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Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education
Vol. 9:2 (2024) ► pp.127–156

Oral proficiency gains of study abroad students before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

A matched samples analysis

ORCID logo | University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland
| St. Gallen University of Teacher Education
| St. Gallen University of Teacher Education
| St. Gallen University of Teacher Education

This article presents a comparative study of the oral English proficiency gains of two groups of students, namely mobility students before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 26), who were matched for background variables such as pre-departure oral proficiency, duration of stay, accommodation, and destination. Oral proficiency was measured before and after the stay using the Oral Proficiency Interview by Computer (OPIc). Results indicate that students staying abroad before the outbreak of the pandemic made significant progress while students staying abroad during the pandemic did not. Student comments suggest that this may be related to the measures taken to contain the pandemic, limiting opportunities for social networking and interaction. However, this impression could not be supported by statistical analyses of the self-reported number of social contacts or amount of English language use. The results point to the need for consideration of qualitative aspects of social interactions and language use and a more frequent and situated assessment of these.

Keywords: oral proficiency development, language use, social contacts, COVID-19, matched-pairs, higher education
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Impact of SA on second language development
    • 2.2The relationship between L2 development and social networks in study abroad
    • 2.3The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on social networks and language gains
  • 3.Research questions
  • 4.Method
    • 4.1Participants
    • 4.2Instruments
    • 4.3Analysis
  • 5.Results
  • 6.Discussion and conclusions
  • 7.Limitations and future directions
  • 8.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

Published online: 14 May 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sar.23004.hei
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