights from study abroad research.” In Discours, acquisition et didactique des langues. Les termes d’un dialogue, P. Trévisiol-Okamura and G. Komur-Thilloy (eds.), 87–104. Paris: Orizons.Google Scholar
Ife, A., Vives Boix, G. and Meara, P
2000 “The impact of study abroad on vocabulary development among different proficient groups.” Spanish Applied Linguistics 4 (1): 55–84.Google Scholar
Isabelli, C.A. and Nishida, C
2005 “Development of the Spanish subjunctive in a nine month study-abroad setting.” In Selected Proceedings of the 6th Conference on the Acquisition of Spanish and Portuguese as First and Second Languages, D. Eddington (ed.), 78–91. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar
Keijzer, M
2001 Representation and Behavior. Massachusetts: MIT Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Labov, W
1984 “Field methods of the project on linguistic change and variation.” In Language in Use, J. Baughand J. Scherzer(eds.), 43–70. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Larsen-Freeman, D
1978 “An ESL index of development?.” TESOL Quarterly 12 (4): 439–448. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1997 “Chaos/complexity science and second language acquisition.” Applied Linguistics 18 (2): 141–165. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2002 “Language acquisition and language use from a chaos/complexity theory perspective.” In Language Acquisition and Language Socialization: Ecological Perspectives, C. Kramsch (ed.), 33–46. London: Continuum.Google Scholar
2006 “The emergence of complexity, fluency, and accuracy in the oral and written production of five Chinese learners of English.” Applied Linguistics 27 (4): 590–619. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2009 “Adjusting expectations: The study of complexity, accuracy, and fluency in second language acquisition.” Applied Linguistics 30 (4): 579–589. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Larsen-Freeman, D. and Ellis, R
2009. Language as a Complex Adaptive System. Oxford: Wiley-­Blackwell.Google Scholar
Llama, R., Cardoso, W. and Collins, L
2010 “The influence of language distance and language status on the acquisition of L3 phonology.” International Journal of Multilingualism 7 (1): 39–57. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Llanes, À. and Muñoz, C
2009 “A short stay abroad: Does it make a difference?” System 37 (3): 353–365. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Llanes, À
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. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2012 “The impact of study abroad and age on second language accuracy development.” In Intensive Exposure Experiences in Second Language Learning, C. Muñoz (ed.), 193–212. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Long, M
1997 “Construct validity in SLA research: A response to Firth and Wagner.” Modern Language Journal 811: 318–323. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mohanan, K.P
1992 “Emergence of complexity in phonological development.” In Child Phonological Development, C. Ferguson, L. Menn and C. Stoel-Gammon (eds.), 635–662. 
Timonium, MD: York Press.Google Scholar
Norris, J.M. and Ortega, L
2009 “Towards an organic approach to investigating CAF in instructed SLA: The case of complexity.” Applied Linguistics 30 (4): 555–578. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ortega, L. and Byrnes, H
2008 The Longitudinal Study of Advanced L2 Capacities. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Pérez-Vidal, C. and Juan-Garau, M
2009 “The effects of study abroad (SA) on written performance.” EUROSLA Yearbook 91: 269–295. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2011 “The effect of context and input conditions on oral and written development: A study abroad perspective.” International Review of Applied Linguistics 49 (2): 157–185. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pérez-Vidal, C., Juan-Garau, M. Mora, J.C. and Valls-Ferrer, M
2012 “Oral and written development in formal instruction and study abroad: Differential effects of learning context.” In Intensive Exposure Experiences in Second Language Learning, C. Muñoz (ed.), 193–212. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Polat, B. and Kim, Y
2014 “Dynamics of complexity and accuracy: A longitudinal case study of advanced untutored development.” Applied Linguistics 35 (2): 184–207. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rasouli Khorshidi, H
2013 “Study abroad and interlanguage pragmatic development in request and apology speech acts among Iranian learners.” English Language Teaching 6 (5): 62–70. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Regan, V
1998 “Sociolinguistics and language learning in a study abroad context.” Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad 4 (3): 61–91. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sasaki, M
