1 General Language 6 (U21128) Assessed Written Work 2: In-Class Essay Source texts for Question 4: The advantages of studying abroad far outweigh the disadvantages. Discuss. Essay Assessment Details: Written Work 2 (LO 2,3): (Week 16 - 20% weighting) You will write an academic discussion essay (700 words) in class during the 2 hour seminar class in WEEK 16. Articles relating to the topic of the essay will be available on the GL6 Moodle site. You will be able to download these 2 weeks before the assessed in-class written work (WEEK 14). You can NOT bring the articles to the assessment with you, but you may bring your own notes, to be written on the sheet provided (consisting of 150 words maximum). You MUST GIVE THESE IN WITH YOUR WRITTEN WORK. You will be able to see the original articles while writing. Please note that your work should be appropriately referenced using APA. Please look at the referencing policy either in the student handbook, or on the library website. 2 Text 4A: Source (edited and adapted): Cisneros-Donahue, T., Krentler, K. A., Reinig, B., & Sabol, K. (2012). Assessing the Academic Benefit of Study Abroad. Journal Of Education And Learning, 1(2) 169-178. Assessing the Academic Benefit of Study Abroad Teresa Cisneros-Donahue, Kathleen A. Krentler, Bruce Reinig & Karey Sabol 1. Introduction Participation in study abroad is growing at a rapid pace. The 2011 Open Doors Report shows that overseas study by U.S. students was up in 2010 (the most recent available year) by over 10,000 students compared to the previous year (270,604 versus 260,327) (IIE, 2011). U.S. students studying abroad have more than tripled over the past two decades. The Open Doors report also emphasized that study abroad is now taking place in a wider range of locations and representing a wider range of academic disciplines than in the past. Our university has mirrored these trends. We have experienced substantial and sustained growth in our study abroad program. Study abroad participation has increased nearly 1000 percent over the past twelve years. Even more importantly, the perception of study abroad has changed. It is no longer seen as just an optional add-on experience. The university currently has 37 majors and academic programs that include an international experience as a graduation requirement. These majors are diverse, from Nursing to Liberal Studies (pre-teacher education) to International Business, and reflect the academic value faculty and administrators place on global learning experiences. Study abroad is widely and highly regarded beyond our university and has been identified as a "high impact educational practice" by those who study student success rates in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), a practice that can lead to increased rates of student retention and student engagement (Kuh, 2008). 2. Literature Review ...

1. 1
General Language 6 (U21128)
Assessed Written Work 2: In-Class Essay
Source texts for Question 4: The advantages of studying abroad
far outweigh the
disadvantages. Discuss.
Essay Assessment Details:
Written Work 2 (LO 2,3): (Week 16 - 20% weighting)
You will write an academic discussion essay (700 words) in
class during the 2 hour seminar class in
WEEK 16.
Articles relating to the topic of the essay will be available on
the GL6 Moodle site. You will be able to
download these 2 weeks before the assessed in-class written

2. work (WEEK 14).
You can NOT bring the articles to the assessment with you, but
you may bring your own notes, to be
written on the sheet provided (consisting of 150 words
maximum). You MUST GIVE THESE IN WITH
YOUR WRITTEN WORK.
You will be able to see the original articles while writing.
Please note that your work should be appropriately referenced
using APA. Please look at the
referencing policy either in the student handbook, or on the
library website.
2
Text 4A: Source (edited and adapted): Cisneros-Donahue, T.,
Krentler, K. A., Reinig, B., & Sabol, K.

3. (2012). Assessing the Academic Benefit of Study Abroad.
Journal Of Education And Learning, 1(2)
169-178.
Assessing the Academic Benefit of Study Abroad
Teresa Cisneros-Donahue, Kathleen A. Krentler, Bruce Reinig
& Karey Sabol
1. Introduction
Participation in study abroad is growing at a rapid pace. The
2011 Open Doors Report shows that
overseas study by U.S. students was up in 2010 (the most recent
available year) by over 10,000
students compared to the previous year (270,604 versus
260,327) (IIE, 2011). U.S. students
studying abroad have more than tripled over the past two
decades. The Open Doors report also
emphasized that study abroad is now taking place in a wider
range of locations and representing a
wider range of academic disciplines than in the past. Our
university has mirrored these trends. We
have experienced substantial and sustained growth in our study
abroad program. Study abroad

4. participation has increased nearly 1000 percent over the past
twelve years. Even more importantly,
the perception of study abroad has changed. It is no longer seen
as just an optional add-on
experience. The university currently has 37 majors and
academic programs that include an
international experience as a graduation requirement. These
majors are diverse, from Nursing to
Liberal Studies (pre-teacher education) to International
Business, and reflect the academic value
faculty and administrators place on global learning experiences.
Study abroad is widely and highly
regarded beyond our university and has been identified as a
"high impact educational practice" by
those who study student success rates in the National Survey of
Student Engagement (NSSE), a
practice that can lead to increased rates of student retention and
student engagement (Kuh, 2008).
2. Literature Review
Historically, most of the research questions in the literature on
study abroad have been related to
the teaching and learning of foreign languages and the cultural

