View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE 福岡県立大学人間社会学部紀要 第28巻 第１号 福岡県立大学人間社会学部紀要 2019, Vol. 28, No. 1, 1－25 原 著 Evaluating a university preparation course for a short-term study abroad program in terms of its ability to alleviate student anxiety prior to departure Stuart GALE＊ Abstract：Excessive anxiety can compromise a person’s willingness to step outside of his of her comfort zone and interact with an unfamiliar environment. It can, therefore, militate against the objectives (i.e., enhanced linguistic and cultural competence) most commonly cited by study abroad programs. The purpose of this research was to evaluate an intensive 22.5-hour preparation course in terms of its ability to alleviate student anxiety. The preparation course was run in-house at a Japanese university as a precursor to a three-week stay in the United Kingdom. The research component― consisting of a survey in the form of a questionnaire―was conducted approximately two weeks prior to departure at the conclusion of the preparation course. The questionnaire included six Likert-style questions designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the preparation course relative to six of the most salient anxiety-inducing components of the study abroad program: taking an international flight, interacting with British people in everyday social situations, discussing social issues with British undergraduates, doing a homestay, teaching Japanese culture at a British elementary school, and personal safety. Five further questions evaluating the composition of the preparation course and allowing for more expansive answers completed the survey. The feedback from the 14 student participants confirmed that the preparation course had been generally effective in terms of counteracting anxiety. Nevertheless, the data also confirmed that certain components of the program induce more anxiety and are more resistant to the type of anxiety-alleviating technique applied by the preparation course. In conclusion, the paper contends that the research should be conducted in conjunction with every subsequent edition of the preparation course so as to facilitate a continuous process of fine-tuning towards its ideal composition. Key words： short-term study abroad program, preparation/orientation course, student anxiety, cultural competence ＊福岡県立大学人間社会学部・教授 ― 1 ― 福岡県立大学人間社会学部紀要 第28巻 第１号 List of abbreviations template in 2008. That year’s program ALT Assistant Language Teacher was, however, remarkable in two respects, FPU Fukuoka Prefectural University marking as it did the first and, as of 2018, L1 First language; one’ s native only instance of the program not being language run under the auspices of the independent L2 Second language; a language to education agency founded and run by the some extent acquired in addition to now-former faculty member and without one’s native language his direct personal involvement as principal tour coordinator and guide. It was also １．Introduction: a brief history of the the third and final program to be based UK study abroad program at Fukuoka predominantly in the city of York in the Prefectural University north of England. Though the coordinators had, up until The origins of Fukuoka Prefectural this point, taken great pains to see as University’s study abroad program to the much of the UK as possible (and had, to United Kingdom can be traced back to this end, ventured as far afield from York 2006 when the then sole native speaker as the Lake District in 2006 and 2008 and within the Faculty of Integrated Human Stratford-upon-Avon and Nottingham in Studies and Social Sciences took a group 2007), the temptation to establish a base of twenty students to the north of England closer to London had been assiduously for three weeks. That this initial trip was resisted with the sole exceptions of both unofficial and unprecedented meant overnight stays in Oxford and Windsor― that it was largely free from the regulatory locations conveniently close to London control that would later exert such a Heathrow airport―immediately prior profound influence on the development to returning to Japan. This conscious of the program. It also meant that the omission of the nation’s cultural center aforementioned faculty member was solely from the program’s itinerary was prudent responsible for the planning, preparing and in view of the fact that it would have day-to-day running of the trip. The current involved a single native-speaker leading a author is not, therefore, being unduly group of two dozen or so Japanese students modest when he refers to the 2006 trip as into a relatively densely-populated area a pioneering expedition and unparalleled with correspondingly high traffic accident achievement―far more so than when he and crime rates. This decision was taken himself succeeded to the same position despite the presence of a Japanese-national at FPU and applied the pre-existing FPU faculty member and, from 2009, a ― 2 ― GALE：Evaluating a university preparation course for a short-term study abroad program 