Effects of Study‐Abroad Experiences on EFL Writers: A Multiple‐Data Analysis

Abstract

This study was a comparison of the changes in English writing behavior of 7 Japanese university students (the study‐abroad group) who spent 4 to 9 months in English‐speaking countries with those of 6 counterparts majoring in British and American studies (the at‐home group) who remained in Japan. The study aimed at confirming the results of Sasaki (2004) , who investigated similar students' English‐writing behavior over 3.5 years. After a 1‐year observation period, (a) both groups improved their general English proficiency; (b) only those in the study‐abroad group improved their second language (L2) writing ability and fluency; (c) unlike Sasaki's participants, the study‐abroad group made more local plans and the at‐home group fewer; (d) at the end of the study, both groups translated their ideas into the L2 as often as they did at the beginning of the study; and (e) only the study‐abroad group became more motivated to write better L2 compositions.