ABSTRACT

Time abroad is an ever more common feature of study for many university students. Students of languages, in particular, are encouraged or required to spend a period of time abroad as an integral component of their degree. While research on study abroad is abundant, studies addressing the socialisation of Irish students during their time abroad are limited. In an effort to better understand this issue, the research reported in this paper examined factors that enhanced or hindered students of Spanish from an Irish university integrating into a host country/city during two academic semesters spent at partner universities in Spain or Latin America. Students completed an online survey on their return home in order to ascertain their experiences of integration in the local communities where they lived. Results show that students who made efforts to join sport/social activities and who engaged in activities with native speakers of Spanish had a positive experience of integration. This paper also makes recommendations that may be relevant for students and institutions in their preparation for study abroad.

摘要

对于许多大学生来说，出国时间是学习的一个越来越普遍的特征。特别是，鼓励或要求语言专业的学生在国外度过一段时间，作为他们学位的组成部分。尽管对国外留学的研究非常丰富，但针对爱尔兰学生在国外的社会化问题的研究却十分有限。为了更好地理解这个问题，本文报道的研究调查了在西班牙或拉丁美洲的合作大学度过的两个学期中，增加或阻碍爱尔兰大学的西班牙学生融入东道国/城市的因素。学生们在返回家乡之前完成了一项在线调查，以确定他们在所居住的当地社区中融入社会的经历。结果表明，努力参加体育/社交活动并与以西班牙语为母语的人一起参加活动的学生具有积极的融合经历。本文还提出了一些建议，这些建议可能对学生和机构在出国留学的准备方面具有重要意义。