This chapter focuses on instructed second language acquisition research that examines second language learning specifically in instructional contexts, broadly construed (e.g., classrooms, online learning, self-study). The scope of the research field is discussed by distinguishing it from broader second language acquisition research. In essence, the chapter addresses the primary question that researchers and teachers are interested in: Can instruction help learners develop their second language proficiency? The chapter then answers the follow-up question which is: Which types of instruction are more or less helpful? In answering this question, the chapter considers the goals that learners and other stakeholders, such as teachers and parents, have for their second language development. It discusses different types of second language knowledge (implicit and explicit knowledge) as the goal of second language instruction. Finally, the chapter explores pedagogical issues and ends by considering a taxonomy that describes various approaches and methodologies to second language teaching.

“Achieving Modernity by Studying in the Philippines” shifts from educational tours to study abroad, exploring the experiences of Chinese students in the Philippines. It argues that Chinese parents and students increasingly viewed the Philippines as an attractive alternative to Japan and even the United States and Europe. Japanese military aggression soured Chinese desires to study in that country, and World War I and World War II effectively curtailed opportunities to study in Europe. The Philippines also had many advantages, like geographical proximity and English-language education, that made it a draw in its own right. However, the Philippines during this time was under American colonial occupation, so this chapter also addresses whether Chinese were interested in the Philippines as a unique model of modernity or a colonial derivative. It seeks to complicate the picture of agency under occupation by showing how Filipino agents along with American colonials funneled money toward education, forestry, infrastructure, public health, and other elements of a “modern” state. It stresses that Filipinos played a critical role in transforming the archipelago, and many Chinese observers accepted the Philippines as a unique and inspirational form when molding their own such model.

The focus of this chapter is the development of pragmatic and sociolinguistic competence among second language learners during study abroad. In contrast to the foreign language classroom at home, study abroad offers learners a range of settings in which to engage in real-life intercultural encounters. These opportunities for social interaction, in turn, can have an impact on the learning of pragmatic and sociolinguistic dimensions of the second language, including speech acts and implicit meaning in the case of pragmatics and stylistic, and social factors in the case of sociolinguistics. Being able to accurately comprehend the intended message of utterances in the social context and to adequately express desired meanings are crucial components of intercultural competence. However, given that languages vary with regard to how pragmatic functions are realized and how sociolinguistic variation is signaled, the development of these areas in a second language represents a challenge for learners. While previous research suggests that study abroad can facilitate pragmatic and sociolinguistic development, such development is not guaranteed and the learning outcomes for individual learners are subject to a wide array of personal, social, and programmatic factors.

There is an ever-growing consensus amongst EFL/ESL researchers that while L2 learners may improve their English language proficiency during a period of study abroad in the target language, they may not show concomitant development of pragmatic competence. This mixed-methods study aimed to examine this interlanguage issue by tracking asymmetrical email communication with academic staff. Using 170 authentic L2 emails in comparison to a reference corpus of 162 authentic L1 emails, we identified three distinct features of the Chinese learners’ L2 email requests to faculty: significant directness and limited choices of conventional indirectness, extensive external modification and relative limited internal modification, and heavy reliance on the request perspectives of ‘you’ and ‘I’. L2 email practices also remained largely unchanged during study abroad in England, suggesting a ten-month immersion in the L2 environment alone was insufficient to evidence developmental change. Learners found it challenging to implicitly acquire more complicated pragmatic structures such as internal modification, for instance. Participant interviews revealed learner agency played a key role in pragmatic learning and unlearning, the latter of which refers to the process by which learners actively dissociate from L2 norms when conflicts with the L1 systems arise, implying that L2 pragmatic development is fluid.

This chapter provides a critical examination of Arabic study-abroad numbers and outcomes, of recurrent problems, and of research-based interventions. Trentman’s study highlights both qualitative and quantitative assessments of students’ skills before and after the study-abroad experience, especially in oral proficiency. Arabic sociolinguistic variation has long played a destabilizing role in proficiency gain, measurement, and accuracy, and the challenge of developing networks of informal, relaxed relationships with native speakers is raised and addressed. Also addressed are the less-noted ‘ideologies’ of study abroad that focus either on a ‘touristy’ intercultural experience or on an instrumental ‘orientalist perspective’ that discourages student engagement with local communities. Research interventions such as reflective practice and ethnography projects are discussed and evaluated as ways to raise the awareness and progress of study-abroad students.

