The Impact Of Short-Term Study Abroad On College Students’ EAP Learning

Study abroad(SA)is a hot topic in the field of second language education in the world at present.Under the background of the internationalization of higher education in China,in order to cultivate high-quality talents with more international competitiveness and global awareness,the exchange,study abroad and research activities of college students are becoming more and more frequent.Studying abroad is becoming an important means to improve college students’ academic English ability and international competitiveness.Many studies have shown that study abroad provides an ideal environment for learning a target language and a target culture.Immersion in a target language culture within a certain period of time can significantly improve students’ listening,speaking,reading,and writing,and can enhance intercultural sensitivity and competence in intercultural communication.Study abroad is a way of coming into direct contact with a real academic English environment.In the current upsurge of academic English,SA has become one of the means for college students to improve their academic English ability,to adapt to high-level professional learning and to participate in international academic competition.Therefore,it is of positively practical significance to explore the impact of study abroad on college students’ academic English learning.In recent years,the number of Chinese college students who are joining short-term study abroad projects has been increasing.Due to different factors,such as,time,economy,and effects,short-term study abroad has become a hot topic.Although domestic research on study abroad has gradually attracted more attention,there is still a lack of empirical studies on students’ academic English learning experience and benefits,and there are even fewer studies on short-term college students’ study abroad.This study will help enhance the understanding of college students’ overseas learning experience and benefits.The internationalization of higher education requires college students not only to learn English,but also to be able to use English as a tool.This study has certain theoretical and practical significance.English for Academic Purposes(EAP)refers to the English ability to help learners improve their professional learning and research abilities.It is a form of language support for learners to carry out professional learning and academic activities.Academic English courses are helpful for improving the overall language level of students,and for helping students master the language habits and academic skills required by university learning.The internationalization of higher education requires college students not only to learn English,but also to be able to use English as a tool for professional learning and communication.Thesis study has both theoretical and practical significance.Studying the content of academic English and the challenges of academic English encountered by Chinese college students studying abroad bring enlightenment on the curriculum design of academic English in China.This study has significance in guiding future college students studying abroad,which can play a role in demanding analysis to a certain extent,and can be provided as a reference for the curriculum design and the teaching of EAP in domestic colleges and universities.Consequently,it is of great practical significance to explore the impact of study abroad on college students’ EAP study.Therefore,based on the background of short-term study abroad and the theoretical support of the Interaction Hypothesis,this study combines the case study and the questionnaire to study the impact of study abroad on EAP study.This paper mainly tries to answer the following two questions:1)What is the impact of short-term study abroad on college students’ EAP study?2)What factors influence the learning of college students’ short-term study abroad?In this paper,a mixed method is used to explain,validate and supplement the qualitative and quantitative data.The qualitative research component employs the method of the case study to interview 15 key university students who have participated in short-term overseas study,focusing on students’ self-evaluation of their own self-change,collecting materials and course assignments during their study abroad,collecting various kinds of experience-sharing meetings and student exhibitions after returning to China,and so on,which provides abundant corpus and important information for the study.The quantitative research component adopts the method of the questionnaire survey.The questionnaire is designed into two parts,one being a survey the students’ basic information and the other one being a survey on the situation of the students’ study abroad experiences.Through the questionnaire,the paper collects data from college students who study abroad to enlarge the scope of the data and to make the data more convincing.Through interviews,this paper analyses the impact of short-term study abroad on different aspects of academic English,and clarifies what progress has been made and the reasons for the progress.It also points out the difficulties that students encounter in short-term study abroad,and puts forward suggestions on how to promote practical foreign language teaching in China.The results show that: first,among the difficulties students encountered in short-term study abroad,the two most serious ones are the inability to understand the lectures and the inability to express their thoughts accurately.Some students interviewed expressed loneliness when studying abroad.This shows that the current College English teaching method employed is not enough for the cultivation of students’ academic ability in listening,speaking and understanding of the specialty,and lacks the cultivation of the ability to work and study independently.Second,this paper divides the role of short-term study abroad in promoting academic English into 6 dimensions.In terms of language knowledge and skills,listening,speaking and language awareness improve significantly.However,there was no improvement or slight regression in grammar.In terms of academic skills,the ability to browse English websites for English literature and the ability to retrieve information also strengthened significantly.In terms of competence in intercultural communication,the most significant improvement among the 6 dimensions,the ability to communicate with foreigners made remarkable progress.In terms of thinking,critical thinking and logicality improved.In terms of identity and patriotism,English learning motivation and confidence also made remarkable progress.At last,in terms of strategy,the ability to work and study independently,speech skills,group cooperation and problem-solving ability showed outstanding performance.Third,there are a lot of factors influencing the development of college students’ EAP in short-term study abroad.Whether it is external environmental factors or individual subjective factors,they may have different impacts.The results of questionnaire survey shows that the length of study abroad is the most important factor.Besides,learning motivation and an overseas English learning environment are also important factors.Learning strategies and the English level before studying abroad are worth considering,while the level and type of profession are not particularly important.Finally,through short-term study abroad,some reflections have been made about English teaching in China.In terms of teaching deficiencies,the teaching of English speaking and listening,and the teaching of intercultural communication competence need to be strengthened urgently,and the guidance of thesis writing,teaching feedback and the quality of English teachers in universities still need to be strengthened.However,the domestic teaching of reading has tended to be sufficient,and students generally believe that it has been able to meet the basic needs of reading.The findings suggest that: first,the training of practical English and academic English in domestic English teaching classes should be strengthened with an increase in the effective input of listening,a larger scale of speaking,the infiltration of different cultures,and the training of intercultural communication competence.In this way,College English teaching is not limited to teaching only universal English,but is also strengthened in thesis writing guidance,teaches the ability to acquire English literature and its corresponding information retrieval,and has the ability to be applied in the future in order to cultivate students as more well-rounded talents,combining English with specialty.Finally,aside from professional competence,domestic training for college students should be focused on critical thinking,group cooperation,and the ability to work and study independently,and more efforts should be made to cultivate students’ confidence,overcoming loneliness or adapting to the difficulties of foreign life.