Language Learning in Study Abroad: The Multilingual Turn

Vestiges of monolingual bias are present in the portrayal of study abroad as an idealized monolingual immersion experience and the steps many programs take to encourage or enforce target language monolingualism. In reality, study abroad is often inherently multilingual. This book addresses the need for a recognition of the multilingual realities of study abroad across a variety of traditional and non-traditional national contexts and target languages. The chapters examine multilingual socialization and translanguaging with peers, local hosts and instructors; how the target language is necessarily entwined in global, local and historical contexts; and how students negotiate the use of local and global varieties of English. Together the chapters present a powerful argument for scholars and study abroad practitioners to consider and critically incorporate multilingual realities into their research and planning. 

Dr. Wenhao Diao is Associate Professor in the Department of East Asian Studies and the doctoral program of Second Language Acquisition and Teaching at the University of Arizona. She also co-directs the Center for East Asian Studies, a Title VI National Resource Center supported by the US Department of Education, at the University of Arizona. As an applied linguist, Dr. Diao is interested in the identities and ideologies that Chinese language education (re)produce and (re)distribute. Her research has primarily focused on study abroad -- particularly going to and from China. Her articles have appeared in journals such as Applied Linguistics, The Modern Language Journal, System, and so on.  With her colleagues in the field, she has edited a book entitled Language Learning in Study Abroad: The Multilingual Turn (Multilingual Matters, 2021) and a special issue themed Study Abroad in the 21st Century for the L2 Journal in 2016. 

Emma Trentman is an Associate Professor of Arabic at the University of New Mexico, USA. She is co-editor of the journal Critical Multilingualism Studies. Her research focuses on multilingual approaches to Arabic language teaching and learning.