Every year, around 120 students of French at the University of Manchester (UoM) prepare to go on their compulsory Year Abroad (YA). They are free to choose between different options: studying in France and the French-speaking world, working in diverse sectors throughout the French-speaking world, or becoming a language assistant. This wealth of…

This article describes the extra support required for outgoing students on their Year Abroad (YA) journey. It highlights the increasing need for and relevance of peer mentoring of YA students in preparing them to deal with different structures and organisations where external support might be insufficient or even non-existent. It also outlines…

The purpose of this study was to describe perceptions of stakeholders (leadership of Concordia Language Villages, staff members and villagers of "Lac du Bois", the French Language Village of Concordia Language Villages), related to achievement of the mission statement. The research question was: How do stakeholders in "Lac du…

This article reports on the results of a project which used a social network site to support students on a year abroad and foster informal learning, particularly in the area of intercultural communication. The project employed a peer-mentoring structure to solve the problem of role conflict, in which users of these sites may feel some tension as…

Several surveys were made of Japanese teenagers who were exchange students in the United States between 1975 and 1977. Three of the questionnaires are analyzed to get an idea of the problems the students had with English and the state of English teaching in Japan. Thirty-one male and female high school students were involved in the study. The…

This study examined undergraduate foreign language programs at five institutions that were diverse in size, type, and geographical location. At each site, interviews were conducted with four students, two faculty members, and one program administrator; two classes were observed; and related documents and program literature were collected. Using…

Student experiences in an exchange program linking the University of Hawaii and the Graduate School of Business in Lyon, France illustrate the positive impact of foreign internships. The students were enrolled in internship programs in travel industry management. The reports written by the students reveal that the experiences have affected the…

An intensive immersion program in English-as-a-Second-Language instruction developed at Pepperdine University (California), a small liberal arts college, is described. The program was designed for limited-English-speaking foreign students who are at risk for academic failure without additional English language skills. Focus of this discussion is…