Emerging Technologies Integrating Technology into Study Abroad.

Abstract

Ready access to travel and to technology‐enhanced social networking (e.g., Facebook or Skype) has changed the nature of study abroad to the point where today’s experiences are fundamentally different from those of earlier eras (Kinginger, 2013a, p. 345). In addition to more travel options and greater technology availability, study abroad has changed in other significant ways. In the US, more students are going abroad for short-term programs (less than 8 weeks), and the participants represent more diverse academic fields, with an increasing number of students from the sciences, social sciences, and businessrelated fields. The image of the North American student going abroad primarily for language learning, spending a semester or more, no longer fits reality. In fact, many students now engage in service learning, internships, or volunteer work while abroad. Nevertheless, study abroad remains an expected experience for students with a serious interest in language learning. In this column we will be looking at the varied roles that technology can play in the study abroad experience. Some argue that the availability of Internetbased social media while abroad is for language learning and cross-cultural understanding at best a distraction and at worst an inhibitor of full engagement in the target culture, inevitably leading to less exposure to the target language and therefore fewer opportunities for language proficiency gains. I will be arguing that, in fact, technology can play a positive role, particularly if students are provided with appropriate guidance and support. The main areas to be discussed are the personal and learning benefits of technology use while abroad, the formation of second-language identities, the affordances for pragmatic language development, the integration of mobile devices for place-based language learning, and the opportunities for enhancement of intercultural communication competence.

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