福岡県立大学人間社会学部紀要 第28巻 第１号 in terms of its ability to alleviate student anxiety prior to departure handful of British undergraduates from and the policy of running daytrips into Oxford acting as assistants and chaperones. the capital established. In retrospect, 2009 The FPU faculty members accompanying may be seen as a pivotal year in terms the trip were always competent and of aligning the program with its current fully functional in terms of their English- form. It was the first program to feature the language abilities. Nevertheless, and in program’s creator and the current author view of their lack of familiarity with the working alongside each other in the UK city’s layout and public transport system, and the first to incorporate a homestay their compliance with the decision to avoid component (the students having previously London was always forthcoming. The been lodged in university accommodation extent to which this arrangement was non- when in York and in youth hostels or consensual was, however, exposed in 2008 hotels when elsewhere). The rationale for when it was discovered that several of the switching to homestay accommodation participating students had been engaged was primarily educational―to immerse in making covert arrangements to visit the students into a completely English- the capital (from York, approximately 340 speaking environment without the safety kilometers away). Up until this point, it net provided by their bilingual teachers. had been deemed expedient to suppress In order to alleviate student anxiety and any desire on the part of the students to reduce the magnitude of the challenge, the visit London, not only by maintaining a decision was taken to arrange the students healthy distance but also by articulating into small groups of two to four same- (and perhaps even exaggerating) the risks gender “homestay buddies.” This policy has involved. The 2008 program served to similarly remained unchanged since 2009, demonstrate the futility of this policy. It though it should be pointed out that, as a also marked the point at which the demand consequence of the coordinators rejecting for daytrips into the capital began to “stress-inducing” homestay families (i.e., outstrip the reticence of the coordinators. any family whose standards of care were Fortunately, the pressure to visit London in any way perceived to be deficient) had been mounting in tandem with the and retaining only the most popular and confidence acquired over the course of cooperative, the potential for any form three successful three-week programs of unpleasantness has been reduced to a (2006‒2008). The locus of the 2009 program minimum. This continual vetting of the was therefore shifted to the City of Bath homestay families has, quite apart from (approximately 160 kilometers west of the city’s convenient location and World London but still readily accessible by train) Heritage status, been a significant factor in ― 3 ― 福岡県立大学人間社会学部紀要 第28巻 第１号 keeping the program anchored in Bath. education, and social welfare) on offer In the event, the 2009 program attracted to FPU students. It was, in retrospect, 41 student participants―an unprecedented an attempt to wring as much benefit as number well in excess of that registered by possible out of the limited time available― any other program before or since. In 2010, a policy consistent with the conventional the number fell to 22, thereby obviating view, as expressed by Carrillo (2014, p. the need to impose a “cap” at a similarly 1) and substantiated by Zorn, that longer manageable level. A year later, and the periods of immersion entail greater gains in disparity between the number of student cultural competence (1996, pp. 266‒272). In participants in 2009 and 2010 would mitigation, however, it should be pointed pay dividends during negotiations to out that shorter programs akin to FPU’s incorporate the program into FPU’s regular have also been found to facilitate cultural curriculum as an elective subject. On the and even linguistic competence (Ballestas one hand, the 2009 turnout (amounting & Roller, 2013, p.132; Kartoshkina, Chieffo to approximately four percent of FPU’s & Kang, 2013, p. 33) and that they tend total student body) was demonstrative of to be more affordable, more concentrated the program’s popularity and feasibility, in terms of their itineraries, and more while, on the other, the relatively modest compatible with other extracurricular 2010 figure had the advantage of being activities. unintimidating by comparison. This did The precise 2011 itinerary, as shown in not, however, deter the coordinators Appendix A, was also the first to substitute from upping the ante (and unnecessarily Oxford Brookes University accommodation overcomplicating matters) in a bid to for the Oxford youth hostel―an association make the program more palatable at that has undoubtedly added some luster to management level. As a consequence, the the program and bolstered its credentials in first and second accredited programs run the corridors of power at FPU.