ETHNOGRAPHIC INTERPRETATION OF CULTURAL IMMERSION IN STUDY ABROAD ...

269 Pages·2009·0.69 MB·English

ETHNOGRAPHIC INTERPRETATION OF CULTURAL IMMERSION
IN STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS
by
FEDERICA GOLDONI
(Under the Direction of Linda Harklau)
ABSTRACT
Large and small institutions of higher education across the US are allocating increasing
resources to promote study abroad (SA) and international education, and more American college
students go abroad every year. Using a socio-cultural theoretical perspective, this year-long study
examined how four groups of US undergraduates experienced and made sense of their cultural
and linguistic immersion as part of a SA program sponsored by a US state university and located
in two Spanish coastal cities. Employing an ethnographic case study approach, data consisted of
a) semi-structured interviews with case study student participants as well as SA professors, SA
program staff, and local community members; b) class observations; c) participant observations;
d) and written material related to the SA program and context, including case study students’
academic artifacts and personal journals. Additionally, retrospective interviews were conducted
with case study students and local community members after the end of the sojourn abroad.
The major finding of this study are summarized as follows: 1) SA students went through
significantly different socio-cognitive experiences and processes abroad that were determined by
an interface of context, social practices, and individual agency; 2) Racial and ethnic identity,
class, and gender played a crucial role in case study students’ interactions and experiences with
the host community, and affected their opportunities for language and culture learning; 3) The
spread of globalization, capitalism, and the global supermarket affected the way case study
students viewed SA, including the academic component of the program; 4) Case study students’
various forms and interpretations of cultural immersion and language socialization abroad were
often conflictive and a site of struggle; 5) Case study students’ cultural artifacts and expectations
inexorably clashed abroad; 6) Case study students tended to retreat into a feeling of national
superiority when faced with cultural conflicts and misunderstandings, or episodes of antagonism
against the US and the American people, while their engagement in local communities gradually
eclipsed.

INDEX WORDS: Ethnography, social constructivist, socio-cultural theory, Vygotsky, study
abroad, international education, race, ethnicity, class, gender, globalization,
capitalism, cultural immersion, linguistic immersion, cultural clash, second
language acquisition, Spanish, Spain, Spaniards
ETHNOGRAPHIC INTERPRETATION OF CULTURAL IMMERSION
IN STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS

by

FEDERICA GOLDONI
FORB, the University of Trieste, Italy, 1994
FORB, the University of Trieste, Italy, 1997

A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial
Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

ATHENS, GEORGIA
2009
© 2009
Federica Goldoni
All Rights Reserved
ETHNOGRAPHIC INTERPRETATION OF CULTURAL IMMERSION
IN STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS

by

FEDERICA GOLDONI

Major Professor: Linda Harklau

Committee: Laurent Cammarata
Peggy Kreshel
Margaret Quesada

Electronic Version Approved:

Maureen Grasso
Dean of the Graduate School
The University of Georgia
August 2009
iv

DEDICATION
I dedicate this dissertation to my two families, the one in Italy, and the one that I have
acquired in the US. A special thought goes to my grandparents whom I still miss every day. They
are no longer with me in body, but they will always be in my memories and by my side in spirit.
All these people have supported me, encouraged me, loved me, cheered me, and made me smile
every step of the way. They have given me that stability and strength necessary to accomplish
challenging tasks like pursuing a Ph.D. I would not have succeeded without you all. I cannot
thank you all enough for what you have done and still do for me every day.
v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to acknowledge the support of many people who have helped me throughout
my graduate studies and dissertation research. First, I would like to acknowledge all the
participants of my study for their time and for their willingness to share with me their
experiences and feelings inside and outside of the classroom.
I would like to acknowledge the wisdom, expertise, and support of my major professor
and advisor, Dr. Linda Harklau. Dr. Harklau, I feel very fortunate that you agreed to work with
me and that you led me in this journey, and I am very thankful for the advisor/advisee
relationship that we have built in these months. Working with you has been very inspiring and
encouraging. I have learned to respect and appreciate you and your work so very much during
these years. Without your example and advice as a professional, as a woman, and as a mother, I
would have never gone so far in my studies, nor would my dissertation research and write-up
process have been so enjoyable and painless for me. Thank you again.
I would like to acknowledge all my committee members, Dr. Margaret Quesada, Dr.
Peggy Kreshel, and Dr. Laurent Cammarata. I am very glad that you were willing to serve on my
committee. Your time, effort, and suggestions inside and outside of the classroom on how to
improve my work mean a great deal to me and will be forever appreciated. Your scholarship and
wisdom are invaluable. Additionally, I would like to acknowledge Dr. Celeste Kinginger from
Penn State University for sharing with me her work and her knowledge as expert in study
abroad, applied linguistics, and education. Her research in study abroad has been extremely
influential in shaping my dissertation study.
vi

Finally, I would like to acknowledge Dr. Karen Braxley for her time and for her
generosity and copiousness of her weekly detailed comments and feedback on my dissertation
chapters. Karen, I have always read your comments with much enthusiasm and attention. You
are one of the most unselfish, modest, and insightful people I have ever met. You have helped
me enormously, and not only with my English language. Most importantly, you also have taught
me how to be a better writer and thinker. I have learned a great deal about how to build an
argument, how to make it stronger, and how to make what we write worth reading. I have very
much enjoyed our collaboration, even though it has been long distance most of the time. I would
have never succeeded in meeting all my deadlines without you. Thank you.
vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................v
LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... xi
LIST OF ACRONYMS AND PSEUDONYMS .......................................................................... xii
PREFACE .................................................................................................................................... xiii
CHAPTER
1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1
Background of the Study ...........................................................................................1
Statement of the Problem ..........................................................................................6
Research Questions ...................................................................................................9
Organization of the Study ........................................................................................10
2 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................12
Theoretical Perspective ...........................................................................................12
Human Development and Language Learning: Vygotsky’s Theories ....................15
What Is Culture? What Is Cultural Immersion? ......................................................20
Background Studies on Students’ Cultural Immersion and Engagement Abroad ..27
The Impact of Study Abroad Programs for Adult Learners: An Analysis of
Qualitative Research Methods ...........................................................................36
Summary .................................................................................................................49
3 METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................50
viii

Research Questions .................................................................................................50
Theory of Inquiry Guiding Data Collection and Analysis ......................................51
Ethnographic Case Study ........................................................................................52
Path of Inference .....................................................................................................59
Subjectivity of Researcher .......................................................................................60
Study Sites ...............................................................................................................67
My Relationship with the Sites and the Participants ...............................................69
Participants ..............................................................................................................70
Data Collection ........................................................................................................75
Data Analysis ..........................................................................................................88
What Follows ..........................................................................................................91
4 THREE SPECIFIC STORIES OF CULTURAL CLASHES WITHIN THE
BACKDROP OF THE OVERALL STUDY ABROAD EXPERIENCE ...............93
General Trends ........................................................................................................93
Stories of Successful Immersion in the Host Society and Stories of Cross-Cultural
Conflicts ............................................................................................................96
Tying the Loose Ends Together ............................................................................102
5 ALBERT IS AFRICAN AMERICAN AND DOMINICAN: A STORY OF RACE,
ETHNICITY, AND CLASS ABROAD ................................................................104
Background: Race, Class, Ethnicity and Study Abroad ........................................106
Albert .....................................................................................................................108
From Being an Actor, to a Spect-actor, to a Spectator ..........................................114
How Are People of African Descent Viewed in Spain? .......................................116