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Style Shifting and Social Network Development during Education Abroad Programs in Japan

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2019, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, East Asian Languages and Literatures.
This dissertation explores ways that home institutions —educational institutions that send their students to affiliated universities— can provide pedagogical support to maximize the learning experience of U.S. undergraduate students during yearlong education abroad (EdA) programs in Japan. The results of this dissertation suggest several features that are key to pre-EdA training. The most crucial is repeated experiential practice on inter-personal negotiations toward co-constructing a meaningful Third Space (Jian & Walker, 2017) that entails raising sensitivity to style-shifting strategies. Group, rather than individualized, format better maximizes the opportunities for negotiation. Also useful would be opportunities to hear the experience of students who have just returned from a yearlong EdA in Japan, focusing on their experience (or lack) of network building. The need for repeated practice entails that training occurs over a duration of time, such as a semester. The first phase of this research examined difficulties in building intercultural relationships that American students and local Japanese students experience in a short-term EdA program in Japan. Data collected through interviews and observation suggest that the two groups have gaps in their expectations about speech style when interacting with each other. In particular, U.S. students struggled in shifting their speech from formal to casual. Based on these findings a pre-departure training regimen was devised for students participating in a yearlong EdA program in Japan. The training focused on style-shifting skills to develop a relationship-building persona in a Japanese college setting. The second phase of the study investigated the outcomes and process of learning in yearlong EdA exchange programs. Of the seven undergraduate students who participated in this phase of the study, four went through the pre-EdA training, while the other three chose not to. Two proficiency tests and a microanalysis of their discourse in terms of style shifting during proficiency interviews were used to assess the outcomes of all participants’ EdA gain. The process of their EdA learning was examined by analyzing their language use logs and interviews about social network development. The effectiveness of the EdA training was measured by comparing the findings of the two groups, i.e. the EdA training group and the non-EdA training group. Findings suggested that the EdA training did not have a great impact on the participants’ outcome of EdA learning as measured by the proficiency tests. However, a closer examination of the learning process revealed that those participants who faced and endeavored to overcome challenges in building their social networks with locals demonstrated more EdA gain than those who did not. These students had to negotiate relationships continuously with interlocutors from the host community. Repeated negotiation experiences may have facilitated these EdA students’ learning of how to communicate effectively in Third Spaces. In the current study, such social ties are called negotiated Third Space. The findings also suggested that the structure of EdA programs at host universities (e.g., roles and culture of dorms, school events, language programs, etc.) had the greatest impact on constructing negotiated Third Spaces. In order to maximize EdA learning in Japan, it is crucial to support EdA students’ negotiation skills. EdA students can utilize style shifting as a communication strategy to recognize, negotiate, and co-construct expectations with locals. Such skills also help EdA students develop a relationship-building persona, which enables them to forge intercultural relationships with locals, which in turn maximizes their EdA learning in Japan. In addition, understanding each EdA program from the students’ perspectives is also crucial to maximize EdA learning in general. Home institutions should use the returnees as a resource for those who will participate in the same EdA program.
Mari Noda (Advisor)
Xiaobin Jian (Committee Member)
Mineharu Nakayama (Committee Member)
Quinn Charles (Committee Member)
276 p.

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Citations

  • Tobaru, H. (2019). Style Shifting and Social Network Development during Education Abroad Programs in Japan [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1563109686161762

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Tobaru, Hiromi. Style Shifting and Social Network Development during Education Abroad Programs in Japan. 2019. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1563109686161762.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Tobaru, Hiromi. "Style Shifting and Social Network Development during Education Abroad Programs in Japan." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1563109686161762

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)