Why do some study abroad students improve their intercultural skills, while others revert to less sophisticated ways of making sense of cultural difference? Both intercultural competence theory and transformative learning theory attempt to explain why student intercultural learning occurs, but they only provide partial answers. Building on our…

In this qualitative inquiry, we studied the lived experiences of counselor trainees who participated in a short-term study abroad program in Dublin, Ireland. It was found that counselor trainees self-reported transformative growth as a result of their cultural immersion. Specifically, counselor trainees identified an increase in cultural…

This study examined the effects of participation in a community service-learning experience on Spanish heritage language learners' attitudes toward their heritage language and culture. Quantitative and qualitative data from heritage language learners demonstrated that engagement in community service-learning activities as part of the Spanish…

The development of college students' cultural competence is important in an increasingly diverse world. This exploratory, qualitative, action research study examined how 158 first-year students understood and applied core concepts after participating in a standardized diversity and social justice lesson plan designed using transformative education…

In this dissertation, I investigate how Israeli staff members understand the intercultural encounter they experienced in an overnight camp setting; how they navigated the experience; and how the intercultural encounter has impacted them. The research was conducted through qualitative methods of data collection, including elements of ethnography,…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the teachability of Situation-Bound Utterances (SBUs hence) in a Modern Chinese foreign language classroom. Specifically, the basic question to be examined is this: to what extent two instructional paradigms--explicit versus implicit instruction--affect learners' knowledge and ability to use SBUs. For…

Over the past decades, more and more institutions of higher learning have developed programs destined to educate students for global citizenship. Such efforts pose considerable challenges: conceptually, pedagogically and from the perspective of impact assessment. Conceptually, it is of utmost importance to pay attention to both structural…

The researchers used qualitative and quantitative instruments to measure students' linguistic gains and their opinions and attitudes toward intercultural awareness while studying Spanish as a foreign language under four different pedagogical models: a traditional face-to-face classroom, face-to-face classes with a community-based learning…

This study examines the acculturative challenges facing non-English speaking background (NESB) international doctoral students in the process of discipline enculturation. Twenty NESB doctoral students at three New Zealand universities from eleven countries participated in the semistructured interviews. The study has found that their transformative…

Grounded in the whole person perspective of language learners and the concepts of investment and L2 socialization, this qualitative study explores how community service learning (CSL) contributes to international students' L2 practices and identity development. This study finds that CSL creates "a pedagogical contact zone" outside the…

As institutions seek to offer students an educational experience equipped with opportunities to develop as not only active learners but also engaged citizens, service-learning initiatives in the form of alternative spring breaks (ASB) have become prevalent. This study examines the potential of ASBs, as service-learning initiatives, to deliver a…

This article discusses the nature of Chinese students' transnational experiences and its impact on their identities within and beyond national and cultural boundaries. The discussion is located in the theoretical framework of transnationalism and explores in detail the ways in which students adapt, change and develop, both in the host country of…

In this paper we use Transformative Learning Theory as a lens for making sense of teachers' learning from study visits to the Global South. Transformative Learning theory is made up of two main elements: the form of transformations and the processes that support transformations. "Life changing" experiences as expressed by study visit…

Study abroad is rapidly becoming an academic priority for any program in higher education. The need for American students to broaden their perspective of the interdependent and interconnected world is so important that global learning is being introduced at all levels of the academic pipeline. As a result of this urgency, foreign shores steadily…

In this article, we sought a relation between orientation to higher education and curricular experiences, and elucidated the nature of transformative curricular experiences. Twenty-four graduates from humanities and science degrees in the year 2000 were interviewed approximately five years later to obtain their retrospective views on the purpose…