This study investigates the effect of the context of
learning—“at home” (AH) classroom versus study abroad
(SA)—on the number and types of communication strategies (CSs)
used by learners of Spanish as a second language. Oral data from 46
learners—20 AH and 26 SA—were analyzed before and after the
treatment period, to discern the effect of various factors on the
learners' levels and choice of CS usage: type of CS category (L1
or L2 based, direct or interactional, and problem-orientedness
[resource deficit, other performance, and self-performance])
and measures of language use. Posttest results showed a significant
effect for context for CS categories and language use: Students in the
SA context consistently used fewer CSs than their classroom
counterparts, and their CS use correlated negatively with higher use of
Spanish outside the classroom and with the host family. It is posited
that the pragmatic exigencies of the AH and SA contexts may account for
these findings.This research would not
have been possible without the support of the Council on International
Educational Exchange (CIEE), which sponsored this team project, headed
by Barbara F. Freed and Norman Segalowitz, to study the effects of the SA
experience on L2 learners. I am very grateful to the members of the CIEE
project team: Joe Collentine, Barbara Freed, Norman Segalowitz, and Manuel
Díaz-Campos, for their insightful commentary on earlier versions of
this work. Special appreciation also goes to Nicole Lazar for her expert
assistance with the methodology and data analysis sections of this paper.
My sincere appreciation also goes to Julie Sykes, Rosalind Freeman, and
Sharma Martineau, graduate students in Spanish SLA and applied linguistics
at Arizona State University, for their assistance with the partial
transcription and the coding of the CS data.