The Effects of Study Abroad Duration and Predeparture Proficiency on the L2 Proficiency of Japanese University Students: A Meta-Analysis Approach

Abstract

The present study aims to clarify the effects of study abroad (SA) duration and predeparture proficiency on the second language (L2) progress of Japanese students of English. As a first step toward this goal, studies on SA of one month or less (short-term), of more than one month to less than six months (middle-term), and of six months or more (long-term) were reviewed extensively. Next, 31 studies, all of which reported SA students' pre-and post-test scores, were selected, and effect sizes of the students' L2 gains were generated to allow for further comparisons among the three lengths of SA and among three proficiency levels based on their pre-test scores that were carried out by means of a meta-analysis method. The results showed that the magnitude of the effect of long-term SA was more than twice as great as that of middle-term SA and more than four times as great as that of short-term SA. The second factor analyzed in this study, students' predeparture proficiency, did not seem to be an influential predictor of L2 gains. However, further analysis revealed that there was an interaction between the two factors, and low proficiency students tended to attend shorter-term SA programs. Keywords: meta-analysis, study abroad duration, predeparture proficiency, effect size, L2 proficiency In this era of globalization, the number of young people studying abroad has steadily increased; this is due to the belief that the study abroad (SA) experience has positive effects on various aspects of intellectual and personal growth. In fact, many studies report improvement of second language (L2) proficiency as well as particular psychological enhancements such as willingness to talk and self-confidence (e.g., Furuya, 2005; Iida, 2013). However, the degree of L2 improvement corresponding to the length of SA and predeparture proficiency level remains unclear. This is because administering pre-and post-tests to students participating in SA programs of various lengths and keeping track of them during their respective SA periods is difficult within the scope of a single study. It is also difficult to compare studies on a single length of SA since in each study, participants at different proficiency levels have studied abroad under different conditions, and their L2 improvements have been reported in different ways.