The Immediate and Lasting Effect of a Two-Week Study Abroad Program on Students' English Communication Abilities and English Learning Anxieties

Abstract

This study examined the immediate and lasting effect of attending a two-week study abroad program at Ibaraki National College of Technology (INCT). Participants of this study were 69 2nd year students at INCT including 35 students who participated in two-week Sydney Study Abroad Program (SSAP) and 34 students who did not took part in SSAP. In order to examine how participants change their English communication skills, the CASEC (Computerized Assessment System for English Communication) test was administered as a pre-test and post-test before and after SSAP. Questionnaire of English Use Anxiety (EUA) and English Class Anxiety (ECA) adopted from Kondo (2005) were administered as a pre-test and a post-test before and after SSAP. Each CASEC score and the result of EUA and ECA were analyzed with ANOVA. The EUA and ECA were factor-analyzed prior to ANOVA in order to examine whether the scales fit this study. The results of CASEC showed that the students did not receive positive effects on participating in SSAP. On the other hand, the result of anxiety questionnaire indicated that the students who took part in SSAP reduced their anxiety by attending SSAP.