Challenging the Language Learner as the Only Source of Data in Study Abroad Research

Abstract

Study Abroad (SA) research has traditionally focused on the (language) learner as the main, and more often sole, data source. Efforts have been devoted to eliciting learners’ self-report in manifold ways in order to understand the complex process of second language acquisition. However, the variability of outcomes has led debates to the inescapable cul-de-sac of individual differences. Among the multiple explanatory variables, the social networks factor stands out, but attempts to approach and incorporate learners’ social networks into SA research have been scarce. In this chapter, we argue that future research that not only addresses the SA participant’s accounts but also contemplates and integrates other reports of all agents involved (e.g., international friends, the local population, SA teachers/professors, the researcher) may provide revealing nuances on SLA-related phenomena. Seeing SA as a social experience, we propose new directions to transcend learner-centered research by considering information coming from the social networks that the student establishes and maintains during the stay abroad.