Learning Outside the Home Culture: An Anatomy and Ecology of Memory

Abstract

The present article addresses the question of the nature of learning in another culture and, specifically, the role that memory plays in this learning. Therefore it attempts in a small way to fill some of the gap in the research literature noted by Altbach. I argue that the process by which students learn while studying abroad is uniquely shaped by the role that memory plays in the experience. Although this point may seem obvious, it is an essential one. Further, a consideration of memory leads to a number of intriguing implications for the way in which many aspects of study abroad programs are structured.