ABSTRACT

Most modern languages degrees in the UK include a Residence Abroad component, the key aims of which are to help students acquire a greater understanding of a new language and culture and to develop research skills. While the acquisition of linguistic competences has been well documented, cultural learning on the year abroad is less well researched. This article is based on an innovative pedagogic project carried out at the University of Southampton, in which students were provided with training in ethnographic methods and digital skills prior to their year abroad. This training was designed to foreground the process of cultural encounter and learning that students go through in order to carry out their individual Year Abroad Research Projects (YARPs). The paper will present results based on our analysis of the ‘raw data’ collected by students for their individual ethnographic YARPs, as well as individual interviews, focus group discussions, and the students’ reflective blog posts. It also draws on evidence from a semester long module entitled ‘Learning about Culture: Introduction to Ethnography’. We will highlight the main areas of successful cultural learning, and the places in which students come up against obstacles in their ethnographic encounters.

摘要

英国大多数现代语言学位都包括“海外居住”部分，其主要目的是帮助学生对新的语言和文化有更深入的了解并发展研究技能。虽然语言能力的获得已有充分的文献记录，但国外一年的文化学习研究却很少。本文基于在南安普敦大学开展的一项创新的教学项目，该项目为学生在出国留学之前接受了人种志方法和数字技能的培训。该培训旨在突显学生进行文化遭遇和学习的过程，从而开展他们各自的“国外年度研究项目”（YARPs）。本文将基于对学生收集的针对其个人人种志YARP的“原始数据”的分析，以及个人访谈，焦点小组讨论和学生的反映性博客帖子，得出结果。它还从一个学期的名为“学习文化：人种学概论”的模块中获得证据。我们将重点介绍成功的文化学习的主要领域，以及学生在人种志研究中遇到的障碍。