5. learning that coincides with those
activities (Brandt & Manley, 2002). It has been uncommon for
assessment to focus on cognitive,
academic outcomes of international education (Rubin & Sutton,
2004). Even less common have
been studies that assess students before and after their study
abroad experience. Still rarer are
studies that use control groups (Stronkhorst, 2005).
2.1 Before and After Studies
Recently an increasing number of studies have emerged that
assess students before and after their
study abroad experiences. Emert and Pearson (2007) indicate
reported improvement in intercultural
competency growth in students who studied abroad and
participated actively. In Nagy’s (2008)
research, participants reported becoming independent and
improving their English proficiency.
Rexeisen and Al-Khatib (2009) found that study abroad has a
positive impact in students’
development of cross cultural sensitivity.
2.2 Control Group Studies

6. Among the minority of studies that have used control groups in
assessing study abroad learning
outcomes are the ones conducted by Clarke, III, et al., (2009);
Kehl and Morris (2007) and Sutton
and Rubin (2004). Both Clarke et al. (2009), and Kehl and
Morris (2007) administered the Global-
Mindedness Scale (Hett, 1993) to a sample and a control group.
Clarke et al., also administered
3
Olson and Kroeger’s (2001) Intercultural Sensitivity Index (ISI)
to both samples. The conclusion of
both studies was that students who studied abroad became more
globally minded than students who
stayed at home. Clarke et al., also found that students who study
abroad had greater intercultural
proficiency and increased openness to cultural diversity in
comparison to those students who stayed
at home.
2.3 Before and After with Control Group

7. Some studies in the study abroad literature include both pre-
post assessment and a control group. In
this category is research conducted by Stronkhorst (2005),
Williams (2005), Elola and Oskoz
(2008), and Vande Berg (2009).
The focus of the Stronkhorst (2005) study was to assess
language competencies (English) and
multicultural personality (MP) characteristics, (i.e., cultural
empathy, open-mindedness, social
initiative and intercultural competencies) in two groups of
students from two Dutch institutions.
Eighty two students participated in the study. The effects of the
international mobility among the
students who participated in Stronkhorst’s research were mixed.
Many internship students made
considerable and/or reasonable progress in both language
proficiency and MP characteristics while
study abroad students' progress was limited. For quite a few of
these students their international
experience had a negative impact on their MP characteristics.
The majority of the students who
completed an internship abroad stated that they had achieved
limited or no progress in the area of

8. professional competency. Students in the control group did not
rate their progress higher.
Williams administered the Cross-Cultural Adaptability
Inventory (CCAI) and the Intercultural
Sensitivity Inventory (ISI) both pre and post-sojourn to 52
students, 27 of whom had studied abroad
and a convenience sample of 25 students who stayed at their
home campus. The study revealed that
students who studied abroad displayed a greater change in
intercultural communication skills after
their semester abroad than students who stayed on campus. The
result of the research also indicated
that the greatest predictor of intercultural communication skills
was exposure to other cultures.
The purpose of the Elola and Oskoz (2008) study was to
examine how intercultural competency
develops among study abroad and non-study abroad students.
Results found that blog interactions
had a positive effect on both group’s intercultural competence
with no significant differences
between the two groups.

9. Vande Berg (2009) conducted a four-year study to find out if
U.S. students who study abroad
perform better when educators proactively intervene in their
learning or if they learn effectively if
they are left to their own devices. The study found that students
who studied abroad improved their
language learning at a level significantly higher than students in
the control group. Regarding
cultural development, the study abroad participants, on average,
had significantly greater gains than
the control group participants. Finally, the study found that
intervening in students' learning with
elements such as a pre-departure orientation with a cultural
component, provided “sufficient
conditions” to increase learning over students who stayed at
home.
3. Hypotheses and Measures
The primary focus of this study is to identify what students
learn as a result of study abroad
experiences, and how that compares with students who do not
study abroad. Based on the literature
reported, it is hypothesized that:

10. Hypothesis 1: Students who study abroad will report a
significantly higher level of knowledge upon
return than students who do not study abroad.
4
Hypothesis 2: Students who study abroad will report a
significantly higher level of knowledge upon
return than they report prior to departure.
In particular, improvement is expected along the following five
meaningful dimensions:
1) Functional knowledge: the skills and knowledge based
needed to effectively function and
navigate daily routines in a new environment.
2) Knowledge of world geography: practical knowledge of
physical and political geographic
features.

