How long is long enough? L2 English development through study abroad programmes varying in duration

The current study analyzes the oral production of advanced learners of English who have Catalan and Spanish as their first languages. Subjects participated in study abroad (SA) programmes in English-speaking countries as part of their undergraduate studies. A role-play task was used to elicit speech from learners prior to SA and upon arrival from SA. We analyze two groups of learners who participated in a three-month stay (N = 33) and a six-month stay (N = 14). Their oral production is measured on the basis of syntactic complexity, and overall accuracy and fluency. Native speakers of English (N = 24) performed the same role-play task so as to provide a baseline. Statistical analyses show a significant advantage of the three-month stay in the target language country over the six-month stay in terms of accuracy and fluency, areas in which, nevertheless, native speakers outperformed both groups at pre- and post-test, regardless of length of stay (LoS).

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