This chapter examines incremental transformational learning, as evidenced by the intercultural growth of advanced learners of Russian in the Russian Overseas Language Flagship (ROF); a year-long overseas immersion program. With hybrid structured and open architecture, the ROF utilizes a scaffolded environment of individualized tutorials, small-group work, direct enrollment courses, professional internships, homestays and structured reflections. The study examines IDI- and ILR data, reporting on group-level statistical comparisons of pre/post program intercultural development and language proficiency to document measureable intercultural and linguistic outcomes. The study includes student reports of disorienting dilemmas, reflections on the dilemmas, and proposed “action plans” for dealing with challenges. IDI scores indicate a shift from a mono-cultural mindset toward greater awareness of the mindsets of others and the specifics of one's own cultural lens. The analysis indicates a positive relationship between proficiency levels and the learner's intercultural development as they are better positioned to respond and behave effectively and appropriately as global professionals.

Social pedagogies, which establish a connection between individual learning and the sociocultural context in which that learning occurs, are increasingly prevalent within postsecondary education, including language education (Bass & Elmendorf, ). These approaches provide students with opportunities to interact with the broader communities beyond the classroom. This often means connecting with an increasingly urban, multicultural, and multilingual environment where various groups and individuals negotiate their identities. In this chapter, we draw on examples from language programs at two institutions to illustrate how students explore the surrounding world and discuss how social pedagogies, in particular place- and community-based approaches, connect learners with the languages spoken around them. Engagement with the communities that shape and are shaped by the geographic and historical spaces they inhabit can be transformative for both the learners and the community (Charitos & Van Deusen-Scholl, 2017). This requires, however, designing and implementing pedagogical practices that extend the classroom to facilitate learners' engagement with their local communities.

The introduction explains the need for the book, describes its design, and introduces the methodological strands currently exhibited in the programs and curricula of language educators whose teaching reflects transformative education: principles and theory based on the works of (1) Mezirow and his followers Cranton and Taylor, (2) Freire, (3) Vygotsky, (4) Rogers and (5) Boyd and Habermas, (6) Dirkx, and (7) O’Sullivan, among others. The introduction follows the storyline told by the authors of the various chapters, depicting the appearance and growth of transformative language learning and teaching (TLLT), its current manifestations in the classroom, study abroad programs, the community, testing practices, and teacher preparation, and ending with a discussion of the morphing of TLLT’s Mezirowan cognitive base into a more affective and even spiritual approach. How these strands are treated within different educational contexts or treatments are pointed out. The classrooms and programs designed by the book’s authors weave a rich tapestry of variants of transformative education in the classroom, in study abroad programs, in extramural activities, and in the community; how these all exemplify current transformative education practices will be discussed. This chapter also points out the range of languages represented in the volume, including L2, EFL/ESL and bilingual education and how these three generally distinct fields form an organic whole. The intent of the introduction is to provide an overarching framework in which to understand the theory, praxis and programs of transformative education presented in the book.

This chapter discusses the cultural transformation that world language learners can undergo when they engage with native speakers in virtual environments for autonomous interaction. Davidson (2010) outlines similar benefits for learners during variable-length study abroad programs; however, for many learners, access to study abroad is not feasible, practically or financially. Alternatives to study abroad experiences can be created using online resources and virtual communities of native speakers. Novice-level intensive courses and Advanced-level content courses in Russian provide instructional models. Portfolio and journal materials provide qualitative evidence of transformative experiences that learners undergo as they engage in mediating authentic artifacts and become increasingly culturally proficient.

A transformative approach to language education calls for an expanded understanding of curriculum and program design that leverages potential learning environments both in and outside the classroom - in academic, residential, and social settings - to support language and culture learning. This chapter provides an overview of curricular and co-curricular learning environments designed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Russian Flagship that offer affordances for transformative language and culture learning for its students. Elements of the program's design that facilitate transformative learning include: (1) positioning students as independent language learners striving to meet programmatic and personal goals; (2) providing a continuum of opportunities for language and culture learning in formal instructional environments, individual and small-group tutorials, and residential and social contexts in which students engage in meaningful interactions in Russian with various interlocutors, reflecting the concept of open architecture design for learning; and (3) offering spaces for reflection in supportive, low-stakes environments, potentially leading to transformative change.

This chapter’s main focus is on fluency research ‘in the wild’, particularly looking at the challenges of developing fluency during immersion in the target language setting, e.g. during Study Abroad. The chapter includes the need for research and practice to move away from standard monolingual native speaker norms, towards use of L2 or multilingual raters as reference norms for evaluating fluency development. We refer to cross-linguistic work on fluency in languages other than English, to see how learners’ and teachers’ expectations can be more realistically framed to fit social contexts and task demands. We include evidence from learner corpora across a variety of languages, which could help develop more robust cross-linguistic theories, methods and evidence of fluency development from a wider multilingual interactional perspective. The final section explores these themes in the context of fluency development through residence abroad, even over short periods such as Study Abroad; evidence is presented from a recent case study of learners of Mandarin Chinese within a more nuanced view of specific task constraints, to highlight the varied nature of fluency development.