2007 “Effects of study-abroad experiences on EFL writers: a multiple data analysis.” Modern Language Journal 91 (4): 602–620. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2009 “Changes in English as a foreign language students’ writing over 3.5 years: a sociocognitive account.” In Writing in Foreign Language Contexts: Learning, Teaching, and Research, R. Manchon (ed.), 49–76. Bristol / Toronto: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Serrano. S
2010 “Learning languages in study abroad and at home contexts: A critical review of comparative studies.” Porta Linguarum 131: 149–163.Google Scholar
Serrano, S., Tragant, E. and Llanes, À
2012 “A longitudinal analysis of the effects of one year abroad.” Canadian Modern Language Review 68 (2): 138–163. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Skehan, P
1998 A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
2001 “Tasks and language performance.” In Researching Pedagogic Tasks: Second Language Learning, Teaching, and Testing, M. Bygate, P. Skehan and M. Swain (eds.), 167–186. London: Longman.Google Scholar
2003 “Task based instruction.” Language Teaching 361: 1–14. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2009 “Modelling second language performance: Integrating complexity, accuracy, fluency, and lexis.” Applied Linguistics 30 (4): 510–532. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Skehan, P. and Foster, P
1999 “The influence of task structure and processing conditions on narrative retellings.” Language Learning 49 (1): 93–120. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2001 “Cognition and tasks.” In Cognition and Second Language Learning, P. Robinson (ed.), 183–205. New York: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Verspoor, M., de Bot, K. and Lowie, W
2004 “Dynamic systems theory and variation: A case study in L2 writing.” In Words in Their Places: A Festschrift for J. Lachlan Mackenzie, H. Aertsen, M. Hannay and R. Lyall (eds), 407–421. Amsterdam: Free University Press.Google Scholar
2011 A Dynamic Approach to Second Language Development: Methods and Techniques. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Vossensteyn, H., Beerkens, M., Cremonini, L., Besançon, B., Focken, N., Leurs, B., McCoshan, A., Mozuraityte, N., Huisman, J., Souto Otero, M. and de Wit, H
2010 “Improving the participation in the ERASMUS programme.” In Directorate General for Internal Policies, Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies Culture and Education , European Commission, Brussels.
Waldrop, M.M
1992 Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos. New York: Simon and Schuster.Google Scholar
Wang, W
2009 “Interlanguage theory and emergentism: Reconciliation in second language developmental index studies.” English Language Teaching 2 (1): 31–36. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wolfe-Quintero, K., Inagaki, S. and Kim, H.-Y
1998 Second Language Development in Writing. Measures of Fluency, Accuracy and Complexity. University of Hawai’i: Second Language Teaching and Curriculum Center.Google Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 9 other publications

Bartning, Inge, Klara Arvidsson & Fanny Forsberg Lundell
2015. Complexity at the phrasal level in spoken L1 and very advanced L2 French. Language, Interaction and Acquisition 6:2 ► pp. 181 ff. DOI logo
Borràs, Judith & Àngels Llanes
2021. Re-examining the impact of study abroad on L2 development: a critical overview. The Language Learning Journal 49:5 ► pp. 527 ff. DOI logo
Dewaele, Livia & Jean-Marc Dewaele
2020. Actual and Self-Perceived Linguistic Proficiency Gains in French during Study Abroad. Languages 6:1 ► pp. 6 ff. DOI logo
García-Amaya, Lorenzo
2023. Investigating the relation between L2 pauses, syntactic complexity, and pause location: Longitudinal data from L2-Spanish study-abroad learners. Second Language Research ► pp. 026765832311526 ff. DOI logo
Howard, Martin
2023. Chapter 10. Grammatical development during study abroad. In Methods in Study Abroad Research [Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 4], ► pp. 239 ff. DOI logo
Long, Avizia Y. & Megan Solon
2021. The impact of a short-term stay abroad on L2 Spanish syntactic complexity development in narratives. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education 6:1 ► pp. 163 ff. DOI logo
Marijuan, Silvia & Cristi Vallejos
2023. Chapter 9. Complexity, fluency and accuracy in study abroad research. In Methods in Study Abroad Research [Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 4], ► pp. 209 ff. DOI logo
McManus, Kevin, Rosamond Mitchell & Nicole Tracy-Ventura
2021. A Longitudinal Study of Advanced Learners’ Linguistic Development Before, During, and After Study Abroad. Applied Linguistics 42:1 ► pp. 136 ff. DOI logo
Xu, Yiran
2019. Changes in interlanguage complexity during study abroad: A meta-analysis. System 80 ► pp. 199 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 18 may 2023. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.