ABSTRACT
This chapter draws together the two main strands of the Language and Social Networks Abroad Project: the language learning gains made by the sojourners overall, social aspects of the sojourner experience, and sojourner identity. It explores statistical relationships between findings of the Social Networking Questionnaire (SNQ), the Language Engagement Questionnaire (LEQ), and selected measures of L2 performance. The chapter introduces the concept of L2 gain scores, and also explores relationships between these scores with SNQ and LEQ. It provides qualitative portraits of eight "high gain" sojourners, and explores in more depth the significance for individual L2 development of social relationships and of sojourner agency, L2 engagement and identity. The chapter proposes the qualities of L2 networking and engagement that appear to "push" advanced L2 development. It explores the relationships between the Social Networks Index, the LEQ results, and the linguistic performance of all participants over time.