11. 3) Knowledge of global interdependence: knowledge of the
impact that actions in one part of the
world have on another part.
4) Knowledge of interpersonal accommodation: understanding
of the need for flexibility and
patience in communicating with other cultures.
5) Knowledge of cultural sensitivity: understanding of how
language and cultural contexts impact
the ability to relate to and communicate with individuals of
other cultures.
7. Discussion
The results offer varying degrees of support for the hypotheses.
With regard to Hypothesis 1
support was observed for the perceived value of an international
experience in learning to navigate
daily routines in a new environment, i.e., functional knowledge.
Although the two groups of
respondents indicated no significant difference in their
perceived levels of ability on this dimension
prior to the departure of the study abroad group, upon return the
study abroad students differed

12. significantly from those who had stayed home with respect to
their self-evaluations on this
dimension. They believed they had moved forward on this
dimension while the control group did
not. Perceptions of knowledge regarding cultural sensitivity
were also found to be significantly
enhanced for students who studied abroad. This finding suggests
that the experience of studying
and living in a foreign environment not only builds confidence
in navigating basic living skills but
also increases individuals’ beliefs in their abilities to be
introspective with respect to their reactions
and personal styles in culturally diverse settings. One might
argue that this outcome will be
potentially valuable as the global economy continues to build
and the likelihood of today’s students
competing in that economy increases as well.
With regard to Hypothesis 2 statistically significant increases
were observed across all five
dimensions. Students who studied abroad demonstrated
significant increases in the perceived
enhancement of their skills on all of the five dimensions studied
while those who did not study

13. abroad perceived significant differences in their knowledge on
only one of the five learning
outcomes. Upon return, study abroad students perceived that
their functional knowledge was
stronger than they had believed it to be before they left – they
returned believing they were better
able to accomplish basic tasks such as locating a restaurant,
taking public transport, and purchasing
small items in a foreign country as well as more advanced skills
such as comparing languages and
cultures. Study abroad students also indicated significant
differences in their knowledge regarding
interpersonal accommodation suggesting that strength was
believed to have been gained in areas
such as patience and flexibility. Further, studying abroad was
positively associated with increases
in beliefs that cultural sensitivity was enhanced. Study abroad
students felt they returned with a
significantly increased understanding of their reactions in
different settings and the significance of
language and cultural differences. Perceptions of knowledge
regarding the interdependence of
countries around the globe also increased significantly.
Perceptions of world geography were also

14. increased albeit this was a rather weak but still nonetheless a
statistically significant finding. In
sum, Hypothesis 2 was fully supported by the data.
5
Text 4B: (edited and adapted): Fisher, L. (2013, June 7). Degree
year abroad: the best year of my
life? Hardly. The Telegraph. Retrieved from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/stude
nt-life/10087157/Degree-year-
abroad-the-best-year-of-my-life-Hardly.html
Degree year abroad: the best year of my
life? Hardly
The opportunity for a year abroad on degree courses is often
described
as "the best year of your life". Language student Lottie Fisher,
back
home from Buenos Aires and Naples, isn't so sure.
The debate: is the university degree's year abroad a golden
opportunity for personal

15. development, or a needless expense of time and money?
It is generally agreed that the highlight of any modern
languages degree is the compulsory
year abroad.
University open days and prospectuses quote past students
proclaiming their time abroad as
the best year of their lives. They rave about the huge number of
foreign friends that they have
made, how much they integrated into the foreign culture, and
how they now speak their
language or languages as fluently as a native.
But having entered into my year abroad with these overinflated
expectations, I have come out
of it realising that neither I, nor anyone else I know, has
experienced exactly what we were
promised before packing our bags and boarding a flight into the
unknown.
In fact, my experiences and those of several of my peers have
led me to wonder whether the
year abroad should be a compulsory part of the course,
considering both the financial cost and

16. the time that it requires.
6
The friends that I have made abroad have largely been other
British students, as is often the
case. Locals are not always easy to befriend, especially when a
language barrier exists, and it
is far easier and more comfortable to stick with people who are
doing the same thing as you.
In addition to this, the year abroad doesn’t always live up to its
romantic image. Being a young
foreigner abroad makes you a target for the wrong kind of
people, and nearly all of my peers
have witnessed or been a victim of mugging or theft at some
point. Although our university
warned us about these dangers, it is difficult not to live in fear
after it happens to you.
It never occurred to me prior to leaving that I would be tackling
boredom on my year abroad. I
certainly didn’t expect my work placement in Argentina to only

17. need me for two days a week.
And in Italy the university where I studied was so disorganised
that it took nearly a month to
find out when and where lectures were, and I would often arrive
at empty classrooms due to
class cancellations.
Some of my peers never attended any lectures, rarely leaving
the house. Others spent their
time in bars and clubs funded by their £1,000-a-semester non-
repayable Erasmus grant,
provided by the European Union to students who spend their
time in Europe. Others worked
for a couple of months and then gave up to go travelling for the
rest of their time, using the
opportunity as a glorified gap year.
With the rise of tuition fees, I do question whether it is really
worth another year of debt when
more intensive language lessons might improve your language
as much as travelling abroad.
In my opinion, universities can hugely overrate the year abroad
and it is not, in many cases,
the overwhelming success described at university open day.