Project Perseverance and Arabic Study Abroad

• Published in: al-'Arabiyya (Chicago, Ill.) Ill.), 2015-01, Vol.48, p.1-21
• Main Authors: Belnap, R. Kirk, Bown, Jennifer, Dean, Edie M., Dewey, Dan P., Schouten, Lucy J., Smith, Andrew K., Smith, Rebecca K., Taylor, Joshua R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ESSAYS; International students; Language acquisition; Learner engagement; Middle Eastern studies; Nonnative languages; Second language learning; Student surveys; Study abroad; Teaching assistants; Training
• ISSN: 0889-8731; 2375-4036

Study abroad is widely touted as a shortcut to linguistic fluency. As a result, students often begin their overseas experience with unrealistic expectations and then resort to avoidance behavior when they are blindsided by unanticipated challenges to their identity, such as feeling that they appear incompetent as they struggle to express themselves in the second language (L2). A variety of interventions can facilitate greater student engagement. This essay reports on Project Perseverance, which began as an effort to help fifty-two students maximize the benefit of their semester of intensive Arabic study in Jordan. Pre- and postprogram oral proficiency scores indicate that most students began at Intermediate Low or Mid and reached Intermediate High or Advanced Low. Students' reflections on their experience in learning journals and an exit survey highlight interventions that led to greater self-efficacy and illustrate how some were able to make remarkable progress that could not have been predicted from preprogram scores. The ability to emotionally selfregulate appears to be a key factor. This study has significant professional development implications and underscores the importance of program directors and teachers adjusting to student needs and facilitating higher-quality speaking opportunities than students are likely to randomly encounter. Most students of Arabic report that they want to reach "professional-level" proficiency (Belnap and Nassif 2011, 5). This is wishful thinking unless a student perseveres in studying the language. There is no substitute for time on task and for authentic cultural interaction; in-country intensive study is therefore typically essential for students to realize their goal of higher levels of proficiency. Research indicates that the benefits of study abroad (SA) are, indeed, far-ranging. Among the documented benefits of SA are increased linguistic proficiency (Baker-Smemoe et al. 2014; Brecht, Davidson, and Ginsberg 1995; Ingraham and Peterson 2004; Vande Berg, Connor-Linton, and Paige 2009), increased self-confidence and self-efficacy (Cubillos and Ilvento 2012; Dwyer, 2004; Milstein, 2005), intercultural sensitivity (Dwyer 2004; Kinginger 2013; Paige et al. 2009; Vande Berg, Connor-Linton, and Paige 2009; Williams 2005), and career attainment (Dwyer 2004; Ingraham and Peterson 2004). However, the challenges that students face abroad are also numerous and can significantly inhibit both linguistic and cultural growth. The e