Study Abroad and Second Language Use
Constructing the Self

Looks at the problems 'study abroad' students face in expressing their personalities in a foreign language and culture.

Valerie A. Pellegrino Aveni (Author)

9780521827669, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 10 March 2005

202 pages
23.6 x 15.8 x 2.2 cm, 0.442 kg

'…interesting new insights into the nature of foreign language learning outside the classroom… the first full-full length monograph on study abroad… richly illustrated discussion of American learners' experiences in Russia… offers a pleasant change of pace and focus from the common-place discussions of identity construction by learners of English around the world.' International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism

Language plays an essential role in how we portray our personalities. Through social interaction, others develop a picture of us based on our linguistic cues. However, when we interact in a foreign language and in a new country, limitations in linguistic and cultural knowledge can make self-presentation a more difficult task. This book explores the problems faced by language students embarking on 'study abroad' programmes, spending time in a foreign country and having to interact - and express their personalities - in a second language. Drawing on her extensive work with students, Valerie Pellegrino Aveni explores the factors that complicate self-presentation and the strategies students use for overcoming these, looking in particular at issues of anxiety, control, age, gender, risk-taking and self-esteem. Offering rich insights into the study abroad experience, this book will be an invaluable resource for professionals in second language acquisition, and for teachers and students preparing for study abroad.

1. Language use in a social context
2. Communicative goals
3. The social dance: second language and the construction of self
4. Learners and their environment: factors affecting self-construction
Coming into our own: the convergence of real self and ideal self
5. Conclusion: The self in second language: implications and next steps.

Subject Areas: Educational psychology [JNC], Linguistics [CF]