ABSTRACT
Study abroad (SA) has been described as an almost magical experience in which learners are easily socialized into host communities through nearly limitless access to native speech communities in the target culture (DeKeyser, 2010; Kinginger, 2008). The gains experienced by SA participants, however, are far from magical and can be explored through dedicated analysis of the variables involved. Kinginger (2011) states that these variables “emerge from a complex interplay of students’ dispositions, features of their environments, and host communities’ stances toward their guests” (p. 58). This complex relationship involves the learners’ individual differences and how they choose to interact with the highly contextualized SA environment. This interaction is often effortful and involves routine activities in which the SA learner chooses to participate (Duff, 2008). The degree to which they participate in this interaction and the language-learning strategies (LLSs) that they deploy in order to participate in it lie at the heart of this chapter.
