This paper reports the findings of an Australian qualitative study (N = 45) concerned with the way that employers, academics and students perceived connections between international experience and graduate employability. Drawing on the literature, the authors argue that increasing globalisation and internationalisation has heightened the need for…

The objectives of this study are to investigate the interrelationships of a number of affective variables related to studying Chinese as a second language (L2); to examine the relationships between affective variables in second language acquisition (SLA) and the indices of adaptation; and thirdly, to assess the changes over time in the attitudes…

Whether indirectly from governmental and non-governmental organizations or directly from higher education institutions, students receive messages that they should study abroad. Studying in a foreign country is considered essential if students are to be marketable to future employers and prepared to lead the U.S. into a new era. Despite the…

A recurrent theme in the literature on transnational mobility--and particularly that pertaining to the young and/or highly skilled--is the "individualised" nature of such movement, as people move to take advantage of opportunities in an increasingly interdependent world. Drawing on research with 85 young adults who had moved overseas for…

Language learning strategies are used with the explicit goal of helping learners improve their knowledge and understanding of a target language. They are the conscious thoughts and behaviors used by students to facilitate language learning tasks and to personalize language learning process. Learning styles on the other hand, are "general…

This study is based on a survey in 2007 of 12,961 senior secondary final year students in seven major cities in China, and shows that students in less developed cities manifest a stronger intention to study abroad than students in better off cities, controlling for students' other demographic characteristics and their major perceived attractions…

While the number of exchange visas for international students and professors is up overall, the post-Sept. 11 decline continues for many majority-Muslim countries. Last November, the U.S. Department of State heralded a record high number of visas issued to international students and exchange visitors. A report by the Institute of International…

Geographers have been active in numerous focused study-abroad programs, but few have created or led language-based programs overseas. This article describes the development of a Spanish language program in Ecuador and how it was made geographic primarily through a theoretically informed regional geography course. The approach employs theoretical…

"Tick Off to Take Off (TOTTO)" is an online pre-departure guide for UK undergraduates intending to study abroad. It aims to simplify the application process, centralise information, increase efficiency and improve retention rates. TOTTO responds to the changing climate surrounding study abroad in UK universities and offers one way to…

The authors propose a paradigm for rigorous scientific assessment of study abroad programs, with the focus being on how study abroad experiences affect psychological constructs as opposed to looking solely at study-abroad-related outcomes. Social learning theory is used as a possible theoretical basis for making testable hypotheses and guiding…

The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to and ways in which student participants in Alternative Break (AB) programs report that their AB experience influenced their intentions or plans to volunteer, engage in advocacy, or study or travel abroad, or their major or career plans. Additional analysis explored the specific program…

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…

At Canadian universities, business schools are light-years ahead of the rest of the campus in raising their global profile. Intensive foreign-student-recruitment efforts, friendly Canadian immigration rules, mandatory study-abroad requirements, and, in some cases, the option to pursue programs in multiple languages have combined to pack a punch in…

This longitudinal qualitative study investigates how cultural experiences of staying in Japan may affect attitudes and self-directed learning of kanji among learners of Japanese as a foreign language. Six beginner learners pursued semester-long weekly kanji learning sessions and their diachronic behaviours were observed and recorded for attitudes…

This article presents the results from a mainly statistical and comparative analysis regarding the communicative competences and the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) of German exchange students. The data was extracted from two exhaustive, rigorous and methodical questionnaires related to communicative and ICT competences,…