As in every conversation, negotiation for control and connection is at the heart of communication in the study
abroad homestay. Finding a comfortable footing on the control-and-connection continua (i.e., closeness versus distance, and
hierarchy versus equality) is both a product and a process of language learning in the homestay. Drawing on interviews of all
parties and recordings of homestay interactions, we present the dialectical interplay of control and connection through analysis
of conversational narratives recounted at Chinese homestay dinner tables. We recruit Wertsch’s
(1998) notion of mediated action to show how stories, as cultural tools, were employed by the hosts and students to
construct moral injunctions and to cultivate closeness through mutual caring (guānxīn), affective gratification
(qièyì), and attentiveness (tiēxīn). Findings of the study challenge assumptions about
homestay communication as a power struggle only and underscore the importance of teaching students to appreciate the value of
interpersonal exchange in homestay settings.
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Cited by (4)
Cited by four other publications
Ke, Chuanren & Yuan Lu
2024. Study abroad experiences in homestay: where complexity, dynamicity, and individuality stay. Applied Linguistics Review
Back, Michele, Rebecca Joseph, Anna McCormick & Hana Picorelli
2022. Homestays as a resource for preservice teachers studying abroad. Teaching and Teacher Education 119 ► pp. 103849 ff.
Lee, Sheng-Hsun
2022. How memories of study abroad experience are contextualized in the language classroom. Applied Linguistics Review 13:4 ► pp. 631 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 29 october 2024. 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.
