Intervening in Student Learning Abroad:
a Research-Based Inquiry

Abstract

The presentation will summarize the major conclusions of a four-year study designed to measure the intercultural and second language learning of more than 1,300 U.S. undergraduates enrolled at 61 programs abroad. Focusing on the central research question—whether U.S. students learn effectively when left to their own devices while abroad, or whether students perform better when educators proactively intervene in their learning—the presentation will identify a series of program design elements and learner characteristics that are significantly associated with gains in intercultural learning abroad.